Vocal Voices

We might have to call it off.

ASLET has announced overtime bans meaning that even scheduled trains may not run. It was on the news but details were scarce so I went looking and found this on the ASLEF site:

The withdrawal of non-contractual overtime will start at 00:01 on Monday 31 July and end at 23:59 on Saturday 5 August at: Avanti West Coast; Chiltern Railways; Cross Country; East Midlands Railway; Greater Anglia; Great Western Railway; GTR Great Northern Thameslink; Island Line; LNER; Northern Trains; Southeastern; Southern/Gatwick Express; South Western Railway main line; TransPennine Express; and West Midlands Trains.

My round-trip return journey involves LNER and Cross Country and Trainline cannot confirm that my booked and paid for tickets will be honoured. I might have no choice but to cancel.

Any thoughts....?

I haven't booked anything yet so will go with the flow...... I can do any time in August so flexible

My journey will involve two train lines as well - and as I'm cat sitting for a neighbour I can't risk not being able to get home

I am flexible in August but i have some other dates booked which i cannot alter.

These are 4th, 18th and 21st August 2023.

I also am booked up on 7th September 2023.

I hopw we can have one as I have booked my tickets. I can always arrange either a refund or change them to another date.

I travel with Avanti from Wigan to Birmingham New Street. It is a direct train and I do not have to change.

I have a ticket booked with Cross Country, but I insured it so am covered money-wise. I do have a few things going on later in August and we're away in early September........

Kaz wrote:I have a ticket booked with Cross Country, but I insured it so am covered money-wise. I do have a few things going on later in August and we're away in early September........

I insured my ticket too Kaz for the princely sum of 99 pence.

I think that date's the only one I can do as I'm off to Scotland on August 7 then back to Spain on the 14th.

Last year when my XCountry train was cancelled I got a local train to Cheltenham, then hopped on the Plymouth Express which stops at Cheltenham, and then New Street. I can do that again if necessary as long as I’m not Billy No Mates

Just wondering if anyone has considered the coaches? I have used coaches for London Edinburgh, Paris Brussels and Paris London. A ticket from Leeds to Brum is about £6 - £9 and journey is 3-4 hours depending on time of day.

I think Frank has, but it's a long journey and then a return same day......

Kaz wrote:I think Frank has, but it's a long journey and then a return same day......

Agreed it is. I started my use of busses when I arrived in Paris on a late flight and my connecting flight to Brussels had gone. I had to look for options and trains don't run overnight. So I got the bus from Paris to Brussels as I had my bike in a garage in Brussels and an MOT booked in Kent the next day. So started an epic journey of overnight bus to Brussels, bike to Kent, MOT passed, bike back to Paris (well about 30k away), bus back to London but, as chance would have it, via Brussels on the same 11pm bus I'd been on the previous night. When I arrived in London I checked into a hotel for 6 hours of sleep then took the night bus, with beds, to Edinburgh (where I had flown from on the Friday night).

Busses can be very long and Very tiring. Trains are better. Planes win hands down.

Suff, for one person on one return journey the coach is not a problem. Leeds to Birmingham and back is only one hour longer in total than by train. I actually prefer it.

The problem is that there are six of us all coming from different directions and using different train operators. Each of those companies is facing restrictions due to the strikes and overtime bans... and at present nobody knows what they are, Cross-Country will be different from LNER, from Avanti, from GWR. Some of us might be fine whereas others will be cancelled at the last minute - nobody knows.