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cover art for December 1st - Simon Calder catches up with Mick Lynch following RMT pay deal

Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

December 1st - Simon Calder catches up with Mick Lynch following RMT pay deal

I’m speaking exclusively to Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT union, just after members voted overwhelmingly to accept a pay deal. But, he warns, strikes could be back next summer if negotiations in the New Year do not go well.


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  • December 23rd - Travel tangles & festive fiascos

    06:10|
    A round-up of all the festive travel disruption!This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered every Friday.
  • What Vienna has over Budapest and Prague

    06:47|
    While travel unravels across the UK, I have escaped to Vienna – where I caught up with Helena Steinhart of the Vienna Tourist Board. She tells me about Christmas celebrations, why January to March is a good time to be in the city and how Vienna differs from central European rivals Budapest and Prague.
  • December 18th - How to stay safe on the trains at Christmas

    07:06|
    A week before Christmas, loads of people are going to be travelling by train. I'm at London Blackfriars talking to Samantha Facey, Health, Safety and Security Director at the UK's biggest train operator, GTR, about staying safe.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered every Friday.
  • December 17th - Storm Darragh's Damage and Disruption

    06:40|
    Thousands of Christmas travellers hoping to cross the Irish Sea by ferry face disruption due to Storm Darragh damage. The port of Holyhead – which provides the main ferry connection between Great Britain and Ireland – has been closed since last weekend, with no sailings to or from Dublin. Normally Stena Line and Irish Ferries have four daily ferries each way between the Anglesey and the Irish capital. Hundreds of motorists and foot passengers use the link each day, with “Rail & Sail” fares offered from stations in Wales, England and Scotland to Dublin. Holyhead-Dublin is also the main freight connection between Great Britain and the Republic. The port was damaged during “two separate berthing incidents” during Storm Darragh – the wild weather that swept across Wales on 6 and 7 December. No injuries were reported. Stena Line and Irish Ferries have cancelled all sailings between Dublin and Holyhead until Friday 20 December at the earliest.
  • December 16th - The drive behind National Express

    07:20|
    I'm joined by National Express chief executive Alex Jensen.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered every Friday.
  • December 13th - Not such an unlucky day for Avanti West Coast passengers

    06:21|
    Lucky for some, in particular passengers on Avanti West Coast who have just been told the train managers' strike for 22, 23 and 29 December has been called off because an improved offer has been made. Plenty of problems remain, however.
  • December 12th - Frantic Friday, Slow Saturday and Messy Monday

    05:52|
    Today's travel podcast is all about Frantic Friday, Slow Saturday and Messy Monday, the unholy trinity of busy days on the motorways of Britain in the build-up to Christmas.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered every Friday.
  • December 11th - Dreaming of a train strike free Christmas? Keep dreaming

    06:40|
    Over the past few years, rail strikes have become as synonymous with Christmas as Mariah Carey and Wham! The incoming Labour government vowed to “move fast and fix things” in transport; ministers and officials quickly settled the train drivers’ dispute with a 15 per cent pay award covering three years. But stoppages are back for Christmas 2024 on the intercity network linking London Euston with the West Midlands, northwest England, North Wales and southern Scotland. Train managers belonging to the RMT union and working for Avanti West Coast will walk out on some of the busiest days of the year: Sunday 22, Monday 23 and Sunday 29 December.
  • December 10th - How could UK trains be the most expensive in Europe?

    06:30|
    A recent survey has revealed that the UK has the most expensive domestic trains in Europe. It does not compute for me.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered every Friday.