Southern has cancelled trains to and from London Victoria for two weeks as a result of pandemic-related staff shortages. Disruption to rail schedules around the country has been worsening over the Christmas period. On the extensive network run by CrossCountry, industrial action is affecting services.

Southern has now announced that none of its trains will run to or from London Victoria until 10 January owing to “coronavirus isolation and sickness”. London Victoria is one of the UK’s busiest stations, and is normally connected by Southern to locations such as Brighton, Eastbourne and Portsmouth.

Meanwhile, CrossCountry has said a strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union means it will run “a very limited timetable” on New Year’s Eve.

It will not operate any trains between Aberdeen and Edinburgh; Glasgow Central and Edinburgh; Derby and Nottingham; Peterborough and Stansted; Cheltenham Spa and Cardiff Central; Newton Abbot and Paignton; and Plymouth and Penzance.

A heavily reduced service will be in place between Edinburgh and Plymouth; Manchester Piccadilly and Bournemouth; and Birmingham New Street and Peterborough. The strike involves train managers and senior conductors, in a dispute over the role of guards.

Many other operators in addition to Southern have cancelled trains owing to the pandemic. They include Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Greater Anglia, London North Eastern Railway, Northern, ScotRail, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales.

The suspension of Southern’s London Victoria services means it will not serve Clapham Junction, Wandsworth Common or Battersea Park.

Planned resignalling work at London Victoria had already resulted in most Southern trains due to serve the station between 27 December and 3 January being diverted to run to and from London Bridge. This was timed to coincide with the festive period when demand for travel is lower.

RMT members employed by Gate Gourmet are involved in a strike at Edinburgh Waverley on New Year’s Eve as part of a long-running dispute over allegations of bullying.

The RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, said: “The disruption to services from the New Year’s Eve strike action is wholly down to these greedy private companies on our railways seeking to squeeze out every penny they can by hammering down on safety, jobs and workplace dignity. We are ready for a new year of campaigning and action on all fronts.”

• This article was amended on 31 December 2021 to make clear that a reference to RMT strike action applies to CrossCountry trains, rather than Southern’s services.