Nationwide Rail Strike, June 21, 23, 25 : update 18th Tube & Train strikes going ahead

Thank you. This will undoubtedly impact the plans of many. Your contributions to this forum are invaluable.

Any word on the open access operators (Lumo, Grand Central, Hull Trains)? Granted it’s all relative if the signallers are on strike and nothing can run at all.

We're booked Glasgow to Edinburgh and then Edinburgh to London on 25 June, flying from Heathrow home after a month in the UK on 26 June. We booked LNER as Avanti Glasgow to London wasn't available.
Should I book a back up now?
Or will additional buses and/or flights be available if the strike comes to pass?

Thanks to all who share their knowledge on these forums. It is an incredible resource and I've been so grateful for those who are so generous with their time and expertise.

I wouldn't count on extra anything.

Because it is a strike, they must give proper notice of dates and actions. Note that one option was "action short of a strike" which could mean many things. But the operating companies in the face of a strike don't need to provide replacement bus service. I would think that odds of airlines laying on extra flights are extremely long.

Let's wait and see exactly what is announced. Perhaps the notification of the overwhelming (I believe it was about 87 percent voted to strike) unity of thought and strong call for a strike will knock heads together and there can be a resolution before any action.

It might be worth considering alternatives to keep up your sleeve. Forewarned is forearmed.

Thanks so much Nigel for this information.

I was due to travel back by train from Glasgow to Euston on the 22nd June, but have just booked an Easy Jet flight back. There seems to be good availability at the moment, at least going into the cheapish option of Stansted. My hold bag cost more than the flight+ tax.

Now dithering - after reading Frank's thread - of what to do on my trip up to Aberdeen on the 9th (from Kings X). Maybe OK from the England side, but Scotland, not so sure.

How long do these types of strikes typically last?

dp, no way to know... sorry

There is no "usual". The last general strike was in 1926.

Nigel, thank you for this information.

Would like to add that ScotRail is operating on a revised timetable and even that service might be dodgy. As in, the 2 car Oban-->Glasgow train I was meant to be on was overly full, so ScotRail provided a complimentary coach direct to Glasgow. (We've all got a nice little camaraderie going.) I advise flexibility and patience!

Would this affect the London Underground? I ask because during time in France in the 1990's, a general rail strike also affected major city transportation systems. Should I assume any rail transportation from LHR to London, such as Heathrow Express, would be affected?

Would this affect Eurostar from Paris? We are booked on it June 26.

Rob

at this point it is the companies listed, so not the tube. Although they have their own Night Tube issues.

at this point it is mainline UK trains only. Although, even though Eurostar running on HS1 in England isn't on the list, Network Rail who control the signals and infrastructure are. We have to ... Wait and see....

Thank you for the news, Nigel. As you say, "Forewarned is forearmed". We have train tickets from Oxford to Cambridge and a few days later, Cambridge to London the third and fourth weeks of June. What other means, other than renting a car, could we employ to get to our destinations and what does that look like? I'm assuming by bus, and I'm wondering how reasonable Uber might be.

the X5 coach (operated by Stagecoach) connects Oxford and Cambridge by road. Via Bicester, Buckingham, Milton Keynes, Bedford. Not the fastest in the world but unless the vehicle has been subbed by a regular bus it has leather seats, high windows, usb power and free wifi that's pretty good. Good scenery on the way.

National Express coaches run services between Cambridge and London - I presume they use the M11 but I don't know and I don't know how express they are. Although I have lots of shares in NX I haven't used one for many years.

Thanks, Nigel. We need to get from London to Edinburgh and back. I am guessing that if our train reservations are cancelled, our best bet would be to fly.

I also am scheduled to take a train from London down to Ashford for a day tour of Sussex. Is there a bus or other method that links London with that area efficiently?

Hello Nigel,

thanks for the info! As luck would have it we will soon be in England.

Will long-distance buses be affected as well in a sympathy strike, or might that be a good alternative to the trains?

