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?

“in force”? About 5 on this thread?

So glad they don't so the staff can't spend time with their family. Yabu...

They do. My dad was a track engineer bsck in the day and christmas day was his busiest day.

Start at 4am, home by about 2pm. Quadruple pay. One day paid for christmas for our family.

I lived in London for all of the 90's and never knew this. I just thought we got taxi's to work on Boxing Day because the trains had a late start.

Where I live no shops or petrol stations or restaurants open at Christmas so the fact that newsagents in London were open on Christmas day means that I thought services would also be running.

I think you are not being unreasonable OP

But emergency services and utilities, broadcasting etc all keep running on Christmas day, and some of them need trains to get to work.

You'd not be happy if A&E was unstaffed, you had no electricity, gas or water and there was no TV/radio/internet on Christmas Day.

Even if the OP stayed in a hotel, there'd need to be people there running it and they'd need to get to work.

Just because office workers and retail/leisure and some hospitality workers get to have 'a day at home with their families' doesn't mean that everyone is off work.

Public transport is manned by people, people who also want Christmas off to spend with their families, it has always been the same. I am unable to drive for health reasons and I have always managed to work something out.

You either need to pay extortionate taxi prices, drive and/or arrange to stay over.

I know. I’m a doctor so I’ve worked many Christmas days. I either drove or walked.

Thats nice, unlike carers, hospital staff, shop staff (yes there are shops open on xmas day), emergency workers, public service workers

Public transport runs at easter, there is no need for it to shut down on xmas day and barely operate on boxing day

This post sounds like a letter to Viz

When do you think they should do track maintenance work? As someone who has had to work over Christmas to do this work (and Easter), I can’t think of a better time to do it!

Perfectly reasonable to expect public transport to run op. I agree too. I think trains should run every day and at Christmas especially so. My elderly neighbour is going to visit her husband in a care home & it’s costing £76 in a taxi.

You can't do a lot on christmas day. A lot if things are closed.

Does track maintenance only occur on one day of the year then? I must have impagined all the rail replacement services that are seemingly constant.

I suppose they wouldn't be able to get enough train staff to agree to work on christmas day.

But the lines need maintaining and therefore they do work over Christmas. You can’t do line maintenance on a bust commuting day.

That's just you but other people do want that day with their families.

Public transport ceased in London for Christmas surprisingly recently - in the 1970s.

But that is 50 years ago, so I would have expected most people to have noticed by now.

Taxis/minicabs/ubers/Boris bikes and similar are likely be reasonably available, for those who need to get around, whether that's visiting for fun or going to work.

YABU to just now be realising that there's no trains /public transport on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
I'm a non driver and non existent public transport on those days has been a thing since forever!

Nurses have to work and get paid a damned site less.

I know this is about trains but the housing estate ive been living on for thirty years has never even had a Sunday bus service let alone a bank holiday one

There's no congestion charge on Xmas day. I think ULEZ is 24/7 365 days a year,
I've lived in London all my life and there's never been transport on Christmas Day either.

I've not known any local public transport to run on Christmas Day.
I have vague memories of the odd bus in Boxing Day, but a severely restricted number.

Also I do think YABU. Aside from this being the best time to do this maintenance it's also one day.

People like my dad could earn enough money to pay for his familys christmas and in the 90s/earl 00s that meant a lot - especially with 4 kids!

Not everything stops. Coaches run, taxis run.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect people to pay a little more to travel... JUST for 1 day...

Airbnb for 2 nights?

How do other people travel at Christmas?

Drive.

If can’t drive then plan ahead and use public transport on the days they are operating.