Standard Class ticket but reserved seat is in First class ?

[General Zod]

Conundrum is where do I sit ? I don't think sitting in my reserved seat will be wise as I only have a standard class ticket ! XC train between Reading and Newcastle .

 

[ainsworth74]

Conundrum is where do I sit ? I don't think sitting in my reserved seat will be wise as I only have a standard class ticket ! XC train between Reading and Newcastle .

What reservation has you've been given? You sure it's in first class no standard?

What type of ticket is it? Advance or a flexible (Off-Peak, Anytime, etc)?

 

[General Zod]

Ticket is the outward portion of an 0ff-Peak return and the reservation is for a seat in Coach A which I gather is the First Class coach.

Edit: The ticket was bought at a ticket office and they stated that the system couldn't distinguish between classes when reserving seats. They just get allocated one.

 

[ainsworth74]

Huh that is very odd! Definitely a reservation for a CrossCountry service? Not LNER or TPE?

If so I think personally your best bet for an easy life is to sit elsewhere on the train. If you bought the ticket and reservation together then you could argue that you've been given a reservation and it's not your lookout if it's wrong but that's going to be an argument for sure.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Ticket is the outward portion of an 0ff-Peak return and the reservation is for a seat in Coach A which I gather is the First Class coach.

Edit: The ticket was bought at a ticket office and they stated that the system couldn't distinguish between classes when reserving seats. They just get allocated one.

I'd go to a booking office or use the GWR site (it's under the account page) to request another reserved seat in Standard. You won't be able to sit in First with a Standard ticket even if the reservation was incorrectly issued, though the level of hassle you get will depend on who you encounter the best you are likely to get is being found a seat in Standard to move to.

This sounds like yet another member of booking office staff of questionable competence/motivation proving the case for booking office closures. Which makes me sad.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Aug 2025 ==

Huh that is very odd! Definitely a reservation for a CrossCountry service? Not LNER or TPE?

If so I think personally your best bet for an easy life is to sit elsewhere on the train. If you bought the ticket and reservation together then you could argue that you've been given a reservation and it's not your lookout if it's wrong but that's going to be an argument for sure.

Oh...I just thought.

Avanti used to have the coach letters the opposite way round, with F being first, no E, and A standard. Have XC re-lettered these, or could they still be the opposite way from the pure XC units?

If the OP could tell us which train it is we could check if it used an Avanti unit today because I don't think they are used interchangeably as the layouts differ.

What is the actual train, on what date (so we can check the same day this week, though the Stockport thing might mess it up) and what is the actual seat?

Or maybe not:

This service:

Realtime Trains | 1G71 1903 Manchester Piccadilly to Birmingham New Street | 19/08/2025

Real-time train running information for 1G71 1903 departure from Manchester Piccadilly to Birmingham New Street on 19/08/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

...is an ex-Avanti unit and shows first class as coach A.

 

[General Zod]

Thanks, very wise advice which echoes my trouble free plan of action. XC are usually good at reseving seats if you DM them on X so I may do that. It's usually a 4 carriage train and very full so free and available seats all the way to the NE are like gold dust.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Thanks, very wise advice which echoes my trouble free plan of action. XC are usually good at reseving seats if you DM them on X so I may do that. It's usually a 4 carriage train and very full so free and available seats all the way to the NE are like gold dust.

If it's a 4 it's definitely not an Avanti unit but it does look like they've re-lettered the coaches on them from the way Avanti had them.

A definitely was Standard at Avanti, as confirmed by this seating plan:

https://www.seat61.com/reference/trainseatplans/avanti-voyager-seat-map.pdf

 

[General Zod]

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C23170/2025-08-20/detailed

1E36 1046 Reading to Newcastle 20/8/2025 Cross Country Trains

 

[Bletchleyite]

That train was indeed a 4 car today - definitely not an Avanti unit.

 

[Adam Williams]

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C23170/2025-08-20/detailed

1E36 1046 Reading to Newcastle 20/8/2025 Cross Country Trains

There is nothing remarkable about this service in the reservation system. I can only assume the ticket office screwed something up here, because the different ticket types are matched to different "Inventory Classes". An SVR (Off-Peak Return) should always be mapped to an inventory class starting with a "2" (for standard class).

Is your allocated seat one of the ones below with 1A as the inventory class?

Seat no.​	Equipment​	TOC code​	Inventory class​	Description​
4​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
5​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
6​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
8​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
9​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
10​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
12​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
13​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
14​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
16​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
17​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
18​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
20​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
21​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
22​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
24​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
25​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
26​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
28​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
29​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
30​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
32​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
33​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
34​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
36​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1A​	APOD First​
37​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1W​	First Wheelchair Space​
40​	B4/XC APOD A FIRST /W Dec 2022 No A suffix​	XC​	1C​	First Wheelchair Companion​

 

[CyrusWuff]

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C23170/2025-08-20/detailed

1E36 1046 Reading to Newcastle 20/8/2025 Cross Country Trains

Checking Fujitsu Journey Planner suggests all the reservable Standard Class seats are booked on that train tomorrow.

Closest to that time with availability is the 1115, with a change at Birmingham New Street.

If it has to be direct, you'll have to wait until the 1445.

 

[Belperpete]

Thanks, very wise advice which echoes my trouble free plan of action. XC are usually good at reseving seats if you DM them on X so I may do that. It's usually a 4 carriage train and very full so free and available seats all the way to the NE are like gold dust.

Did you contact XC, and if so what was their response?

If they were unable to issue you a reservation if there were none left, and you cannot find a free seat through to Newcastle, then it might be worth explaining the situation to the guard and ask his advice. It is possible that he might allow you to travel in your reserved seat in first class.