Rail strikes

[Dave2002]

We almost missed last night's Prom - Beethoven 2 and 5 - as our normal journey to the RAH was, it seems, affected by a rail strike. All that we knew was that there were no trains - there was no indication at the station as to why, nor were there any obvious announcements that we might have had a problem. I was aware from news items on the R4 news at lunchtime that Eurostar trains were affected, but that was not AFAIK due to strikes, but because some rolling stock had been taken out of service previously due to the hot weather affecting those. I heard nothing about the strikes on our local lines.

We did just manage to find an alternative route, by another rather slow train, followed by a taxi. If there are real issues, then I suppose the workers who have a grievance should take what they feel to be appropriate action, but in this case it seems that neither the management (South Western Railway) nor the strikers thought it worth while making their dispute more widely known. I suppose that as this was strike action there will be a let out for the operating company if we try to put in a claim for compensation. We even considered abandoning the concert altogether, but that would have been a shame, as it was enjoyable anyway - if not quite the knock out event it had been hyped up to be.

I suppose in this instance the strikers didn't want to cause major disruption, and rattle too many cages, so chose a Saturday instead of a "normal" working day.

[oddoneout]

Yesterday seems to be one of several planned days of action on SWR, in which case there is no reason why that information shouldn't have been available at the station. Look into the compensation - it applies to delays and to cancellations causing a decision not to travel that are the result of strike action, so you might fall between two stools by opting for an alternative route - but if you don't ask(or these days demand!) you won't get.
Worth checking before travelling on something like trainline.com for service disruptions and/or there are 'direct to your device of choice options' for updates as well.
Pleased that you did manage to make the concert after all, even if in this case the train didn't so much take the strain as create it!

[LMcD]

We've had a succession of RMT strikes on the Greater Anglia network, but they seem to have had little if any impact on services, 'management' having drafted in quickly but presumably adequately trained replacements, and it was recently reported that the union and the operator have now reached on agreement on manning policy.

[Dave2002]

Yesterday seems to be one of several planned days of action on SWR, in which case there is no reason why that information shouldn't have been available at the station. Look into the compensation - it applies to delays and to cancellations causing a decision not to travel that are the result of strike action, so you might fall between two stools by opting for an alternative route - but if you don't ask(or these days demand!) you won't get.
Worth checking before travelling on something like trainline.com for service disruptions and/or there are 'direct to your device of choice options' for updates as well.
Pleased that you did manage to make the concert after all, even if in this case the train didn't so much take the strain as create it!

The only information that we could see at the stations was that there were no trains - no explanation. A slight annoyance as we'd already paid to park our car, and had to drive to another station where the car park charges were higher, but where the Southern trains were unaffected. In the grand scheme of things it's not such a big deal - we did get to the concert - and at £24 each the loss would have been greater if we hadn't, and we'd have missed out on a good experience - even if not outstanding.

Just seems incompetence on both the management side and the rail workers side that relevant information wasn't displayed at the station, or in the station car park. Obviously if they (either side) wish to be disruptive they are succeeding, but does this way really do much for the causes of either. We don't even know why the strike was called - I thought these issues had subsided, or been resolved long ago. Disruption without explanation seems pointless, and hardly likely to win friends either for the management or the workers. Is it about removing guards from trains, which was an isssue with another operator some while ago?

[Cockney Sparrow]

....... . Is it about removing guards from trains, which was an isssue with another operator some while ago?

I think the strike action on a number of networks was mentioned on the 8am/maybe 9am R4 news yesterday, and this was one of the reasons cited.
I only use trains for social/concert purposes. However given Govia's horrific service levels, more than ever I keep an eye on their website & National Rail app for delays or news of disruption and leave time to travel very early if necessary if I can do that.
I think the rail unions take every advantage to pile on the pressure whenever management, all too frequently, muck things up. All under the aegis of the peripatetic ministerial disaster zone aka Chris Grayling.

[french frank]

I read something about "lightning strikes" (which I thought was industrial action) disrupting rail services a couple of days ago and it was about lightning damaging signalling

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44978970

[oddoneout]

[QUOTE=french frank;690161]I read something about "lightning strikes" (which I thought was industrial action) disrupting rail services a couple of days ago and it was about lightning damaging signalling/QUOTE]
If they had been lightening strikes it would have been a whitewash.

