Ongoing London public transport strike action thread

[Dawnstar]

1 hour ago, Beryl H said:

Good news for me for the 26th July, can't make out what's happening on the 4th and 6th August yet, that's the ASLEF overtime ban on national trains.

 

Assuming it's the same as other overtime bans, including this week's, it'll mean fewer trains but there still should be a usable service. For example this week when I went down to London on Monday I found there was one fast train an hour between Cambridge & London and back rather than the usual fast train every half hour. So not ideal but bearable.

 

I was a bit annoyed to see earlier that the tube strikes have been cancelled when all the recent rail strikes have gone ahead. (I am currently quite hacked off with the strikes because I couldn't get to the Nozze di Figaro I should have seen last night, making the fifth time I've had theatregoing stopped by rail strikes in just over a year.)

Edited July 21, 2023 by Dawnstar

[Emeralds]

I’ve seen 2 news clips today (Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail) saying that the rail strike and ASLEF overtime ban next fortnight (which would have affected the Carlos at 50 show on 29 July and the Australian Ballet shows on 2-5 Aug) are being suspended while there is some progress made on talks.

 

Possibly because it’s Sunday and other newspapers haven’t been updated, and even the two publications’ own websites still have the old news up, I’m not really sure what to believe now! Guess I’ll hold on to our tickets until we get more confirmation nearer the performance dates. 

[Guest oncnp]

20 hours ago, Emeralds said:

I’ve seen 2 news clips today (Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail) saying that the rail strike and ASLEF overtime ban next fortnight (which would have affected the Carlos at 50 show on 29 July and the Australian Ballet shows on 2-5 Aug) are being suspended while there is some progress made on talks.

 

Possibly because it’s Sunday and other newspapers haven’t been updated, and even the two publications’ own websites still have the old news up, I’m not really sure what to believe now! Guess I’ll hold on to our tickets until we get more confirmation nearer the performance dates. 

 

No such luck

Railways set for fresh disruption as Aslef union announces new overtime ban for train drivers | Evening Standard

 

and

 

Train drivers announce new week-long overtime ban in England | Rail industry | The Guardian

 

Edited July 24, 2023 by oncnp

[Emeralds]

Thanks, @oncnp, yes it was most disappointing. And it turns out those two publications meant RMT & ASLEF involvement in the Tube strike, not the rail strikes/overtime bans that both unions are doing. I see the two publications have now edited their web articles  for clarification. So basically more people will be using cars, taxis and private cabs, and the buses will be jam packed.  

Edited July 25, 2023 by Emeralds

[Geoff]

Does anyone have a way of finding out whether a particular Overground station will be open this Saturday? The official websites only seem to say

 

a) the Overground will be running as the line is not impacted by the strikes

 

b) but “some” Overground stations will be impacted by the rail strikes and so will be closed.

Maybe they won’t know until Saturday when they see who turns up? Or is there some way of checking in advance?

 

 

 

[alison]

Not sure.  I've just tried one line which is covered jointly by the Overground and by a national rail service, and that seems to be running normally on Saturday.  But I'd check nearer the time just to be sure.

[Geoff]

4 minutes ago, alison said:

Not sure.  I've just tried one line which is covered jointly by the Overground and by a national rail service, and that seems to be running normally on Saturday.  But I'd check nearer the time just to be sure.

What did you use to check? 

[alison]

The National Rail website.

[LinMM]

Stations usually close when the RMT Union is taking action. 
As far as I know they are not on Saturday ….it’s the ASLEF Union which affects train drivers rather than railway workers. 
So in theory stations should be open but there might not be any trains lol! 
However I’m not sure whether the overland is similar to the tube or national rail lines. If it’s connected to the tube the trains should be running normally if it’s connected to national rail lines there will be few trains as this strike is still on for 29th. 

[Geoff]

12 hours ago, LinMM said:

Stations usually close when the RMT Union is taking action. 
As far as I know they are not on Saturday ….it’s the ASLEF Union which affects train drivers rather than railway workers. 
So in theory stations should be open but there might not be any trains lol! 
However I’m not sure whether the overland is similar to the tube or national rail lines. If it’s connected to the tube the trains should be running normally if it’s connected to national rail lines there will be few trains as this strike is still on for 29th. 