Geez. We are booked Aberdeen to Edinburgh on July 6

It is nothing to do with buses. Please read the list above.

Nigel, I've copied your instructions in case we need to use coach transportation instead of rail. For some reason the website of X5 coach and all Stagecoach websites aren't working. The National Express website is and I can see that it will take much longer to reach London from Cambridge but them's the breaks. Thank you.

For those making backup plans by bus I found a list of the current long-distance bus carriers at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coach_transport_in_the_United_Kingdom

The main coach operators today are:

• National Express, the dominant operator in England and Wales Flixbus,
• operates no-frills services Megabus, part of ComfortDelGro, who operate a no-frills service requiring advance booking on the internet
• Scottish Citylink, owned by ComfortDelGro, the dominant operator in Scotland.
• TrawsCymru, 'express' bus service for Wales, run in conjunction with local franchises
• Ulsterbus, the state-owned company which runs coach services in Northern Ireland

For those thinking of booking internal flights instead both Easyjet and BA have been cancelling loads of flights recently
Internal ones are the first to go

So if internal flights are a roll of the dice, and buses may fill up, what do you suggest? Rent a car?

Will this also effect Heathrow Express? I was planning on booking my train tickets this weekend for my trip to England…now I’m looking at bus schedules. Thanks for the heads up!!

Heathrow Express runs on rails so if the Signallers shut the railway down, yes it could. Heathrow Express are not on the list so if the rails stay open, no it won't, at least not directly.

We all have to wait and see....

Thanks Nigel, your info has been very helpful. Keep us posted.

2 updates from 31 May 2022

The RMT Union has suspended the Tube strike scheduled for this Friday the 3rd of June, and Tube trains will run as normal.

but

The RMT said yesterday that they see little chance of avoiding the major strike across the mainline railways (as noted in the OP). The union by law must give at least 14 clear days' notice of the strike dates. Commentators have said that they expect the strike in late June.

What does late June mean? dunno. Watch this space for updates.

I don't know how well the Brits negotiate, but they have at least 14 days to work on it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my vacation that I planned and paid for almost three years ago, which had to be canceled due to illness and then along came covid, doesn't have any more wrenches thrown into it. Btw, I support unions so whatever happens, happens.

Thank you, Nigel, for your updates. I believe that you stated on another post that you had worked for the British railway. Do you have a "feel" for how this might go?

Rail unions are one of the stronger unions left in this country and they’ve certainly followed through on many of their threats (Scotrail and Southern in particular), but it’s not unheard of for them to call things off at the eleventh hour. The potentially extremely wide-ranging nature of this strike may encourage a settlement to be made.

Depending on what you plan to do you may want to check bus and coach timetables.

While I think that the issues of safety (paramount), staff pay and conditions, staffing levels etc., certainly need addressing, and there are some operators who appear to be failing badly (yes, I am talking about Transpennine), I would be a bit happier if the RMT’s sales pitch wasn’t to ‘bring the country to its knees’. I think we’ve had too much of a rough time of it of late for this to be a great PR move. I suspect the general public currently are very much on the side of the railway workers but that support could be quickly lost if punishing the public seems to be the main political objective in order to change the hue of government (can’t recall when that’s ever worked in recent times, either) rather than getting the operators to come to the table and talk sensibly about the future.

I just hope some sort of sense will prevail and there will be a negotiated settlement before people, both British and those from abroad, who are quite happy to spend their hard earned on rail transport have their plans altered, or worse scuppered.

I did wonder the other day if, push come to shove, Brits on this forum could help out in any way re transport, but there’s probably all sorts of legal/insurance ramifications to that idea unfortunately. But if anybody has any constructive ideas….

Ian

regarding the tube strike on June 6th, how would this affect National Rail? I think it is a separate system, but on the TFL website it says

If you are using National Rail and other TfL services from stations also served by London Underground, check before you travel for possible station closures.

https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/tube-strike#on-this-page-1

So are they cautioning people that if they hope to arrive at the train station via the associated tube station they may not be able to do so? Or are they saying that the rail station may be closed too? I am specifically concerned about St. Pancras

The RMT Union has suspended the Tube strike scheduled for this Friday the 3rd of June, and Tube trains will run as normal.

