South Western Railway split London-Weymouth and London-Exeter services

Under the new timetable, from Mondays to Fridays, there will be no through services from London to stations west of Bournemouth.

Similarly, on the Exeter route, there will be only one through train in one direction.

The decision has affected a large number of rail users, including those from Basingstoke, who now have to change trains at Bournemouth or Salisbury, resulting in longer journey times and a loss of convenience.

READ MORE: South Western Railway to introduce new timetable amid staff shortages

Railfuture, a national not for profit company campaigning for a bigger and better railway in Britain, called the decision a new low point in the provision of rail services by the SWR.

Stewart Palmer, a Railfuture director said: “There is no evidence from recent weeks that the levels of sickness by staff from Covid has forced these changes on SWR on these two routes."

"SWR have already reduced the attractiveness of these services by reducing frequencies, extending average journey times and the withdrawal of on-train refreshments. They seem to display a cavalier disregard for the needs of rail users. These changes will just drive passengers away to higher carbon means of transport. Rail users and their elected politicians, both local and national, need to make their voices heard to reverse this madness.”

Basingstoke railway station

While announcing the temporary timetable, the SWR had said the changes have been made due to Covid.

Recently SWR staff shortages, exacerbated by sickness or Covid isolation, has led to sudden train cancellations and the providers hope to minimise this through the new measures.

The temporary timetable changes will remain under review, and journey planners will be updated on a week-by-week basis with SWR urging customers to check their journey as close to their time of travel as possible.

Here are the changes that have been announced so far:

• The Waterloo to Exeter services will split at Salisbury

• The Waterloo to Weymouth services will split at Bournemouth

• The Shepperton branch will reduce to hourly

• Waterloo to Alton will reduce to hourly

• Waterloo to Basingstoke will reduce to hourly

• The last train of each day will be earlier than at present

SWR’s Managing Director Claire Mann commented: “The spread of the Omicron variant has had a significant impact on our railway, with fewer people using the train and staff shortages impacting on our ability to consistently deliver the current timetable.

“Having assessed demand and spoken to our industry colleagues, we believe this new timetable is the most effective means of ensuring our customers receive a reliable service, with short-notice cancellations minimised.

“Journey planners will be updated on a week-by-week basis, with updates taking place towards the end of each week. Customers should check their journey as close to their time of travel as possible.”

SEE ALSO: Hartley Wintney villagers wave goodbye to No 7 bus service

The core timetables are available via the SWR website, but customers are urged to check their journey as close to their time of travel as possible.

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