South Western Railway has announced that it will be introducing a new timetable from Monday, February 21 that will see train services return to “pre-omicron” levels.

This decision comes as omicron-related staff shortages are reducing, and a growing number of people have returned to the railway following the work from home instruction being lifted.

This means that the SWR can increase the number of trains it runs without compromising reliability for customers.

The timetable will be almost identical to the one that served customers in December 2021 – including trains to and from Exeter St David’s and Weymouth, as well as a more frequent service on the Shepperton line.

Due to staff absences caused by the Omicron variant, SWR was forced to introduce a temporary timetable.

SWR Managing Director Claire Mann said: “It has been a difficult period for our railway and the customers it serves, with significant staff shortages giving us no choice but to temporarily reduce our timetable last month.

“With staff availability now consistently improving, we are pleased to be able to announce this uplift, which will essentially see service levels return to where they were prior to the spread of Omicron.

“More and more people are returning to our railway, and this timetable will ensure that we match capacity and demand while delivering reliability for customers”.

Details of service can be found here