TEMPORARY changes are being made to the Weymouth to Waterloo line next week due to staff shortages caused by Covid.

From Monday, January 17, South Western Railway (SWR) will be introducing a new timetable to a number of its services, with the Waterloo to Weymouth services being split at Bournemouth.

SWR has said that the emergence of Omicron has necessitated the need for a new temporary timetable, with staff shortages across SWR having led to unavoidable short-notice cancellations.

These temporary timetable changes will remain under review going forward.

Commenting, SWR’s Managing Director Claire Mann said: “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.”

Updates will take place towards the end of each week, so customers are advised to check before they travel via www.southwesternrailway.com.