London next weekend - tube strikes

[bmwmike]

Hi

Supposed to be going to London next weekend travelling by rail on Friday 19th. It looks like there are underground strikes planned. I'm in two minds about cancelling or just crack on and get a Uber (or something else?) from Paddington to Farringdon.

Never been to London when there are strikes on - can anyone help me understand how bad (or not) it's likely to be please? The tube is apparently running on sat/sun/Mon (20/21/22 aug) so that's ok, unless it's going to be disrupted.

Thanks
Mike

[valiant]

Not much will run in the 19th at all so expect severe disruption to your journey. Some bus companies are also on strike so plan accordingly.

Ubers will no doubt be surge charging IF you can get one at all and black cabs will similarly be massively in demand.

Will be a late start up the day after with most services not starting until approx 8am.

[Bam89]

I think the Elizabeth line is counted as part of the railway rather than the tube so will still be running, making your Paddington to Farringdon journey quite easy. It'll obviously be extremely busy but you should be fine

[bmwmike]

Bam89 said:

I think the Elizabeth line is counted as part of the railway rather than the tube so will still be running, making your Paddington to Farringdon journey quite easy. It'll obviously be extremely busy but you should be fine

On the 19th? I'm not familiar with the elizabeth line - does that run from Paddington to Farringdon? Apologies but I can't see it on the underground map. Thanks. Sounds positive anyway.

[pokethepope]

bmwmike said:

Bam89 said:

I think the Elizabeth line is counted as part of the railway rather than the tube so will still be running, making your Paddington to Farringdon journey quite easy. It'll obviously be extremely busy but you should be fine

On the 19th? I'm not familiar with the elizabeth line - does that run from Paddington to Farringdon? Apologies but I can't see it on the underground map. Thanks. Sounds positive anyway.

Elizabeth Line will be affected on the 19th, but doesn't clarify if not running, or a reduced service - https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/strikes

[peter tdci]

bmwmike said:

Bam89 said:

I think the Elizabeth line is counted as part of the railway rather than the tube so will still be running, making your Paddington to Farringdon journey quite easy. It'll obviously be extremely busy but you should be fine

On the 19th? I'm not familiar with the elizabeth line - does that run from Paddington to Farringdon? Apologies but I can't see it on the underground map. Thanks. Sounds positive anyway.

You can get an idea about the TfL network from their website - https://tfl.gov.uk/tube-dlr-overground/status/?Inp...

It looks like the central section of the Elizabeth Line (Paddington to Abbey Wood - which includes Farringdon) will be running on Friday and Saturday, but not Sunday.

[bmwmike]

Thanks all but I must say the information on the gov and tfl sites is confusing and seemingly contradictory. Considering pulling the plug on the weekend tbh but it's my daughter's 13th and we have a few things lined up.

No issue with people's right to strike btw more power to them, but I think comms could be a lot better?

[survivalist]

bmwmike said:

Thanks all but I must say the information on the gov and tfl sites is confusing and seemingly contradictory. Considering pulling the plug on the weekend tbh but it's my daughter's 13th and we have a few things lined up.

No issue with people's right to strike btw more power to them, but I think comms could be a lot better?

You don’t say where you are travelling from, but in a nutshell:

The train strike on Thursday will mean that it’s likely that any early Friday trains into London will be cancelled. An issue if you are getting a 9am train, but less of an issue if you’re getting a 1pm train.

When you get to London there will be limited public transport. The few services running will be busy/packed. You could pay anywhere from £20-40 to get from Paddington to Farringdon in a taxi/Uber.

Depending on where you’re planning on going once in Farringdon it might be easier to cycle / scooter / walk.

If you’re not miles away I’d be tempted to drive to the hotel and then see what the easiest options is from there.

Edited by survivalist on Saturday 13th August 19:48

[bmwmike]

survivalist said:

You don’t say where you are travelling from, but in a nutshell:

The train strike on Thursday will mean that it’s likely that any early Friday trains into London will be cancelled. An issue if you are getting a 9am train, but less of an issue if you’re getting a 1pm train.

When you get to London there will be limited public transport. The few services running will be busy/packed. You could pay anywhere from £20-40 to get from Paddington to Farringdon in a taxi/Uber.

Depending on where you’re planning on going once in Farringdon it might be easier to cycle / scooter / walk.

If you’re not miles away I’d be tempted to drive to the hotel and then see what the easiest options is from there.

Edited by survivalist on Saturday 13th August 19:48

Thanks. The strike is on the Friday (19th) though. I am getting the train from South Wales into Paddington. Don't mind paying £40 for an Uber as long as I can actually get an Uber.

[survivalist]

bmwmike said:

survivalist said:

You don’t say where you are travelling from, but in a nutshell:

The train strike on Thursday will mean that it’s likely that any early Friday trains into London will be cancelled. An issue if you are getting a 9am train, but less of an issue if you’re getting a 1pm train.

When you get to London there will be limited public transport. The few services running will be busy/packed. You could pay anywhere from £20-40 to get from Paddington to Farringdon in a taxi/Uber.

Depending on where you’re planning on going once in Farringdon it might be easier to cycle / scooter / walk.

If you’re not miles away I’d be tempted to drive to the hotel and then see what the easiest options is from there.

Edited by survivalist on Saturday 13th August 19:48

Thanks. The strike is on the Friday (19th) though. I am getting the train from South Wales into Paddington. Don't mind paying £40 for an Uber as long as I can actually get an Uber.

