London Friday/Saturday evening tube strike extended until December

[alison]

"Night Tube strikes — until Sunday 4 December

The planned strike action on Friday and Saturday nights on the Central, Jubilee and Victoria lines between 20:30 and 04:29 the following morning, has been extended until Sunday 4 December and will now also impact the Northern line.

While Night Tube services are still running regularly, if you are using these lines on a Friday or Saturday between 19:00 and 06:00 the next morning, you should check before you travel.

For the latest information on how services are expected to run, please visit our website.

 

Tube

Central, Jubilee, Northern and Victoria lines

On Fridays and Saturday nights we expect:

• A regular service on the Central line(at least two trains per hour through central London)
• A regular service on the Jubilee line (at least three trains per hour).
• A regular service on the Northern line (four trains per hour expected through central London)
• A good service on the Victoria line

If you are using the Central, Jubilee, Northern or Victoria lines on a Friday or Saturday between 19:00 and 06:00 the next morning, you should check before you travel.

 

https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/tube-strike?cid=tube-strike

 

It's been bad enough trying to avoid Fridays and Saturdays when booking for the ROH, where I do at least have alternative options, but this is going to make it really difficult for Sadler's Wells, too  

[Dawnstar]

Oh goodness, how utterly infuriating. I am so glad that for the last few years I've been walking from Kings Cross to the ROH rather than being dependent on the tube. (Even if my muscles are still aching from Tuesday night when I had to race back to Kings Cross after the first night of Cav&Pag didn't finish until after 10.35pm & my last train before the dreaded rail replacement buses kicked in was at 23.09.) Presumably the few tubes that are still running per hour will be absolutely rammed too.

[Suffolkgal]

I’ve been missing curtain calls to get back to Suffolk on the last train. Honestly. 2 Central Line trains an hour! Doesn’t bear thinking about - this started last winter and clearly has not achieved much!

[alison]

It's perhaps worth pointing out that - with regard to Sadler's Wells - the 341 bus has been rerouted and now goes down Farringdon Road and right past Farringdon station, where there are interchange opportunities with Thameslink services and the Elizabeth Line, as well as other tube lines.

[LinMM]

The 341 is a bus I use regularly and great for the bits of central London I tend to use. It’s easy to pick up at the Aldwych less than 5 mins walk from ROH 

It goes to Angel after stopping right outside Sadlers Wells. It’s great for Ludgate Circus too where Thameslink station is. I think it starts at Waterloo station and ends way up Tottenham way somewhere. 

[alison]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

It’s great for Ludgate Circus too where Thameslink station is.

 

(Except that I don't think there are any trains from City Thameslink after mid-evening)

[zxDaveM]

5 hours ago, alison said:

 

(Except that I don't think there are any trains from City Thameslink after mid-evening)

 

they run from there (going south) until just before 11pm

[Fonty]

The problems start earlier than the times indicated, of course.  I took Jubilee line yesterday at about 18.00.  The trains were coming at 6 minute intervals then, as opposed to the usual 2 or 3 minute intervals, and this is a line that is usually always full no matter what time you travel.  So the issue is not just the time lapse between trains, but whether you will be able to squeeze on to it once it arrives. 🙁

[Emeralds]

I was utterly annoyed that Angel station was closed again yesterday (just before BRB’s last night  show!!) and this wasn’t relayed to the National Rail timetable website with reasonable advance warning. After all, it had been open on Friday evening pre show and post show. I had already been delayed by my train from the south being cancelled “because insufficient staff showed up to work” so time was running tight. Luckily our Tube driver got the news and announced it just as the doors opened at the previous stop, Old Street. 

 

The Old Street Tube station staff seemed to have had a bit of warning because they’d helpfully written a few signs that said “For Angel Tube station, please exit at Subway Exit 4 and take bus 341, 205 or 214.” which helped us avoid queueing to ask for information, We got out and just managed to sprint to and board a waiting 341 several seconds before the driver pulled away! (Arrived at 7.28!!!)

