Inconvenient Southeastern Train Strike

[MrZigster]

Calm down most of you.

This will probably only affect a relatively few workers/volunteers as it's planned for the Tuesday (21st June).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36528579

It's a bit of a buggeration for me. Just shy of £60 return ticket (apparently non refundable) booked weeks ago. I have to be at Kings Cross for 09:30 at the latest. Closest coach stop is Victoria or I guess I'm looking at a taxi at £100+ or who knows what.

My first time by public transport and I was already rather anxious about it to say the least. I might now have to do the traipse across London with all my gear thing I thought I'd managed to avoid. I'd had a fear for a long time that they would pull one of these either on the Tuesday or Wednesday as they've been doing the odd days for months now.

I can never have a straight forward Glastonbury it would seem.

There. Is. Always. Bloody. Something.

Really cross and anxious right now.

Anyone else affected?

 

 

[giantkatestacks]

whats your actual journey?

[fur_q]

Sorry zigster I don't quite understand where kings cross comes into it, if we had more details of your travel plans people might be able to offer more help with your journey. 

[MrZigster]

Train: Dover Priory to St. Pancras v.early Tue. Walk to Kings Cross. Catch Avalon coach. Get ticket etc. on coach so have to be there!

[MrZigster]

1 minute ago, fur_q said:

Sorry zigster I don't quite understand where kings cross comes into it, if we had more details of your travel plans people might be able to offer more help with your journey. 

Sorry. Yes I see your point. See above.

I wasn't really thinking about help tbh. More of an "informative for others affected/personal panicky whinge" type post was where it came from.

[LuckyS7rike]

Completely unrelated and unhelpful but one of our group set off on foot from Hull a couple of days ago, last checked in near Birmingham.

 

Get yer boots on

[alibear]

Isn't Southeastern different to Southern, though? 

[MrZigster]

2 minutes ago, alibear said:

Isn't Southeastern different to Southern, though? 

You may be onto something there. Give me mo.

[fur_q]

My only suggestion would be that if you have to get a coach into London then you can book a national express' from Kent to elephant and castle rarther than Victoria the you can change onto a 63 bus at the same bus stop that will take you to kings x, which would be much easier than hanging at Victoria. 

[alibear]

Just now, MrZigster said:

You may be onto something there. Give me mo.

I've just looked on National Rail and it says something about there being a replacement bus service between Dover and Folkestone until the end of the year, so travelling from Ramsgate instead will save time.

Or, if you can get to Folkestone, you can get a train to St Pancras non-stop.

[dexydexy]

4 minutes ago, MrZigster said:

You may be onto something there. Give me mo.

That's Southern, not Southeastern. Different operators. 

[fur_q]

Ha just read the link, I think this is just effecting certain routes on the Thameslink service. 

[MrZigster]

Well hang on. That story does say Southern and not Southeastern doesn't it.

I could swear when I checked my handheld when I woke up in the middle of the night it said Southeastern. Sloppy corrected later journalism possibly, but more likely sloppy brain, already panicked that something like this was going to happen.

Sorry everyone. Too late to edit original post now as well.

@eFestivals could you possibly change the Southeastern to Southern in the title please. I'm sure this will be a buggeration for someone's plans on the Tuesday.

Wow I've gone from panic, to excited from getting a NGHFB Brixton ticket in the pre sale, back to panic and then to feeling relieved but a right plonker all in the space of about an hour and a half.

Apologies again (sheepish emoji thing).

[Mardy]

@MrZigster the trains down there are a proper bollox all the time at the moment, till the end of the year, cos of that fucking sea wall thing (I live in Deal 4 months of the year). Strikes won't make much difference really. 

 

But, as you noted, it's southern, not southeastern

Edited June 15, 2016 by Mardy
Wrong zigster

[MrZigster]

1 hour ago, fur_q said:

My only suggestion would be that if you have to get a coach into London then you can book a national express' from Kent to elephant and castle rarther than Victoria the you can change onto a 63 bus at the same bus stop that will take you to kings x, which would be much easier than hanging at Victoria. 

Thanks. That's just the sort of thing I would never have come across and worth bearing in mind for future reference.

1 hour ago, alibear said:

I've just looked on National Rail and it says something about there being a replacement bus service between Dover and Folkestone until the end of the year, so travelling from Ramsgate instead will save time.

