hetismij2

There will be three days of national rail strikes on June 21, 23 and 25. Also a tube strike on June 21st.
The days between the strike there will be disruption to services.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...ble-job-losses

If you have a ticket for those days and are unable to travel you can get a refund.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...tickets-bought

crellston

Whilst it is possible this industrial action will be called off, probably at the last minute, I would recommend that anyone visiting the UK have a plan B.

Due to the timing of those three days of action, anyone travelling on public transport that week should expect massive disruption for the whole week.

Welcome to our “summer of discontent “!

bilboburgler

Plan B in preparation.

cdnyul

How will anyone tell the difference ?

hetismij2

This post is to inform people, not to get political.

crellston

I agree hetismj2. Suffice to say that , if anyone is contemplating using public transport in the UK this summer, think twice! An agreement may be reached to avoid industrial action but, for a variety of reasons, I am not hopeful.

annhig

We shouldn't forget the long distance bus network which serves most places in the UK. Obviously the roads will be more crowded but it would most probably be cheaper than hiring a car.

UK Public Transport Maps & Timetables | Information & Resources

Moderator1

To that end we have deleted a political comment, references to to that post, and a few comments about moderation.

janisj

I had read about the three day strikes but what I haven't seen . . . Has there been any discussion/reports of strikes or work actions later in the summer?

cdnyul

My apologies for a cheap shot.

crellston

The reason for that is that the unions are required by law to give 14 days notice of industrial action. The aim of the rail union has always been to impose maximum disruption for minimum loss of members wages. Hence 3 strike days in one week (it screws up travel for the entire week). If I had to guess, if these strikes go ahead, they will then make a series of rolling announcements of further action for the remainder of the summer.

Throughout the summer we will be spending time in both Oxfordshire and London and I would have used the train for at least some of those trips, booking tickets way ahed for best prices. No way am I going to do that now so it will be the car all the way. I am imagining the traffic is going to be even more horrendous than normal. A shame as with petrol fast heading to £2 per litre, the rail fares are starting to look almost reasonble.

If the situation is not resolved quickly then I would urge anyone visiting the UK to careful examine their plans, especially if travelling around the country, perhaps cut down on the number of destination or get a bike!

janisj

My next visit is in July and totally London based so no train trips except maybe the Eliz. Line from/to the airport so as long at tfl drivers don't go out in solidarity I'bb fine.

Oops -- forgot --- train from waterloo to HCP and back, Will have to work on a potential Plan B

crellston

If it is " good" news, we should know by next week before the scheduled industrial action happens. If not work on your plan B! Buses are my preferred option much of time, at least where no changes are needed. We used our bikes a lot over the last couple of years but traffic will be horrendous on strike days. Yet to resort to the now ubiquitous electric scooters! I have no doubt Uber rates will sky rocket on strike days

Secondary strike action is illegal but TFL unions have their own issues present!

This has just reminded me that we are meeting up with some American friends who are in London for a few days before heading up to Scotland. I had better email them with aheads up!

Tulips

During the strike on June 6 the busses were ok if you avoided rush hour, though they did skip some stops when the bus was too full.
Taxi was not too hard to find. Supposedly the Central Line had a limited service, but the stations we tried were closed. The Elizabeth Line was working but we didn't use it. If you are already in Central London, it is not a huge problem, you can walk, use the bus or taxi/uber.
Bikes were available in our area, but a quick look on the app showed all stations in the areas we wanted to go to were full. So you can take a bike, but finding an open slot to return it in a central area could be difficult.
If you are arriving in London on a strike day it's a huge inconvenience. People are very p.ssed off about the strikes. Staff cannot get into work, a big problem in a city where most shop, restaurant and service employees cannot live anywhere near the centre. So in addition to the transport disruption, count on places being closed because staff cannot get in.

stokebailey

Annhig, valuable bus link. Thank you!

annhig

My pleasure, stokebailey. Are you heading our way soon?

stokebailey

hi, ann. I thought I replied earlier. Forgive me if duplicate.

I have a week solo first of September until Hannah meets me for a London week. Then with Bob for a week in Avignon and a couple of London buffer buffejust in case. I don't guess you get up to London much?

cummingsfamily7

We will be in London for 10 days during the strikes. Should I even try to make plans in advance or just see what's happening when we get there? We had thought we'd spend a few days in London and then perhaps taking a train to Scotland or train/ferry to Ireland. It's a bit of a last minute trip - it seems that it's worked out well that we didn't have a solid plan months months ago, as we'd likely be revising it now anyways. Maybe best to stay in London or take the Eurostar to Belgium?

hetismij2

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/industrial-action/

Good site to look at and keep an eye on. Some plans for the strike announced today, more due on Friday I believe.

crellston

When are you planning on coming? Hotel rates in London for June and beyond have skyrocketed, maybe 2or 3 times normal rates. Hope you have some booked already, My guess it is partly down to the strikes and partly dues to a resurgence of demand. Unless these strikes are called off at the 11th hour, I would think twice about going anywhere by public transport in the UK. Perhaps rent a car? Not sure if Eurostar will be affected. in addition to the site linked above sign up to https://tfl.gov.uk