I appreciate all of the notices and advice everyone gives on this forum so I am hoping someone can answer this question. I am planning a trip in May and will use rail on every trip.
I understand that strikes are announced and then sometimes cancelled but how far in advance are they usually announced so that I can move my outside of London trips around if needed?
Is there a one stop website that I can look?
Thanks
The unions must by law give at least 14 days notice of any planned industrial action. As an example the latest batch of strikes was announced on Monday and covers various dates over a week from 29th January.
Note that not all train companies are involved in the current dispute and even then some trains may run on strike days. The latest set of strikes involves days of strikes at individual companies on different days.
This website should keep you informed of rail strikes:
https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/industrial-action/
I don't continually monitor it. If I hear of a strike via UK news, then I might go to this site to get more details.
don't hang your hat too tightly on your "I understand that strikes are announced and then sometimes cancelled".
Yes, sometimes there is a settlement, or a suspension. But those are very rare. In the current climate very very rare.
The Drivers (ASLEF) strikes just mentioned above have now entered their third calendar year. The Train Guards (RMT) strikes have been on and off since before I retired 6 years ago and are now on hold until the next round in the Spring.
So there are always hopes but often these are dashed.
You can be quite sure that you will have at least 14 days' notice.
One of the less predictable consequences is when the overtime bans are called, the railways run on good will and overtime.
Thanks everyone. This is very helpful.