Apologies, I was unintentionally confusing. My question is about some rather unclear warnings regarding this Saturday’s Overground lines (not overland). It appears that Overground trains will be running as usual but that certain Overground stations may not open as they are impacted by the strikes. 
 

My question is how best to as ascertain in advance which stations are not going to open (I presume Overground trains will just run through those stations without stopping). 

[Emeralds]

After boring fellow members (sorry) with my constant grumbles about rail strike action on the Saturday date of the Carlos at 50 show, it looks like I will be offered a slower and altered rail service in the southeast - but still a rail service of some kind as opposed to zero! Hurrah! Not sure if it will actually work, whether it will be too full to board (as happened several weeks ago), or whether there will be last minute cancellations of two consecutive trains due to “shortage of crew”, [coincidentally sudden] illness, etc. But there is at least something!

 

Will let everyone know/bore everyone with how it turned out afterwards. Would advise members with tickets for today’s show who are contemplating cancelling because of the strike to check the TfL journey planner (which has been updated to reflect strike action) in case they actually have trains in their area. 

 

Also- not due to strike action (I think.....too many disputes to keep track of) but please see Alison’s post under the “London travel disruption” thread about tube station closures if your tickets are for Sunday 30 July. 

Edited July 29, 2023 by Emeralds

[Emeralds]

On 21/07/2023 at 18:31, Dawnstar said:

 

Assuming it's the same as other overtime bans, including this week's, it'll mean fewer trains but there still should be a usable service. For example this week when I went down to London on Monday I found there was one fast train an hour between Cambridge & London and back rather than the usual fast train every half hour. So not ideal but bearable.

 

I was a bit annoyed to see earlier that the tube strikes have been cancelled when all the recent rail strikes have gone ahead. (I am currently quite hacked off with the strikes because I couldn't get to the Nozze di Figaro I should have seen last night, making the fifth time I've had theatregoing stopped by rail strikes in just over a year.)

Dawnstar, I see your 5th ...and raise you 8! (And you honestly don’t want to see how much ££ I have lost due to rail strikes). I promise you that this isn’t a hand I want either of us to “win” though. I do hope you get to see the ROH Nozze eventually though- it’s a nice production (I saw it in 2019).  

Edited July 29, 2023 by Emeralds

[Beryl H]

The RMT announced strikes from today until 5th August and there will be no trains from Victoria to Brighton after 21.00 if not earlier. The RMT and ASLEF have doubled up next week to provide non-stop strikes. I thought they had to give 14 days notice! I have cancelled today's Carlos and will probably have to miss the Australian Ballet too on 4th and 6th August, not happy!

[LinMM]

There are no trains at all to Brighton on Sat 5th Aug as it’s Brighton Pride weekend and because there’s a no overtime ban by ASLEF drivers all next week ( so very much reduced trains running) they’ve announced it’s too dangerous to run a reduced train service on that weekend. So have decided to cancel all trains! 
Because of the early start of the Aus gala on the Sunday 6th I’ve decided to return my ticket now  as had a nightmare journey one Sunday recently when this was going on and would have been two hours late if had been going to the theatre then!!  I just can’t risk it when it’s a more expensive ticket etc. 

All strikes and other actions recently have had at least a fortnights notice though …..(except for next Sats Brighton cancellations which will be about ten days notice) 

I think it’s difficult to keep up with it all though 😬

Am now awaiting the announcement of all the August action 
 

Edited July 29, 2023 by LinMM

[Dawnstar]

2 hours ago, Emeralds said:

Dawnstar, I see your 5th ...and raise you 8! (And you honestly don’t want to see how much ££ I have lost due to rail strikes). I promise you that this isn’t a hand I want either of us to “win” though. I do hope you get to see the ROH Nozze eventually though- it’s a nice production (I saw it in 2019).  