 

For anyone going to Royal Opera House or the Coliseum   the nearest rail stations if your ticket allows, are:

1) Charing Cross (virtually across the street from Coliseum, 15-20 min walk to ROH) which is approximately 10min or less from London Bridge if you’re not on the Kent/Southeastern routes, or

2) City Thameslink (20-25 minute walk to ROH but about 30-35min walk to the Coliseum) which is just after St Pancras International on Thameslink and several routes from north. Check the National Rail website timetable as City Thameslink often runs after 10pm.

 

Sadler’s Wells will be a nightmare to get to and get home from this summer and in autumn and early winter, as it was last night after the show. 

 

Bus 38 from Sadler’s Wells terminates at Victoria and buses 43 & 4 from outside Angel Tube terminate at London Bridge and Waterloo respectively, but these will be longer journey times than Tube, so be prepared for a long journey home if you come in from outside London.

Edited July 10, 2022 by Emeralds

[LinMM]

The No 4 bus no longer goes to Waterloo. It finishes at Blackfriars now so no longer serves the Aldwych or Waterloo as found out to my cost a few months back waiting in vain for it at National Theatre stop as it gets me a bit further along Upper st than 341

until somebody pointed out it didn’t stop there anymore!!  
Also as far as I know the 341 doesn’t serve Old Street …or at least not directly…. you’d have to do a fair bit of walking! I use the 341 every week from Aldwych to Angel near to where I stay in London and sometimes use again from Aldwych to Ludgate Circus ( though several buses do this trip) when going home after City Lit course. 
Sorry sound like a bus nerd but haven’t been on tube since summer of 2019 pre Covid because I kept fainting in the changeovers …very unusual for me…but think it was about air quality in the end and even though seem to be okay now it’s completely put me off so use the buses all the time now though sometimes it’s quicker to get off and walk!!! 
 

[alison]

12 hours ago, Emeralds said:

For anyone going to Royal Opera House or the Coliseum   the nearest rail stations if your ticket allows, are:

1) Charing Cross (virtually across the street from Coliseum, 15-20 min walk to ROH)

 

I think 5-10 min would be closer - probably nearer to 10.  I used to reckon 7 minutes to get back to Charing Cross after a performance.

 

Quote

Sadler’s Wells will be a nightmare to get to and get home from this summer and in autumn and early winter, as it was last night after the show.

 

Actually, I was surprisingly lucky last night: straight onto a 341, bus down to Royal Courts of Justice, then a quick walk to Temple tube and District/Circle along to Victoria in plenty of time for the train I'd almost missed on the first night of Don Quixote.  However, I should stress that the 341 isn't that frequent (I don't think - I'm not up-to-date on the timetable), Temple is a station with a bit of a history of being closed due to staff shortage, and combining a bus and tube journey is obviously going to be more expensive than tube alone.  Interchange at Farringdon with the Elizabeth Line, Thameslink and Circle, Metropolitan and I think Hammersmith & City lines might also be a possibility.

[capybara]

Goodness, Alison. You actually found Temple Station open? A very rare 'sighting' these days!!!

[Emeralds]

21 hours ago, LinMM said:

The No 4 bus no longer goes to Waterloo. It finishes at Blackfriars now so no longer serves the Aldwych or Waterloo as found out to my cost a few months back waiting in vain for it at National Theatre stop as it gets me a bit further along Upper st than 341

until somebody pointed out it didn’t stop there anymore!!  
Also as far as I know the 341 doesn’t serve Old Street …or at least not directly…. you’d have to do a fair bit of walking! I use the 341 every week from Aldwych to Angel near to where I stay in London and sometimes use again from Aldwych to Ludgate Circus ( though several buses do this trip) when going home after City Lit course. 
Sorry sound like a bus nerd but haven’t been on tube since summer of 2019 pre Covid because I kept fainting in the changeovers …very unusual for me…but think it was about air quality in the end and even though seem to be okay now it’s completely put me off so use the buses all the time now though sometimes it’s quicker to get off and walk!!! 
 

