Great Britain’s Rail Delivery Group has announced that rail companies are adding more services to ensure people can travel with confidence as the country takes the next steps out of lockdown on 12 April.
Non-essential retail, personal care and hospitality businesses will reopen from 12 April while overnight stays and long-distance travel will also be again permitted in the country.
To ensure safe travel for passengers, rail companies are increasing their services and adding longer trains to provide more space to support social distancing.
The firms plan to add nearly 16,900 train services a day to almost 18,000 every weekday from 12 April.
Rail Delivery Group Nations and Regions director Robert Nisbet said: “In addition to enhanced cleaning and providing better information to help people avoid busier times, rail companies are increasing space on trains across the country by adding services as we take steps out of lockdown.
“We are closely monitoring passenger numbers as restrictions ease to carefully balance service levels with demand, and the need to run the railway efficiently for taxpayers.”
Train operators have also added more services on key routes for schoolchildren since British schools reopened on 8 March.
During the pandemic, approximately 1,500 additional people were recruited to clean the railway.
According to surveys conducted by independent passenger watchdog Transport Focus, approximately 90% of people are making train journeys in the past two weeks.