What I said just above is that the Tube strike is suspended.

That means the tube will be running as normal.

I’m going from Kensal Rise (greater London) to Eastbourne via Clapham Junctio (overground). I’m guessing “tube” is only first half of my trip. Bought ticket thru Trainline, doesn’t say who operates the Clapham Junction to eastbourne segment. Anyone know? Thanks.

I believe Southern Railway operates the trains from Claphan Junction to Eastbourne.

I find this article helpful: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61634959
Since union leaders are meeting June 7th, I'm assuming they won't strike before then and since legally they must give 14 days' full notice, that gets me up to June 22nd before there is a possibility of a strike. So, looks like I'll be able to make it from Oxford to Cambridge on the 18th. I still need to travel by train, for which I have tickets, on the 22nd to make it to London. I'm making an assumption that union members follow the law but that might be naive of me. Second assumption is that rail workers won't strike before they meet on the 7th.

I am very thankful for this topic. We decided to be proactive and change the method of transportation to London on our upcoming trip.

June 15 we are returning our rental car to Oxford. Our original plan was to then travel by train to London Paddington that day. Rather than risk sold out coaches in the event of strike we went ahead and booked tickets through National Express from Oxford to London Victoria.

National Express is a third party for this coach - the operator is Oxford Tube. The fare was 24 GBP for two tickets and the actual travel time is quite similar as would be via train. Victoria is closer to our accommodations than Paddington so it will likely be a good solution. The coach doesn't have any train romance (I really enjoy train travel) but I'm happy we won't have to worry about the impact of a possible strike.

Thanks to Nigel and all the contributors.

Best regards,

JB

upthread we discussed the potential tube strike which had been suspended

We now know that it is back on - on Monday.

There is a thread about it with details -- https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/tube-strikes

Is there any news about the rail strike? I think I heard that some things were supposed to be decided today.

21, 23, & 25 June have been reported as the potential dates just now. Several major events on that week including the Glastonbury Festival.

Yes, Marco has it right.

BBC:
'The RMT Union said it will "shut down" the country's railway network on 21, 23 and 25 June after talks ... fell through.

'The action is being dubbed the "biggest rail strike in modern history". '

Nigel's comments - expect disruption not only on those days but also shoulder days.

Also, from a different source, don't be surprised to see one of the next tube strikes in London coordinated with these dates.

As always, this puts pressure on government to find a solution before the strike.

Yes, the first day WILL coordinate with a Tube strike.

Thanks for the update. We arrive in London on June 25 but we have a car transfer to our accommodations, so won't be using the tube that day, should they coordinate a tube strike as well. I'm most concerned about our trains to and from Edinburgh on July 5 and July 9. Hoping there are no further strikes announced.

The Guardian is reporting that 10,000 RMT workers will also strike the London Tube system on June 21, coordinating the date with the first announced date of the 3-day nationwide rail strike.

A sigh of relief........my final train trip is on the 16th to London.

Thanks Nigel.

My husband and I will be traveling by rail on June 22 from Cambridge to London. I'm not sure that we are "safe" since there was mention of "shoulder days" by Nigel. We also plan to take the Tube on the 27th from London to Heathrow Airport. So, far nothing has been said about dates beyond the 25th.
Very appreciative of all the information here. Thanks!

Good news dept.: about 20 minutes (note that was approaching 3 hours now - I forgot to hit Post when an urgent phone call came!!) ago a flash came over internal comms that the head of the Rail Delivery Group (what used to be called ATOC) which represents the railway companies has said that he wants to find a solution. His hands are tied to some degree because the government pulls all the strings (witness the 20% drop in some of my rail shares today) but he doesn't want a strike.

I know the man - worked with him at one time - and I've always respected him.

