October 2022 Rail Strikes - early warning

Here we go again !

This looks like Scot Rail is not involved in this strike. Need to get from Edinburgh to Glasgow to start Rick Steves tour on October 1st. Am I correct in how I read this? Their website had no info last time I looked.

I know this may be stupid question but I honestly do not Know. Will this affect the tube or the Heathrow Express? I will be in London that week and I'm leaving on the 5th

Thanks Marco for the list.

As for Heathrow Express and Underground - they are not on the list. Heathrow Express have different drivers to GWR now but the vast bulk of traffic out of Paddington is GWR. Will that affect HE? Dunno. Subscribe for notifications from HE, then you will know sooner than me.

The London Underground is not striking on this one. Other than absorbing a lot of train passengers it probably won't be affected. Although the Metropolitan Line shares track with Chiltern in northwest London I wouldn't expect any significant issues.

Subscribe to the TfL notifications and you will know before me. About other issues too.

Thank you!

The unions themselves have not yet made a public statement but as they had to give the companies the required 14 days notice the dates have emerged from that side. The week chosen is that of the Conservative Party conference.

I'm supposed to be traveling in Scotland in October, and Trainline has advised me of strike dates on October 1st, 5th and 8th.

What I find strange is that Trainline knows that my tickets are on the 5th and the 9th, yet wrote me directly saying « we know your trip is on the 8th.” ?!!

As I have understood it, it is not actually ScotRail striking on those dates, but rather with all the other companies striking, one of the big unions striking is the RMT, which runs the rails, so to speak — does the signaling, etc. So even though ScotRail isn’t striking on those dates, they can’t run trains because the people who operate the signaling systems (and I don’t know what else won’t be working).

Now UK press is reporting this morning that RMT union members at ScotRail have voted to strike on Monday, October 10th.

All of this is part of why (along with the Covid restrictions between the Uk and France that lasted for so long) I haven’t been to Scotland in the last couple of years. I had finally bought tickets to go in October because the couple who run my “happy place hotel in Glenfinnan have announced that they are leaving the hotel at the end of the season - and I’m afraid the owners will either make the place too fancy, or take it back private, and I’ll never be able to go again. So I went ahead and got tickets.

Now this stupid rail strike is affecting me, just as it would have all the other times.

I went online last night and rented a car. I don’t love that — for either the environment or my being able to enjoy the spectacular West Highland line — but at least it will allow me to make my trip.

It does make me sad though — I had really thought of taking trains all the way from Paris via London like I did this summer. Although flying is so much worse for the environment, i must say I’m relieved to have a flight direct into Glasgow this time so I’m also not stuck not even making it up there!!!

So I guess I should *add to * Marco’s original post up there with what companies are striking when, beyond the dates of the 1st. (Please refer to his OP for the companies striking on the 1st.)

Wed. October 5: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, CrossCountry, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, Hull Trains, LNER, London Overground, Northern, Southeastern, TransPennine Express & West Midlands Trains (Also ASLEF)

Sat. October 8th: Strikes planned

Mon. October 10: ScotRail RMT members. ScotRail has warned of “significant disruption” for this day.

ScotRail also notices on its site that the evening beofre a given strike day and the morning after, services will be affected due to the closing and reopening of signal boxes at different times across the country. They will provide a list of cancelled/amended services for Friday and Sunday in the coming days. (This is where I get caught up — I’m suppose to travel the morning after the 5th strike, and arrive into Glasgow late the evening before the 10th strike. So I think I am very much going to be using that rental car !!! Which i got for an excellent price through AutoEurope, by the way)

I have train tickets for October 8. London to York. Thoughts on what I should consider? Should I hold on to the tickets for now just in case there’s a settlement? If I look into taking a bus, any recommendations about a particular website to buy from? Thanks!

I have updated the list at the top to reflect all the strikes in place in the coming few days. Check with rail company concerned as to whether the strikes on a particular day affects them. TSSA is more limited so have indicated to the best of my knowledge.

Generally the disruption overall is greatest for Aslef (drivers), then RMT and TSSA, but some routes can be knocked out completely by this multiple action. For example there will be no services into the North Cotswolds or in Cornwall at all between 5-8 October.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/ is a website that actually shows what trains are running on a particular day. It might be worth checking it on a strike day to see exactly what the situation is on any route.