[gradus]

I thought that the lightning strike had perished thanks to the legislation of the eighties. They remain illegal.

[Serial_Apologist]

I read something about "lightning strikes" (which I thought was industrial action) disrupting rail services a couple of days ago and it was about lightning damaging signalling

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44978970

And a bright spark like you, ff!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I thought that the lightning strike had perished thanks to the legislation of the eighties. They remain illegal.

Not necessarily. Provided that legal ballots have taken place, the strikes can then be implemented as and when...

[Alain Maréchal]

I was aware from news items on the R4 news at lunchtime that Eurostar trains were affected, but that was not AFAIK due to strikes, but because some rolling stock had been taken out of service previously due to the hot weather affecting those.

You are confusing two quite separate services (a common error). Eurostar is the passenger service between St Pancras and Gare du Nord, which has been unaffected by the weather (but see below). The trains that have been affected by the hot weather are the car/bus/freight transporters of Eurotunnel (aka Le Shuttle) causing ridiculously long delays at Folkestone.

Eurostar has been subject to strike action, but so far there has been little if any disruption. The strikes are because the RMT union is concerned by "dangerous overcrowding" on the concourse, caused by the rigorous passport and luggage checks. This happens because you are not in the Schengen area, and it will, naturally, become much worse in future because of A Certain Subject.

I have been using both services regularly since they began operation, and there was always overcrowding. Neither at St.Pancras nor Gare du Nord are the facilities and space adequate (It was calmer when Waterloo was the London terminal.) I marvel at the logistics of creating and running the Eurotunnel vehicle service, but there has always been the feeling that there is no Plan B when anything goes wrong. The impression is always of corners being cut to keep it profitable.

Nostalgia moment: the Dover/Oostende jetfoil. Now there was a comfortable service.

[gradus]

Not necessarily. Provided that legal ballots have taken place, the strikes can then be implemented as and when...

But the whole point of the lightning strike was to avoid a vote of all members, otherwise it's just a strike and can be countered by employers.

[Stanfordian]

But the whole point of the lightning strike was to avoid a vote of all members, otherwise it's just a strike and can be countered by employers.

I feel for those whose work and holiday travel have been affected!

[Dave2002]

You are confusing two quite separate services (a common error). Eurostar is the passenger service between St Pancras and Gare du Nord, which has been unaffected by the weather (but see below). The trains that have been affected by the hot weather are the car/bus/freight transporters of Eurotunnel (aka Le Shuttle) causing ridiculously long delays at Folkestone.

Eurostar has been subject to strike action, but so far there has been little if any disruption. The strikes are because the RMT union is concerned by "dangerous overcrowding" on the concourse, caused by the rigorous passport and luggage checks. This happens because you are not in the Schengen area, and it will, naturally, become much worse in future because of A Certain Subject.

I have been using both services regularly since they began operation, and there was always overcrowding. Neither at St.Pancras nor Gare du Nord are the facilities and space adequate (It was calmer when Waterloo was the London terminal.) I marvel at the logistics of creating and running the Eurotunnel vehicle service, but there has always been the feeling that there is no Plan B when anything goes wrong. The impression is always of corners being cut to keep it profitable.

Nostalgia moment: the Dover/Oostende jetfoil. Now there was a comfortable service.

Hi Alain - thanks for responding. I think you are right about correcting me - but I was simply picking up the information which I heard briefly on the R4 news. The relevant point about the thread is that the BBC did broadcast an indication that the cross Channel services were affected - for whatever reason, but there was no corresponding news about rail strikes and cancellations within the UK. Maybe the BBC didn't think anyone would be affected or care!

[Dave2002]

Nostalgia moment: the Dover/Oostende jetfoil. Now there was a comfortable service.

Another nostalgia moment: Hovercraft. Sometimes a very uncomfortable service, and not reliable in rough weather. Quite exciting though.

Re earlier comment about BBC News - I think there were mentions of the strikes earlier in the day - but I was probably not up or doing other things, but I didn't hear anything on the 1pm News to indicate problems. There were no scheduled engineering works - we checked - so the only other thing we could have done would have been to keep checking the rail website. I don't know if they actually even put details of strike action up on that - the National Rail site - maybe it's deliberately kept an arcane secret. People who have more experience of other strikes in the last year or so may be more familiar with what information gets put up on web sites.