Rail strike: London Marathon runners face chaos

Organisers of the London Marathon say they are doing "everything we can" to help runners facing travel disruption due a planned strike by rail workers.

About 40,000 participants are due to compete in the race on Sunday, with many expected to make long journeys to the capital ahead of the event.

But they are being warned 90% of rail services will not run the day before the race, on Saturday.

Services are also due to start later than usual on the morning of the race.

The industrial action, planned by members of four trade unions, is the latest in a series of strikes in an ongoing dispute, with the unions demanding pay increases in line with inflation.

Marathon organisers said people who may struggle to register for the event at Excel London on Saturday can do so on Friday instead.

Some runners have told BBC London the strike has forced them to make other travel arrangements, which have been costly and caused them "stress".

Samantha Lindars, who plans to fly to London from her home in Singapore for the event, told the BBC the disruption was "frustrating" and "scary".

"It's such a shame that I'm coming such a long way and and I'm going to struggle to get there when I should easily be able to get to the start line," she said.

She will be staying in Epsom for the weekend and had planned to rely on travelling by train into London to register for the race pack on Saturday, and also to reach the start line in Greenwich on Sunday morning.

"It's going to affect thousands of people, it's very sad, really. It's an extra worry that we just don't need at this point."

Karen Andrews, who is running to raise money for the hospital which treated her for cancer, said her husband had to make a special journey from Staffordshire to London on Wednesday to register her for the race, in case she could not make it in time before the deadline on Saturday.

They will now drive to London instead of catching a train. "It became very stressful. All I could think about was, 'how am I going to get there?'"

She said after months of training and making plans, "everything we put into place went to pot".

"It was not an option not to run," she said. "I am fundraising, people have paid me already".

Network Rail, which owns most of the rail network, warned services on Saturday would be "very limited", with no service at all in some places.

All rail routes in the capital will be affected, including the Elizabeth line. London buses, the London Underground and the Docklands Light Railway will be unaffected.

The strike is expected to have a knock-on effect on services into Sunday morning. However, rail operator Southeastern, which serves areas near the marathon starting line, has agreed to resume services at 07:00 BST.

Race director Hugh Brasher said marathon organisers had been working with the rail company to ensure runners could start the race on time.

"A great deal of work has gone in on that," he said.

He added of the runners: "I still believe they will be able to turn up on the day. This has made it harder for them, but we are trying to do everything we can to support them in that process."

The RMT union, whose members are taking part in the strike, said the action was planned to coincide with the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, which starts on Sunday, rather than the marathon.

A spokesperson said: "We are sorry to those who will be affected by strike action, but our members need job security, decent conditions at work and a pay rise."

One participant, Rob Colville, from Stockport said the the timing of the strike would be "disruptive".

"Having it on this particular weekend, with a very significant event that's raising a lot of money for charity and involves a lot of forward planning for charity is massively disruptive."

Rob and his wife have had to take time off work and pay an extra £150 to avoid the strike by travelling to London a day earlier than planned. He said it had been "very difficult" to adjust his plans at short notice.

Participant David Paul, who will be travelling from Leicester, described the timing of the strike as "unfortunate".

Runner Elaine Starborg said although she supports the strikers, she believed the action had "put a lot of people off".

"I have seen in the Facebook London Marathon group that quite a few people have deferred their place to April because they just can't face traveling down when there are train strikes on."

Elaine lives in London so is unaffected herself but said: "It's been a big cause of stress and anxiety for people who are traveling from all over the country."

Saturday's strike will be followed by further action on 5 and 8 October.

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