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LNER reservation compulsory from 18 May! (Update: other TOCs limiting capacity but not requiring reservations)

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111-111-1

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People are willing to comply to awkward things at the moment due to the situation we find ourselves in. Therefore most people would comply. That is all that is needed.
Do you really think that when a 9 or 11 car Pendo rolls into platform 3 at Coventry advertised for Int and New St however much shouting over the PA "only for resevation holders" that those going to Int or New St are not going to get on? Herd mentality will take over.
 
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hexagon789

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Do you really think that when a 9 or 11 car Pendo rolls into platform 3 at Coventry advertised for Int and New St however much shouting over the PA "only for resevation holders" that those going to Int or New St are not going to get on? Herd mentality will take over.

Shouldn't really be enough people for a 'herd'...
 

duncanp

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I remember commuting from Tottenham Hale to Liverpool Street when the Stansted Express was set down only at Tottenham Hale.

The train to Liverpool Street at 07:56 was cancelled, and the next train was the 07:59 arrival from Stansted Airport, which was set down only. An announcement came over the tannoy that anyone boarding the train would be charged a penalty fare. Everyone just ignored the announcement and got on the train, with the air turning blue with plenty of four letter words, and suggestions as to where they could stick their penalty fares.

I don't think there were any Revenue Protection Inspectors on the train anyway.
 

Wallsendmag

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So what will passengers who board at an unmanned station do, if wanting to make a journey for which e and m tickets are not available (such as cross-London)? Can they reserve a seat without buying a ticket? If so, what is to stop someone from reserving a seat on more than one train, say in case they miss the first?
Safeguards are in place and I'm not sure how many unstaffed stations we call at..
 

Ianigsy

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Would be interesting to be at Wakefield Westgate tomorrow morning if people try to book their 10 reservations for the week with an MCard.

As with any system, it needs to run for a while to see where it doesn't work. The losers will probably be the likes of Wakefield-Leeds and Stevenage-London commuters who are used to being able to take the first train that turns up in the evening.
 

111-111-1

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Safeguards are in place and I'm not sure how many unstaffed stations we call at..

Possibly no unstaffed but plenty of places with no barier or shared with other TOCs. Barrier at Kings X and Newcastle were often open in normal time before COVID.
May be able to control Kings X to a degree. Waverly from the new bay platforms used by LNER. Others will be challenging to different degrees.

Not a go at LNER, Advanti WC will be the same issue.
 

Wallsendmag

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We don't have any stations that aren't shared with other TOCs and most of our stations don't have gates,not that this is a factor because the gates don't read reservation coupons anyway.
 

Belperpete

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What is it with this forum and everything having to work perfectly for every single tiny niche situation?
What is it with some people in this forum who seem to think the only people who matter are those in the large towns and cities? A significant number of stations do not have a ticket office or anywhere to collect a ticket.

As usual, the TOCs seem to be implementing things based on single-TOC journeys, to the detriment of the significant number of people who make journeys that require travel on two or more TOC's services. While this can indeed be done by splitting journeys, this can often significantly increase the cost.
 

Belperpete

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If you want to travel on an Avanti service, go to one and grab a reservation. If there aren't any, then the situation is exactly the same as if there weren't any but the train was already too full to distance.
So you are expecting me to make a four-hour train journey to my nearest station with an Avanti booking office, only to find I can't get a reservation on an Avanti service within a reasonable time?
 

221129

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So you are expecting me to make a four-hour train journey to my nearest station with an Avanti booking office, only to find I can't get a reservation on an Avanti service within a reasonable time?
Why do you need to go to an Avanti office. No one lives four hours away from a ticket office. Any ticket office can do it. Or you can do it online.
 

scotrail158713

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A significant number of stations do not have a ticket office or anywhere to collect a ticket.
Most stations without a ticket office tend to have a ticket machine in my experience (Apart from some of the really rural ones maybe - Far North, West Highland line etc)
 

Starmill

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To be fair, in other countries where this is the norm, reservation only booking online, by ticket vending machine and by app (as well as, of course, in person at a booking office and by telephone) has been the standard for literally decades. Train conductors should also be able to make them for customers to assist e.g. if there are delays and it becomes apparent they won't meet their connection, the guard can just reserve them onto the next available service.

Train Companies in the UK didn't want to do this until now, for reasons best known to them. If they had, people would be totally used to it. Compliance might not be 100%, but honestly it doesn't need to be. These means of getting a reservation pretty much the minimum standard, though.
 

111-111-1

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We don't have any stations that aren't shared with other TOCs and most of our stations don't have gates,not that this is a factor because the gates don't read reservation coupons anyway.

If you have a barrier line, if you want to, it is possible to put some control on who enters the platform but would only work at smaller stations eg newark or grantham but Donny or York no chance with more than 1 TOC serving same places.
 

