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Train Platform
I can’t believe that London has had more than a couple of Tube and train strikes lately, causing unwanted disruption during the morning and evening rush hours. Apparently, some of these disruptions have happened because of ticket offices closures, job cuts, pay and working conditions. But in spite of the disruptions, train strikes can make you unusually happy.
Information Office at Vauxhall. Train Strikes Can Make You Unusually Happy
Plan your journey ahead.
Word of mouth and reading my News feeds has regularly kept me up to date with travel news and has also helped me to plan my journeys well in advance. If planning a journey within London or beyond that coincides with a strike day, it’s not the end of the world! Join Twitter and follow the feeds for all the relevant companies that take you to your destinations, like, @TFL @Southern and @South West trains for travel alerts to receive live updates.
I needed to get to the other side of London in early January when a Tube strike was taking place but somehow I thought the trains were going to take part in the Industrial action as well. So I got a bit panicky the night before but suddenly remembered to make enquiries with South West Trains via Twitter to find out the real facts. Can you believe I received an instant reply and was able to plan my journey for the next day without any trouble?
Trains Timetable at Twickenham station
Subscribe to TFL and receive email updates about planned engineering work or strikes. My notifications arrive in my Inbox 2 weeks before the scheduled strike or planned engineering work. Listen out for adverts and notifications.
Guildford Station
Team up with a friend or a neighbour and car share or walk to work together.
In the end everything will work out because it could end up being a beautiful day and that will be your exercise done. Even though I’ve always loved strolling in to work and being part of the crowd, It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Train strikes can make you unusually happy if you have this timely information. It will take so much stress out of your day, which could easily have been a nerve-racking experience.
To get people moving and stopping them from being stuck in traffic jams and lengthy bus queues, Transport for London (TFL) could consider calling retired drivers back for a couple of days or invest in driverless trains to keep the system running.
Take a day off work if you can, work from home if it’s an option with your employers or arrange appointments around the day.
Cycle to work instead and cut through that ridiculous lengthy traffic.
Get the bus, Tram, mini cab, Uber or a Taxi as alternative way to get to work or travel. Some companies are generous enough to reimburse travel fares.
Set your alarm to wake you up 2 hours earlier than your normal time if you’re an early bird. Owls might find this difficult.
Strike days don’t have to be a nightmare after all. Train strikes can make you unusually happy if you choose to turn the situation into a positive. If you have any strategies for coping with strike, feel free to share your thoughts in the comment box.
When I worked in London I rode the Northern Line back and forth between Golders Green and Euston stations every day. A Tube strike would have been hard on me – thankfully that never happened.
They must have been good days. How times have changed.
Train strikes can be disruptive to commuters, but you’ve identified a number of ways to cope. If I were in London as a tourist during a strike, I think I might be prepared to alter my itinerary a bit based on what was and wasn’t running. Using Twitter to find out what is going on is a good tip.
I agree that tourists need to plan their itinerary in line with what’s running or not running. It would be a nightmare if they got caught up with disruptions.
I love train travel – local and international. When getting to work on time matters, they’re not much fun, though! I remember trying to get from London to Leicester during at British Rail strike years ago. What a mess! Funnily enough, everyone was considerate and courteous. We were all in the same boat – excuse me, all trying to get on the same train, so being miserable wouldn’t have helped! 🙂 Better than air strikes, though!!
Train travel is so much fun but not when commuting to work.
Good and practical tips for dealing with London and the many tube strikes that seem to keep happening in this city.
Glad you found the tips handy and hope you don’t get stuck in one of those crowded bus stands or traffic jams.