Or, if you can get to Folkestone, you can get a train to St Pancras non-stop.

Yeah, I know. I spent hours (if not days) looking at this before I decided to just make a decision and stop dithering. Folkestone is a ten mile (if that) replacement bus or it's twenty to Ramsgate on a train and then a change, plus I think that that option may have had a bus somewhere at time of booking as well. Despite what I thought was diligent research I feel a bit conned that I somehow didn't notice (wasn't told?) that the train terminates at St. Pancras and not Kings x and that it's a (supposed) 15 minute walk from there. I was also under the impression that I had booked an open ended return, but it turns out I have to be back at St.P for 13:55 on the Monday. Ha ha ha. Glastonbury traffic. Ha ha ha. You can tell I don't book trains much.

1 hour ago, dexydexy said:

That's Southern, not Southeastern. Different operators. 

 

1 hour ago, fur_q said:

Ha just read the link, I think this is just effecting certain routes on the Thameslink service. 

Yes. I know. I'm a plonker. Found this too late. Maybe a bit more than just Thameslink:

http://www.southernrailway.com/your-journey/strike/

Awful feeling this will mess somebodies plans up somewhere, though it's becoming obvious I know pretty much sweet FA about train logistics

8 minutes ago, Mardy said:

@MrZigster the trains down there are a proper bollox all the time at the moment, till the end of the year, cos of that fucking sea wall thing (I live in Deal 4 months of the year). Strikes won't make much difference really. 

 

Almost as bollox as trying to understand train ticket websites.

Worse thing is they've known about that fucking sea wall thing for years and have done the bare minimum to keep it running, only to now have to close the line for almost a year to fix it properly. False economy I reckon. That line is so old and knackered it's been faster by bus for years.

[cazzatron]

Just a place to vent my daily commuter anger rather than twitter for a change....southeastern are still shite though.

[Drfoxxx]

30 minutes ago, cazzatron said:

Just a place to vent my daily commuter anger rather than twitter for a change....southeastern are still shite though.

amen to that!

[pie_and_a_pint]

2 hours ago, LuckyS7rike said:

Completely unrelated and unhelpful but one of our group set off on foot from Hull a couple of days ago, last checked in near Birmingham.

 

 

 

Get yer boots on

 

Bloody hell, that's an immense walk. Just for the h(u)ll of it, or a charity thing? 

[somecoolusername]

You scared me. I've got to get Southeastern to Victoria for my coach on Wednesday. But knowing them the trains will probably be fucked either way

[EZYSEY]

21 hours ago, Mardy said:

@MrZigster the trains down there are a proper bollox all the time at the moment, till the end of the year, cos of that fucking sea wall thing (I live in Deal 4 months of the year). Strikes won't make much difference really.

But, as you noted, it's southern, not southeastern

SHUT UP! I live in Deal

Edited June 16, 2016 by EZYSEY

[Mardy]

4 minutes ago, EZYSEY said:

SHUT UP! I live in Deal

hehe, I'll be flying in on Saturday. 2 days down there before heading off to Glastonbury on Monday. (alright, you got me, technically, I'm Walmer)

[EZYSEY]

Small world aye. I love Deal. Dover on the other hand 

Out of curiosity are driving back to Deal after the festival would be interested to hear your thoughts on getting out and route back.

Edited June 16, 2016 by EZYSEY

[FestiZebra]

I'm travelling from up north to Brighton on the afternoon of the 21st, to then get a lift at night. This therefore, has royally fucked me over and not sure what to do?

SOUTHERNFAIL

[Mardy]

40 minutes ago, EZYSEY said:

Small world aye. I love Deal. Dover on the other hand 

Out of curiosity are driving back to Deal after the festival would be interested to hear your thoughts on getting out and route back.

Unfortunately I don't have a car in the UK, spend most of my year working in Russia, so can't really keep a vehicle in the UK, so no idea about driving down. All I know is whenever we  go to/come from the festival we always always get stuck on the A303  

 

After the festival, I'm down to Deal for 3 months of doing, though. Can't bloody wait.

[jumbomcnutt]

23 hours ago, alibear said:

Isn't Southeastern different to Southern, though? 

correct. It services from Brighton to London, and along the south coast (Eastbourne, Chichester, etc.,)