Traveling entirely by train in late September and early October, 2024, between London, Norwich, York and Chester and wondering what effect on train strikes, labor disruptions, etc. yesterday’s elections might bring. Any thoughts or predictions?
Posted by
Buckinghamshire
181 posts
Hopefully, the new government which is more Union-friendly than the outgoing one, will be able to resolve many of these long-standing disputes.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11946 posts
Any thoughts or predictions?
Nick's response of I doubt it will make any difference for you. while true on the whole, may not be 100% accurate.
If the unions get their wish for better pay, the train operators will have higher costs to cover, so higher fares seems something that can be expected.
Posted by
London
1308 posts
Nick's response of I doubt it will make any difference for you. while true on the whole, may not be 100% accurate.
I don't often find common ground with Nick on cultural and political questions, but he's probably closer to the truth than you I'm afraid Joe :) (imho anyway)
There's a lot of things that affect ticket price on British railways. It's quite a turbulent market for the operators and customers. It's too simplistic to pin pay and conditions to the causation of price rises that may or may not occur.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2320 posts
At this stage, it is too early to judge or make comments...
Posted by
Bristol, UK
1453 posts
There could be strikes but I don’t think it will have anything to do with the change in government but rather a continuation of the ongoing dispute.
The railways are heavily subsidised so it’s not really as simple as higher wages equal higher fares. There is also a lot of political pressure to keep fares down as the railways are an essential public service. There can be real anger about poor service and high fares among the general public and it’s seen as a problem for government to sort out.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33992 posts
give the new government 2 or 3 months to bed in and then we will see....
Posted by
129 posts
I don't know about the new government and there were no strikes going on when I was there last summer, but I would say that about half of the trains I took were either severely delayed or outright cancelled. According to the people on the trains I chatted with it's not uncommon, so be sure to build a lot of flexibility with time into your train travel there.
Posted by
Cornwall
378 posts
but I would say that about half of the trains I took were either severely delayed or outright cancelled.
You were very unlucky, I spend a lot of time on trains and that happens about 1 time in 20.
Posted by
Portsmouth
5552 posts
You were very unlucky, I spend a lot of time on trains and that happens about 1 time in 20.
I agree. Whilst I rarely travel by train (I don't like the general public) my son commutes to London a couple of times a week and the vast majority of the time his train is on time. Those times were it is delayed are usually due to some unforeseen circumstances that are almost entirely unavoidable.
As for the ramifications of the election results on train travel during that period I suspect there will be zero.