Do people really believe thousands of people ran to the station without a pre-booked ticket yesterday as soon as they heard about the new restrictions?

[Tellmetruth4]

Just that really. I keep seeing pictures on the news of busy London train stations yesterday. Does anyone truly believe that after hearing the news at 4pm, people managed to pack all of their stuff, turn up to the station without a ticket and find accommodation on the last Saturday before Christmas? Or do they think the people at the train station booked it some time ago to leave and stay with family after finishing work on Friday?

YABU - Yes they ‘fled’ when they heard the news
YANBU- No they’d booked trains when they thought households were allowed to mix and the news and government are trying to make it look like these people on trains yesterday were trying to get around the new rules.

Regardless of whether they had pre-booked a ticket or not, irrespective of the new restrictions announced yesterday, they should not have been travelling anyway (unless an essential journey) as London was in tier 3 yesterday and the rules for tier 3 say you should not travel in or out of a tier 3 area. Tier 4 makes no difference in that regard.

Just to add though , I haven’t blamed anyone regardless of where they live except those that are breaking the rules like celebrities and those fuckwits having parties etc.. doesn’t matter where they’re from!

I used to live in U.K. a few years ago and had the Trainline App on my phone. Even then, i could book a ticket on the App as the train I wanted was approaching the station. I did this often when I was booked on train x leaving in fifteen minutes but then get to station to find out an earlier train that is running behind going to same place is only 5 mins away..I’ll go to that platform, book ticket on train that is due in 5 mins, and cancel ticket on train due in fifteen minutes all on my phone in seconds. You also get refunded pretty quickly so the cancelled tickets weren’t just throwing money away.

@Hopeisnotastrategy

There's already another thread on here blaming Londoners and southerners for spreading the new strain up north -www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4111277-Mass-evacuation-of-London?pg=1

So not that ridiculous really?

The only people spreading it up north, are people going back home. Southerners haven't suddenly hopped on a train just to cough on a few northerners. Neither have they gone up north with nowhere to spend Christmas.

@BlackLambAndGreyFalcoln

Regardless of whether they had pre-booked a ticket or not, irrespective of the new restrictions announced yesterday, they should not have been travelling anyway (unless an essential journey) as London was in tier 3 yesterday and the rules for tier 3 say you should not travel in or out of a tier 3 area. Tier 4 makes no difference in that regard.

Except for work or study. Most people in London who don’t consider it home are there for work or study.

I've just seen this statement reported by BBC

"East Midlands Railway said it had run a full service on Saturday and only two of its 10 evening departures had been full"

I think filming the bottleneck at the top of the escalator to the platform as probably given a misleading impression

Hasn't this happened literally everywhere when a major city has been abruptly plunged until lockdown ahead of the rest of the country though? I vaguely remembered every road out of Paris being utterly rammed when it was plunged into tough restrictions a few months back. And Italy only introduced nationwide lockdown back in the spring because so many people were fleeing the regional Lombardy lockdown. It was always going to happen to some degree & the Gov should've known that

Except for work or study. Most people in London who don’t consider it home are there for work or study.

I think the exception for work or study means if your home is in a tier 2 area and your place of work or uni or school is in tier 3 (or vice versa) you can go from one to the other on a daily commuting basis.

It doesn’t mean if you live in London, work in London but are originally from herefordshire you can leave London to go back to your parents whenever you fancy it.

@JacobReesMogadishu

Except for work or study. Most people in London who don’t consider it home are there for work or study.

I think the exception for work or study means if your home is in a tier 2 area and your place of work or uni or school is in tier 3 (or vice versa) you can go from one to the other on a daily commuting basis.

It doesn’t mean if you live in London, work in London but are originally from herefordshire you can leave London to go back to your parents whenever you fancy it.

Yes and that exemption still continues in tier 4 so nothing changes from that perspective.

Most people buy tickets on their phones these days!

