The end of the line for some train services

VIRUS-RELATED train cancellations are due to start today ahead of reduced timetables being rolled out next week.

The government has now advised against the use of public transport unless it is essential, but for many passengers it remains a necessity to get to work or visit relatives or those needing support.

And there has been reassurance from bus, rail and Metrolink operators that services will continue to run, albeit with reduced frequency in the coming days and weeks.

At a press conference yesterday, mayor Andy Burnham said tram station arrivals would likely be reduced from six to 12 minutes intervals, with more double trams rolled out to enable social distancing.

With bus operators also advising they will reduce services soon, the M.E.N. has spoken to Northern Trains, TransPennine Express and Avanti, which now runs the West Coast Mainline route from Manchester to London.

A spokesman for Northern, which operates local, commuter and rural services and long-distance routes linking major cities and towns such as Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, York, Manchester, Bradford, Preston and Blackpool,

said: “We already have a number of colleagues who are selfisolating so we expect cancellations to start from (today).

“As is likely in the rest of the industry, there will then be a reduced timetable put in place.”

He said they expected the new timetable to be ready by next week, adding: “We will communicate this to our customers at the earliest opportunity.”

A spokesman for TransPennine Express, which runs services from Manchester to Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Hull, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow as well as Manchester Airport, said they were running a full timetable – but this was likely to change soon as an increasing number of staff were self-isolating.

He added: “We are trying to run things as normal but there is likely to be an announcement later this week as passenger numbers have dropped off.” Trains and stations were being cleaned regularly, he said.

A spokesman for Avanti West Coast said they were still currently running a full timetable. He added: “We’re doing everything we can to help reduce the spread of coronavirus while we continue to operate a full timetable.”