LNER reservations

[williamn]

Does LNER no longer have unreserved seats in first class?

I’m on the 06.15 London to Edinburgh. As my reserved seat has almost no window I wanted to change seats but there are no green lights, only the amber ‘may be reserved later ‘ which I’ve sat in but realise I might be turfed out of.

 

[hexagon789]

Does LNER no longer have unreserved seats in first class?

I’m on the 06.15 London to Edinburgh. As my reserved seat has almost no window I wanted to change seats but there are no green lights, only the amber ‘may be reserved later ‘ which I’ve sat in but realise I might be turfed out of.

Probably a bit late now, given when you posted this, but I understood E and M in First which are the end Driving Trailer vehicles (and Coach C in Standard) were all unreserved seating.

 

[williamn]

I poked my head into M and saw 8 seats unreserved (two bays of four) but they were occupied by crew at the time…

 

[hexagon789]

I poked my head into M and saw 8 seats unreserved (two bays of four) but they were occupied by crew at the time…

No idea then sorry, after I posted the above I went and checked LNER's website and this is what it says:

If all reservable seats have been taken, there are a number of unreserved seats in coach C in Standard and coaches M or E in First Class.

 

[transportphoto]

You can reserve your own seat up to five mins before departure from the next station for free via LNER’s website. The system will allocate you a seat but you can then use a seat selector to change this to the “may be reserved later” seat that you are sitting in.

 

[williamn]

You can reserve your own seat up to five mins before departure from the next station for free via LNER’s website. The system will allocate you a seat but you can then use a seat selector to change this to the “may be reserved later” seat that you are sitting in.

Unfortunately doesn’t work if you buy the last ticket at a specific fare!

 

[transportphoto]

Unfortunately doesn’t work if you buy the last ticket at a specific fare!

It’s not linked to ticket purchase at all See: https://www.lner.co.uk/travel-information/make-a-reservation/

 

[williamn]

Ah I see! Thanks!

 

[yorkie]

I was going to create a thread but found this one.

Does anyone know for sure if there are unreserved 1st class seats on LNER?

My journey is on Sunday and no reservations are currently available.

 

[hexagon789]

I was going to create a thread but found this one.

Does anyone know for sure if there are unreserved 1st class seats on LNER?

My journey is on Sunday and no reservations are currently available.

I was always under the impression Coach M was unreserved in First Class.

Googling brings up the a similar result from LNER's website:

Are there any unreserved seats?

​

​

No reservable seats left and you need to travel on the train? There is a limited amount of seating available on a first-come first-served basis in coach C in Standard and E or M in First Class.

 

[ainsworth74]

I was always under the impression Coach M was unreserved in First Class.

There may be some unreserved but it's definitely not the whole of Coach M that's unreserved. It must be specific seats, wonder if anyone knows which seats are the unreserved.

 

[TheBigD]

I was going to create a thread but found this one.

Does anyone know for sure if there are unreserved 1st class seats on LNER?

My journey is on Sunday and no reservations are currently available.

Don't know where you are travelling from, but if it is on one of the few LNER services that run to/from London (via the Joint Line due to planned engineering work) they are mostly fully booked up.

Last Sunday saw some severe overcrowding on both north and southbound diverted services.

 

[hexagon789]

There may be some unreserved but it's definitely not the whole of Coach M that's unreserved. It must be specific seats, wonder if anyone knows which seats are the unreserved.

I should have said 'in Coach M', poor wording on my part.

 

[yorkie]

Don't know where you are travelling from, but if it is on one of the few LNER services that run to/from London (via the Joint Line due to planned engineering work) they are mostly fully booked up.

Last Sunday saw some severe overcrowding on both north and southbound diverted services.

Yes they are booked up but the question is whether there are unreserved seats; what I really meant to ask is what the numbers are!

I should have said 'in Coach M', poor wording on my part.

Sorry I really meant to ask which seats are unreserved; does anyone know?

 

[Hadders]

I travelled from Doncaster to Peterborough last Sunday with LNER, which was diverted via Lincoln due to engineering works. We had reserved seats but unfortunately the reservations were truned off and the train was packed so we ended up having to stand. Even 1st class looked as though it was standing toomn only.

I was using a combination of tickets for my overall journey and I have submitted a seat guarantee claim.

 

[TheBigD]

From an LNER guard I know...

5 seats on the 9 cars, the block of four next to the kitchen and the adjacent single seat. The 3 seats next to the kitchen on the 5 cars.

 

[zero]

Unfortunately doesn’t work if you buy the last ticket at a specific fare!

Why is this the case? I've just bought the last advance ticket at that fare level and it has given me a particular seat which can't be changed at the time of booking, and it's also not possible to change the seat later.

It gives the false impression that the train is full (compounded by the "only 1 seat left!" message when buying), but when using the standalone seat selector the train is actually mostly empty and I have reserved another seat. If the train remains mostly empty I will probably sit in coach C anyway.

 

[HarryF]

From an LNER guard I know...

That would be M01, M02 and M03 on a 10 car and M04, M05, M06, M07 and M08 on a 9 car

 

[yorkie]

Great, thanks for the info

 

[yorkie]

That would be M01, M02 and M03 on a 10 car and M04, M05, M06, M07 and M08 on a 9 car

Thanks; would there be any other seats in the other portion of a 10 car, does anyone know?