Bad news dept.: if the strikes go ahead there real dangers of a really mucked up railway service in the between (shoulder) days. The Union doesn't put the alternating days there for fun. People will be slow to return to work, passengers, freight, and staff will be out of place as will be the actual trains. Then there will be uncertainty. The railway depends on voluntary And then things will wind down again before the next day. I've been on both sides of several smaller railway strikes and I assure you it will be a mess. It is a good way (for the Union) to stage series of strikes because for 3 days of actual striking they effectively get a full week of rail chaos.

"Rail Replacement Buses This Way"
That is a sign in an article about the rail strike. I cannot find any information about the sign, however. I'm assuming that the sign is at the railway stations and so are the buses. Does anyone know if the rail companies will be supplying buses? If so, will the routes mimic those of the trains?
Thanks for all the updates, Nigel. It's good (for all of us) that you have friends in high places.

Thank you very much for all the posts. We feel fortunate to have looked at these today! We have planned a trip from Vancouver, BC to London - Bath (3 days), Cardiff (Wales for 3 days) and London (3 days). June 27-July 6.

We arrive at Gatwick on June 27/22 and thinking (from this thread and the news) the trains may be impacted still due to shoulder days. We were taking the train to Bath from Gatwick. We are now taking the bus booked through National Express (https://www.nationalexpress.com) with an extra refund fee. We are scheduled from Bath to Cardiff (Wales) June 30 by train. Back to London July 3 by train and to Gatwick July 6 for our flight home.

thx again, Susanne

21 June update: We received notice from National Express that our bus to Bath has been cancelled on June 27 so now we are staying at Gatwick airport hotel and taking the train (advance ticket) to Bath on June 28th.

GWR as one company has suggested it would be able to run about a third of its services but won't give any more details yet. However, a third overall wouldn't be evenly spread; some services could easy be zero.

We have seen in the past that if the guards walk out companies can pony up a few managers to run some trains. But what concerns me is that Network Rail - they are responsible for nearly all the infrastructure (rails and signalling) - is on the list. If the track has a fault or signallers down tools nothing will run, despite strike-breakers working the trains.

Carrying on with the West country as an example, NR have indicated they wouldn't expect trains to run beyond Plymouth.

In a sign that train strikes could spread throughout Britain this summer, the TSSA Union announced it will hold a vote among its members to determine if they will also strike. The union, which represents managers and others who could step in to fill some positions and keep some trains running if there is a strike by RMT workers, could be out on strike themselves by the end of July, should the strike be authorized. In that event its members, who manage control rooms, power distribution and signaling to train operators, could essentially shut down the entire British train system. The strike by TSSA could only happen after ballots are counted up and two weeks notice is given the government, so it’s projected that the earliest a total “train freeze” could occur would be sometime toward the end of July.

Thank you, everyone, for all the continued updates. Very helpful and much appreciated. Is there a chance that the union will announce before June 25 that they are extending the strike dates? Or will they get through this batch of dates to see if it nets their desired result, then announce more strikes in July and beyond as needed?

Is there a chance that the union will announce before June 25 that they are extending the strike dates? Or will they get through this batch of dates to see if it nets their desired result, then announce more strikes in July and beyond as needed?

q1 - dunno

q2- dunno.

Sorry, could go one way or could go the other. But they have to give 14 days notice to call a strike, zero days notice to call it off...

Sorry my crystal ball is not clearer.

there's an update on the new announcement of ASLEF strikes now in the OP.

Hi Nigel,
Craig from the US here. I hope you can help me. I am ticketed to fly into Gatwick on 6/20, and am staying at the Alhambra Hotel, walking distance to ST Pancras. Current plan is to Eurorstar to Amsterdam on 6/23.

I'm reading about the wide disruptions and I am really concerned re the shoulder day i'm arriving. I was planning to take the train from Gatwick to Kings Cross Station.

Here's my question: I won't need British rail to get to St Pancras on 6/23 to board Eurostar. I can walk it. I see articles that say eurostar won't be impacted, but I'm really considering just flying out of London Gatwick on 6/20 and avoiding UK entirely and continuing the EU part of my travel (France Austria) to avoid the whole situation.

