Coronavirus.

Jonah

Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
Doomed 1.jpg
 

SketchyMagpie

Well-Known Forumite
I am feeling a bit iffy about the two NIN gigs coming up, to be honest (and not just because of the trains!). I've had more than one NHS worker friend tell me that either they wouldn't go or I shouldn't. I'm going to mask up as always and resist the urge to get on the barrier anyhoo,
 

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
Had a text off the youngest sister earlier. She's caught the dreaded Covid. She's just enjoyed a hollibob in Galway, Ireland.
Her and the new knobheadwankstainwasteofspacearsewipe got back to Blighty last Sunday, she reckons she started feeling rough around Friday evening.
He, of course, hasn't got it.
 

staffordjas

Well-Known Forumite
I am feeling a bit iffy about the two NIN gigs coming up, to be honest (and not just because of the trains!). I've had more than one NHS worker friend tell me that either they wouldn't go or I shouldn't. I'm going to mask up as always and resist the urge to get on the barrier anyhoo,
Watch the train situation closely @SketchyMagpie

Sons just found out the train route he's booked back from London to Worcester for Wednesday ( non-strike day) won't be running at all from tues- sat at all next week ' due to disruption, non- strike days will also be affected. No services at all Tues21st - through to sat 25th' on that route.

As well as services that are actually running, most not operating after 6.30pm ( according to BBC teletext)


Just told him to forget booking public transport for his journey to the airport for his July holiday. I'll take him & his mate in our car to make sure he bloody gets there & back !
 

SketchyMagpie

Well-Known Forumite
Yeah it's going to be stressful. TBH I'm thinking of ditching the London date (Tuesday) because I think I'm underestimating how bad it will be trying to come back on the Wednesday morning. I mean, the best case scenario is I get an absolutely rammed train that gets progressively more rammed with each stop for an hour and a half which isn't ideal in the best of times, never mind during Covid. That feels like multiplying my chances of exposure several times over when you consider I'll be travelling on the actual day of the first strike and the day before it too which will all likely be rammo kablammo.

Thing is I can't get a refund on my hotel which is nearly £200 so I don't want to waste that. I could amend the check in date to a future point and see if I can use it for another visit but I dunno.

Aaaaagh. I'll think about it over the weekend.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Yeah it's going to be stressful. TBH I'm thinking of ditching the London date (Tuesday) because I think I'm underestimating how bad it will be trying to come back on the Wednesday morning. I mean, the best case scenario is I get an absolutely rammed train that gets progressively more rammed with each stop for an hour and a half which isn't ideal in the best of times, never mind during Covid. That feels like multiplying my chances of exposure several times over when you consider I'll be travelling on the actual day of the first strike and the day before it too which will all likely be rammo kablammo.

Thing is I can't get a refund on my hotel which is nearly £200 so I don't want to waste that. I could amend the check in date to a future point and see if I can use it for another visit but I dunno.

Aaaaagh. I'll think about it over the weekend.
Move it to the furthest future point you can, and ask if it can be changed again later? I'm sure there will be another gig.

Having trouble shifting my Green Day tickets for next Friday, may even try viagogo at this rate!
 

The Hawk

Well-Known Forumite
Yeah it's going to be stressful. TBH I'm thinking of ditching the London date (Tuesday) because I think I'm underestimating how bad it will be trying to come back on the Wednesday morning. I mean, the best case scenario is I get an absolutely rammed train that gets progressively more rammed with each stop for an hour and a half which isn't ideal in the best of times, never mind during Covid. That feels like multiplying my chances of exposure several times over when you consider I'll be travelling on the actual day of the first strike and the day before it too which will all likely be rammo kablammo.

Thing is I can't get a refund on my hotel which is nearly £200 so I don't want to waste that. I could amend the check in date to a future point and see if I can use it for another visit but I dunno.

Aaaaagh. I'll think about it over the weekend.
The service between London Euston and Stafford will probably be as good as anywhere in the country during the strike period, with a good service being maintained on the strike days themselves, but only for departures from Euston between 07:47 and 15:40. I'm sure there will be the odd cancellation, but generally speaking it will be two services per hour.

The timetable for the non-strike days has yet to finalised, but there is no reason to expect it to be significantly worse than strike days and, hopefully, it will be somewhat better.

Given the warnings, I would be surprised if services are particularly busy on the Euston-Stafford route.
 

