A reduced service will begin on the 4th January across the Govia Thameslink Railway network as coronavirus and the omicron variant continues to affect staff availability.

Passengers hoping to travel with Southern, Great Northern and Thameslink are advised to check before travelling, as the timetables will be in effect until further notice.

Recent weeks has seen a significant increase in staff sickness and the reduced timetable will allow for a more reliable service.

Gatwick Express will remain suspended like it has for the festive period. GatEx trains will remain suspended until further notice, with crews focussing on Southern services, which also serve Gatwick Airport.

There are no planned service changes on weekends, but may mean smaller on-the-day changes.

Revised timetables are available on the Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern website.

Angie Doll, Govia Thameslink Railway Interim Chief Operating Officer, said: “Due to the significant challenges we face with Covid now affecting many of our colleagues, we have taken the decision to operate a reduced train timetable from January. We’re really sorry if this does affect your journey.

“While many more people are now working from home again, we’re fully focussed on proving a service that passengers can rely on if they need to travel. We’d strongly urge people to check before they travel for the latest information and to leave extra time.”

The timetable from 4 January will be available to view in online journey planners such as www.nationalrail.co.uk from Friday 31 December. Timetables from Monday 10 January will be available to check from early next week.