Forget air travel chaos – we've moved onto train strike turmoil

Simon Calder’s Travel Week [View in browser]( [The Independent]( June 10, 2022 [The Independent]( “The general public were forced to endure unbelievable discomfort, struggling to and from work stuck in a coagulated traffic jam in record temperatures” The waiting game (anyaberkut/Getty) That is a taste of the last major national rail strike in the summer of 1989, [as described in the Commons by the Conservative MP Roger King](. Thirty-three years on, the RMT union has instructed its members [working for Network Rail and 13 train operators to walk out on 21, 23 and 25 June](. The spillover effect on the intervening days turns it effectively into a five-day strike. Trades unions deploy their industrial muscle as disruptively as possible. The union has chosen a Tuesday-to-Saturday spread rather than Monday-to-Friday. Commuting has slumped since the coronavirus pandemic, and [the one healthy component of demand for the railway is leisure travel](. Embracing the weekend into the strike will cause maximum upset. So what are the rail workers – who [voted 8:1 in favour of a stoppage]( – upset about? The union says most of its members earn less than £30,000 and have been on a three-year pay freeze. Network Rail and the train operators, says the RMT, “plan to cut thousands of jobs which will make the railways unsafe”. Safety, of course, will be compromised for many travellers who switch from rail to road during the strike. Back to the future again with that 1989 strike, which Mr King said triggered “traffic jams on the M25 and the main arterial roads into London, as elsewhere throughout the land in many of our cities.” Much has changed in the 33 years since that long, hot summer of discontent. The span of history embraces momentous events from fall of the Berlin Wall all the way through to the government's 2022 claim (apparently with a straight face) that “[Brexit is enabling us to improve the experience of UK air travellers](”. On the railways, though, after a quarter-century of privatisation, it's as you were. The failure of the franchise system has been recognised and the railways of Britain have effectively been renationalised – albeit with many services outsourced to train operators. As possibly the only person who can remember 1989, and how that summer strike was part of a long-term slump in rail travel, I need to point out a few things: - The RMT may appear in dispute with Network Rail and the train operators, but the real opponents are the ministers who are calling the shots. - Any perception that the government cherishes the railway is misplaced. Ministers pretend they want people to move from road and domestic air to rail, but incentivise the exact opposite by cutting fuel duty and Air Passenger Duty. - The taxpayer-funded life-support on which most of the railway depends is precarious; the Treasury believes the railway gets a ridiculous amount of subsidy, and will seize any opportunity to cut it. When the RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, promises [“a sustained campaign of industrial action which will shut down the railway system”](, I fret that the closure may prove rather more permanent than he intends. Get inspired...   [Japanese city swaps]( As this tourist favourite finally reopens for holidaymakers, check out these lesser-known gems [I'm an image]( [Stockholm's trendiest 'hood]( How to spend a day in the Swedish capital's hip district of Södermalm [I'm an image]( Sleeping lions]( Spend the night at London Zoo for the ultimate animal-packed adventure Tip of the week: Heathrow Terminal 4 is back   When the coronavirus pandemic hit and international aviation collapsed, Heathrow airport was swift to shut down Terminal 4 – the rather unloved facility south of the runways, which was previously home to a miscellany of carriers. From Tuesday 14 June, [“T4” reopens](. Initially just Qatar Airways, with its links to and from Doha, will move across from Terminal 5. But over the following month around 30 airlines will return – including El Al of Israel, Etihad, Gulf Air, ITA (formerly Alitalia), Kenya Airways, Korean Air and Malaysia Airlines. On the same day, Tube trains on the Piccadilly line will return to the loop serving Terminal 4, and two [Elizabeth line]( trains will run there each hour from London Paddington via Terminals 2 and 3. “While we are still years away from passenger numbers returning to pre-pandemic levels, reopening Terminal 4 will give airlines at Heathrow extra space,” says the airport’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye. Deal of the week: £39 rail fares to the Continent   Eurostar is now almost back to full strength – with frequent international trains from its hub at London St Pancras International to Paris Nord, and less frequent links to Brussels and Amsterdam. With the increase in capacity, the £39 lead-in one-way fare is more widely available. The cheapest tickets can be found with the [low-fare finder](– though be warned that they are fairly rare in high summer. [Read my 2019 article on the 25th anniversary of Eurostar.]( Travel voucher of the week [Save £150 on holidays over £800 with this TUI voucher code]( Question of the week: Hand baggage only?   Q [UK airline passengers are being advised to stick to cabin baggage](. Is that simply a way for long-suffering travellers to dig airlines out of the hole they have dug for themselves? A No, I think it is a proportionate and effective measure that will help the airlines through a summer at full stretch like never before – and also lead to a lasting change of habits. Taking cabin baggage only brings many benefits for the traveller: no need to queue to check in luggage nor wait at the other end for your bag to appear; less chance of your bags going astray; reducing microscopically the fuel burn and emissions. It helps other passengers, too, by shortening the check-in queue. Among UK and Irish airlines, British Airways has the best allowance: two bags weighing 23 kg each. Stat of the week 4 The number of versions of The Scream, Edvard Munch’s best-known work – two in paint, two in pastel. The oldest version is the star attraction at [Oslo’s new National Museum](, which opens tomorrow. What you might have missed   - Tunisia tempts tourists: [Unjabbed arrivals can swerve self-isolation]( - Spanish islands feel the heat: [Balearics and Canaries set for hotter-than-average summer]( - Be your own boss in Bali: Indonesia proposes digital nomad visa for tax-free remote working]( 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. 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