No reservations printed (Chiltern Railways - possibly others too)

[bakerstreet]

Booked tickets online (Super Off Peak Return flexible)

Collected tickets at London Marylebone

Tickets printed.

Collection receipt printed

But no reservations printed.

This is so frustrating!

Although reservations are obviously not required for flexible tickets they do assist with smooth travel where any issues occur or just to have a reminder of travel plans.

Is there a simple way of knowing - in advance - which TVM software provides these and which does not and how to identify it.

And to all TOCs - please think about whether it makes sense to actively suppress the printing of reservations.

and if you think that it does make sense at least tell me in advance that this machine does not print reservations and let me go to a ticket office to collect them.

(I was frustrated last time that no collection receipt printed but I did get one of those!)

 

[Wallsendmag]

Are you sure you’ve made reservations? We get a lot of people who’ve booked with Trainline who think that but simply haven’t made a reservation.

 

[bakerstreet]

Hmm good question.

I’ve just checked my email and it has a detailed itinerary in each direction.
On the journey I’m on there are never actual seat number reservations but specifying a specific service when booking has always given me the tickets and separate reservation coupons

I will try and get into my account and see what I did during the booking.

On your toc do you print coupons even for flexible tickets when reservations have been made?

 

[tom73]

 

[bakerstreet]

View attachment 68434

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On the journey I’m on there are never actual seat number reservations but specifying a specific service when booking has always given me the tickets and separate reservation coupons

 

[yorkie]

Is this the "Coach * Seat ***" coupons?

I think not all retailers will issue them and/or not all TVMs will issue them.

I agree they can be very useful as evidence of validity in case of a dispute, though failing that there is always your full travel itinerary which you could print or show on an electronic device.

 

[bakerstreet]

Is this the "Coach * Seat ***" coupons?

I think not all retailers will issue them and/or not all TVMs will issue them.

I agree they can be very useful as evidence of validity in case of a dispute, though failing that there is always your full travel itinerary which you could print or show on an electronic device.

These are the ones Yorkie. Yes good idea, next time I will print the itinerary but only noticed the issue when I printed tickets at departure station!

 

[Wallsendmag]

Hmm good question.

I’ve just checked my email and it has a detailed itinerary in each direction.
On the journey I’m on there are never actual seat number reservations but specifying a specific service when booking has always given me the tickets and separate reservation coupons

I will try and get into my account and see what I did during the booking.

On your toc do you print coupons even for flexible tickets when reservations have been made?

When reservations have been made yes but with flexible tickets counted places are pointless .

 

[Bletchleyite]

When reservations have been made yes but with flexible tickets counted places are pointless .

They do have the advantage of providing something with your ticket showing your intended train times.

 

[bakerstreet]

When reservations have been made yes but with flexible tickets counted places are pointless .

In principle I would agree with that were it not for previous experiences

On occasion a counted place reservation coupon has saved me from a penalty fare and a couple of attempts to charge a three figure excess by on train and/or barrier staff who only wanted to see an orange piece of card to prove either route or time of travel was ok on my flexible ticket.

Not a criticism of said staff for asking for evidence but a criticism of the general railway for now withholding this option and who don’t always understand the reality of the passenger experience.

 

[Hadders]

In principle I would agree with that were it not for previous experiences

On occasion a counted place reservation coupon has saved me from a penalty fare and a couple of attempts to charge a three figure excess by on train and/or barrier staff who only wanted to see an orange piece of card to prove either route or time of travel was ok on my flexible ticket.

Not a criticism of said staff for asking for evidence but a criticism of the general railway for now withholding this option and who don’t always understand the reality of the passenger experience.

I’d say that absolutely is a failing of the staff rather than the railway.

A flexible Off Peak ticket says ‘valid at certain times see restrictions nre.co.uk/xx where xx is the specific restriction code applicable to that ticket.

It couldn’t be simpler or more straightforward to look up....