Ticket collection

[wintonian]

I have booked some advance tickets via the SWT website for London Euston (EUS) to Birmingham (BHM). I thought I selected to collect from WIN but it has come back for me to collect them from EUS.

Can I collect them from any ticket machine or do I have to use the ones at EUS?

 

[barrykas]

I have booked some advance tickets via the SWT website for EUS to BHM. I thought I selected to collect from WIN but it has come back for me to collect them from EUS.

Can I collect them from any ticket machine or do I have to use the ones at EUS?

You can collect them from any ticket machine that's enabled for "Ticket on Departure". You'll need the card you paid for the tickets with, and possibly the booking reference. (Preferably a printout of the booking confirmation e-mail, in case of any problems).

HTH,

Barry

 

[wintonian]

Thats what I was hopeing.

In that case why when ordering do you have to select a station to collect the tickets from? ceartanly SWT EMT and XC ask you to make a selection.

 

[yorkie]

They ask you to choose simply to ensure that your station is on the list. As if your station is not on the list then the chances are it doesn't have a ToD facility. If it's on the list, then it's fine and it doesn't matter which one you actually pick.

 

[wintonian]

Ok, so why not have a link next to the option to a pop up window that lists the stations where you can colect from IMO it would be easier to read through a list in that format to see if any perticular station is avalibe, than it is at the moment by reading through a drop down scrolling list.

While I'm at it why do some sites allow you to for example book seats faceing forwards or backwards while others don't but allow you to choose whther you would like to be near a power socket?

Is there anywhare to pick a window seat (with view) faceing the direction of travel with access to a power socket, far far away from the lav?

 

[yorkie]

Well, the booking engines are all slightly different. The system is a mess.

If you use the Atos Origin system (used by the likes of East Coast) it is possible to specify a forward facing window seat with a power socket, however there is no guarantee of an actual view and you can't specify to sit away from the toilet. But the East Coast site will tell you what seat number it has reserved, this can be compared to a seating plan and you can get the system to allocate a different seat if you don't like it.

It would be nice if you could pick an individual seat, as others have suggested. Sadly it is not possible at present.

Things are a lot better now than the dark days of all sites being powered by Thetrainline with no alternatives though.

 

[wintonian]

I was playing with the east cost site today and it was impossibly slow and kept giving me the same seats so I gave up and ended up with about 9 diffrent journys listed with SWT untill it came up with seats that wern't 1 out of a group of 4, oppersite the luggage rack or a lone seat with so much room in front you could lay down and strech out on the floor thus feeling exposed.

I would have gone down to the station and talked to the realy helpfull guy in the travel center like I used to but SWT decided they cost to much and it's quite ok for a big que of passengers to wait missing their trains while I or someone talks about the diffrent fares from A -> B via C and D with a diffrent combination the following week.

 

[yorkie]

By the way for Euston to Birmingham, with very few exceptions the services are all Class 390 Pendolinos. These trains only have power sockets at the window seats at tables! TransPennine Express Class 185s are the same (but there are a lot more tables on those trains).

 

[paul1609]

You can collect them from any ticket machine that's enabled for "Ticket on Departure". You'll need the card you paid for the tickets with, and possibly the booking reference. (Preferably a printout of the booking confirmation e-mail, in case of any problems).

HTH,

Barry

I dont believe that is so for all tickets. Some tickets are only available at stations run by the owning TOC. The southern website makes it clear that some of their tickets are not available for collection at stations run by other TOCs even when they serve and the ticket would be valid from that station.

 

[wintonian]

By the way for Euston to Birmingham, with very few exceptions the services are all Class 390 Pendolinos. These trains only have power sockets at the window seats at tables! TransPennine Express Class 185s are the same (but there are a lot more tables on those trains).

Well I wish they would let me choose the direction of travel insted of allowing me to look for a seat by a window without a power socket or with a power socket but not by the window or even both a window and socket

... you can use the system to book seat on all sorts of trains on all sorts of routes - I know.

I found seats 15/ 18 in coach K in the end useing the plan in the other thread (usefull, but are there any sites arround with plans for other operators?), one of the ones with a table for 2, though it seems if you selct table as an option with East Coast it offers you a table for 4 ignoring the others.

 

[Solent&Wessex]

Ok, so why not have a link next to the option to a pop up window that lists the stations where you can colect from IMO it would be easier to read through a list in that format to see if any perticular station is avalibe, than it is at the moment by reading through a drop down scrolling list.

While I'm at it why do some sites allow you to for example book seats faceing forwards or backwards while others don't but allow you to choose whther you would like to be near a power socket?

Is there anywhare to pick a window seat (with view) faceing the direction of travel with access to a power socket, far far away from the lav?

It makes you choose a station so you can actually see your station is available. If there was just a list as you suggest, I can guarantee you that people wouldn't read it, then turn up at all sorts of places trying to collect tickets where they are not able to. It's very similar to the various conditions about Advance tickets on the websites, which no one ever reads and then they just turn up on any train they fancy.

The main reason for not being able to always select window / forward seats etc is the different layout of stock nowadays. The days when all seats on long distance trains were all round tables, with two seats with the same number 1 facing and backing, are long gone. On our 185s for example it is impossible to know which way a seat faces as it depends which way round the unit is. Although it is possible to know which seats have windows or tables, this is not always the case on some routes where the stock could vary from one train to another.

 

[wintonian]

It makes you choose a station so you can actually see your station is available. If there was just a list as you suggest, I can guarantee you that people wouldn't read it, then turn up at all sorts of places trying to collect tickets where they are not able to. It's very similar to the various conditions about Advance tickets on the websites, which no one ever reads and then they just turn up on any train they fancy.

Good point, but if the information is clear and not hidden in any way then is that not the responsibility of the passenger - although that's not a reason to change a method that pretty much works.

The main reason for not being able to always select window / forward seats etc is the different layout of stock nowadays. The days when all seats on long distance trains were all round tables, with two seats with the same number 1 facing and backing, are long gone. On our 185s for example it is impossible to know which way a seat faces as it depends which way round the unit is. Although it is possible to know which seats have windows or tables, this is not always the case on some routes where the stock could vary from one train to another.

SWT manage to offer you the option to face one way or another, but then I guess they can't guarantee which way round the stock will be.

 

[royaloak]

Good point, but if the information is clear and not hidden in any way then is that not the responsibility of the passenger - although that's not a reason to change a method that pretty much works..

And that is where it breaks down

SWT manage to offer you the option to face one way or another, but then I guess they can't guarantee which way round the stock will be.

The 159s and 444s usually have the 1st class at the lundun end, although SWT dont offer seat reservations anymore , you are reserved to the train only.

 

[transportphoto]

And that is where it breaks down



The 159s and 444s usually have the 1st class at the lundun end, although SWT dont offer seat reservations anymore , you are reserved to the train only.

lundun

??? London (maybe guessing!)

 

[royaloak]

London, Lundun, Londinium all the same really

 

[Helvellyn]

Lundun - say it out loud and imagine yourself in the West Midlands.

 

[wintonian]

The 159s and 444s usually have the 1st class at the lundun end, although SWT dont offer seat reservations anymore , you are reserved to the train only.

Sorry I meant you get the option when booking through the SWT website and booking seats for other operators services.

 

[royaloak]

ooops