‘Stay away’ say rail firms – as they prepare to run hundreds of trains

Simon Calder’s Travel Week [The Independent]( November 04, 2022 [View in browser](   [The Independent]( [The Independent]( Oddly, the warring sides in the bitter and apparently intractable rail disputes are in harmony on one thing: prospective passengers should not to try to travel by train over the coming week. Is your journey really necessary? Passengers at London St Pancras on a non-strike day The main rail union, the RMT, has called [another round of strikes]( in its battle with Network Rail and 14 train operators on pay, jobs and working conditions. Staff working for Network Rail will walk out tomorrow, on Monday and on Wednesday. Striking on alternate days causes maximum disruption for minimum loss of pay: trains are messed up on the morning after a strike, with the early rush hour wiped out until signallers clock in and rolling stock is back where it is needed. On strike days, passengers in Devon, Cornwall and almost all of Scotland and Wales will be cut off from rail travel. But elsewhere, [hundreds of trains will run on key intercity lines]( between 7.30am and 6.30pm. Avanti West Coast passengers will enjoy a service not unlike [the current timetable](, with hourly trains from Manchester, Liverpool and Preston to London Euston. GWR offers the same frequency from London Paddington to Bristol, Cardiff and Oxford; CrossCountry promises similar between Birmingham, Leeds and York. Yet the train operators aim to keep prospective passengers away and run these trains empty. Union leaders must be delighted to see that Avanti West Coast simultaneously goes to great lengths to run trains yet warns on strike days: “Your entire journey will likely be severely disrupted.” Great Western Railway is keen to deter passengers on the days after strikes, saying: “Avoid travelling and seek alternative ways to make your journey.” And South Western Railway urges passengers to stay away from the network until next Friday: “Please only travel if absolutely necessary during this period.” Whatever your view of [the worst industrial strife on the railways since the 1980s](, it seems the train operators are amplifying the disruption that the strikers want to cause rather than saying, “we’re doing our best to get as many people as possible to their destinations and will gladly sell you a ticket to help reduce the huge deficit in the rail industry”. A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group, representing train operators, told me: “It is rail companies’ responsibility to keep as many trains running as possible and to be realistic about the extent of the likely disruption on what will be very limited services, so that the railway can operate safely and our passengers can make informed decisions about their journeys.” As the RMT pursues the best possible deal on behalf of its members, [the union vows to carry on striking until the government caves in](. With the passenger caught in the middle and the taxpayer pumping in cash to fill the widening gap between fare revenue and the cost of running the railway, at least the prime minister and chancellor have unlimited cash to throw at rail staff and are not [seeking expensive investment projects to cut](. Oh wait…   [Get inspired...]( Travel Smart]( Watch the brand new series from Independent TV, with all the information and inspiration you need to book your next trip [I'm an image]( [Last-minute deals]( The best holidays to book in November, from walking in Fuerteventura to skiing in Val Thorens [I'm an image]( [Puglia off-season]( Plan your next beachy and rural escape to this on-trend region in the heel of Italy Tip of the week: Greece-Turkey ferry link The November edition of the [European Rail Timetable]( reveals a new thrice-weekly ferry service connecting Thessaloniki, the second city of Greece, with Izmir in Turkey. [Levante Ferries]( runs the service. Its vessel, Smyrna di Levante, departs at 7pm and arrives at 9am, taking 14 hours to cover the distance of almost 300 miles. [Read about Thessaloniki's multicultural heritage]( The European Rail Timetable also highlights that the Smyril Line route between the Faroe Islands and Iceland will be suspended from late December to March 2023 because of high fuel costs. PICK OF THE WEEK: EXPLORE [Explore’s mouthwatering new small group Food Adventures in Europe, South America and Asia combine the highlights with food and wine tastings, tours of bustling markets and traditional meals with locals.]( Deal of the week: Freedom of Germany for €49 Next year a “digital Deutschlandticket” will provide unlimited travel by rail, tram and bus anywhere in Germany for €49 (£43) per month – equivalent to just £1.40 per day. [The unlimited travel pass will go on sale as early as possible in the New Year.]( It is a permanent replacement for the €9 monthly ticket that was trialled during the summer. The 2023 one-month ticket will cover all but the fastest trains, though any journey across Germany is possible using slower regional express trains. U-Bahn and S-Bahn networks in the cities are included. [Summer of loving trains: how the €9 rail experiment in Germany unfolded](   Question of the week: Tipping in NYC restaurants? Q I am about to go to New York for the first time. How much should I tip in restaurants? A Unless the service is atrocious, the minimum you should tip is 18 per cent. This is, I agree, a ridiculous addition to your bill, especially as it is on top of the 8.875 per cent sales tax on restaurant meals. The two combine to expensive effect. If you order a burger and a drink for two at a menu price of $39 each, you would end up paying over $100. The reason for the absurdly generous tipping culture: employers in New York and elsewhere are entitled to pay waiting staff less than minimum wage, on the assumption that diners will make up the difference. The New York State Department of Labor says: “The minimum wage for food service workers in New York City is $15 per hour. Their employers can satisfy the minimum wage by combining a cash wage of at least $10 with a tip allowance of no more than $5.” So there is an unstated agreement that diners will tip handsomely. [Read why New York is the perfect city break destination for autumn]( STAT OF THE WEEK 35 Daily flights between Cairo and Jeddah, the busiest international air link in the world over the past year. [These are the new top 10 international air routes]( What you might have missed... - Money talks: [British Airways is to award Avios points according to fare paid not distance flown]( - Flight check: [Ryanair website will be offline for 11 hours from 6pm on Tuesday]( - Bravo Lima: Peru drops all Covid restrictions]( 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](.         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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