Forum Topic

Acton Mainline - tube strike

Does anyone know from personal experience whether it will be possible to get on a Paddington train tomorrow.  There is a tube strike so I don't know whether the train will be so packed by the time it reaches Acton I would not be able to get on or whether lots will not bother and work from home so I would be able to board.

Jen Morty ● 5799d9 Comments

Dunno, can't risk it - am going in on the bike

Sara Nathan ● 5799d

Early in the morning should be ok. I normally get a train to Richmond around 7.15am from South Acton and then run home from work on the tube strike days. Later on in the day there are problems with overcrowding.

Tony Crumpton ● 5799d

Do you run home from work because some disgruntled person is chasing you?

Susan Kelly ● 5799d

I'm going to go in early tomorrow - will have to get usual train from AML to Paddington, probably one of the early ones (6am-ish maybe!) to try and avoid overcrowding and will then have to bus it from Paddington to Liverpool Street. The difficulty will come on leaving work as I need to get to Chiswick from the Liverpool Street/Moorgate area as quickly as possible (will probably leave earlier than normal) as I am meeting the family for dinner at 7pm, so may well have to find a cab or try and arrange a minicab or something!

James Vertigan ● 5799d

No only run home on the tube strike days. Gets me fit and also out of the office early. Going via Hyde Park and Holland Pk today.

Tony Crumpton ● 5798d

During this and the last strike Heathrow Connect trains stopped at AML alleviating the over crowding and giving the station 4 trains per hour. If they can do this on a strike day why not all the time?Last time I raised this with Heathrow Connect they said it could not be done due to timetabling issues, clearly this is not the case

Mark Aston ● 5797d

Yes but they did not think to LET PEOPLE KNOW Heathrow Connect  were stopping.  I could not get on the 7.33 as people refused to move down the carriage (ok it was busy but they could have tried harder!) wandered out to get a mini cab,  none available at all so wandered back to station to try again and by chance I got Heathrow Connect.  No sign to say HC stopping,  the ticket chap saw me go down to the platform and then come up again a few mins later didn't think to tell me HC stopping.  AML is one of the worst stations and services I have ever used.There was a Heathrow connect chap on the train and I said it would be mighty handy if HC stopped at AML all the time, he said they have pay the owners of AML to stop at AML which is why they don't do it always,  not sure if that is true but he seemed to know what he was talking about.  I do not think it has anything whatsoever to do with time tables,  it's money and train company politics.

Jen Morty ● 5797d

Heathrow Connect come up with new excuses every time they are asked, even if it were true that they had to pay AML surely they would make more money from the extra fares received. As they run 7 days they could also stop Sundays.

Mark Aston ● 5797d

But FGW perhaps don't want them stopping,  Network Rail or whoever owns AML , I don't know.  All I do know is the service is dire.  I would not mind if we were in a rural location but the suburbs!!

Jen Morty ● 5797d