Asterisk* (allocated seats for people with disabilities)?

[Farzi]

I was told we have been allocated seats for people with disability for more room. I can’t find an explanation. I am a novice when it comes to arranging rail journeys. It is quite daunting if not scary. I am worried seats have not been allocated. I would say the journey was booked well. Staff was polite and helpful. I only saw the Asterisk when we got home.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Presume you have pre-booked tickets (for the persons travelling) with seat reservations for a particular journey.

If you are willing to do so, can you advise the details of the journey, such as...

Date of travel,
Ticket type,
Start station,
End station,
Time of train,
Seat reservation number(s) (if known),
Train company (if known),
Class of travel, such as Standard or First Class,

and our forum experts should hopefully be able to determine which type of train they are likely to be travelling on, and whether or not those seats on that train do have the additional room that you've hopefully booked.

P.S. It's possible that the asterisks to which you refer means that for all or part of the journey, it's on a train with "counted places" only, and that no individual seats reservations are normally possible or indeed have actually been issued, in which case although your friends may have to use that individual train, it will, however, be on a "sit anywhere" basis.

 

[Farzi]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Presume you have pre-booked tickets (for the persons travelling) with seat reservations for a particular journey.

If you are willing to do so, can you advise the details of the journey, such as...

Date of travel,
Ticket type,
Start station,
End station,
Time of train,
Seat reservation number(s) (if known),
Train company (if known),
Class of travel, such as Standard or First Class,

and our forum experts should hopefully be able to determine which type of train they are likely to be travelling on, and whether or not those seats on that train do have the additional room that you've hopefully booked.

P.S. It's possible that the asterisks to which you refer means that for all or part of the journey, it's on a train with "counted places" only, and that no individual seats reservations are normally possible or indeed have actually been issued, in which case although your friends may have to use that individual train, it will, however, be on a "sit anywhere" basis.

Thank you.
Date of travel, 9 June at 10:47am and return on 13 June at 10:14
Ticket type, Standard
Start station, Bradford on Avon
End station, Three Bridges
Time of train, 10:47 on 9 June
Seat reservation number(s) (if known),
Train company (if known), GRW
Class of travel, Standard,
THERE WILL BE 2 of us travelling

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Presume that will involve just one change of trains, as I think the 1047 GWR service from Bradford upon Avon is usually the one for Portsmouth Harbour.

Changing at Southampton Central for a Southern train for London Victoria via Three Bridges?

Similarly, changing at Southampton Central on the return journey?

Anyone able to advise the train types likely to be used on this itinerary and whether actual seat reservations are ever issued, or just counted places.

 

[plymothian]

The GWR Portmouth service only issue counted places and are these days usually class 165/166 but sometimes 158s.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The GWR Portmouth service only issue counted places and are these days usually class 165/166 but sometimes 158s.

Not sure that this was quite the response that the OP was hoping for. The (three car?) GWR service will have started out from Cardiff before calling at Bradford upon Avon some six stops later so could be quite busy by then, and the absence of actual seat reservations on a three + hour service seems somewhat sub-optimal!

How about reservations on the connecting (four car?) Southern service starting from Southampton Central?

 

[Haywain]

How about reservations on the connecting (four car?) Southern service starting from Southampton Central?

I don’t think any Southern services have seat reservations.

 

[WesternLancer]

If you have mobility problems it may be worth your ringing GWR passenger assistance to pre book some help en route. In practice this would mean that on the trains concerned staff would be notified you were travelling, and should help you find the seats for people with mobility problems on the train. They can often book the assistance through the full journey so where you have to change trains you will be helped too.

I used the service when helping an elderly relative who could not walk very far and I was very impressed with the service and help given on the journey.

see

Passenger Assist and accessibility | Great Western Railway

Need help with your journey? If you require wheelchair accessibility or assisted travel with our trains or at stations let us know at Great Western Railway

www.gwr.com

or ring
0800 197 1329

 

[Farzi]

I don’t think any Southern services have seat reservations.

oh dear, it is quite frightening for a novice train traveller and travelling with a companion who has invisible disability.

If you have mobility problems it may be worth your ringing GWR passenger assistance to pre book some help en route. In practice this would mean that on the trains concerned staff would be notified you were travelling, and should help you find the seats for people with mobility problems on the train. They can often book the assistance through the full journey so where you have to change trains you will be helped too.

I used the service when helping an elderly relative who could not walk very far and I was very impressed with the service and help given on the journey.

see

Passenger Assist and accessibility | Great Western Railway

Need help with your journey? If you require wheelchair accessibility or assisted travel with our trains or at stations let us know at Great Western Railway

www.gwr.com

or ring
0800 197 1329

Thank you. I did call them. They told me to wait until two days before travelling. The individual did take details of travel.

 

[WesternLancer]

oh dear, it is quite frightening for a novice train traveller and travelling with a companion who has invisible disability.

Indeed, but this is why pre booking assistance can be worth doing - but there are large numbers of trains in UK that simply do not offer reservations to anyone.

If starting that part of the journey at Southampton my experience on that route is that the train would not be very busy when boarding it there as the train commences at Southampton, and the trains are longer - and Southern Trains have a reasonable number of the seats that are clearly marked for people who might need a bit more space etc (I think they are called 'Priority Seats')

You can read more here if they need the equivalent Southern Page to the GWR one

Assisted travel | Southern Railway

If you have a disability you can get assistance when travelling on Southern. Find out how to book help.

www.southernrailway.com

Southern also offer a 'Priority Seat Card' which people can request - I assume this is a card you can then show to someone that indicates you maybe need the seat more than they do!

Thank you. I did call them. They told me to wait until two days before travelling. The individual did take details of travel.

Thanks - apols I did not realise they want you to ring only that far ahead - but I think def worth doing. If you want to be on the safe side maybe ring southern about the second leg of the trip. Maybe worth ensuring they can help you change trains at Southampton - there are lifts from platform up to the bridge that connects the different platforms if that helps to know.

People on this forum would be able to tell you, nearer the time, which platform your train usually arrives at and which the next one departs from, to help you know what to expect when you change trains.

I was told we have been allocated seats for people with disability for more room. I can’t find an explanation.

Also occurs to me this guidance booklet produced by GWR may be of help as it shows the seating plans etc on all the different types of GWR trains - the sort you are most likely to encounter on the route from Bradford on Avon to Southampton would be those shown on pages 18-26 (those being the page numbers on the top corner of the booklet - not the computer page numbers) the 165 or 166 or 158 types of train

https://www.gwr.com/~/media/gwr/pdfs/plan-journey/passenger-assist/facilities-guide-april-2021-low-res.pdf?la=en

I also note you travel days are a Thursday and a Monday - so not the most busy days in my experience.

 

[island]

I don’t think any Southern services have seat reservations.

You are correct.