Advance tickets

[Zoe]

Hi, on the National Rail website it says that you must sit in your reserved seat if you have an advance ticket. Has anyone ever been excessed or even given a penalty fare for sitting in another seat?

 

[Pumbaa]

Hi, on the National Rail website it says that you must sit in your reserved seat if you have an advance ticket. Has anyone ever been excessed or even given a penalty fare for sitting in another seat?

Nope - just other angry passengers if it turns you're sitting in their seat! I've never known it to happen.

 

[Techniquest]

Yet to have it happen to me either, but there is a guard on East Midlands Trains who delights it would appear in ensuring people sit in their correct seat. class_313 will know more about that, I've yet to encounter this gentleman.

 

[Max]

No, you should be fine. I normally find a better seat that is unreserved.

 

[D306]

happened to me before. Went off on the RUK Derbyshire Wayfarer meet in august. Went on EMT (got double valenta ) and had a seat reservation in coach E. I got to coach E and someone was sitting in my seat. But really, I couldn't care as I was doing a heads out most of the way there

 

[yorkie]

happened to me before. Went off on the RUK Derbyshire Wayfarer meet in august. Went on EMT (got double valenta ) and had a seat reservation in coach E. I got to coach E and someone was sitting in my seat. But really, I couldn't care as I was doing a heads out most of the way there

If it happened to you because someone was in your seat then that is insane, especially if you moved to do 'heads out'.

I think you didn't read the question!

 

[martyn29]

I have reserved seats before and people refused to move? Not one for conflict I spoke to the team and he sat me and my cousin in 1st as the train was very busy.

 

[FusionRail]

If you have a reserved seat, you do not have to sit in it. If the train is empty then it makes no difference anyway, but on a busy service you may find yourself causing problems by f*cking of and sitting else where.

 

[Guinness]

Hi, on the National Rail website it says that you must sit in your reserved seat if you have an advance ticket. Has anyone ever been excessed or even given a penalty fare for sitting in another seat?

Whenever I've booked advance tickets I've always sat where I wanted to without any hassle. Usually these are early morning Saturday London trains where the Train is completely empty.

The only problem I can see is when you sit in someone else's seat, legally you can get fined for this but I think this is when people really do refuse to move.

 

[P156KWJ]

Yet to have it happen to me either, but there is a guard on East Midlands Trains who delights it would appear in ensuring people sit in their correct seat. class_313 will know more about that, I've yet to encounter this gentleman.

Chris Halfpenny? Don't know if Loader caught him on a bad day, but he's been a nice chap whenever I've had him as TM (not the sort of person who you have a laugh with loads, but no bother. Someone was sitting opposite me wanting to pay weekend First (where Jordy should have actually been), he never mentioned it

 

[Jordy]

Back in Midland Mainline days I was told to move to my reserved seat on a Leeds - St Pancras in first class, normally you will be ok but sometimes you have to move

 

[me123]

I think you find that the smaller companies (like Scotrail, Chiltern, XC turbostars and so on) don't mind as much as the NXEC, Virgin and the like where the trains have more AP passengers and more reservations. On the whole, they won't force you unless it's busy, but there are exceptions to this!

 

[Zoe]

If you have a reserved seat, you do not have to sit in it.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/advance_conditions.html

Where applicable, you must travel in the Class and reserved seat(s) shown on the ticket(s).

Yes you do if it's an advance ticket.

 

[P156KWJ]

if you are unhappy with your seating position I'd remember to specify when you book. For example, I recently booked a TPE ticket and requested a window seat in first class with a power socket and forward facing... sure enough, I got that

 

[Zoe]

if you are unhappy with your seating position I'd remember to specify when you book. For example, I recently booked a TPE ticket and requested a window seat in first class with a power socket and forward facing... sure enough, I got that

I don't like travelling backwards or sitting at tables and even if I book an airline seat the train could be in reverse. I also like to be in the quietest part of standard class.

 

[John_158]

I’ve booked seats with FTPE and yet the booked seats sometimes are wrong as you can be in Coach A Seat 1A and Seat 1A could be in Coach C.

Very often though if a table seat is not reserved and my reserved seat is not a table seat I will go for the table seat but yet most of the times when I travel on advance tickets I travel in the early hours so plenty of seats to choose from.

I think the vast majority of the guards at TOCs are happy provided you have got the seat reservation with the tickets you have purchased.

 

[Max]

It's the difference between what is written, and what is done in practice. In reality, unless perhaps the train is completely full, the rule about sitting in your booked seat will not be enforced.

 

[P156KWJ]

I’ve booked seats with FTPE and yet the booked seats sometimes are wrong as you can be in Coach A Seat 1A and Seat 1A could be in Coach C.

Very often though if a table seat is not reserved and my reserved seat is not a table seat I will go for the table seat but yet most of the times when I travel on advance tickets I travel in the early hours so plenty of seats to choose from.

I think the vast majority of the guards at TOCs are happy provided you have got the seat reservation with the tickets you have purchased.

well, can't go wrong loads on mine seeing as both 170s and 185s only have very small areas of first class in them

 

[FusionRail]

It's the difference between what is written, and what is done in practice. In reality, unless perhaps the train is completely full, the rule about sitting in your booked seat will not be enforced.

Exactly what i said.

There would be no occasion you had to sit in a booked seat if the train was running with a light load, unless you have a jobsworth guard.

 

[John_158]

I was on a heavily loaded FTPE trin one day Between Hunts Cross and Liverpool Lime St and the Guard made us all what were sitting in FC move to squash in to SC.

 

[Techniquest]

This is an interesting one on the subject of reserved seats:

Back in December 2008 (feels like a century ago to me!) I was booked on the 2026 Aberdeen to Edinburgh with AXC in Standard Class. Reserved seat was A36F.

Now, maybe it's just me, but coach A is always the quiet coach in Standard Class. Always has been on FGW and near enough that (coach B, previously D) on GNER and of course now NXEC. Why AXC (and before them VXC) are/were any different I don't know, but coach A with them is First Class.

This is where it gets slightly interesting. The formation was very strange, in that it went A, B, D, C, F, E, G and H. H for some bizarre reason is the TGS, whereas I've always known H to be a First Class coach with FGW and for that matter any other operator. Aside from the bizarre lettering order, B is the buffet coach which is half Standard, half First. No prizes for guessing which way around the buffet was...

Anyway, point is I nearly decided to sit in coach A in my reserved seat and argue "Well, it says A36F on my ticket!", but decided for the sake of a comfortable journey I wouldn't. The TM was a tad surprised when I showed her my ticket and reservation coupon, but I got the impression this happened a lot.

 

[yorkie]

I was on a heavily loaded FTPE trin one day Between Hunts Cross and Liverpool Lime St and the Guard made us all what were sitting in FC move to squash in to SC.

That post doesn't really make much sense but I doubt he made anyone move - the upgrade is £6 (unless it's declassified) and if you mistakenly thought it was declassified then you're lucky that you had the choice of moving rather than being asked to pay the £6 upgrade.