Thanks for posting OP, O was puzzled by the assumption on radio etc that people had all fled to the station when they heard the news (tho’ that actually did happen in Feb in Milano where people got wind of it in the afternoon when it was leaded to Corriere della Sera before the gvt announced that evening, and jumped on trains to the South)
I was thinking how do you pack? It would take me ages -these people must be hyper organised and always have clean ironed clothes folded in drawers etc. And what about pets/food in fridge etc -when you go by train you can’t just chuck it all on a bing bag and dump in the boot of the car.
But the stats can be published -train companies can tell us the mix of ore-bought and walk-ins, surely?

To be honest it looked like rush hour usually does to me

You can buy a ticket at the station? And isn’t that what most people do?
No actually, it isn't what most people do if they are taking long train journeys, unless they want to take out an extra mortgage.

The majority of any Londoners Fleeing To Second Homes would be doing it in a car i would have thought. Not on a train with a rucksack.

I know of two people who did this yesterday. Not connected to each other. But both single adults with families north of Watford who brought their travel plans forward at last minute

I think some did as the last few times I’ve made a long train journey it’s been very very quiet. I do need to factor Xmas into account now though but will see tomorrow when I’m travelling if it was some great exodus or just down to the time of year

Rich second home wankers probably loaded up the Range Rover rather than flocked to St Pancras though

Yes, of course they did. It was pandemonium, a family member was there also travelling and reported back. Many people have the Christmas week off, lots in London are working from home anyway, many brought their travels forward and took a chance on getting a ticket. Some couldn't get tickets last minute as they'd all gone and so used taxis to get out of London and then took a train from there.....

@ClarenceBoddicker

Bitter much?

We’ve got a range and second home... we’ve stayed put throughout thanks.

I can't honestly blame them , they panicked thought oh no we have to go now , selfish maybe but people are selfish.
If they sat and thought then they should of isolated till Christmas then travel and stay for a day or 2 that would of been safer but not legal .
What they did last night was legal but not safe .
But yes I do think it's what has happened they either wfh so can work anywhere or will request leave .

@Tellmetruth4

Just that really. I keep seeing pictures on the news of busy London train stations yesterday. Does anyone truly believe that after hearing the news at 4pm, people managed to pack all of their stuff, turn up to the station without a ticket and find accommodation on the last Saturday before Christmas? Or do they think the people at the train station booked it some time ago to leave and stay with family after finishing work on Friday?

YABU - Yes they ‘fled’ when they heard the news
YANBU- No they’d booked trains when they thought households were allowed to mix and the news and government are trying to make it look like these people on trains yesterday were trying to get around the new rules.

Err did you miss the start of all this when italy locked down?

It was leaked a day early and you had people litreraly rushing to beat military roadblocks going up.

People panic and its much easier to sort things out from outside a lockdown than in one (you can always go back home if its inside)

I’m not bitter at all. Just stating the wealthier folks probably drove. I certainly would prefer to do that rather than scramble for a train

The wankers bit was a quote from a previous poster

@islockdownoveryet

I can't honestly blame them , they panicked thought oh no we have to go now , selfish maybe but people are selfish. If they sat and thought then they should of isolated till Christmas then travel and stay for a day or 2 that would of been safer but not legal . What they did last night was legal but not safe . But yes I do think it's what has happened they either wfh so can work anywhere or will request leave .

It was not legal unless it was an essential journey as London was in tier 3 yesterday.

Anyone who thinks you can just rock up to a London train station as a family to buy long distance train tickets on the last weekend before Christmas without selling a kidney or taking out a second mortgage (that’s if you can even get a ticket let alone more than one) have never tried.

The pictures I saw looked like 20 somethings going home to their parents. They would’ve booked them in advance.

Stop falling for this divide and rule BS. Ordinary people who live in London with their families did not decide to ‘flee’ from their homes after Boris’s announcement to spread mutant Covid around the North.