 

I didn't manage to rearrange Nozze, as there were only a couple of other dates I could do & they only had tickets available that cost more than I was prepared to pay. I've seen the production several times since it was new in 2006 so I wasn't desparate enough to see it again to pay what would have been at least 3 times my original ticket price. Fortunately I was okay for Thursday this week & at the moment sufficient trains are scheduled to be running for next week's Australian Ballet viewings, as long as there aren't a slew of last minute cancellations, so fingers crossed I can make the last of this season's ROH bookings.

[Emeralds]

On 29/07/2023 at 14:31, Dawnstar said:

 

I didn't manage to rearrange Nozze, as there were only a couple of other dates I could do & they only had tickets available that cost more than I was prepared to pay. I've seen the production several times since it was new in 2006 so I wasn't desparate enough to see it again to pay what would have been at least 3 times my original ticket price. Fortunately I was okay for Thursday this week & at the moment sufficient trains are scheduled to be running for next week's Australian Ballet viewings, as long as there aren't a slew of last minute cancellations, so fingers crossed I can make the last of this season's ROH bookings.

Oh, that’s good that you’ve already seen it. I was contemplating seeing it again when I noticed that sales were quite sluggish but the only dates left were 20/7 and 22/7, both strike days! For some reason I thought it was coming back next season as they’ve programmed all the other “blockbusters” (operas that usually sell well) again next season:  Tosca, Butterfly, Rigoletto, Elisir d’amore, Boheme, so I thought Nozze was among them! 

[Guest]

With Inflation now predicted to be down to 5% by the end of the year you would think the Unions (and even more, their members) would want to agree the current offer in short shrift.

[Jan McNulty]

6 minutes ago, Robin Smith said:

With Inflation now predicted to be down to 5% by the end of the year you would think the Unions (and even more, their members) would want to agree the current offer in short shrift.

 

But the industrial action is about a lot more than money ... it's also about terms and conditions.  

 

Isn't it inflation except for food - that was the news report I saw a couple of days ago.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

But the industrial action is about a lot more than money ... it's also about terms and conditions.  

 

Isn't it inflation except for food - that was the news report I saw a couple of days ago.

 

We'll see Jan. Watch this space.

[zxDaveM]

2 hours ago, Robin Smith said:

With Inflation now predicted to be down to 5% by the end of the year you would think the Unions (and even more, their members) would want to agree the current offer in short shrift.

 

that's just muddleheaded. Goods have inflated by 10%+ (18% for some food basics), and inflation coming down to 5% just means they are rising by 5% on top of what they have already gone up

[Guest]

45 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

 

that's just muddleheaded. Goods have inflated by 10%+ (18% for some food basics), and inflation coming down to 5% just means they are rising by 5% on top of what they have already gone up

 

The rate of inflation is the % by which a basket of goods has gone up in price over a year (or in this particular case is predicted to have gone up by the end of this year). Various bodies will produce figures based on their definition of this "basket". In this case the prediction is by the Bank of England. The current rate (the latest actual rate the BoE issued yesterday) is 7.9%.  

[DanJL]

22 hours ago, Robin Smith said:

 

The rate of inflation is the % by which a basket of goods has gone up in price over a year (or in this particular case is predicted to have gone up by the end of this year). Various bodies will produce figures based on their definition of this "basket". In this case the prediction is by the Bank of England. The current rate (the latest actual rate the BoE issued yesterday) is 7.9%.  

This doesn't change the fact that inflation has been higher over the past year and a reduction in inflation only means that prices continue to climb from that much higher base at a slightly slower rate. To keep up with all of that, wage increases would need to be far higher than current offers. Only negative inflation would reduce that disparity. 

[Guest]

15 hours ago, DanJL said:

This doesn't change the fact that inflation has been higher over the past year and a reduction in inflation only means that prices continue to climb from that much higher base at a slightly slower rate. To keep up with all of that, wage increases would need to be far higher than current offers. Only negative inflation would reduce that disparity. 

