Modern Railways: LNER and compulsory reservations

[Ianno87]

Interesting, as on the Bank Holiday weekend some Chiltern trains (which is a very similar situation but for a very different reason) were pretty busy. Certainly if anyone had had COVID on the train I was on it would have spread around a bit.

Might have been different on the weekend, but I presume the "Do Not Travel" message probably suppressed actual passengers enough to manage the problem.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Yes, it's almost certainly just to manage the volume of general replies/questions they are receiving and not have a thread weighed down by this that and the other question



Trains basically aren't *that* busy, especially (in extremis) the last trains of the day, so it's presumably few if any passengers actually being stranded (given that some people will also travel earlier than their booked train)

If they're not that busy, why do you need a reservation system? And if you do have a reservation system, there has to be a policy to rescue passengers with reservations who are stranded by cancellation of their booked service, or missing it due to a late running connecting service.

 

[Ianno87]

If they're not that busy, why do you need a reservation system? And if you do have a reservation system, there has to be a policy to rescue passengers with reservations who are stranded by cancellation of their booked service, or missing it due to a late running connecting service.

To stop everybody turning up for the same train, and spread demand across the available capacity.

 

[STINT47]

This evening fatality has closed the Midland Mainline and Nottingham passengers are advised to travel via Grantham.

Only problem is due to LNERs policy the next departures are now fully booked. So the trains will leave half empty whilst people are left stranded in London.

Should compulsory reservations be suspended in these situations? I know people like a pleasant train but people also like to go home.

 

[Dave91131]

This evening fatality has closed the Midland Mainline and Nottingham passengers are advised to travel via Grantham.

Only problem is due to LNERs policy the next departures are now fully booked. So the trains will leave half empty whilst people are left stranded in London.

Should compulsory reservations be suspended in these situations? I know people like a pleasant train but people also like to go home.

No doubt the view of those in favour of compulsory reservations (and probably LNER too) will be that affected passengers should take Thameslink to Peterborough for either EMR or XC forward depending on their final destination.

If that doesn't get them home, find a bench.

 

[geoffk]

Only problem is due to LNERs policy the next departures are now fully booked. So the trains will leave half empty whilst people are left stranded in London.

Should compulsory reservations be suspended in these situations? I know people like a pleasant train but people also like to go home.

Sorry if this is a silly question but if the trains are fully booked, why will they leave half empty?

 

[43096]

Sorry if this is a silly question but if the trains are fully booked, why will they leave half empty?

Social distancing.

 

[800001]

This evening fatality has closed the Midland Mainline and Nottingham passengers are advised to travel via Grantham.

Only problem is due to LNERs policy the next departures are now fully booked. So the trains will leave half empty whilst people are left stranded in London.

Should compulsory reservations be suspended in these situations? I know people like a pleasant train but people also like to go home.

I'm able to reserve seats from KGX to Peterborough, Newark, Grantham, Doncaster, Leeds, York for the rest of the evening.

They also have coach C for people who will be directed to Kings Cross from the Midland.

Lner will do what ever they can to help customers complete there journey and will not leave people stranded.

If that means one or two trains depart Kings Cross with slightly more passengers than the social distance limit, then that is what they will do.

 

[Mike99]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned and answered (I did do a check through this lengthy thread) so apologies if it has been covered. I notice on RTT that after the timetable change services out of London Euston with Avanti West Coast are showing as Reservations Compulsory. Is it thought that this will be implemented in the same way that LNER and XC are making seat reservations mandatory or did I read somewhere that it won't be adopted so strictly by AWC unlike the other two. I'm planning on using AWC quite a bit at the end of the month into June. Thanks in advance to anybody who replies.

 

[Failed Unit]

In the past, before the C word, I don't recall boarding ever getting denied if you don't have a reservation, but I guess once you are onboard what can they do. On some journeys link Newark - Grantham and Wigan - Preston, you will have probably got off before they find you. I expect this is covered many times on this thread, but where an Intercity operator is also a local operator I can't see the compulsory reservations staying. Or they are basically giving up on some fairly large (but probably annoying for them) flows. Leeds - Wakefield and Newcastle - Durham to name 2

 

[Watershed]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned and answered (I did do a check through this lengthy thread) so apologies if it has been covered. I notice on RTT that after the timetable change services out of London Euston with Avanti West Coast are showing as Reservations Compulsory. Is it thought that this will be implemented in the same way that LNER and XC are making seat reservations mandatory or did I read somewhere that it won't be adopted so strictly by AWC unlike the other two. I'm planning on using AWC quite a bit at the end of the month into June. Thanks in advance to anybody who replies.

AWC services have been reservation compulsory - in the data - for quite a while now. Might even have been since last summer.

It's really just something they do to remove trains that are 'at socially distanced capacity' from journey planners.

 

[JonathanH]

I notice on RTT that after the timetable change services out of London Euston with Avanti West Coast are showing as Reservations Compulsory.

All GWR trains are shown as Reservation Compulsory in RTT - it means that you can't book online for a train when capacity is reached but isn't enforced to stop people travelling on walk up tickets. As posted in other threads, local GWR trains on the North Downs Line are 'Reservations Compulsory' from the timetable change.

 

[tspaul26]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned and answered (I did do a check through this lengthy thread) so apologies if it has been covered. I notice on RTT that after the timetable change services out of London Euston with Avanti West Coast are showing as Reservations Compulsory. Is it thought that this will be implemented in the same way that LNER and XC are making seat reservations mandatory or did I read somewhere that it won't be adopted so strictly by AWC unlike the other two. I'm planning on using AWC quite a bit at the end of the month into June. Thanks in advance to anybody who replies.

