Newcastle train strikes: Alternative ways to travel to London from the North East this week

The fateful week of train strikes is finally upon us as services in Newcastle and across the country prepare for heavy disruption.

Trade unions and rail bosses have failed to settle disputes as workers call for greater job security and pay rises.

Train strikes will take place on Tuesday, June 21, Thursday, June 23 and Saturday, June 25.

The impact of those strikes will also be felt on non-striking days with rail service providers pleading with the public to not travel at all this week.

Northern Rail, Cross Country, LNER and TransPennine Express are all running reduced or no services on those days.

Staff from Lumo are not expected to strike, but the company will also be heavily affected by Network Rail staff striking.

Full details on what every service provider is providing can be found here.

Many will still need to travel south on the train line for work and social reasons.

Here are alternative ways that Geordies can get to London throughout this week, avoiding train strikes.

Train

Despite the widespread strikes this week, there are a limited number of services running from Newcastle.

On Monday, June 20, strikes are yet to kick in and services are running more or less normally with tickets still available.

There are also train services scheduled to run on Tuesday, June 21.

However, the last train from Newcastle to London is at 14:40 and all of these services have a greater risk of being delayed and cancelled due to strikes.

Services on Wednesday, June 22 will largely run as normal with the last train scheduled at 21:15.

Thursday, June 23 is a similar story to Tuesday with reduced services and the last train at 14:40.

Friday, June 24 is a non-striking day and there are a number of services running until 21:15, although tickets for services on these days are selling quickly with some trains sold-out.

Currently, on Saturday, June 25, all trains are sold out apart from the 14:22.

On Sunday, June 26, services mostly run as normal.

It is important to stress that even with the trains currently scheduled to operate this week, the train strikes could alter these right up to the last minute.

There's a risk in travelling on the train line, which is why services are asking people not to travel.

Flights

Newcastle is lucky to be served by Newcastle International Airport and flights to London take just over an hour.

There are a number of flights this week that may work for Geordies needing to get down to the Big Smoke.

British Airways run multiple flights every day into London Heathrow.

However, the demand for alternative travel methods this week has pushed prices up.

Flying on striking days will cost you at least £155 on Tuesday, £136 on Wednesday and £207 on Saturday - with trips outside of working hours even more expensive.

Bus

If you have time on your hands, travelling by bus could be the solution for avoiding rail strikes.

It's also a great way to save money, costing less than a rail ticket and much less than a flight.

Megabus, FlixBus and National Express services run every day with tickets costing between £15 and £50.

Buses take between six hours and eight hours with departures from early in the morning until around 2 pm in the afternoon.