Unavailable reservation

[dcd]

I have tried at 2 stations to reserve a seat in 1st class on the XC 09:15 Southampton to Reading on 10th July only to be told by one station that it could not be done, but they told me that about 2 others which the other station managed without problems. The second station told me "there are no complimentary seats available" but could not explain what this meant - is the train full? It is marked as 1st class and reservable in the timetable.

 

[northwichcat]

The ATOS booking engine gives the following result for that service:

There are no more seats available to reserve for your chosen ticket on the chosen service. You can buy this ticket without reservations or you can change your service or ticket selection and try again.

 

[dcd]

The ATOS booking engine gives the following result for that service:

There are no more seats available to reserve for your chosen ticket on the chosen service. You can buy this ticket without reservations or you can change your service or ticket selection and try again.

Thanks for this - does it mean all first class seats are reserved or is there a reservable quota?

 

[sonic2009]

could it be something to do with it being a sunday? ive had this problen b4. maybe xc have have to keep some 1st class seats for weekend upgrades...

 

[me123]

Most, if not all trains, do not allow every seat to be reserved. Therefore, sometimes you won't be able to reserve a seat. But that doesn't necessarily mean you won't get a seat, as there are often unreserved seats available. The only risk is that they've already been taken, but if you're boarding at Southampton that's unlikely to be a problem.

 

[wintonian]

How would that work if those with walk up tickets reserved the remaining seats in the relevant class on a service before the advance quota had sold out?

 

[me123]

Presumably the advance quota is separate from the walk-up quota? It's an interesting point, but I'm sure it's been thought about.

 

[wintonian]

Presumably the advance quota is separate from the walk-up quota? It's an interesting point, but I'm sure it's been thought about.

If that is the case then you potentially have the reverse, with the allocation of seat for walk-up fares being used up but only a hand full of advance tickets being sold leaving lots of unreserved seats, admittedly it's somewhat less of an issue this way round.