Greater Anglia have announced in response to the Coronavirus outbreak, that a reduced train service will be in effect from Monday 23rd March.
The general plan is to run something like a Sunday train service with extra trains at the beginning and end of the day so that people can get to and from work.
Some routes will see an hourly service, others such as the service between Hertford East and Stratford and between Southend Victoria and London will see a half-hourly service.
Further details will be on the Greater Anglia website soon, they have published the following service summary so far:-
Half-hourly
Hertford East to Stratford
Southend to London
Hourly
Norwich to London intercity services
Ipswich to London (in addition to the intercity service)
Clacton to London – but no services to or via Colchester Town
Cambridge to London
Norwich to Cambridge – trains will not run through to Stansted Airport, so passengers can change at Ely or Cambridge for onward connections
Norwich to Sheringham, Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Norwich to Lowestoft
Ipswich to Lowestoft, Ipswich to Felixstowe and Ipswich to Cambridge
Thorpe-le-Soken to Walton-on-the-Naze
Manningtree to Harwich
Marks Tey to Sudbury
Witham to Braintree (shuttle all day with no direct trains to London)
Wickford to Southminster
Stansted Airport to London
Two-hourly
Ipswich to Peterborough
What did the officials say?
Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director said:
“This reduced timetable reflects the mix of factors affecting train travel in these challenging times. We need to continue to provide a reliable service for those who are working and still need to travel.
“At the same time, we need to run a timetable where the service can still be provided consistently, as some of our staff may need to self-isolate. It also reflects the significant reduction in the numbers of passengers travelling.
He added:
“We will keep the timetable under review to ensure that it is appropriate for the emerging situation. Our first priority will continue to be to do everything we can to protect the safety and wellbeing of our customers, our employees and the communities we serve.
At this challenging time, I'd like to thank everyone in the Greater Anglia team who is working so hard to keep the railway, a vital public service, running for the region and the country.”
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At least some of the Class 720s are still being tested on those lines as mentioned before Greater Anglia can start using their new trains in service which will replace the Class 317, Class 321, Class 360 (cascaded to East Midlands Railway) and Class 379 (which could be cascaded to GWR, GTR Great Northern or to be sent for stored). And the Class 745/1 also on test runs will soon be operating on the Liverpool Street-Stansted Airport (Stansted Express) service.
Also I do feel sorry for passengers using Greater Anglia and Stansted Express services because of the Coronavirus outbreak. And what about passengers using c2c. They too will also be affected.