Northern, LNER and Trans-Pennine Express announce "greatly reduced" timetables as Covid-19 pandemic continues

As the coronavirus pandemic continues and thousands of people enter self-isolation, train companies have reported dwindling passenger numbers and difficulty maintaining staff levels.

As a result, London North Eastern Railway and Trans-Pennine Express have confirmed that they will launch alternate timetables on Monday, while Northern have announced cancellations from today (Friday, March 20).

A spokesperson for LNER, said: "Our new, temporary weekday timetable will run from Monday 23 March. Weekend services will be confirmed in the coming days.

"This is a fast-moving situation, so there will likely be further changes following this, and we will keep our colleagues and customers informed."

Under the new timetable, there will be 44 fewer trains will between Wakefield and London each day, while many services will also terminate early.

Meanwhile, Northern confirmed that cancellations would be in place from today, with dozens of routes across Yorkshire cancelled.

All passengers should check their routes "immediately" before travel, Northern said.

Trans-Pennine Express have also warned that they will operate a greatly reduced frequency timetable from Monday, with services through Leeds, Batley and Dewsbury affected.

A spokesperson said: "Our staff are not immune to the effects of the Corona Virus outbreak and it has become increasingly difficult to operate our normal timetable as a number of our personnel have become unable to come to work.

"To ensure we can operate a basic service to keep essential workers moving, an amended timetable will apply on all our routes until further notice."

View the full LNER timetable here, Trans-Pennine Express here, or click here to view the Northern website.