Do you think it is realistic that Eurostar will continue service? Here's the article that confused me:

https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/travel/eurostar-will-be-affected-rail-strike-rmt-train-walkout-what-mean-change-ticket-1677973

that article confirms no effect on Eurostar. It was talking about people who can't get to St Pancras, and talking about recent operational problems completely before the strike and not related. Your arrival day is before the strike occurs (if it does) and as long as you aren't trying to travel in the couple of hours before midnight it is unlikely to affect you.

Nigel thanks very much you are invaluable.

More about the potential TSSA Union strike towards the end of July - It was announced today that TSSA are balloting their members for strike action on West Midlands Trains (in and around Birmingham and the West Midlands, as far as Stratford-upon-Avon, Liverpool, Hereford and Worcester), Cross Country (as the name says, links major towns and cities in the whole country together, but not via London), and East Midlands Trains (St Pancras International generally north as far as Sheffield via Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough, Derby and Nottingham, with many branch lines).

I just read online that ‘There are also overnight strikes on the Central, Jubilee and Victoria lines every Friday and Saturday until Sunday 19 June 2022.’ What hours are affected by an ‘overnight strike’?

These are the lines that are supposed to have trains running all night on those days (the 'Night Tube')

Those tube strikes have been going on for months.

Today the news is that the strikes on 21st, 23rd, 25th June are likely to go ahead.

Also today TSSA Union is ballotin over six thousand Network Rail workers, who when they go on strike will grind everything to a halt.

The ballot has to finish, then if the vote is to strike the Union can call a strike on 14 days notice. This would be yet another strike beyond the ones already discussed.

Watch this space

Just out -

"Northern advises customers DO NOT TRAVEL during the week of RMT industrial action"

Northern Trains is asking customers not to travel on its services between 21 – 26 June because of industrial action by the RMT

The whole of the rail network is affected by strikes, planned for Tuesday 21, Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 June.

Northern is currently working with Network Rail to agree what services it can run with the industry prioritising essential routes on mainlines and routes in to major cities.

Therefore, the train operator is expecting to run a very limited timetable and is suggesting customers do not travel on the strike dates and, wherever possible, not to travel on those in-between as well. Customers should try to find alternative transport if their journey is essential.

Details of the services able to run will be released as soon as possible to customers. They are advised to visit northernrailway.co.uk/travel/strikes for the latest advice and information.

The timing of the strike action has a knock-on effect on the days in-between with disruption of operations, the displacement of their trains across the network and shift patterns.

London purgatory this summer - fasten your seatbelts now!

From My London, Callum Marius

London rail strikes: Euston, Victoria and London Bridge stations among those targeted with fresh ballot that could see industrial action all summer

Rail workers union TSSA has announced that its members will vote on strike action to take place towards the end of July affecting most major London rail stations including London Bridge, Charing Cross and Euston. On Tuesday (June 14) the union said members would be balloted on action that could see services at London's biggest termini, including Kings Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Victoria and Waterloo, severely disrupted all summer.

Liverpool Street is one of the station affected meaning Overground, Elizabeth line and Greater Anglia services could be affected

The dispute is over pay and conditions as the union claims its members working at Network Rail, the public body which looks after railway infrastructure in England, have not had a pay increase for at least two years. It is also calling for a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.

This industrial action, which would see over 6,000 staff across the country walk out, would take place from July 25 at the earliest, exactly one month after larger action by the RMT, which will see 50,000 staff walk out over three days across the railway network in England, including a co-ordinated Tube strike on June 21. Should the TSSA members vote to strike, it would mean disruption for rail travel in the capital for the entire summer, as this vote can allow the union to prolong the industrial action if the dispute over pay and conditions is not resolved after the initial strike.

