VTWC changing non-reserved carriages?

[Furrball]

Looked at booking in December from Glasgow to Lancaster and getting the option to reserve in coach F and coach C is not available.

Coach F

Coach C

Since starting typing confirmed on twitter that a change is happening

 

[matt]

I have booked for next week going to Euston. It has given me a seat in coach F but if go to the seat selector I can't choose a seat in F.

 

[Deafdoggie]

I think it allocates coach F if there are no other seats available in other coaches (after all, all the trains have an F) It could be that coach C is full, it could be "block booked" there are a number of reasons

 

[Furrball]

No, checked multiple services and coach C is unavailable on all. Virgin confirm that changes to unreserved carriages are taking place

 

[p.d87]

Changes being made are C swapping with F as unreserved. U on 11 car remaining unreserved. Seats 10-18 in K will be available for reservations and finally the traveller club seats are being removed to allow reservations. Going to be interesting for people without reservations having to use C on a 9 car with less seats and less luggage space due to theTrain manager's office and the shop. Seats 1 and 2 will remain special assistance so won't be available to walk on passengers in C.

 

[Sheepy1209]

That's just going to make the Euston dash even more fun!

Clearly it's intended to increase the number of reservable seats, and once again it's going to be those paying the higher walk-on fares that lose out. Not only are there fewer seats but it means we'll lose the separation between the unreserved part of the train and the reserved - even if it doesn't cause confusion, it'll slow boarding down and it means having to take a gamble on which coach will have free seats.

Not only does C have fewer seats as already mentioned, the luggage racks are largely unusable too due to being under the pantograph well. That might not be the end of the world as many of those on walk-on tickets are business travellers, but it's not going to help. (And of course many will have reservations on other services but are using the flexibility that their tickets provide - there are always plenty of unused reservations, but that's not apparent immediately).

Ah well, could be worse - all we need is XC-style short-notice reservations and the experience will be complete!

 

[gordonthemoron]

It would help if VTWC had expiring reservation messages, so that say 15 mins after departure station the message would revert to available. Also, showing the from/to stations would mean that people could sit in the seats until the reservation start

 

[ag51ruk]

It would help if VTWC had expiring reservation messages, so that say 15 mins after departure station the message would revert to available. Also, showing the from/to stations would mean that people could sit in the seats until the reservation start

They do show 'From' station before seat is reserved, so you already can

 

[Kite159]

They do show 'From' station before seat is reserved, so you already can

Although the 390s say just "Reserved" compared to the 221 style of showing "Reserved from T to Z" so if a passenger boards at station W travelling to Y and that seat is empty they know they can sit there without fear of being turfed out at station X.

(Let's say on a Glasgow service T is Euston, W is Warrington, X is Preston, Y is Lancaster & Z is Carlisle)

 

[Deafdoggie]

Virgin show "Reserved from.." and the station name. If it just says "Reserved" then there should be someone in it. It will say "available" after the booked reservation has ended.

So, say a seat is only reserved Crewe-Carlisle. On departure from Euston it will says "Reserved from Crewe" until Crewe. Then it says "Reserved" till Carlisle. Then it says "available" from Carlisle

 

[Kite159]

Virgin show "Reserved from.." and the station name. If it just says "Reserved" then there should be someone in it. It will say "available" after the booked reservation has ended.

So, say a seat is only reserved Crewe-Carlisle. On departure from Euston it will says "Reserved from Crewe" until Crewe. Then it says "Reserved" till Carlisle. Then it says "available" from Carlisle

Which doesn't help if someone boards at Warington travelling to Lancaster, finds the seat empty, but is a bit worried in case the reservation was to Wigan/Preston and they will get kicked out when someone else comes along with that seat reserved from Wigan/Preston to further north.

Whereas on a Voyager the seat would say "reserved from Crewe to Carlisle" hence allowing that passenger boarding at Warrington the knowledge of being able to relax and not risk getting kicked out on route.

 

[route101]

Problem with the electronic reservations is quite often they dont work till the train is left Glasgow for example . I often have a walk up ticket and recently have been going to coach F for peace of mind .

 

[Kite159]

I guess I will need to change my default "seat to aim for" when reserving tickets from C9 to F8. At least it means a shorter walk at Euston

 

[Bletchleyite]

Virgin show "Reserved from.." and the station name. If it just says "Reserved" then there should be someone in it. It will say "available" after the booked reservation has ended.

