London Northwestern Railway pledges to keep trains running in lockdown with a warning: 'Our staff are not immune'

Rail services will continue running despite pleas to avoid non-essential travel during the second Covid-19 lockdown.

London Northwestern Railway, which operates services between London and Midlands via Northampton, Milton Keynes and Hemel Hempstead, says it will continue to run trains for those who need them after the lockdown kicks in on Thursday with no changes to the current timetable.

Bosses warn, however, that passengers need to check their journeys before travelling with the possibility of Covid-19 impacting on the availability of train crews at short notice.

LNR customer experience director, Lawrence Bowman, said: "Throughout the pandemic we have played our part in the country's response by keeping train services running for those who need them.

"We would like to reassure our customers that this will continue throughout this period of new restrictions and we will continue running our advertised timetable for those who need to travel.

"Our staff are not immune from Covid-19 and so I would urge passengers to check their journeys before setting out for the station in case of any unavoidable short-notice cancellations."

Services have slowly returned to near pre-lockdown levels after being slashed as passenger numbers slumped by 85 per cent between March and July.

Unnecessary travel is again being discouraged for four weeks from tomorrow as part of a range of measures as numbers of Covid-19 cases have soared again..

But Government travel advice during the period of enhanced restrictions states that people 'can and should' still travel for important journeys, which include:

■ Travelling to work when you cannot work from home

■ Travelling to education or for caring responsibilities

■ Attending hospital, GP or other medical appointments

■ Visiting venues permitted to remain open, such as essential retail

■ Exercising if you need to make a short journey to do so

Passengers can check live travel information at www.lnr.uk/plan or follow @LNRailway on Twitter. Customers are also being reminded that wearing a face covering on board trains remains mandatory, unless exempt on medical grounds.