A TRAIN company is temporarily revising its timetable from this weekend to include more off-peak services for essential travellers.

Greater Anglia will begin the changes from this Sunday (February 14) on lines such as the London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria route.

About 73 per cent of the normal number of services operating before the pandemic will run.

The move is in response to lower passenger numbers due to Covid restrictions.

Managing director Jamie Burles said: “We will continue to monitor passenger numbers and customer feedback and adjust the timetable as necessary.

“We are working hard to keep rail passengers safe, with enhanced cleaning and sanitisation of trains and stations and measures to make social distancing easier.

“Travellers are reminded that it’s mandatory to wear a face covering on our trains and stations.”

Main changes to normal services under the revised timetable are:

• Hourly intercity service between Norwich and London Liverpool Street all week

• Three trains an hour Monday to Fridays between Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria/Braintree/Ipswich/Clacton-on-Sea

• One train every two hours off peak Monday to Fridays between Wickford and Southminster, Marks Tey and Sudbury, Colchester and Walton-on-the-Naze, and Manningtree and Harwich

• One train every two hours all day Saturday and Sundays between Wickford and Southminster, Marks Tey and Sudbury, Colchester and Walton-on-the-Naze, and Manningtree and Harwich

• One train every two hours on Sundays between Witham and Braintree

• Two or three trains an hour on the Stansted Express route Monday to Fridays, with two trains an hour at weekends

• Two trains an hour peak time between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street, with Kings Lynn to London Liverpool Street reduced to one train in either direction

• One train an hour off peak on the Bishops Stortford to Stratford and Meridian Water to Stratford routes, with some additional peak time cancellations, Mondays to Fridays, with one train an hour all day at the weekend

A Saturday service will operate on Greater Anglia’s regional routes on Monday to Fridays and Saturdays, with the following amendments:

• Two-hourly off-peak service on Norwich to Cambridge/Stansted Airport, Norwich to Sheringham, Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Ipswich to Felixstowe.

• Some cancellations of more frequent services on Norwich to Lowestoft and Ipswich to Lowestoft routes.

Ipswich to Cambridge services will be reduced to two trains every three hours, all week. Ipswich to Peterborough services are unchanged.

On Sundays, a two-hourly service will operate on Norwich to Cambridge/Stansted Airport, Norwich to Sheringham, Norwich to Great Yarmouth, Norwich to Lowestoft, Ipswich to Lowestoft and Ipswich to Felixstowe routes.

Full details can be found on the Greater Anglia website.