Almost 3,000 fewer trains are running per day than before Covid despite Boris Johnson ’s vow to ‘live with’ the virus.
Leaked industry data seen by the Mirror shows there were 132,000 rail services in the week ending March 20.
That is down by 19,000 since the 151,000 in the week ending 23 February 2020.
Rail services are battling Covid absences and a funding crisis - as there are still only 72% as many passengers travelling as pre-pandemic, the data shows.
Passenger numbers have risen as fast as a million a week, hitting 22.9million weekly journeys in the most recent figures.
But this is down from 31.8million weekly journeys pre-pandemic. And despite fares rising 3.8% last month, services are still being cut to save cash.
More cuts are planned in Yorkshire next month - leaving a two-hour, ten-minute gap between the 9.29pm and 11.39pm service from Leeds to Harrogate.
Labour, which obtained the leaked Rail Delivery Group data, blasted the figures just months after Tory ministers vowed to “protect and improve services” in the Integrated Rail Plan.
Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “The Conservatives should come clean and admit they are taking the axe to vital rail services across the country.
“This is the exact opposite of what the Conservatives promised, and will hit communities hard.
“To add insult to injury, last month they clobbered passengers with another brutal fare hike.”
The Rail Delivery Group said it was “only sensible” that services reflect the “new world” of passenger numbers that have “changed radically with the pandemic”, “so that the railway doesn’t take more than its fair share from the taxpayer”.
Asked if services would ever get back to what they were in early 2020, a spokesperson said: “Nothing is set in stone and we will continually monitor how passengers return and look to step up services where there is enough demand from passengers.”
It comes days after local leaders said they were “shafted” by Boris Johnson’s bus funding which went to fewer than half of eligible areas.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The railways experienced an unprecedented fall in passenger numbers during the pandemic.
“Not adjusting rail services would have been irresponsible and unfair on those taxpayers’ forced to foot the bill – many of whom do not use the railways.
“Instead, this Government committed almost £15bn to ensure vital services continued to run and key workers were able to keep using them.
“Whilst passengers are returning, it is important to ensure service levels reflect demand, which is still 25% less than in 2019, and we will keep working with operators to do so.”
