A ‘summer of discontent’ is the last thing train lovers need

Simon Calder’s Travel Week [View in browser]( [The Independent]( May 20, 2022 [The Independent]( Travelling by train this summer? I fear you're in for more good news/bad news – with rather more of the latter. The waiting game (anyaberkut/Getty) Last Sunday afternoon a flurry of social media posts revealed the City Branch of the Northern line on the London Underground had quietly reopened for business – a day before its official reinstatement after a four-month closure. I raced off to [report on Bank station](, brilliantly transformed, then switched off my 4am alarm for Monday morning: the resurrection of a key stretch of the Tube network had already happened thanks to that little-known phenomenon, under-running engineering weeks. On the same day, however, [the regular Sunday strike by train conductors on the TransPennine Express]( cut services linking Manchester and Liverpool with Edinburgh and Glasgow, while ScotRail cancelled around 200 trains due to staff shortage. From Monday, one-third of ScotRail weekday trains will be culled until a dispute with drivers is settled; [miss the 6.03am from Mallaig to Glasgow and you must wait a full 24 hours for the next direct service](. There's a morsel of good news on Monday, though: the Scottish Borders gets a much-needed stop on the East Coast main line reinstated. Reston, risen from the Beaching-era carnage of closures, will provide rail access to a beautiful corner of the nation between Dunbar and the English border at Berwick-upon-Tweed. On Tuesday, perhaps I will see you aboard the 6.33am from Paddington, the first to carry passengers to Canary Wharf and Abbey Wood in the southeast of the capital on the new Elizabeth line? The [delayed and over-budget £18.8bn Crossrail project]( will finally deliver the chance to travel at speed beneath central London – albeit only partially and for six days a week. The full service, connecting Heathrow airport and Reading in the west with Shenfield in Essex to the east, should open within a year. By teatime on Tuesday, though, the railway mood will darken. At 5pm, the ballot closes for [the first national rail strike in decades](. “Our members are extremely motivated to deliver a huge ‘yes’ vote on 24 May,” says Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT rail union. More than 40,000 members working for Network Rail and the train operating companies are demanding “a guarantee there will be no detrimental changes to working practices”. Meanwhile, the white-collar rail union TSSA threatens “[a summer of discontent](” – consulting ahead of a possible strike ballot of its own if pay fails to keep pace with the inflation rate that hit 9 per cent this week. Pity the train traveller, about to be squeezed between the rail unions and ministers. Get inspired...   [Seen on screen]( Beguiled by new Sally Rooney adaptation Conversations with Friends? Here's where it was filmed [I'm an image]( West coast wanders]( The ultimate guide to California's bohemian coastal city, San Francisco [I'm an image]( [Going Dutch]( How Rotterdam’s funky, climate-adapted architecture is putting it on the tourist map Tip of the week: NYC to Washington DC in style   “How do you make bus travel sexier?” That is what Simon Jupp, MP for East Devon, asked at a transport select committee meeting this week. In the US, they know the answer: a bus built like a private jet. The latest entrant competing for custom on the key 220-mile intercity link between New York City and Washington DC is [The Jet](. How, you might wonder, can a four-hour coach ride compete with a three-hour Amtrak train journey or a one-hour flight? Well, with “motion-canceling technology that eliminates 90 per cent of bumps and vibration” and a loo “meant to feel more like a luxury hotel than a motorcoach”. The bus has an exclusive 14 seats, each with a 45-degree recline, typically selling at $129 to $149 each – often cheaper than the plane or train. Pick of the week: Ambassador Cruise Line Britain’s newest cruise line, Ambassador Cruise Line, has now launched their new 2023/24 season, which will see the launch of a new ship, departures from 7 regional ports and an eagerly anticipated 2024 Grand Round the World cruise. Are you ready? [Book now]( Deal of the week: Pisa for under £24 return   If you can spare the time for a midweek journey next week, Ryanair has a £23.98 return fare between London Stansted and Pisa – perfectly placed for the coast and countryside of Tuscany. The flights are outbound on Monday evening, inbound on Thursday morning. [The identical flights are selling for 18 times as much]([the following week](. [Read The Independent's city guide to Pisa.]( Travel voucher of the week [Save £100 when you spend £750 on May-June 2022 summer holidays]( Question of the week: Fees for flight changes   Q We bought Interrail passes in the half-price sale last week and plan a three-week trip in September. How do we make the most of them? A I also bought one of the [half-price Interrail passes]( to celebrate 50 years of the pan-European unlimited travel ticket (now reverted to full price). I intend to explore enticing cities, countryside and coastlines – but only in those parts of Europe that offer the very best use of the Interrail pass as originally conceived: providing exceptional value and flexibility. That excludes nations such as France, Italy and Spain where high-speed trains require advance booking and the payment of supplements. Nor will I use it in eastern Europe, where trains are absurdly cheap and even a half-price Interrail pass offers poor value, or Luxembourg – where [all public transport is free](. Which leaves Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Scandinavia. See you there. [Read our brief history of Interrail, which began life in 1972.]( Stat of the week 44 The saving, in pounds, using the “Didcot Dodge” – a split-ticketing tactic for getting a cheaper, peak-hour rail journey between Bristol and London. Savvy bookers buy one ticket from Bristol to Didcot Parkway, and a second from there on to the capital. Ticket splitting to save on rail journeys used to be a niche activity, but now [a leading train operator, LNER, has launched a trial scheme selling its own split tickets]( at a discount – another step towards rational, single-leg rail pricing. What you might have missed   - Green goal: [London City aims to be the first net zero airport in the UK]( - After Covid: [A year on from the ending of the overseas holiday ban, travel industry leaders speak out]( - Passport chaos: Passport nightmare? Call your MP, but don't expect miracles]( Simon’s diary   Every day from Monday to Friday I tackle a top travel story, or explore a topic in more detail than usual in ‘Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast’ – available free on [Spotify](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Pocket Casts]( or [Acast](. I find the easiest way to rush out stories is to tweet them. It’s also an easy way to contact me. My DMs are open and I read all direct messages, though regrettably I can’t respond to every one. Let me know your thoughts [@SimonCalder]( Each Saturday and Sunday I take questions live at 3.30pm British time on Instagram Live – from wherever I happen to be in the world – so please do come and say hello. 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