From Monday, 3 January, Transport for Wales (TfW) has cut more services from its emergency rail timetable.

In recent weeks there has been a considerable impact on rail services because of a significant increase in staff absences at both TfW and Network Rail because of the latest wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a result, from 22 December TfW introduced an emergency rail timetable amounting to a reduction in train services of between 10-15% from the timetable that had only been introduced 10 days earlier on 12 December.

However, staff absences are continuing to increase. To ensure that the company can provide a reliable service throughout this latest stage of the pandemic, a decision has been made that further cuts to services are necessary.

The new timetable sees a further 10-15% reduction in services from the timetable introduced on 22 December. The main reductions will be in those parts of the rail network suffering from particularly high staff absences and are in line with service reductions being introduced by other operators across the whole of the British rail network.

The new timetable will remain in place over the coming weeks but will be reviewed regularly as the rail industry in Wales TfW monitors the impact of the new Omicron variant on staff levels.

All passengers should check the Transport for Wales website at http://www.tfw.wales before travelling and follow the up-to-date guidance from the Welsh Government.

Customers who have already purchased tickets for services affected by the change can use their tickets on alternative TfW rail services. Alternatively, they can request a refund by visiting http://www.tfw.wales.

All TfW train services will be replaced by bus services on the following routes:

• Llandudno-Blaenau Ffestiniog
• Chester-Liverpool Lime Street
• Newport-Crosskey

TfW train services on the following routes will see a number of  cancelled throughout each day:

• Treherbert-Cardiff Central
• Pontypridd-Cardiff
• Cardiff-Barry Island/Bridgend
• Penarth-Cardiff-Rhymney
• Cardiff Central-Radyr via the City Line
• Cardiff Bay-Coryton

Jan Chaudhry-Van de Velde, Managing Director of TfW Rail, said: “We are very much dealing with the Omicron wave of Covid infections and, like many public service organisations, have seen a major rise in colleague absences over the last few weeks.

“It’s fundamental we continue to run as reliable a service as possible for our customers and therefore we are introducing a revised timetable from 3 January, reducing the risk of late notice cancellations.

“Wherever we can, we’ll use additional carriages made available due to the reduced timetable to run longer trains, which will help with social distancing. We’ll also provide supplementary road transport, where possible.

“We appreciate this will be frustrating for some customers, and we have not taken this decision lightly. We ask that all customers check online before they travel and follow current government advice. Our aim is to restore the timetable as soon as absence rates caused by this wave of the pandemic allow.”