Essex's Glasto-goers face travel chaos as train strikes clash with festival
There are three days of strikes planned
People across Essex will be hit by days of disruption as the biggest walk-out on train services in England, Scotland and Wales in 30 years begins today.
The walkouts will take place on Tuesday 21st, Thursday 23rd and Saturday 25th June.
Both Greater Anglia and C2C workers will be partaking in the action, striking over pay, conditions and job security.
Among those affected are people heading to Glastonbury Festival.
Dominic, from Southend, has been travelling to the festival by train for around 30 years. He's doing it a little differently this year, but will still be impacted: “We’ve decided to go down to the nearby area by car the day before.
"We will still be affected though because we have to get a short train the next morning to get to the festival site. They’ve already cancelled half of the trains available on that morning, so now we stuck with one train that we have to get. Hopefully that will be sufficient for us.”
Having attended the festival dozens of times over the last 30 years, Dominic would usually take the train from South Essex, into central London then out to Somerset. He’s very glad to have an alternative option as he's expecting the journey will be tougher than usual: “Had we been doing the entire journey by train I would be really concerned.
"Getting all your kit across London is difficult – and quite stressful – at the best of times. The prize at the end of it is absolutely worth it, but it’s a real drag."
"I’ve done this many times over the last thirty years or so, and it’s hard enough when it’s working beautifully."
He says the journey isn't fun even when the trains are running smoothly: “I’ve done this many times over the last thirty years or so, and it’s hard enough when it’s working beautifully. When it’s not working, like it won’t be tomorrow, you’ll have increased numbers of people on the platforms, and likely some frayed temperatures.
“Similarly, the weather is beautiful, which is great, but it also means people will be warm, thirsty and hungry. All these things play into it and will make the long journey more difficult...
“You’re going for a week’s holiday in a field, so you’ve got to bring a fair amount of stuff. You’ve got to carry all of that, your hands won’t be free, you’ve got to navigate your way across London, assuming the Tube will be working fine – which it won’t be – and all of this adds to stress of the journey...
"There are real trials and tribulations to get yourself there... but it's worth it in the end once you get to the festival."
Essex disruptions
Here's what the county's train lines are telling customers:
Greater Anglia
"Passengers should expect severe disruption, plan their journeys ahead and find alternative ways of travelling if they can.
"All regional and branch line services will be cancelled if the strike goes ahead and there will be only a heavily reduced service running on some lines into London Liverpool Street. No services are due to be replaced by rail replacement buses as a result of the strike action.
"Services running will only operate from 7.30am, with the last trains finishing their journeys by 6.30pm.
"People are also advised to check the Greater Anglia website for changes to train times on Monday 20, Wednesday 22, Friday 24 and Sunday 26 June as some services will be altered as a knock-on effect of strike action.
"Anyone who has pre-booked tickets to travel on strike days can change them, use them to travel on the day before or up to two days after their original travel date, or apply for a refund by going back to their original retailer."
C2C
"We expect significant disruption on these dates and those in between. We are advising our passengers to only travel if it is essential, work from home if you can and to plan ahead if you do intend to travel.
"On the c2c route, we will be operating a reduced service from 07:30 – 18:30, equating to less than a third of normal service levels, and consisting of:
"2 trains per hour from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness via Laindon
"2 trains per hour from Fenchurch Street to Pitsea via Rainham
"No trains will run via Ockendon or Chafford Hundred
"While action is currently limited to 21st, 23rd and 25th, the surrounding dates will also see disruption to services, with services set to start running from around 06:30 with a full service planned to be in operation by 08:00.
"If your service is affected by strike action, cross-industry ticket acceptance and temporary removal of certain ticket restrictions may be made available. If you purchased an Off-Peak or Anytime ticket and choose not to travel because your service has been cancelled, delayed or rescheduled, you may be entitled to a fee-free refund or change from the original retailer of your ticket."
There's more on how trains in our region will be affected here.