So, say a seat is only reserved Crewe-Carlisle. On departure from Euston it will says "Reserved from Crewe" until Crewe. Then it says "Reserved" till Carlisle. Then it says "available" from Carlisle

It is useful to know when boarding at an intermediate station if "RESERVED" means "reserved from Euston and they didn't show up" or "reserved from MKC and they just haven't got here yet".

 

[DarloRich]

It is useful to know when boarding at an intermediate station if "RESERVED" means "reserved from Euston and they didn't show up" or "reserved from MKC and they just haven't got here yet".

yes a big pain. Just tell me where the seat is reserved form and to not that it is simply reserved

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I guess I will need to change my default "seat to aim for" when reserving tickets from C9 to F8. At least it means a shorter walk at Euston

A longer walk surely, unless the train is the wrong way round?

 

[Kite159]

A longer walk surely, unless the train is the wrong way round?

Coach F is closer to the concourse at Euston. Longer walk at other stations where the train terminates though (apart from Manchester Piccadilly when escaping via the footbridge)

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Yes... I forgot to add the important bit about "at everywhere else"

 

[Mollman]

Virgin show "Reserved from.." and the station name. If it just says "Reserved" then there should be someone in it. It will say "available" after the booked reservation has ended.

So, say a seat is only reserved Crewe-Carlisle. On departure from Euston it will says "Reserved from Crewe" until Crewe. Then it says "Reserved" till Carlisle. Then it says "available" from Carlisle

In theory and originally that is how it worked but my experience over the past year or so has been that it is hit and miss as to what the description is. A seat can be reserved from Lancaster to Euston and it just says "Reserved" all the way from Glasgow

 

[All Line Rover]

Changes being made are C swapping with F as unreserved. U on 11 car remaining unreserved. Seats 10-18 in K will be available for reservations and finally the traveller club seats are being removed to allow reservations. Going to be interesting for people without reservations having to use C on a 9 car with less seats and less luggage space due to theTrain manager's office and the shop. Seats 1 and 2 will remain special assistance so won't be available to walk on passengers in C.

Seats 10 to 18 in Coach K? So the rear nine seats (including three of the four single seats) will continue to be "reserved" by the catering crew?

 

[MylesHSG]

Sorry to bump this thread, but it might be the most relevant for my question.

Booked an "Off peak single" on the 04/02/2017 10:20 Euston to Manchester. However it has not reserved me seats even though I requested them.
Anyone know why? Is the train fully booked 12 weeks in advance? If so knowing the unreserved coach will be very useful!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Booked an "Off peak single" on the 04/02/2017 10:20 Euston to Manchester. However it has not reserved me seats even though I requested them.
Anyone know why? Is the train fully booked 12 weeks in advance? If so knowing the unreserved coach will be very useful!

C will definitely be unreserved but it's the shop carriage so doesn't have as many seats in it as the others. It'll be the third carriage from the front unless the train is the wrong way round.

If it's an 11 car unit, there will be another unreserved carriage, U, as well - this will be the one nearest to where the first class starts. It will also be a purely seats version so a lot more choice.

 

[AlterEgo]

Sorry to bump this thread, but it might be the most relevant for my question.

Booked an "Off peak single" on the 04/02/2017 10:20 Euston to Manchester. However it has not reserved me seats even though I requested them.
Anyone know why? Is the train fully booked 12 weeks in advance? If so knowing the unreserved coach will be very useful!

Very unlikely to be fully reserved, as reservations aren’t open yet for that day (a Sunday)!

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/44703.aspx

You might want to look again when reservations are open, as Advance tickets may be on sale, and you can refund the expensive Off Peak Single.

 

[voyagerdude220]

Sorry to bump this thread, but it might be the most relevant for my question.

Booked an "Off peak single" on the 04/02/2017 10:20 Euston to Manchester. However it has not reserved me seats even though I requested them.
Anyone know why? Is the train fully booked 12 weeks in advance? If so knowing the unreserved coach will be very useful!

That's because you can't book tickets for trains which departed 9 months ago.

Joking aside, the train you refer to hasn't been open for seat reservations yet, I'm guessing VT haven't had confirmation from Network Rail about possible engineering works.

 

[voyagerdude220]

You might want to look again when reservations are open, as Advance tickets may be on sale, and you can refund the expensive Off Peak Single.

You beat me to it.

 

[MylesHSG]

Very unlikely to be fully reserved, as reservations aren’t open yet for that day (a Sunday)!

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/44703.aspx

You might want to look again when reservations are open, as Advance tickets may be on sale, and you can refund the expensive Off Peak Single.

Darn, looks like I messed up even though I work on the railway I hardly travel outside of the London Zones by train so don't have a clue how tickets work.