The question I am about to pose may be a bit ridiculous to contemplate in the case of many UK TOCs but do isolated instances ever occur where a party of travellers from say a school or church reserve an entire coach on a normal service with sufficient capacity to allow what is common practice in many railway organisations in other countries with greater availability and flexibility of rolling stock?
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Reservation of an entire coach
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hexagon789
Veteran Member
I've known of instances of coach parties reserving almost half a 158 unit on the Inverness-Far North route in previous years.
scotraildriver
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Tour companies like Great Rail journeys often book out most of a coach on West Highland services.
Avanti offer booking out an entire carriage - https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/tickets-and-savings/group-travel/avanti-vip
I've seen photos of Manchester United's first team waiting at Stockport station to get a train down to London for a match. Fairly sure they wouldn't be fighting for seats with the general public.
I've seen photos of Manchester United's first team waiting at Stockport station to get a train down to London for a match. Fairly sure they wouldn't be fighting for seats with the general public.
It's certainly possible. Some TOCs advertise it openly: https://www.lner.co.uk/tickets-savings/your-ticket/private-hire/
Others probably would offer it on application.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
In First North Western days I was party to taking about 250 people from Marple to Manchester and back, though they wouldn't do anything with regard to reserving coaches as such, but the look on the faces of the people boarding at intermediate stations expecting a quiet train was a picture, as we had taken most of the seats across 3 trains (Class 101 2-car sets at the time). I've still got one of the tickets somewhere, and it was quite fun walking up to the guard and saying "you can have a rest for a bit, this ticket is for everyone on the train" (I don't think anyone else had boarded at Marple, just us).
Elsewhere it's normal practice in Switzerland to reserve coaches for large groups, and it's mandatory to do so, they get quite shirty if you don't. On LHCS services they sometimes will put on extra vehicles, too.
Edit: I was also part of a group of 50-odd on a Scout event on a Virgin service in Mk3 days. We had most of the coach but one unlucky business traveller ended up in the middle!
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I had exactly the same on the Settle & Carlisle, which I was taking on a genuine business trip from Doncaster to Carlisle. One of the two 158 coaches wholly reserved for a coach party, everybody else squished in the other one. Worse, the party was only between Settle and Appleby, but the coach was fully off limits throughout from Leeds to Carlisle.
The most stupid publicity for this stated it was "environmentally friendly" for them to use the train - meanwhile, once the passengers were dropped at Settle, their coach then drove in parallel, empty, to Appleby to pick them up again. I got the feeling it was a regular thing.
D6130
Established Member
Yes....this is definitely a regular thing on the S&C, especially in the peak Spring and Autumn pensioners' coach holiday season, when there are often two - or even three - coaches reserved for different parties....and you have to hope that a 3 or 4 car set has been allocated. However there is nothing to stop ordinary passengers occupying those seats between Leeds and Settle or Appleby and Carlisle....and the better conductors will make the spare seats available to ordinary passengers once the parties have been settled, as they rarely have enough people to occupy the whole coach. In my experience, the elderly coach passengers spend most of the journey grumbling that it's not a steam train....especially if it's wet, foggy or low-cloudy!
VauxhallandI
Established Member
I have seen Bromley FC do it too.
It's bloody annoying when they do that - I've encountered it too. Made worse by them not allowing 'normal' passengers to reserve seats at all (Northern doesn't normally have any reservations).
Happens a fair bit with Avanti, particularly with Football clubs booking first class.
It can also happen informally. I’ve worked a few Football fan trips where BTP have requested I move passengers out of parts of the train to allow football fans to be in their own carriage, for the benefit of the ordinary passenger
It can also happen informally. I’ve worked a few Football fan trips where BTP have requested I move passengers out of parts of the train to allow football fans to be in their own carriage, for the benefit of the ordinary passenger
Mikey C
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And from other London terminuses as well
noddingdonkey
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I remember being extremely irritated a number of years ago that a school party had been allowed to book a significant number of seats on an AM peak service (2 car 158) that was usually full and standing at the best of times.
There was a wonderful account in a magazine some years ago describing a UK enthusiast group touring the USA. They included the Chicago & South Bend line, last remaining traditional US "interurban", which still had its old cars then. Over the months preceding they tried first to charter a special, then to have a special car on the infrequent regular run. Both were rebuffed as impossible, so they just advised they were all coming on the regular service. When they got to the start it was the usual 2-car formation, but one car had been closed off for an amateur football team, who showed no interest other than to drink as much beer as possible on the several hours journey to Chicago, while some of the group had to stand.
But if they'd paid for tickets they'd every right to be there. The issue is nowadays there's very little flexibility for rail operators to change sets or add carriages if such a party does book. However it is somewhat irksome that parties often select a usually busy train to travel on. Maybe rail operators should offer financial incentives for groups to hire carriages on quieter services?
Steddenm
Established Member
I remember that Rock Choir had booked an entire train once from Preston to London Euston and it made intermediate stops at Wigan, Warrington, Crewe, Stafford, Nuneaton and Rugby. I think it was the Virgin Trains' Pretendolino set.
Vanmanyo
Member
Must have been fun for the passengers not with the party, I didn't know you could even reserve seats on Scotrails services (I know they don't have reservations on their Inter7City services) Let alone half a carriage, they must have got in contact with someone or something.
Kite159
Veteran Member
I can remember being on a Inverness - Kyle train a few years ago which had 2 large coach groups effectively reserving the entire train (one group was on from Inverness, the other boarded at Dingwall). I ended up in the former 1st class area as those seats were unavailable to reserve (it was when the 158s were getting refurbished to remove the small area of 1st class)
Vanmanyo
Member
Doesn't seem like such a bad deal! Declassified first class is always fun, unless the group were all maniacs haha
Kite159
Veteran Member
On the Scotrail 158s, it was the same as standard class, other than having lamps & curtains. Nothing that special.
hexagon789
Veteran Member
This was in about 2011!
Vanmanyo
Member
You get those incredible fabric cloths on the top of the seats now its surely special!
hexagon789
Veteran Member
The legroom is worse and the lamp took up an awkward position on the table. Not worth it even declassified in my opinion.
At least the original set-up, while not having table lamps or sockets, had a proper partition from Standard Class.
Vanmanyo
Member
I've seen pictures and well, they look very mid 2000s lmao. I can see how they would hinder an experience, but at least, like you mentioned you have a partition, so you aren't with some of the rowdy people you can get on trains, unless they payed for first class too.
Usually on the trains I work a whole coach would be reserved for sports teams. Two of my EMR trips today were closed to the public and the coach in question (first class) was closed to the public. The first trip was for the Sheffield Wednesday team but I’m not sure what the second party was
hexagon789
Veteran Member
No I was saying the original set-up was better because it had a partition. The refurb removed it as it operated in First/Abellio days. Like this:
I believe the end bay is reserved for her party, but not the whole carriage. (Or was. I fear HM's rail travel days may be over.)
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