Thanks for the update about the number 4 bus, LinMM. I haven’t taken it recently and we were too time starved on Saturday to read the timetable....or we’d have missed the bus to Victoria and the last train home! 

 

Forum members, just to say there is a bus that went from Angel direct to Waterloo- another commuter mentioned it. Please double check at the bus stop or online on National Rail or TFL journey planner (literally type in those words) as routes do change on those strike days.

 

LinMM, the 341 stopped literally outside subway exit 4 of Old Street Tube when Angel Tube station was closed on Saturday  (half a minute walk or 10 second sprint). If it didn’t, I’d have missed Act 1.  It might be on a different route on non-strike/non-station closure days. Gotta say, these closures and strikes are confusing -even for someone who used to live in London!

[Emeralds]

It’s possible to combine an off peak travelcard with a rail ticket on some routes, so if going to a theatre that requires Tube and bus transfers as well as train, see if you can get that in (the National Rail website has accurate information about what can and cannot be combined.)   Then you get unlimited bus hopping if something or other is unexpectedly closed.

 

[Fonty]

Well I do still live in London.  Part time, admittedly, but been here over a fortnight now, and the first I knew about the Friday and Saturday evening strikes was reading about it here on this forum.  There may be notices up at my local tube station, but they are certainly not prominently displayed.  

[LinMM]

Oh dear hope they haven’t changed the 341 route since last week!! 
I’ve just got used to the new route! 
I just can’t keep up any more lol!! 
Last week it was the 341 which went from Angel to Waterloo but this week ….. heaven knows! 

Edited July 11, 2022 by LinMM

[alison]

2 hours ago, Fonty said:

Well I do still live in London.  Part time, admittedly, but been here over a fortnight now, and the first I knew about the Friday and Saturday evening strikes was reading about it here on this forum.  There may be notices up at my local tube station, but they are certainly not prominently displayed.  

 

I only knew about it because I actually bothered to open a (very rare) TfL Weekend travel update for once.  As for the tram strike 10 days ago, I didn't know about it until after it had started.  Fair scuppered my intended journey to Wimbledon.

 

LinMM, it's the 341 which goes to Waterloo - at least, it presumably still does, since I got off it at the Royal Courts of Justice.  Can't imagine where else it would be going to from there.

 

Capybara, I hadn't realised Temple was *that* bad ...

[Emeralds]

What with RB intending to raise ticket prices stratospherically and Sadler’s Wells virtually out of bounds for the weekends, I might end up taking up a new hobby for autumn/winter. Curling? Jazz (watching or playing)? 😆

[Peanut68]

Reading this & the bamboozlement of strikes/station closures/ change of bus routes/trains with replacement bus services etc makes me realise I’m not so mad afterall with always deciding to drive up from the South coast to attend SW/ROH/Coliseum! 
It’s a 3 hour 125+ mile drive door to door but it’s reliable plus I can determine costs (& if I plan cleverly I can avoid congestion charge & parking fees!!), I feel safe & pretty much it’s same timeframe each time. I guess it’s not really very green & I do feel bad for that….(hybrid car to help appease that guilt??) What I perhaps need to do is get a few ballet buddies on board so it’s not just me in car but it’s usually a last minute ticket purchase & plan to go! The main stress is getting away ensuring ping food in fridge for Hubbie & son ‘to fend for themselves’ 🙄

And the inevitable guilt trip that I’m deserting them & that ballet is more important….🤔🤔🤔 Well….

Edited July 13, 2022 by Peanut68
Typo

[zxDaveM]

8 hours ago, Emeralds said:

Jazz (watching or playing)? 😆

 

niiiice

[alison]

I understand the strike action has been suspended.  Just as well - I was getting fed up at not being able to go out easily at weekends.  Now all I need is for the other half of my rail services to be reinstated ...