Thank you Nigel for your information. We had planned to spend our last night in London on June 20th to see a show and then travel to Heathrow on the 21st for our flight to the USA. However, in light of the potential impact of strikes on the 21st, we have changed to a plan B, which is to take the national express from Stansted to London Heathrow the night before our flight. I have just spent one glorious Saturday in London for the Platinum Jubilee Party and three sunny weeks with my family near Cambridge. Thank you for keeping us all informed. I may be overly cautious with these plans, but I am choosing to have a stress-free end to my vacation.

Margaret

Wow Nigel, thank you so much for these updates. Very unsettling for everyone. Question for you....we are taking the Eurostar on Aug. 2 to Paris. Guessing this would be impacted potentially by future strikes? We were also planning trains from Liverpool to Manchester and Manchester to London the days/week leading up to Aug. 2. Hoping this gets resolved prior to the first announced strikes.

Eurostar is currently unlikely to be directly affected.

we are due today to hear the contingency plans - we will know more in several hours

Nigel, your information has been extremely helpful and much appreciated. I booked my ticket with National Express from London to Canterbury on June 27 to join my RS tour. The tour ends in Bath on July 9 and I will be spending two nights in Newbury to visit Highclere castle. The fully flexible ticket that I booked to get from Bath to Newbury will take 4.5 hours and I have a bus change at Heathrow that takes me back to Reading and then taxi to Newbury. I’m really, really hoping that I can cancel and go by train. Is the strike planned to continue into July? Again, thanks for your valuable information.

Thank you so much for the information.

I have bookended a vacation with days in London and right now I feel “safe” as I leave London via Eurostar on 20 June and return on 27 June. There are a couple of day trips by train planned but it looks like I would be outside the strike window on either end right now.

But I will keep watching

Thanks for all the info. Breathing (ever so slightly) easier since we arrive in London on June 25 and leave July 5 for Edinburgh, returning to London July 9...hopefully all these dates will fall outside the strike action.

I have Eurostar booked on 22nd from Amsterdam to London (direct) I got this email today:

Due to a national strike across the UK railway network, Eurostar will have to operate a reduced timetable. Your train (9145) is scheduled to run on Wednesday 22 June although may be disrupted on the day of travel.

If you’d rather postpone your journey, you can exchange your booking to travel at a different time or date, in the same travel class. We recommend travelling before 21 June 2022 or after 25 June 2022 to avoid the impact of the strike.

If you choose to travel, please allow extra time to arrive at the station and for your journey.

Thank you for your understanding.

The Eurostar team
——-

I looked at my other options that day it’s now with a stop in Brussels but I’m not sure if I should change.

So much to keep track of! Thank you Nigel for all of your help and on the ground reporting. We are watching this thread carefully as we will be visiting Poole for 2+ weeks starting July 13 and relying on the various regional bus systems and perhaps the SWR. We have already booked National Express bus tickets to get us from LHR to Poole (Bournemouth) on our day of arrival. We plan to leave Poole and head to London for 9 additional nights on July 31 but can adjust this date if there are end of July strike dates as we haven’t booked transportation, train or coach into London yet. Watching carefully and thanks again.

The contingency plans are on the respective operators' websites. By and large they aren't timetables, but indicators of potential frequencies & services.

This Network Rail diagram shows the expected lines that would be open for some service during the actual strike days.

Thank you Marco - you just beat me to it.

A dog's dinner. A piggie's brekkie.

Not pleasant reading.

And I think we would both agree, that is likely the government's glass-half-full plan. Reality remains to be seen.

Sorry about the Eurostar message since I confidently said that Eurostar isn't on the list.

But when you hack off the Signallers things stop.

Good luck everybody. Fasten your seatbelts, it is going to be a bumpy ride.

"E-Ticket" ride indeed.

If you look at the Network Rail map linked just above and are confused, the key is in the upper right hand corner.

Thin grey lines mean that there are rails and usually train services, but during the strikes there will be NO SERVICE AT ALL ON GREY LINE routes. The purple lines will have very limited coverage, for the hours listed in the key - if you are lucky.

