All rail passengers want for Christmas... is to avoid another train strike

Simon Calder’s Travel Week [View in browser]( [The Independent]( [Travel] Simon Calder’s Travel Week [Simon Calder]( Written by Simon Calder | December 24, 2021 This Christmas, as in 2020, Covid-19 is causing much sadness and disruption. One tradition remains unaffected: Network Rail staff will be out in force, around Bristol, Manchester, Leeds and many other locations, improving the national infrastructure at the time of year with, historically, the lowest demand for trains. A seasonal reminder ahead of the usual 25 December shutdown to complete your journey by this evening. But this year it could be trickier than usual. [The pre-Christmas getaway is hampered by hundreds of train cancellations](. Most are Omicron-related: staff isolating after contracting the variant (many train operators), the collapse in passenger numbers (Greater Anglia) and even “side-effects of booster jabs” (Thameslink). To compound the chaos and ensure that even fewer people can travel by train, [the RMT union has called its members working for CrossCountry out on strike today]( and on New Year's Eve. Dozens of long-distance trains have been cancelled by the operator connecting Scotland, northern England and the Midlands with South Wales and southern England. Seeing the light? A CrossCountry train at Newcastle station So why are all the trains from Nottingham to Cardiff – and many more – not running? It’s the same old story: the role of guards on 21st-century railways. Whenever train operators seek to improve productivity and customer service, the RMT union understandably demands that its members should carry on doing things the way they’ve always done them. “This strike could have been resolved if people were simply allowed to just get on with their own job,” says Mick Lynch, the union’s general secretary. As it did with ScotRail, Northern and all train operators to South Western Railway, the RMT is exploiting the industrial muscle that comes with an effective monopoly such as the railways. Now, I defend everyone's right to strike: no one wants worse working conditions. And no doubt the union anticipates the usual concessions from management. This time, though, the RMT has overplayed its hand. Going places? Rail services across the UK close down early this evening The pandemic has been almost as calamitous for rail passenger numbers as for airlines. Yet no one on the railways has lost their job, thanks to the Treasury pumping in billions of pounds to make up the shortfall in fare revenue following a slump in commuting and season-ticket sales. Train travel is a social and economic good, providing connectivity with extraordinary levels of safety and less environmental damage than road or air. But there are limits to the amount that taxpayers – many of whom never go near a train – can be expected to contribute. The only way for the railway to escape future calamitous cuts is to improve service and attract travellers away from the roads. Today's strike will do exactly the opposite: wrecking travel plans for occasional rail users and reminding them of how unreliable trains can be. These are precisely the people the railways desperately need to entice. So it is a particular shame that the RMT has chosen instead to repulse them. Destination of the week: The Cloisters, Manhattan North side story: The Cloisters in New York City. Photo courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Among the superb backdrops for the remake of West Side Story, one stands out: the extraordinary collection of medieval religious buildings that constitute New York City's Cloisters. Four medieval cloisters from southern France and northern Spain have been painstakingly reassembled in northern Manhattan. The Carmelite convent formerly at Trie-en-Bigorre, near Toulouse, is the location used for Tony and Maria's excursion. The project, financed by John D Rockefeller, is now part of the Met. Have your say on the future of the Independent Travel section Perhaps you could kindly [complete this survey]( to let me and the team know about your preferences around researching and booking holidays. It takes less than 10 minutes and will help us shape the future of The Independent’s travel section. Complete the survey and you could be in with a chance of winning one of 10 £50 vouchers! [TAKE OUR SURVEY]( Don’t miss my daily travel podcast [Green List Travel]( For all the latest travel tips, advice and news analysis, listen to ‘Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast’ – available from Monday to Friday for free on [Spotify](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Pocket Casts]( or [Acast](. Deal of the week: Costa Blanca for new year Like many airlines, Ryanair has trimmed its winter plans back because of the continuing travel restrictions and absence of customer confidence. But it still shuttles between the UK and Spain very frequently. From London Stansted to Alicante, the standard fare from 31 December onwards is £22, returning for the same price on most dates in January. Travel voucher of the week [Voucher]( [Get £150 off your holiday when you spend £1,500 on December trips using this TUI voucher code]( Travel question of the week: which travel voucher? Q Last-minute Christmas present advice please: which is the best gift voucher for flights, a hotel stay, or even a weekend away? A Please don't give a voucher. While they are doubtless given with the best intentions, gift vouchers deprive the recipient of the ability to shop around. Were you to give a Ryanair voucher, for example, the recipient will not be able to travel to Amsterdam (no flights from the UK) and another airline may have cheaper or better-timed flights to Barcelona or Rome. Instead, give a promise. That could be an open offer (“choose a European city break within three hours and under £300, and I'll pay”) or cash “ring-fenced” for a specific journey. A view persists that money is somehow a vulgar gift, but I bet the recipients don’t agree. Stories you might like [Will there be a New Year lockdown as Omicron cases rise?]( [Will there be a New Year lockdown as Omicron cases rise?]( [Christmas travellers face problems on rail and road as the great getaway begins]( Christmas travellers face problems on rail and road as the great getaway begins]( More stories [Can I travel to Spain from the UK? All the rules you need to know]( Can I travel to Spain from the UK? All the rules you need to know]( [Travel expert Simon Calder to answer your latest questions live]( Travel expert Simon Calder to answer your latest questions live]( Other newsletters you might like [Brexit and Beyond] Brexit and Beyond Every Thurday, 7am (UK time) Written by Adam Forrest [Join now >]( [Voices Dispatches] Voices Dispatches Every Saturday, 7am (UK time) Written by Victoria Richards [Join now >]( Let me know your thoughts on Twitter [@SimonCalder](. If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. [The Independent]( Join the conversation or follow us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Please do not reply directly to this email. You are currently registered to receive The Independent's Travel email. Add us to your safe list of senders . If you do not want to receive The Independent's Travel email, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Travel_Newsletter_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This email was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345. Read our [privacy notice]( and [cookie policy](.