Dan,

 

The prediction is that inflation will be around 5% by the end of the year (let's call that using the same basket of goods on December 1st 2022 as we use on December 1st 2023). At that point you will only need a pay rise of 5% or more to improve your financial position (other things being equal). The rail unions have already been offered more than this so by then the members will be itching to accept the offer. That's my point.

 

Additional point - UK train drivers are already the best paid train drivers in Europe.

[LinMM]

As Jan said above this is not just about train drivers pay. Also you would need to check other European countries train drivers for how much overtime they do. A lot of services in U.K. only run efficiently because drivers have to work overtime (because they don’t employ enough drivers) this is reflected in their pay. 
The RMT unions striking are more concerned about working conditions and things like the closure of ticket offices etc. 

Anyway I fear the discussion may be getting too political so is it best to wind this up now and get back to how train action may cause travel problems for getting to Theatre etc. 

[Dawnstar]

Well there isn't supposed to be any industrial action today yet my train to London was nearly 15 mins late & I'm currently standing at Kings Cross waiting to see if my train home is going to be any more than the currently stated 20 mins late. I wish the Australian Ballet hadn't held their gala on a Sunday!

[RHowarth]

3 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Well there isn't supposed to be any industrial action today yet my train to London was nearly 15 mins late & I'm currently standing at Kings Cross waiting to see if my train home is going to be any more than the currently stated 20 mins late. I wish the Australian Ballet hadn't held their gala on a Sunday!

Come and join me Dawnstar - I'm in the pub at King's Cross! 

 

Hope your train comes soon.

[LinMM]

I thought it was the last day of their overtime ban week so there are reduced services anyway and I think not all drivers seem to be turning up as happened to me last Wednesday. 
As no further action has been currently announced one can assume that at least the next two weeks will be normal. No doubt saving action up for the Bank Holiday!! 

[Dawnstar]

31 minutes ago, RHowarth said:

Come and join me Dawnstar - I'm in the pub at King's Cross! 

 

Hope your train comes soon.

 

Sorry, I didn't see your message until my train was well underway. I didn't dare take my eyes off the departure board to look at my phone while waiting for the platform!

 

28 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I thought it was the last day of their overtime ban week so there are reduced services anyway and I think not all drivers seem to be turning up as happened to me last Wednesday. 
As no further action has been currently announced one can assume that at least the next two weeks will be normal. No doubt saving action up for the Bank Holiday!! 

 

When I booked my ticket last night it had one overtime ban finishing on 5th & the next one from 7th-12th, so today theoretically should have been okay. This delay is being blamed on a train fault, think this morning's was too. I have one more trip to London on Thursday & then no theatre until Chichester at the end of the month, so yes you can bet it'll be okay when I won't be using any trains!

[DanJL]

5 hours ago, Robin Smith said:

Dan,

 

The prediction is that inflation will be around 5% by the end of the year (let's call that using the same basket of goods on December 1st 2022 as we use on December 1st 2023). At that point you will only need a pay rise of 5% or more to improve your financial position (other things being equal). The rail unions have already been offered more than this so by then the members will be itching to accept the offer. That's my point.

But the point (regarding the pay element) is that these pay rise negotiations cover a period when inflation has been much higher. If inflation is indeed 5% by the end of the year, this means that prices will be another 5% higher, not that the overall increase over the period in consideration is only 5%. Out of interest, while the basket of goods is still a key basis of inflation statistics, this approach is increasingly being supplemented by richer sources of data. 

[bridiem]

Let's leave the relevant parties to make these arguments since they will not be resolved on this forum. I just hope for everyone's sake that some sort of resolution is found soon.

[DanJL]

Fair enough that this isn't the topic of this forum and apologies. I would point out that I was simply making a statement on a point of often misunderstood fact rather than seeking to express any opinion on the debate itself. Certainly share the sentiment of your last sentence bridiem. 

[alison]

Tube strikes on 4th and 6th October next.

[Guest oncnp]

Not sure this is strike related but could affect folks going to Heathrow next weekend.....

 I thought there was a Tube thread but can't seem to find it 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by oncnp