Every rail company has asked all passengers to not travel unless absolutely necessary, and to expect significant delays on strike days and days in between.

thank you Nigel and Marco!

Another point I should have highlighted is even when there are services they may be rather different to usual. For example for London to Plymouth this will all be via Bristol. This effectively compresses what normally would be 4 trains an hour of capacity into 1, bypasses some places completely and takes longer.

to quote GTR (Southern, Great Northern, Southeastern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express) in a trade publication, they confirm how I suggested that even though they only voted to have "Action Short of a Strike" they will be virtually shut down because of others on strike: -

Although RMT members at GTR voted only for action short of a strike, the operator depends on Network Rail signallers and engineers to keep its trains moving, and its services connect with many lines and stations managed by other operators whose staff are taking action.

Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express services to and from Heathrow will be affected. Trains will run starting after 7:30 and finish by 18:30.

Heathrow Express projections:
https://www.heathrowexpress.com/timetable/planned-service-disruption#/

Elizabeth Line and Tube and London Overground strike pages from TfL:
https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/tube-strike?cid=tube-strike

Lumo intend to operate somewhat normally, four trains a day between London and Edinburgh with the last ones terminating at Newcastle, so there's an option for travel between London, Newcastle and Edinburgh provided tickets are still available.

I have a question about this:

We're traveling Edinburgh->Inverness on June 26, day after the strike. On the ScotRail site it says:

"On the days following strike action there will be disruption caused
by the reopening of signal boxes at different times across the
country. While the large signalling centres at Yoker, West of Scotland
and Edinburgh will be able to operate from 0715 this will not be the
case at manual boxes elsewhere and it may well be early afternoon
before many routes are able to operate as normal. This is
particularly the case for routes outwith the Central Belt."

I realize every strike is different, but does this mean that planning to go morning June 26th, right after strike to Inverness is unlikely?

Should we be trying to get buys tickets right away instead and cancel the rail trip?

I think you have answered your own question about Inverness... Even before the strikes Scotrail has been dealing with its own issues which have caused massive disruption.

Inverness is not in the central belt. Inverness is likely to go over tracks controlled by manual signal boxes. Trains to Inverness are unlikely to start early in the morning.

But the last part of your question is unclear.

I just got a notice from Eurostar that my train is canceled on 26JUN from Paris to London...they rebooked me on the 25th but isn't that the last strike day? The only hotel I could get was at Heathrow that night (need triple room or two rooms). Any suggestions near St. Pancras?

I saw Premier Inn near there that looks pretty good. I was staying at the Marriott but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you really want to spend a lot of money. I was staying on rewards points

We stayed at the Premier Inn Kings Cross after our Eurostar from Paris and flying home the next day. While more than most other PI, the rooms were clean, it was a breeze to check and the neighborhood has all the conveniences required-Pubs, restaurants and grocery stores. Would recommend.

You might also check booking.com to see what's available in the area. I've found the reviews on booking.com to be reliable; you can't review a hotel unless you've stayed there.

I'd love to see reports from folks on the ground visiting our fair isle - or resident - as to how it is affecting you...

Well, Nigel, I stayed in on Tuesday. I knew the buses would be crowded but was surprised to hear that the trains that were running weren't that busy. Nor were the taxis.

I spoke to a few people who had to take the bus over the tube and they said it wasn't bad. They were traveling outside of rush hour so that might be the reason

According to the Beeb, people were working from home.

NIgel -

A1/A57 between the M18 and the bridge over the Trent River at Dunham. Compared to a regular commute, the amount of lorries I saw was sustantially lower and traffic seemed down from normal on Tuesday. Lincoln seemed very quiet. Today (Thursday) was just the opposite. It was almost as if folks said, "RIght, its happening Tuesday, lets wfh, and freight can wait a day. Thursday, however, is right out." Traffic was up, and lorries in their number were moving.

