Covid: Djokovic lands in Serbia and Covid shortages hit train services

Further cuts to train timetables have been made in response to Covid-related staff shortages. South Western Railway (SWR) said it was running 28% fewer weekday trains from Monday, compared with pre-pandemic levels, due to staff absences caused largely by the Omicron Covid variant, while Avanti West Coast, c2c and East Midlands Railway have also reduced services. The Rail Delivery Group’s latest figure for rail staff absences is at 11%. Rising Covid case numbers have led to large numbers of people self-isolating and being unable to go to work, while rail passenger numbers have also dropped because more people have been working from home, which has resulted in operators cutting the number of services on offer.