Guide to Rail Replacement Services - London

When any of the London's rail networks (underground, overground, TFL, DLR) are closed for maintenance, there are usually replacement services or special services to cover the disrupted areas. Finding your nearest service can be bit tough for someone new to the area.

These disruptions will mostly be during the weekends and if your station is going to be affected, you will see notices at the entrance and exit about the planned maintenance. All stations will put up notices about the maintenance work but the stations specifically affected will have additional information about the replacement bus services. This would include timings of the service and the bus stops. The bus stop will usually be the one nearest to the station and will have the sign saying "Rail replacement services stop here". On the streets or lamp posts you may see the sign boards saying "Rail replacement bus", these are route direction for the bus driver and not for the public. Do not follow these signs unless you want to walk to your destination.

Also to be noted is that the service is free of cost and therefore you need not buy a ticket or use your oyster card.

If you use the journey planner on the TFL website, it will tell you if you need to use the replacement bus service or not.Another thing of note is, if your train into London is delayed and if you so happen to miss your connecting services, contact any of the staff on the station, they must arrange a means of transport (taxi,bus) or provide a compensation for the delay.

Disclaimer: Since the railway network at some times can be unreliable and prone to sudden changes, the author of the article is not responsible for any travel inconveniences that may occur because of the information present here. Please check your local travel information before your journey.

How to get a Power of Attorney from the Indian Embassy?

Hey all, here is a step by step guide on how to get a PoA from the Indian embassy/consulate if your staying abroad. This is from my own personal experience when I got mine from the embassy in Edinburgh.

Step 1 :
Prepare the power of attorney document. You can get the template from your bank or you can draft one yourself.
If you do prepare your own PoA make sure it as all the details the bank needs.

Step 2:
Print out the PoA in a A4 paper. Since the registration is done in India, you don't need to have it in legal paper or stamp paper. The embassy will only authentic your signature and no actually registration takes place.

Step 3:
Locate your nearest Indian embassy. You can google search it. If it is close by,  you can go there yourself or there is a option to post the documents.

Step 4:
Documents needed
1) PoA document.(Do not sign the document, it has to be done in front of the officer)
2) Passport Xerox copy.
3) Visa Xerox copy.
4) Two passport photographs.
5) Address proof. (utility bill or bank statement)
6) Fees in cash only. (Check embassy website)

Please note that the documents needed may change depending on the embassy.
You don't need to take anyone along with you to sign as witnesses. It is not needed for getting a PoA at the embassy.

Step 5:
Go to embassy or post the documents depending on your convenience.
If you do decided to go there, it will take a day. You submit your documents in the morning and you can pick it up in the afternoon. No speed up service offered.
On the final page of your PoA, you will see the embassy seal and wordings saying that the embassy is not responsible for the content. This is standard and nothing to be worried about. You will also have the embassy seal on every page.

Step 6:
Post the authenticated PoA to your attorney in India. They have to register it in the registrar office within three months from the date of authentication for it to be valid.

Hope you find it useful! If you have any questions please fell free to leave a comment.