UPDATED: Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern encourage customers to stagger journeys and check new train times

UPDATED WITH REVISED ADVICE FOR TIMES NOT TO TRAVEL

Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern is working in partnership with businesses as they prepare to reopen in line with Government advice. Customers are encouraged to support social distancing by avoiding travel, where possible, during the busiest times which are now between 6am and 7.30am.

People who are thinking of travelling are asked to check www.nationalrail.co.uk as an adjusted timetable with more peak trains is introduced from Monday, 6 July (a summary is included in the editor's notes, below). The busiest trains are now being highlighted in online journey planners.

To help passengers on their journeys, you should:

• Try to avoid the busiest times of the day between 6am and 7.30am and stagger your journeys
• Wear a mandatory face covering
• Book tickets online or use contactless payments
• Keep your distance where possible
• Carry hand sanitiser and wash your hands before and after travelling

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which runs the three companies, has summarised this advice in a video of top 10 tips.

GTR Chief Operating Officer Steve White said: “From 6 July we will have more peak services and longer trains on our busiest routes so please check before you travel and remember: you must wear a face covering and you should always wash or sanitise your hands before, and after, every journey.

“We are working with business organisations, and other stakeholders, to respond to the easing of lockdown measures but capacity remains limited by social distancing so, where possible, customers should avoid the busiest times of the day which are now between 6am and 7.30am.

“Online journey planners are a great way to check in advance if your train is normally busy.”

GTR is supporting social distancing with a wide range of measures (see photos below):

• One-way and queuing systems at the busiest stations
• 19,000 floor signs across the network and 25,000 train signs, posters, adverts and announcements reminding people to socially distance
• 1,000 touch-free hand sanitiser points have been put in at stations
• We have developed a staff app to monitor passenger volumes and movements to identify ‘hot spots’ across the network – uses data from trains, ticket sales, ticket gates, and from staff seeing where social distancing may not be being observed. We use this information to highlight the busiest trains in journey planners and modify our service where possible

To keep passengers and staff safe, there is an enhanced cleaning regime focused on touch points (see photos and video below):

• All 2,700 train carriages are sanitised every night and…
• … GTR has treated all its trains with a powerful new viruscide which sticks to surfaces, killing viruses for up to 30 days.
• This product is also being used to treat stations, offices and other staff locations such as depots.

Ends

Editor’s notes

Government advice can be read here: www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers

Improving services to support customers to travel

We have been working to respond to customer feedback and make improvements where we can to the last timetable change on 15 June 2020, to provide as much space on board as possible.

From 6 July:

Southern

• Increase in peak time metro services. The Sutton to London Victoria via Selhurst route will increase from two trains per hour to four trains per hour and London Bridge to Crystal Palace via Sydenham will operate at two trains per hour in peak hours.
• Reintroduction of direct services to Milton Keynes operating to Clapham Junction until the early evening.
• Longer trains between Redhill and London Victoria in peak hours, increasing space across the Brighton Main Line by joining longer trains to services to/from Reigate at Redhill.
• Increase in peak time services from Gatwick Airport, Horley, Salfords and Earlswood to London Victoria via Redhill.
• Longer trains between the Sussex Coast and London Victoria in peak hours.
• Additional peak services to London Victoria on the East Coastway (Eastbourne via Lewes) and London Victoria – Epsom.
• Additional peak services between London Bridge and the East Coastway (Eastbourne via Lewes) and London Bridge to the Arun Valley (Chichester via Horsham). Some of these services will be served by red Gatwick Express branded trains to enable Southern services to be lengthened elsewhere on the network.

Thameslink

• Additional peak-time services from East Grinstead and Littlehampton.
• Increase in frequency on the Catford Loop metro service (Orpington to Luton/Kentish Town) from two trains to four trains per hour.

• Reintroduction of two fast trains at Bedford (via Luton and St Albans) in the morning and evening peak.

Great Northern

• Higher frequency metro services between Welwyn Garden City / Hertford North and Moorgate to four per hour on both branches, creating an eight per hour service between Finsbury Park and Moorgate throughout most of the day. The turnarounds at Moorgate in the tunnel section have been limited to support social distancing, so this route is now at its maximum frequency.
• Additional peak fast services to /from Peterborough.
• Additional hourly Baldock to King’s Cross services.

• Additional Cambridge to Ely / King’s Lynn services in peak hours.
• Additional station stops at Letchworth and Royston as part of the Cambridge flyer fast services.