Wot - no more strikes in my diary?

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

The train drivers strike on the 1st and 5th of October now being widely reported in the media including on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62923999

I wonder if that’s what ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) were expecting or did they think the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) would keep stum until after the queen’s funeral? Do they even care when people find out?

[Timmer]

RAIL magazine’s Philip Haigh reporting RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) planning to also strike on the 1st of October but doesn’t want operators taliking about it.
https://twitter.com/philatrail/status/1570782162907172875?s=21&t=1CWfEYxUdErgZqEOtNbdQA

[TaplowGreen]

The train drivers strike on the 1st and 5th of October now being widely reported in the media including on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62923999

I wonder if that’s what ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) were expecting or did they think the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) would keep stum until after the queen’s funeral? Do they even care when people find out?

London Marathon on 2 October too - if they want to lose public sympathy, that'll be a pretty good way of doing it.

TOCs quite right to provide as much notice to customers as possible.

[Timmer]

TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) websites now showing the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) will also strike on the 1st of October.

[TaplowGreen]

Keen to get some expert advice on behalf of a friend who is tentatively planning a trip from London to Cornwall sometime between 1 and 7 October - if the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) and ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) strikes go ahead on the dates flagged, is it realistically likely that the whole week will be disrupted to a greater or lesser extent?

He is slightly disabled and not really physically up to coping with rammed trains or short notice changes of plans.

Any advice appreciated

[ChrisB]

You don't say how long for.....go on the 3rd, 4th or 7th and he'll be fine.

[Timmer]

Best avoid the day after a strike as GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) tend to axe all the semifasts to/from the SW leaving the fasts to pick up the slack. Combine this with people not being able to travel the day before and you are left with some very busy trains.

[LiskeardRich]

ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) 1st and 5th October. Won’t be announced until after mourning period ends, but train bosses have been notified under 14 days rule on Friday.

LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) have pulled all of their services out of booking search engines for those dates returning “no fares available” as per screen shot attached

[froome]

I am going to ask a similar question to Taplow Green's. I am attending a conference in Yorkshire on the weekend of October 1st. Fortunately I had already decided to travel up there on the Thursday, so I'm not expecting any undue problems then. However, it had been my intention to then spend the next week from Monday to Thursday using a 4 in 8 day rover ticket to explore some of the area - I would probably use the NW explorer ticket as that includes as far east as Leeds, and would allow me to travel up to Cumbria which I wish to do. Obviously one of those days (the Wednesday) is now a strike day, but I could extend my stay by a day and use the ticket on the Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, though I would have to travel back to Bath later on the Friday.

So I was wondering just how busy/delayed/cancelled trains are likely to be on the 4th and 6th, as I would wish to make full use of the ticket on those days if I could. Any advice appreciated.

[TaplowGreen]

Best avoid the day after a strike as GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) tend to axe all the semifasts to/from the SW leaving the fasts to pick up the slack. Combine this with people not being able to travel the day before and you are left with some very busy trains.

Yes thanks for this (and to all those who have offered advice), with the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) looking at 3rd and 6th October too perhaps the following weekend would be the best bet (8th?)

[Mark A]

For the rail roving, would you continue to be based in Leeds? There's hopefully enough of a network available to you that you'll be able to work around any missing services to either side of the strike day.

The North West Rover, it's not in the National Rail website's list - but Northern list it on their site - so perhaps it's just that the National Rail compilers have slightly lost the plot with that gargantuan list of theirs...

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/rangers_and_rovers.aspx#N

Mark

[froome]

For the rail roving, would you continue to be based in Leeds? There's hopefully enough of a network available to you that you'll be able to work around any missing services to either side of the strike day.

The North West Rover, it's not in the National Rail website's list - but Northern list it on their site - so perhaps it's just that the National Rail compilers have slightly lost the plot with that gargantuan list of theirs...

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/rangers_and_rovers.aspx#N

Mark

It is called Freedom of the North West. I lose track of what names each rover has now - they seem to change ever time I look at them! (and increase in number).

No I won't be based in Leeds, but will be nearby on the Monday morning. I was hoping to move around the north-west, so be based in different towns each night, but I'm quite flexible in my plans (to the extent that none of this might happen and I just return home from Leeds).

My guess is that services will be reasonably normal on the Tuesday apart from perhaps stopping early in the evening and being generally busier than normal (?) but that on Thursday there will be quite a bit of disruption. If that is the case, I can probably work around it, and accept that I wouldn't get as complete value from the rover ticket than I might have had otherwise.

[IndustryInsider]

Yes thanks for this (and to all those who have offered advice), with the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) looking at 3rd and 6th October too perhaps the following weekend would be the best bet (8th?)

It looks like my source for the RMT on 3rd October is probably wrong as they would have to give notice today, so perhaps they'll be a largely normal service on 3rd and 4th?

[Timmer]

It looks like my source for the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) on 3rd October is probably wrong as they would have to give notice today, so perhaps they'll be a largely normal service on 3rd and 4th?

I think it will all become clearer come Tuesday.

[TaplowGreen]

Yes thanks for this (and to all those who have offered advice), with the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) looking at 3rd and 6th October too perhaps the following weekend would be the best bet (8th?)

It looks like my source for the RMT on 3rd October is probably wrong as they would have to give notice today, so perhaps they'll be a largely normal service on 3rd and 4th?

RMT announce Strike on 1 October, ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) confirmed 1 & 5 October.

https://twitter.com/RMTunion/status/1572207856983674884?t=cJB0ndOYJKBLI99LMQHn4A&s=19