Just my experience. Yesterday, 22nd, disembarked from a cruise in Troon. With about 90+ others. A non strike day, but many worried because of what would happen, trains in the wrong places, would the whole system be running etc. So A LOT of people made other arrangements, booked buses, hired cars etc.

Anyway, we were given choice of transfers from Troon to either the airport, Glasgow Central Station or Glasgow Buchanan bus station.

I had - many weeks ago - bought a rail ticket from Glasgow to Euston. My journey went like a dream. I understand my train was shorter by 2 carriages than usual. But when I got on, of the 48 seats in my carriage only 3 were taken at Glasgow - during the journey it maybe went up to about 7.

When the strikes ballot was announced, as a back up plan, I booked an Easyjet ticket to Stansted - cost £55 at that time, most of which was for checked baggage (on cruise, so carryon not possible).

It did seem at Glasgow Central rail station that everything was going fine, it wasn't particularly busy, but I've never been there before so nothing to compare with. And, during the trip, the driver made announcements when we coming into other stations about what connections were available - which seemed to me to be everything (and I know Lancaster, Preston, Wigan and Warrington well).

Think those who swapped to buses from Glasgow probably made the wrong choice - there seemed no insurmountable problems on one of the intermediate days.

I think a lot took heed of the advice not to travel unless necessary.

On the 22nd, a shoulder day, my husband and I traveled by train from Cambridge to London. We'd had tickets for a few months. At the station, I easily approached the ticket window (there were at least 5 windows with workers) and asked if my train had been affected: it had been canceled the woman told me but we could take the earlier train. We did so and actually arrived in London earlier than our original ticket. The Tube was also running smoothly, and we reached our final destination, London Bridge, just fine. Neither Cambridge nor the London stations were crowded or frenzied.

Standing in line for the Ceremony of the Keys last night, another couple told us that they had attempted to take the Tube around London on the 21st and it was horrific. They stood in line for at least an hour and were lucky to board the Tube as hundreds rushed to get on. They were packed in. The whole day was like that for them.
Today, second strike day, we lucked out by seeing the sights near our hotel for which we've had tickets for at least six weeks. No need to travel any way other than by foot. Tomorrow is another story: St. Paul's, Charles Dickens Museum and the National Gallery. We'll see how the shoulder day is. We've checked bus routes and are prepared to use the bus--looking forward to it, actually.
Then, Saturday, a strike day, it's Westminster Abbey, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Kensington Garden and Hyde Park. Then, back to our hotel, Residence Inn by Marriott at Tower Bridge. I'll try to report tomorrow how the shoulder day of travel goes. So far, so good. Oh, yes, almost forgot, today we spent at The Tower of London which was not crowded! Maybe it was the drizzly weather or maybe it was the strike, but we went right to the Crown Jewels and other sights with few around. Restaurants are also easy to be seated.

We traveled today - strike day. I was prepared to do the whole thing by bus, but it turned out we didn't need to.

The journey was from Hexham (Hadrian's Wall things) to Berwick-on-Tweed (ultimate destination Lindesfarne & Farne Islands).

The train from Hexham to Newcastle was, of course, not running, so we took the bus which took us to the Newcastle train station. I had confirmed and purchased tickets on the LINR train that was running between London and Edinburgh. The Newcastle station was practically empty, the ticketing gates were wide open and no one checked our tickets on the train. You seriously could have just walked on the train and ridden at no cost. It was strange.

Just traveled from Berwick on Tweed to Edinburgh. Station attendant told me trains had just started running again. This was mid afternoon. Train was full, tickets never checked.

Visited St. Paul's Cathedral, Charles Dickens Museum and the National Gallery today with no problems traveling on both Tube and busses. Also made a side trip to James Smith & Sons Umbrella Shop which has been in operation for over 180 years to buy a requested bird-head umbrella for our daughter-in-law. What a wonderful find! There were people of all ages in there buying umbrellas. Who'd a thunk?

Tomorrow is another strike day. I'll report back.

If you're in central London, the strike shouldn't affect you. The tube and buses will run as scheduled. It's the trains that mostly won't be running.