AIBU to be surprised that the trains don't run over Christmas?

[HeritageQuay]

So I've been invited by friends to their Christmas lunch in central London. Having been on my own for the last few years, I was delighted to be invited and immediately accepted.

I live about 50 miles outside London and so travel by train is clearly the most sensible option. Accordingly I have been ordering presents etc. on Amazon for delivery to my hosts.

So today I tried to look up train times, only to find that there are no trains at all on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. This came as complete surprise to me, is this a one-off or is it a regular thing?

Not quite sure how to get there now as the last thing I want to do is drive through London with all the issues re Congestion Charge / Ulez / Street parking etc., and in any case I wanted to enjoy a few drinks at Christmas!

How do other people travel at Christmas?

They always plan huge engineering works on the railway at Christmas as it’s their quietest time.

Driving in London on Christmas Day won't be too bad. I think you'll find all the usual charges and parking are waived

Demand on Christmas Day and Boxing Day is super low so they use the time to maintain the tracks.

It is incredible the amount of time they dedicate to these huge engineering works, yet the majority of my frequent delays on the trains are due to a problem with the signalling.

Hotels, restaurnts and pubs, and the corner shop, what about them?

Well, try compariing the cost of public transport outside London to other countries. Its disgraceful here.

Basically the point I was making. DPs home is in Paris and it costs peanuts to travel around there.

Train prices in the UK are frightening

And they don't make a lot of sense!

I went to buy a ticket to Manchester recently

It said do you want an off peak single ticket or an any time single ticket. But then on the ticket machine, it doesn't say when the off peak hours are . So you've no idea.

Then it says on the machine right this ticket is the one you want.

I got on the train. A woman inspector went round and shouted at all of us that we had got on the wrong train. That our ticket wasn't valid for that train. It was only valid for some specific rail operator. Everyone in my carriage had made the same mistake as me.

It's as clear as mud!

I would get a hotel , with parking, bound to be a deal out there

It's common knowledge trains don't run and a lot of lines have planned engineering works during the hols.

Never any trains over the Xmas period 😵‍💫 thought was common knowledge

It’s awkward.
My driving days are over (health issue) so I rely on public transport.
If it’s off, it’s off. 🤷🏼‍♀️

YES!
Haven't you been paying attention last few years?

I’m old so all public transport is free.
honestly I’m so grateful.
I could never afford to travel to see my family otherwise.

Scotrail doesn't https://www.scotrail.co.uk/about-scotrail/news/christmas-and-new-year-train-times

Yep, and it often overruns.

Source: a woman who travels from the southwest to the northeast of England every Christmas, and who once spent 11 hours on a train that should have taken three.

Ulez and congestion charge are cancelled on Xmas day. There shouldn’t be Much traffic on the roads. Look up the parking rules for the borough You’ll be in. If I was you I’d stay over if they don’t mind and just drive in. Trains never run Xmas day.

Can't remember the last time trains ran at Christmas. Early 90s, maybe. Yes, it's insane but that's modern Britain. However, National Express coaches certainly do run and will of course be much cheaper than the train.
For driving, the congestion charge is suspended Xmas day to New Year's day. But would you be driving into Zone 1 anyway (you can cross Zone 1 on certain nonchargeable routes as long as you don't turn off). The ULEZ would have to be paid if you aren't exempt.
But the best option, surely, is a taxi to your nearest bus station and National Express.

yes always been the case. I guess most people have already travelled, the solution is to stay over or hotel, or drive.

Some actual essential services don't operate over any weekend and everybody accepts it, but some people on this thread think that trains should run on the only two bank holdiays that they don't.

I bet most of you who who are 'shocked and surprised' or think it's insane that trains don't run on Christmas day or boxing day, don't have to work them and would kick up a massive fuss if you had to.

Like a previous poster said, people want a society that operates all day every day but they want others to provide that for them. It doesn't work that way though so people have to plan accordingly.

I’ve worked 12 of the last 15 christmases and will work many more. 12-14 hours shifts. There are lots of us who operate all day every day; we’re the reason hospitals, ambulances police stations etc are staffed when people fail to plan accordingly for their cardiac arrest. To us it’s a massive luxury to be the kind of person who has no problem with public transport being cut at Christmas.

I’m in Scotland and the trains run on Boxing Day, albeit a reduced service. Would not expect them to run on Christmas Day and would factor that into decisions about where to live if I worked in a job where I was expected to be in on the 25th.

Planes still ✈️ on 25th though, don’t they? (Not that I’m suggesting anyone flies to work!)

Last time the Tube ran on Christmas Day was either 1973 or 1979 (I’m trying to find the most authoritative source)

1973 was when there was a major step down in London public transport on Christmas Day (replacing reduced number of routes with an even more limited one with a handful of Christmas special services numbered in a 7** series.

1979 is when all public transport ended

Ken was Mayor first time round from 1981 to 1986 (abolition) and from what I can tell did nothing about Christmas Day transport

What do you mean M&S isn't open Christmas Day?

@Butchyrestingface

Planes still ✈️ on 25th though, don’t they?

They do indeed, I worked the majority of Christmas Days when I was employed by an airline, as of course did a stack of people in all the supporting roles (ground staff, ATC, etc etc).

Short haul schedules do get cut back a bit/a lot, it depends, but Long haul generally tends to keep on going in a normal or almost normal schedule, otherwise flights could be compromised on the days either side of the 25th.

TBF from what I saw over the years Long Haul travel on Christmas Day itself was becoming increasingly popular but if you were a public transport user getting to/from at least some UK airports on the 25th itself could present difficulties.