 

[robbeech]

Why is this the case? I've just bought the last advance ticket at that fare level and it has given me a particular seat which can't be changed at the time of booking, and it's also not possible to change the seat later.

It gives the false impression that the train is full (compounded by the "only 1 seat left!" message when buying), but when using the standalone seat selector the train is actually mostly empty and I have reserved another seat. If the train remains mostly empty I will probably sit in coach C anyway.

This is a known issue with the software that has been a problem for years and years. There’s previous discussions on it here, I’m not sure why there are technical limitations, I suspect there’s a lot of “can’t be bothered” rather than “can’t be done”.

Infact it goes one stage further with LNER and a few other operators, as they’ve set reservations to compulsory, once you run out of reservable seats you simply can’t book a ticket online for that train.

 

[yorkie]

It appears that today the diversions mean that "the headcode is not recognised by the computer system so no reservations are possible", we've just been told.

It's unclear if that is just the train I am on, or all trains.

There is also very unclear information about the status of reservations; previously LNER simply used to say they apologise for the lack of reservations and stated that if your reserved seat was already occupied, to find an alternative seat.

However on my train today they are making all sorts of muddled and confused statements such as "we apologise if someone inadvertently sat in your seat" which is open to interpretation. The TM even had the cheek to say that only tickets for this train are valid! Well, they have to accept my ticket, whether they like it or not, and I have the relevant page on the LNER website open for inspection if they try to have an argument!

LNER do seem to be able to make a non-ideal situation even worse at times; while there are many good people in the company, some of them really aren't passenger focussed enough.

 

[Hadders]

It appears that today the diversions mean that "the headcode is not recognised by the computer system so no reservations are possible", we've just been told.

It's unclear if that is just the train I am on, or all trains.

There is also very unclear information about the status of reservations; previously LNER simply used to say they apologise for the lack of reservations and stated that if your reserved seat was already occupied, to find an alternative seat.

However on my train today they are making all sorts of muddled and confused statements such as "we apologise if someone inadvertently sat in your seat" which is open to interpretation. The TM even had the cheek to say that only tickets for this train are valid! Well, they have to accept my ticket, whether they like it or not, and I have the relevant page on the LNER website open for inspection if they try to have an argument!

LNER do seem to be able to make a non-ideal situation even worse at times; while there are many good people in the company, some of them really aren't passenger focussed enough.

Sounds like the same situation as last Sunday.

 

[ainsworth74]

It's unclear if that is just the train I am on, or all trains.

There is also very unclear information about the status of reservations; previously LNER simply used to say they apologise for the lack of reservations and stated that if your reserved seat was already occupied, to find an alternative seat.

My train as well has no reservations no explanation offered beyond due to "a fault" but on previous experience I am of the understanding that the software cannot cope with diversions and reservations so they nearly always fail. I've seen this on Carlisle diversions for instance.

The fall back of printing them to be used on the seat back reservation holders (which were part of the IEP specification) appears to never be used. I assume LNER have done away with the necessary equipment.

On the plus side our TM made very clear announcements that reservations were not available and to sit in any available seat for your class of ticket so no one can be in any doubt that it is a free for all.

However its extremely disappointing that three odd years after introduction to the ECML reservations can still not be reliably displayed on planned diversions.

 

[TheBigD]

My train as well has no reservations no explanation offered beyond due to "a fault" but on previous experience I am of the understanding that the software cannot cope with diversions and reservations so they nearly always fail. I've seen this on Carlisle diversions for instance.

The fall back of printing them to be used on the seat back reservation holders (which were part of the IEP specification) appears to never be used. I assume LNER have done away with the necessary equipment.

On the plus side our TM made very clear announcements that reservations were not available and to sit in any available seat for your class of ticket so no one can be in any doubt that it is a free for all.

However its extremely disappointing that three odd years after introduction to the ECML reservations can still not be reliably displayed on planned diversions.

But LNER can do it.

When I returned from my LEJOG trip I used the southbound Highland Chieftain. Train started at Perth due to planned engineering work on the Highland Mainline, (Stirling on the day due to NR staffing issues) and diverted via Carlisle. My reserved seat was as booked, the thre around me were Edinburgh to Carlisle, changing to 2 reservations from Carlisle to York, all without a single issue.

I wonder if the problem lies with a shortage/workload of back office functions and a combination of enough time or will/desire to make sure it works 100% of the time.

 

[92002]

My train as well has no reservations no explanation offered beyond due to "a fault" but on previous experience I am of the understanding that the software cannot cope with diversions and reservations so they nearly always fail. I've seen this on Carlisle diversions for instance.

The fall back of printing them to be used on the seat back reservation holders (which were part of the IEP specification) appears to never be used. I assume LNER have done away with the necessary equipment.

On the plus side our TM made very clear announcements that reservations were not available and to sit in any available seat for your class of ticket so no one can be in any doubt that it is a free for all.

However its extremely disappointing that three odd years after introduction to the ECML reservations can still not be reliably displayed on planned diversions.

Both my trains yestetday had no reservations had no reservations. The situation was explained as booked a 10 car and sent as 9 car. Sit in your reserved seat if possible, otherwise find a vacant one. The blame seems to be the system to make the changes. Busy trains yestetday but a limited service to normal