The tube strike is on Friday (19th) but there are also rail strikes on Thursday (18th) and Saturday (20th).

Typically, on the day following a rail strike, there will be rail disruption the following day as they need to get trains back into the correct locations etc etc. The train line I’m on usually runs 6+ trains an hour into London from 6am, but on a day following a strike they ran no trains until 8am and then only 3 an hour until midday.

Same for the tube network, so even though the strike is on the Friday (19th) expect some disruption on the 20th as well.

Think can pre-book Uber now and Addison Lee have an app to do similar. Maybe just book the taxi once you are on a train heading to London.

[bmwmike]

survivalist said:

The tube strike is on Friday (19th) but there are also rail strikes on Thursday (18th) and Saturday (20th).

Typically, on the day following a rail strike, there will be rail disruption the following day as they need to get trains back into the correct locations etc etc. The train line I’m on usually runs 6+ trains an hour into London from 6am, but on a day following a strike they ran no trains until 8am and then only 3 an hour until midday.

Same for the tube network, so even though the strike is on the Friday (19th) expect some disruption on the 20th as well.

Think can pre-book Uber now and Addison Lee have an app to do similar. Maybe just book the taxi once you are on a train heading to London.

AHH I see what you mean about 19th/20th. Good point.

Thanks, good idea about the ride too.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Will you have much luggage? It's about 4 miles, so just over an hour to walk. But if Elizabeth line is running, as Bond St isn't open yet, it's just 2 stops.

[K50 DEL]

Talking at work and with friends over the weekend about all these strikes and one thing shone through.... there was absolutely zero support for these people. They've a good job that's well paid, with decent pensions and good working conditions and still they're not happy. (greedy was the term i heard used the most)

The consensus of our conversations seemed to be that if they don't like their jobs they're free to quit and find something else, no-one's forcing them to work and much of the rest of the population has it much worse.

Are the views I've heard outliers or do most people feel the same way?

I do note that in the press they don't seem to bother trying to garner public support so maybe they know what people think?

[valiant]

K50 DEL said:

Talking at work and with friends over the weekend about all these strikes and one thing shone through.... there was absolutely zero support for these people. They've a good job that's well paid, with decent pensions and good working conditions and still they're not happy. (greedy was the term i heard used the most)

The consensus of our conversations seemed to be that if they don't like their jobs they're free to quit and find something else, no-one's forcing them to work and much of the rest of the population has it much worse.

Are the views I've heard outliers or do most people feel the same way?

I do note that in the press they don't seem to bother trying to garner public support so maybe they know what people think?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=1987981

[Bam89]

pokethepope said:

bmwmike said:

Bam89 said:

I think the Elizabeth line is counted as part of the railway rather than the tube so will still be running, making your Paddington to Farringdon journey quite easy. It'll obviously be extremely busy but you should be fine

On the 19th? I'm not familiar with the elizabeth line - does that run from Paddington to Farringdon? Apologies but I can't see it on the underground map. Thanks. Sounds positive anyway.

Elizabeth Line will be affected on the 19th, but doesn't clarify if not running, or a reduced service - https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/strikes

Not sure if OP has got plans sorted either way, but looks like that link has been updated now and says the Elizabeth line is running a normal service from 7am

Elizabeth Line central section starts at Paddington and is just two stops to Farringdon, so I'd definitely recommend getting this rather than paying for a highly surge priced Uber

"Friday 19 August
Tube, London Overground and bus strikes will affect most TfL services. Avoid travel on the Tube if possible and only travel on the rest of the network if essential.

Tube: Severe disruption on all lines. Little to no services throughout the day. No Night Tube
London Overground: late start. No Night Overground
Elizabeth line
Central - normal service starting 07:00. After 22:30, trains may not stop at all stations
East - normal service starting 07:00
West - normal service starting 07:00"

[MrBig]

K50 DEL said:

Talking at work and with friends over the weekend about all these strikes and one thing shone through.... there was absolutely zero support for these people. They've a good job that's well paid, with decent pensions and good working conditions and still they're not happy. (greedy was the term i heard used the most)

The consensus of our conversations seemed to be that if they don't like their jobs they're free to quit and find something else, no-one's forcing them to work and much of the rest of the population has it much worse.

Are the views I've heard outliers or do most people feel the same way?

I do note that in the press they don't seem to bother trying to garner public support so maybe they know what people think?

Indeed. If you don't like it, fk off and find another job. The vast majority of folks aren't getting anything like an inflation-linked pay increase. Many people won't get any increase at all. Times are hard for many people, why are they special?

Sorry, went O/T there. Had caffeine now

[bmwmike]

Bam89 said:

Not sure if OP has got plans sorted either way, but looks like that link has been updated now and says the Elizabeth line is running a normal service from 7am

Elizabeth Line central section starts at Paddington and is just two stops to Farringdon, so I'd definitely recommend getting this rather than paying for a highly surge priced Uber

"Friday 19 August
Tube, London Overground and bus strikes will affect most TfL services. Avoid travel on the Tube if possible and only travel on the rest of the network if essential.

Tube: Severe disruption on all lines. Little to no services throughout the day. No Night Tube
London Overground: late start. No Night Overground
Elizabeth line
Central - normal service starting 07:00. After 22:30, trains may not stop at all stations
East - normal service starting 07:00
West - normal service starting 07:00"

Thanks. In the end we decided to cancel the whole lot - the train, restaurant bookings, events, and hotel. Just too much risk of sitting on a train twiddling our thumbs, not getting connecting transport etc.