Tube train drivers will go on strike for 24 hours on October 5 shutting down the entire network.
EDIT: as of 3 October, the strike has been deferred and tube trains will run as normal
The Southern Railways strike for the same day (also Anglia Rail and Merseyrail) will go ahead.
Not messing around, are they!?
Any excuse to post this though: http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/hideous-londoners-forced-to-travel-above-ground-2014020583280
Well isn't that just great. They picked the one day I'd planned to do a lot of hopping around from place to place. And that means the buses will be a lot more packed than usual. Back to the drawing board.
Thanks for the heads up Nigel.
According to BBC "The strike will take place from 00:01 BST on 5 October to 00:01 BST on 6 October."
This is my arrival day.
That's a pain, Judy, but at least you know and can make other arrangements. Last year I arrived in Nice on May 1, utterly clueless about the fact that the (known) holiday meant there would be no bus or train service from the airport, and precious few taxis.
We're a family of 4 and arriving in London on the morning of Oct 5th. So our only option is Black cab vs Uber? Which is more advisable for us to take? We're staying in Marylbone area.
tess
you can take Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect to Paddington if you are arriving at Heathrow, and there is good bus service to the Marylebone area from Paddington, or you could taxi.
Nigel, I am so glad you are on this forum and always give us a heads' up about all things transportation related for London! Thank you for your consistent and always important posts.
Also keep an eye on here, as many (but not all) of these strikes end up getting called off / suspended / moved etc.
I'd guess (no personal experience) that prebooked transportation into the city might be less expensive than a black cab, and for four people it might be a reasonable alternative.
If you want to consider public transportation, I think the Heathrow Express (a train, not a subway) will be running as usual between the airport and Paddington Station downtown, generally every 15 minutes. Paddington Station is less than one mile from the Marylebone tube station. Depending on where your hotel is located, the distance could be quite a bit less than a mile. So you could take the Heathrow Express into Paddington and either walk or get a taxi from there. (Expect taxis to be a bit unhappy about such a short trip unless the minimum taxi charge is quite high.)
Unfortunately, the best current price for October 5 tickets is £16.50 per adult. It appears (I could be wrong) that children no older than 15 are free. That's the price for 14-day advance-purchase tickets, which have to be used on the specified date, though they are good at any time that day.
Non-date-limited tickets appear to be £22 - £25 per adult, so that's what you'd pay if you bought walk-up tickets upon arrival at Heathrow.
A cheaper but less convenient option would be the National Express bus, which goes to the Earl's Court area and would leave you with a costlier taxi fare across town. The NE buses are scheduled to take 30 to 55 minutes. Their frequency varies. Fare for October 5 is currently £6 per person. (Don't know about children.)
Thank you for your valuable infos. I'll consider them all.
Nigel, when something like this happens, is service restored the next day? Yes, it's a purely selfish question as I'm arriving on the 6th. Thanks.
Thanks so much for the info Nigel. I'll be in London then and now have a Plan B in place if the strike goes forward.
Would this disrupt trains too? Scheduled to take a Virgin East Coast train from London to Edinburgh on October 5, wondering if I should make alternative plans?
No, Tube and VTEC are separate. Check VTEC's website for any disruption news, strike or otherwise, related to them.
Continental,
Yes. But sometimes the stock is in the wrong place so the start of day may get a slow start. You should be fine.
rashiffler,
As said above this strike won't affect that train travel. BUT, and a big BUT, you must leave plenty of time to get to the train at Kings Cross from wherever you will be in London. Take what emma says seriously. Taxis will be like hens' teeth, uber will raise their prices into the stratosphere and buses will be full. When they are full they don't stop unless they are also letting people off.
Once you are in Kings Cross Station it should be straightforward.
Other trains like Thameslink and Overground will be running. Where will you be going to Kings Cross from?
Nigel, our b&b is actually a few minutes walk from Kings Cross, so luckily we can just walk there.
Is the shutdown always from midnight to midnight? Or could it start sometime in the morning or afternoon of October 5 and then go 24 hours from there?
not always.
In this case, midnight to midnight.
Thanks for posting this Nigel, and thanks to Pam from Idaho for mentioning to me. I got our two Thursdays in London rearranged so we still get to see everything planned for those two days.
Thanks Nigel.
Oh yea!!
Thanks for the update, Nigel!
I had backup plans for this Thursday but now can do the London Walks I had planned on. I got an excellent cabbie from St Pancras today who gave me some ideas as well so I’ll just tuck them in the emergency kit for another time.
phew!! Thanks for the initial notice and the update, Nigel! (as well as all the details)
