A train company has scrapped some of its services at Watford Junction Station following a sharp rise in the number of staff members being ‘pinged’.

London Northwestern Railway says it has made temporary changes to its timetables due to Covid-19 and the “ongoing impact of ‘Test and Trace’ notifications causing trains to be cancelled at short notice”.

It says it has seen the number of staff having to self-isolate quadruple in recent weeks.

The temporary changes affect services between Northampton and London and on the Abbey and Marston Vale lines.

From July 26 (Monday), the following weekday services will no longer run:

07.53 Bletchley – Euston

17.05 Euston – Watford Junction

17.43 Watford Junction – Euston

18.24 Euston – Northampton

On Saturdays, buses will run in place of trains on the Abbey Line (between Watford Junction – St. Albans Abbey) and the Marston Vale Line (Bedford – Bletchley).

The changes are set to be in place until September.

London Northwestern Railway’s Customer Experience director Lawrence Bowman said: “No one wants to see trains being cancelled, particularly at short notice. But we are experiencing more of this, across all our services, as increasing numbers of staff are getting ‘pinged’ by the Test and Trace app.

“We are sorry that we have had to make the decision to alter some services. However, the changes will help us run a more reliable and consistent timetable for passengers across our network.”

Before the pandemic, the train operator recruited over 100 extra drivers but their training has also been delayed due to Covid restrictions.

The company now estimates it will take up to a year before all of its new train crew are qualified.