A REDUCED timetable between Kidderminster and Snow Hill is set to be introduced from August 2 due to staff shortages.

West Midlands Railway has said the changes 'should help us to run a more reliable timetable' and are due to 'the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on our staff resource.'

Between 10am and 6pm the hourly 15 minute past the hour service from Kidderminster to Snow Hill will no longer run.

Some other services or parts of some services will also be cancelled and rail replacement transport will be provided.

READ MORE

The company had recruited 100 drivers before the Covid pandemic, but restrictions have delayed driver training.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Railway said: "Before the pandemic started, we had begun recruiting extra drivers and guards to crew our new trains as part of our plans to develop our service and take into account the higher-than-average number of drivers due to retire around now.

"Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 and social distancing constraints, our driver training programme has been severely disrupted with over 25,000 training days lost.

"This has significantly increased the amount of time it takes trainees to become fully qualified train drivers.

"This combined with the recent impact of test and trace on our staff resource has led to an increase in on the day cancellations.

The driver depots on the Birmingham Snow Hill have the highest number of vacancies so have felt the full force of driver shortages.

Passengers are being urged to check their journeys before setting out as the number of train staff self isolating has quadrupled in recent weeks resulting in short notice cancellations

The changes will apply Monday to Saturday, with Sunday service remaining unchanged.