Great Western Railway, West Midlands Railway and CrossCountry will be operating amended train services at Cotswold Line stations from Monday, March 23, due to the coronavirus.
The move follows talks between the railway industry and the Government and reflects the advice to avoid all but essential travel as part of measures to try to limit the spread of the virus.
The train operators are prioritising key routes, to ensure that essential workers will still be able to get to and from their workplaces.
Planned service patterns are as follows:
- An hourly GWR service will operate both ways between London Paddington and Worcester via Oxford and the Cotswold Line
- An hourly GWR service will operate both ways between Bristol Temple Meads and Gloucester, with some services extended to and from Cheltenham, Worcester and Great Malvern.
Click here for more information about GWR services.
- An hourly WMR service will operate both ways between Birmingham New Street and Hereford, via Bromsgrove, Droitwich, Worcester and Great Malvern
- An hourly WMR service will operate both ways between Birmingham Snow Hill and Worcester via Stourbridge, Kidderminster and Droitwich.
Click here for more information about WMR services.
An hourly CrossCountry service will operate both ways between Cardiff, Newport, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Worcestershire Parkway, Birmingham, Derby and Nottingham.
Click here for more information about CrossCountry services.
Detailed timetable information will be uploaded into online journey planners, including the National Rail website as soon as possible, with passengers advised to check for the times of trains that will be running on Monday from the middle of the day on Sunday.
Rules about ticket validity are also being amended – check with the relevant operator before travelling – and passengers are being asked to use card and contactless payment whenever possible, to minimise the amount of banknotes and coins that staff have to handle.