Tubes, Trains, and Buses - Strikes and Health

I'm looking forward to hearing the responses. All I can tell you is that I started planning our trip that starts tomorrow in August 2022, and the strikes were happening then. I thought, well at least we don't travel until late next year so this will all be over....wrong!

If you mean boosters in the UK, in England the policy is to treat Covid similarly to flu: adults over 65 and those who are immune-compromised are receiving the booster from now onwards, for free. Practically no-one is wearing masks at the moment, although this may change as we go into winter and if the newest variant spreads. However, there is no reason why you shouldn’t wear masks if you so wish - no one here would criticise you for it.

There is no resolution to the rail strikes in sight. No negotiations are happening, or expected to happen. The Employers have made their full and final offer.

If you are travelling to Inverness on the daily LNER train on a strike day then you aren't.

No LNER trains will run beyond Edinburgh, so you will have to change to Scotrail at Edinburgh. Your ticket is automatically valid, and Scotrail are not involved in the strikes. But the next train after the normal LNER train will be very busy with all the displaced passengers.

All anyone can say is that 14 days notice has to be given of any strike. Yes the action could expand, or may just stay as a strike every few weeks.

On the Tube all rules were scrapped a long time ago. All is back to normal. Any 'precautions' are entirely your choice but don't expect to see more than the odd person wearing a mask or taking any other actions against Covid.

Train strikes only happen on the scheduled days, and must be announced at least 14 days in advance. So you won’t get sudden wildcat train strikes or strikes that last for days and days. I hope that at least gives you a bit of reassurance. You’ll need to keep an eye on scheduled strikes (the BBC News website among many others will give you details) and you will need a little flexibility, but you will definitely get at least two weeks’ notice of train strikes.

Re Covid, I have to tell you that here in the Uk we seem to have decided that Covid is over and there is virtually no wearing of masks anywhere.

However I tend to see one or two on public transport and please do wear them if you feel better about it. But you’re unlikely to see many other people wearing them, or any attempts at social distancing of any sort.

The Tube is busy at rush hour (although a lot more people are working at home these days). If you don’t want to travel with your face in someone’s armpit, avoid the worst of the rush hour and look at walking to the end of platforms to take the first or last carriage of any tube train.

You could also look at the excellent bus service in London.

We wore masks when traveling on the Tube for the first week of our vacation this summer since we didn't want to catch so much as a cold before hiking the Cotswold Way. No one batted an eye, and we did see a few other people wearing masks, but mainly not. Here at home I keep one in my purse so I can use it if I'm somewhere that seems very crowded, but then positivity rates are running 20% in my area.

Five of our 7 train journeys were affected by strikes, but we were fortunate to get where we needed to be each time on the reduced schedule. However the longest journey was Bath to London, and we were fully prepared to take a coach that day if necessary, so we weren't traveling very long distances.

I wonder if masking is to a degree regional or demographic led.

Got our flu and covid boosters yesterday in quite a queue despite we had all had to specify a time. Typical British queue but people were leaving about a metre and at least 2/3 were masked (except the man in charge, a pharmacist, who had forgotten that masks over the chin are less useful).

I have noticed in the last couple of weeks perhaps 30 percent of shoppers in the mall and the supermarkets are masking, and using real masks rather than the fabric things used last go around.

But I'm in the East and perhaps a slightly older crowd than in London.

Who knows?

Thanks for these responses. Any thoughts on what "day after" service may be like? Anticipate problems? The LNER to Inverness train is the day after one of the announced strikes.

the day after often has crew and trains out of position - don't try to go too early in the morning while things are moving about. Or it might be fine. We have done this exercise several times in the past year so it is getting a bit routine.

There is also the allied overtime ban on the days between and just after the strike days. And, LNER already have issues with train crew. Yesterday, for instance, when there is no strike or overtime ban in force, the Inverness train was terminated at Edinburgh (and today's southbound Inverness to Edinburgh cancelled) due to no train crew.

Last night and this morning, LNER provided road transport EDI-INV and INV-EDI.

If you’re heading straight from London to Inverness, then you could think about flying - EasyJet fly to Inverness from Gatwick and Luton.

Normally I’m a big fan of trains rather than planes but if you’re just heading straight to Inverness and not planning stops or sightseeing en route, a plane would get you there quickly and quite cheaply.

I'm with Golden Girl. I've flown from Gatwick to Inverness. While you don't get the "scenery" you also don't have to deal with all the train issues.

Obviously you’d still need to get to Gatwick or Luton, but I suspect the train services to those airports are far more likely to be running okay the day after a strike than London to Inverness.

What does the overtime ban affect? Will affect service for the tube from Heathrow to Westminster?

I don't think I mentioned it earlier, but we are booked on the LNER direct from London to Inverness.

The train companies don't employ enough people to run their advertised services without asking staff to voluntarily work on their days off. If staff withdraw from working their days off, there's not enough people to run trains. Staffing levels are one of the issues that ASLEF (one of the main railway unions) has with the employers. The overtime ban is part of the industrial action they are taking.

RMT is the other main transport workers' union, representing a majority of London Underground workers. I need to read more about their dispute before I can comment on it.

https://aslef.org.uk/publications/aslef-train-drivers-union-announces-industrial-action-and-asks-wheres-wally

If you already have a train booked then telling you to fly is not being helpful. As a train service will run, then you will not get your train ticket refunded, as it will be your choice not to travel.

On 30 September the strike action will not affect tube service from Heathrow to central London. On 4 October it will, as there are parallel strikes on the tube, which are expected to lead to a full closure of the tube system.

On that day take National Express coaches to London Victoria or the Elizabeth line to a central London destination, then a red London bus or a taxi to your hotel.

The overtime ban is not expected to affect tube service as it is on National Rail only, and then not on London Overground/National Rail