I am currently sat in a seat which the display informs me is “Reserved from Euston”, yet is also reserved for me. For clarity: I am not travelling from Euston or anywhere near it.

Good luck enforcing that.

 

[Kite159]

I am currently sat in a seat which the display informs me is “Reserved from Euston”, yet is also reserved for me. For clarity: I am not travelling from Euston or anywhere near it.

Good luck enforcing that.

The only place where it might get enforced is at Euston (if going from a platform with manual ticket checks) and Glasgow.

 

[andy1571]

i travelled XC around the Leicester and Hinckley area last Saturday, and when I looked on their website at lunchtime, all trains for the rest of the day were (apart from the very last) showing as fully booked for all ticket types. Needless to say, many people (myself included) were ignoring or unaware of this daft restriction, and there was absolutely zero attempt at enforcement.

Any CR system would need some form of policing to be effective; I just can’t see that happening.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Most likely, while it doesn't have to be that way, it would be done through ticketing - Advances only, and so if you haven't got a reservation you haven't got a valid ticket either.

 

[Mike99]

Thank You for your replies.

 

[williamn]

Took AWC up to Glasgow the other day and it was evident just how much it was used for local journeys, including quite a lot of school children. I can't imagine they will be getting seat reservations for their daily journey to and from school.

 

[HSP 2]

When Kev and me went over to Leeds a few weeks back we had to change at Skipton a the sign in the platform from LNER said reservations recommended. Kev maybe going that way tomorrow so I've asked him to get a photo if poss.

 

[crablab]

Last night I tried to book an 08:20 departure from Peterborough to Kings Cross on LNER (as part of a longer itinerary). The LNER booking engine told me this train was completely sold out and unavailable.

As I wanted a flexible ticket (yes, some people do still need these) I tried booking through GTR to see if it would offer my itinerary with the first leg on Great Northern.

It didn't (problem in itself) but it DID manage to reserve me a seat on the "sold out" 08:20 departure.

Having boarded the train this morning and walked through the coaches, most of them have a couple of people in maximum.

So I don't know what's going on - whether it's related to Covid or 800s being withdrawn, but I can't imagine ordinary passengers will put up with LNER carting around fresh air whilst they have to wait for a later service.

 

[43096]

Laughably, the mandatory reservations where you must sit in your booked seat under pain of death are not in force on the service I’m on (0803 KX-Leeds) as it’s an ersatzzug (91106 vice Detachi thing). So you can sit anywhere and there was no enforcement at KX either.

 

[pelli]

Last night I tried to book an 08:20 departure from Peterborough to Kings Cross on LNER (as part of a longer itinerary). The LNER booking engine told me this train was completely sold out and unavailable.

As I wanted a flexible ticket (yes, some people do still need these) I tried booking through GTR to see if it would offer my itinerary with the first leg on Great Northern.

It didn't (problem in itself) but it DID manage to reserve me a seat on the "sold out" 08:20 departure.

Having boarded the train this morning and walked through the coaches, most of them have a couple of people in maximum.

So I don't know what's going on - whether it's related to Covid or 800s being withdrawn, but I can't imagine ordinary passengers will put up with LNER carting around fresh air whilst they have to wait for a later service.

It's not clear whether your issue is related or not, but here's a recent thread about LNER claiming a (Scotrail) train is sold out of (counted place) reservations when in fact Scotrail was able to sell one, with some other people chiming in with similar experiences. The discussion became muddled due to confusion over counted places and LNER's wording of their error message that I don't think the fundamental issue was resolved: Why did LNER claim there was no reservation available when in fact there was?

Scotrail selling tickets LNER won't sell

I've just bought a ticket from Fort William to Glasgow for next week. LNER told me reservations were compulsory but that the service I wanted was sold out. Scotrail happily sold me a ticket with (non-specific seat) reservations for the same service. I bought the tickets from Scotrail...

www.railforums.co.uk

Presumably @Wallsendmag will be interested to see your post.

 

[Failed Unit]

Laughably, the mandatory reservations where you must sit in your booked seat under pain of death are not in force on the service I’m on (0803 KX-Leeds) as it’s an ersatzzug (91106 vice Detachi thing). So you can sit anywhere and there was no enforcement at KX either.

I have had similar sold out experiences. Booking from Lincoln - London you have to change at Grantham. It is not unusual that you can’t find any trains. However if you split at Grantham you can book the journey using the same trains. Alternative is change at Peterborough and use GTR but that adds 1 hour to your journey.
Most people wouldn’t think about the split.

 

[Wallsendmag]

It's not clear whether your issue is related or not, but here's a recent thread about LNER claiming a (Scotrail) train is sold out of (counted place) reservations when in fact Scotrail was able to sell one, with some other people chiming in with similar experiences. The discussion became muddled due to confusion over counted places and LNER's wording of their error message that I don't think the fundamental issue was resolved: Why did LNER claim there was no reservation available when in fact there was?

Scotrail selling tickets LNER won't sell

I've just bought a ticket from Fort William to Glasgow for next week. LNER told me reservations were compulsory but that the service I wanted was sold out. Scotrail happily sold me a ticket with (non-specific seat) reservations for the same service. I bought the tickets from Scotrail...

www.railforums.co.uk

Presumably @Wallsendmag will be interested to see your post.

I've given up sorry.

 

[Mag_seven]

Ok it looks like we have exhausted discussion on this issue for the moment.

If there are any actual developments on the general issue of compulsory reservations then please alert a member of forum staff and we will consider reopening the thread.