Avanti West Coast has announced changes to its timetable because the impact of the Omicron COVID-19 variant has led to an increase in staff absences.

From Monday, 17 January until Friday, 25 February, there will be pre-planned cancellations and changes to Avanti West Coast services throughout the day on weekdays in order to provide a more robust timetable. There are no planned alterations to the timetable on weekends. However, journeys may be affected by engineering work.

Passengers are strongly advised to check their journey before travelling. If a train is cancelled, tickets will be valid on other Avanti West Coast services before and after the cancelled train.

The new service pattern should bring the timetable more in line with demand, which, as reported nationally, has dropped since the Omicron outbreak.

Avanti West Coast is doing everything they can to run the full timetable. However, there will be a number of cancellations throughout the day in order to provide a more robust timetable. Passengers are strongly advised to check your journey before travelling.

Manchester

• One train per hour to Manchester calling at Milton Keynes, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport.
• An additional service via Crewe will operate at key times of the day.

West Midlands and Edinburgh/Blackpool

• One train per hour to Wolverhampton and Edinburgh/Blackpool, calling at Watford Junction, Milton Keynes, Rugby, Coventry, Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street, Sandwell and Dudley, Wolverhampton, Crewe, Warrington, Wigan, and Preston.
• One train every two hours will continue to Edinburgh, and one train every two hours will continue to Blackpool/Preston.

Glasgow

• One train per hour to Glasgow, calling at Crewe, Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme/Penrith and Carlisle.

Liverpool

• One train per hour to Liverpool, calling at Stafford, Crewe, and Runcorn.

Holyhead/Chester

• One train per day will run in each direction between London Euston and Holyhead. At 05.51 from Holyhead to Euston and 18.10 Euston to Holyhead. A shuttle service will operate between Holyhead and Crewe.

Shrewsbury/Wrexham

• A normal service will run.

The latest Avanti West Coast timetables can be downloaded from their website here.