Will the farmers’ protests hinder my trip to India?
Simon Calder answers your questions on farmers’ protests in India, Northern rail travel, trips to Disneyland and domestic flights
Q I am heading to India in March to visit the “golden triangle” of Agra, Jaipur and Delhi. I am reading about the farmers’ protests in and around Delhi. Is this likely to cause problems either within the city or when travelling in or out?
“Super Eagle”
A The scenes from the Indian capital are concerning. Tens of thousands of farmers from the northern states of Punjab and Haryana are converging on Delhi using tractors and trucks. They are demanding guaranteed minimum prices for crops and want to talk to Narendra Modi’s administration. As The Independent has reported, police have deployed tear gas (using drones) to try to stop protesting farmers from approaching Delhi. In addition, they have fortified the capital’s entry points and are being augmented by paramilitary forces.
The practical implications for tourists have been mainly about mobility. Many main roads in Delhi are seeing severe traffic jams; these are due to police checks on vehicles rather than action by the protesting farmers. In addition, several metro stations serving parliament and ministries in central Delhi are closed. But I have not seen any reports of disruption to rail services to and from the capital, nor at the airport – which is extremely heavily policed.
The Foreign Office travel advice is largely supplied by the British High Commission in Delhi, and I note that it was last updated in November 2023. I infer from this that diplomats are not unduly worried about the impact of the current situation on UK visitors to the capital. Clearly, much can change by next month. If the level of disruption does not increase, my sense is that you will be able to enjoy a stay in Delhi with only mild inconvenience.
Should the situation deteriorate significantly, you may need to reconsider your itinerary. If you have booked through a tour operator, they are obliged to keep you updated – and, if there are major changes to the trip, you may be entitled to cancel without penalty and/or receive a partial refund for elements that are cut.
Q I read your report on the overwhelming vote by Aslef train drivers at some rail firms to continue with strikes. We want to travel from London to either Sunderland or Newcastle on Saturday 30 March, during the Easter weekend. I need to know if LNER will take part in any future strikes: I didn’t see them listed as voting for industrial action. But should we book with Lumo or Grand Central to be on the safe side?
Tom E
A The 19-month dispute between train drivers belonging to the Aslef union and the 14 English rail firms controlled by the government has proved miserable for passengers, with precious little sign of progress in a bitter row over pay and conditions. Yesterday, the union announced that its members on Chiltern, C2C, East Midlands Railway, Northern and TransPennine Express voted overwhelmingly to continue with walk-outs. The fact that these five train operators were named simply reflects the legal requirement for strike mandates to be renewed every six months and this happens to be their turn.
LNER’s mandate is current; as and when Aslef members at the rail firm are next balloted, I have little doubt that they will emulate the typical nine-to-one majority in favour of further walk-outs. The foolproof answer to your question is “yes”, book with another rail firm. No passenger can book with complete confidence with one of the 14 train operators more than two weeks ahead, that being the minimum notice that the union must give. In addition, other causes for strikes are available: train drivers at LNER will walk out on Friday 1 March in a separate dispute over what Aslef says is “persistent failure to comply with existing agreements”.
With Lumo offering fast, reliable and inexpensive trains from London to Newcastle, that is one obvious option; the other is, as you suggest, Grand Central to Sunderland. But LNER offers much more frequent services and, I find, more comfortable trains. And with Aslef extending an olive branch to its opponents yesterday and seeking more talks, I would be extremely surprised to see more national industrial action before Easter.
Q We are at Disneyland Paris and are due to return by train via Lille to London at the weekend. With the strike on French Railways, no one really knows what to do now. What do you recommend?
Eddi S
A As you know, thousands of train staff working for French Railways (SNCF) are on strike until 8am on Monday in a dispute over pay. SNCF is telling long-distance passengers: “Train traffic will be severely disrupted.” Half the planned high-speed TGV expresses and intercity services are expected to be cancelled.
Until last year, a national rail strike in France would not present a problem to most British families travelling by rail to Disneyland Paris. Eurostar, which is not involved in the dispute, ran direct trains to the theme park, east of the capital. But due to the increased border formalities brought about by Brexit, Eurostar ended the link.
Some travellers are travelling via the French capital, which should not pose a problem: the RER connection between Disneyland Paris and the city centre is unaffected by the strike. Many families, though, are routed via Lille. This option offers a simpler transfer, and in normal times makes for a much easier connection – no need to get involved with busy suburban trains and a change between lines in Paris.
Looking on the bright side, there is an evens chance that your high-speed link from Disneyland Paris to Lille will run as normal. If it is not operating, you will find out at 5pm the day before.
Suppose your train is cancelled. In your position, my first move would be to see if there is a slightly earlier train that I could catch from Disneyland Paris to Lille; direct trains are roughly hourly. SNCF says some seats are still available on TGVs, and it may be possible to switch easily. But a lot of people will be trying to grab a limited number of places.
If you are not able to change to an uncancelled service, head for Paris Gare du Nord. Eurostar will, I hope, be accommodating in switching your Lille-London booking to a Paris-London ticket. Finding seats may be an issue, but services later in the day are likely to have space available. Failing that, try to find any train with seats to Lille that will get you there in time to make your connection. I am sorry this is such a stressful end to your trip.
Q We live in Devon and have family in Bolton. As driving there can often take up to eight hours, we used to fly to Manchester from Exeter airport as Flybe offered three flights a day. These were reasonably priced and the plane was always very full. Sadly following Flybe’s demise no airline has stepped in to provide these flights. Given that there used to be demand for this service why is no airline now willing to provide it?
Paul B
A The location of Devon and Cornwall means flights to destinations in northwest England and Scotland are significantly quicker than going by road or rail, even allowing for the extra time spent getting through the airports. Exeter to Manchester involves a quick flight of 45 minutes or so. The onward rail journey to Bolton is cheap and easy.
I am not surprised that Flybe’s flights were full. I was routinely seeing one-way fares of £40 or £50, typically one-third of the rail fare (the prices charged on CrossCountry for long journeys are alarmingly uncompetitive). But before Flybe went bust in March 2020, the airline was losing £7,000 per minute. Every one of the passengers who flew with Flybe in the last year of its life was subsidised to the tune of £20 per flight by shareholders (including Virgin Atlantic) who saw their £100m-plus investment disappear at a terrifying rate.
After the collapse, most Flybe routes were picked up by other carriers – notably Loganair, but also Eastern Air Lines, easyJet and Aer Lingus. However, they were well aware of the losses sustained by Flybe and therefore highly selective about the links they picked up. In particular, shorter routes to and from Manchester were not filled: the distance to Exeter is under 200 miles. Edinburgh and Glasgow links from Manchester, which are almost the same distance, were also lost.
Since then, the prime minister has incentivised domestic flying by halving air passenger duty. That saves £6.50 on every flight. But even with this advantage, airlines are judging that they still cannot make a profit on an Exeter-Manchester link. Or, perhaps, that other routes are more lucrative. Either way, I see no prospect of the flight reappearing any time soon.
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