SketchyMagpie

Well-Known Forumite
The service between London Euston and Stafford will probably be as good as anywhere in the country during the strike period, with a good service being maintained on the strike days themselves, but only for departures from Euston between 07:47 and 15:40. I'm sure there will be the odd cancellation, but generally speaking it will be two services per hour.

The timetable for the non-strike days has yet to finalised, but there is no reason to expect it to be significantly worse than strike days and, hopefully, it will be somewhat better.

Given the warnings, I would be surprised if services are particularly busy on the Euston-Stafford route.
Thanks but I'm thinking more about it being rammed than anything (nearly every train was sold out when I checked this morning), I'm sure I could actually get home. To be honest I just don't think I want to put up with three days of long, unpleasant train journeys (I'm going to Manchester on Monday night and literally cannot get a train from there to London on Tuesday). If it wasn't covid times I might risk it (gigs are more of a known risk to me now) but the idea of being packed into a train like sardines four times in three days is... uggggh.

Let's just say one thing I have learned with my resumed gig schedule this year is my tolerance for train bullshit has gone waaaaay down since pre-pandemic times!
 
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staffordjas

Well-Known Forumite
I've told son to sling his keys to our house in his bags, so that if Stafford line is the only one him & girlfriend can get out of London they can make their way here.
 
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SketchyMagpie

Well-Known Forumite
You can buy an off peak single for £51.80 for most of those trains if you look on the Avanti site.
Did you select the correct date? It's all showing as sold out for me.
In any case I already have a return booked, I'm talking more about them likely being rammed.

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The Hawk

Well-Known Forumite
Did you select the correct date? It's all showing as sold out for me.
In any case I already have a return booked, I'm talking more about them likely being rammed.

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They are not sold out, they are waiting for the timetable for that day to be confirmed, before putting tickets back on sale.

Whilst the strike day timetables have been confirmed, those for the days either side of the strike days have not (yet).

The general message seems to be that trains will be rammed; it's a deliberate ploy to try and dissuade as many people from travelling as possible. I suspect that some short commuter services will be extremely busy, but I suspect that the London - Stafford ones won't be too bad. On the strike days, both the London - Liverpool and the London - Manchester services will stop at Stafford. The irony is that, whilst almost every place in the country gets no service or a very limited service, Stafford will actually have an improved Avanti service, at least between 08:00 and 15:00.
 

Theresa Green

Well-Known Forumite
Stoke and Stafford ( County ) Hospitals to end general mask wearing next week

Germany consider compulsory indoor mask wearing from October until March

90,000 shipping containers full of PPE sit in fields in Eastern England

Like a recently disinfected shit-house, you’re clean round the bend
 

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
Stoke and Stafford ( County ) Hospitals to end general mask wearing next week

Germany consider compulsory indoor mask wearing from October until March

90,000 shipping containers full of PPE sit in fields in Eastern England

Like a recently disinfected shit-house, you’re clean round the bend
St.Georges too, but majority of us believe cases of this nasty virus will rise. We will still have to wear masks, visors etc if we have a patient come in with it.
 

airbusA346

Well-Known Forumite
They are not sold out, they are waiting for the timetable for that day to be confirmed, before putting tickets back on sale.

Whilst the strike day timetables have been confirmed, those for the days either side of the strike days have not (yet).

The general message seems to be that trains will be rammed; it's a deliberate ploy to try and dissuade as many people from travelling as possible. I suspect that some short commuter services will be extremely busy, but I suspect that the London - Stafford ones won't be too bad. On the strike days, both the London - Liverpool and the London - Manchester services will stop at Stafford. The irony is that, whilst almost every place in the country gets no service or a very limited service, Stafford will actually have an improved Avanti service, at least between 08:00 and 15:00.
Have they given any indication of when they'll be releasing the timetables?

I'm meant to be going to Coventry on Sunday afternoon and a replacement bus is mentioned, but I can't get an answer out of West Midlands Railway about what happens if the bus/coach isn't accessible.
 

The Hawk

Well-Known Forumite
Have they given any indication of when they'll be releasing the timetables?

I'm meant to be going to Coventry on Sunday afternoon and a replacement bus is mentioned, but I can't get an answer out of West Midlands Railway about what happens if the bus/coach isn't accessible.
There's engineering work in the Coventry area, tomorrow, so, yes, there will be a rail replacement coach/bus for part of the journey.

More often than not, rail replacement services are NOT accessible. If that's the case the staff in attendance will provide an alternative method of travel (which is usually an accessible taxi).
 
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