YorksLad12

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While I don't disagree with the policy per se in these difficult times (and not querying why it hasn't happened previously) it's not been very well communicated or implemented, I think.

LNER say one person per four-seat row, with two rows empty to the next seat. Fine: but that means seven passengers per standard carriage, and only if they sit in the optimal sequence and don't all run for the tables. Passengers are told to fnd a seat but they could have used the traffic lights reservation system to block out seats which would have made it more obvious. What happen if one passenger travels London - Newark and one Newark - Leeds on the same service? Will someone wipe down the seat and table at Newark?

The always busy and almost non-stop 0700 Leeds-London should be interesting...
 

Grumbler

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While I don't disagree with the policy per se in these difficult times (and not querying why it hasn't happened previously) it's not been very well communicated or implemented, I think.

LNER say one person per four-seat row, with two rows empty to the next seat. Fine: but that means seven passengers per standard carriage, and only if they sit in the optimal sequence and don't all run for the tables. Passengers are told to fnd a seat but they could have used the traffic lights reservation system to block out seats which would have made it more obvious. What happen if one passenger travels London - Newark and one Newark - Leeds on the same service? Will someone wipe down the seat and table at Newark?

The always busy and almost non-stop 0700 Leeds-London should be interesting...
I think the answer is to avoid contagion by dressing appropriately https://plaguedoctormasks.com/costume/
 

TheManWho

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Do you really think that when a 9 or 11 car Pendo rolls into platform 3 at Coventry advertised for Int and New St however much shouting over the PA "only for resevation holders" that those going to Int or New St are not going to get on? Herd mentality will take over.
Rail Companies are doing what they can to adhere to social distancing. The "herd mentality" of people is down to them, TOCS are not responsible for the behaviour of people
 

Starmill

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The "herd mentality" of people is down to them,
It's really not. It's not for people to self-organise travel rationing by whose journey is more necessary. It's also not for the TOC.

This is down to the government. If there are people who need to get to work because they cannot work at home and cannot walk, cycle or drive there, but cannot do so on public transport while maintaining social distancing, that's the entirely down to the government. Not them.
 

Bletchleyite

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So you are expecting me to make a four-hour train journey to my nearest station with an Avanti booking office, only to find I can't get a reservation on an Avanti service within a reasonable time?

Last time I checked, any staffed station could make a reservation on any train service. What on earth would you need to go to an Avanti booking office for?
 

Bletchleyite

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To be fair, in other countries where this is the norm, reservation only booking online, by ticket vending machine and by app (as well as, of course, in person at a booking office and by telephone) has been the standard for literally decades.

Indeed. I'm not sure I'd want it permanently (i.e. for "normal times") - but it demonstrably works in most of the Romance countries and many others worldwide. A walk-up InterCity railway is very much not the norm. The UK and the Germanic/Benelux countries are near enough it.
 

Bletchleyite

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Have Merseyrail started doing reservations now then ?

Merseyrail stations can make reservations and always could (though back in the day they had to call a larger station to do it, then wrote it out by hand). Some staff may be too lazy, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

Unless you're just being picky/facetious, in which case for "any train service" read "any reservable train service", obviously.
 

sheff1

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I am sure I have seen reports on here of people being told to go to Lime Street to make reservations on the basis the local station could not do so.
 

Starmill

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I am sure I have seen reports on here of people being told to go to Lime Street to make reservations on the basis the local station could not do so.
You have because it happens regularly. Regardless of the actual rights and responsibilities.
 

Wallsendmag

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If you have a barrier line, if you want to, it is possible to put some control on who enters the platform but would only work at smaller stations eg newark or grantham but Donny or York no chance with more than 1 TOC serving same places.
A) none of those stations have gates
B) EMR also serve both
c) We don't have any stations where we are the only TOC.
 

185143

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I am sure I have seen reports on here of people being told to go to Lime Street to make reservations on the basis the local station could not be arsed to do so.
Fixed that for you.
 

NorthOxonian

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What is it with some people in this forum who seem to think the only people who matter are those in the large towns and cities? A significant number of stations do not have a ticket office or anywhere to collect a ticket.

As usual, the TOCs seem to be implementing things based on single-TOC journeys, to the detriment of the significant number of people who make journeys that require travel on two or more TOC's services. While this can indeed be done by splitting journeys, this can often significantly increase the cost.

Devil's advocate, but during the current period where only essential journeys should be made, how many people will be using two or more TOCs? The majority of commuting key workers will only use one, and any other journeys should really be local and so shouldn't involve multiple TOCs either.

If such measures are in place when leisure journeys and longer distance travel begins to return, then we'd have to look at things again, but at the moment no-one should really be travelling from Seamer to London or from Poppleton to Edinburgh.
 

PG

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Devil's advocate, but during the current period where only essential journeys should be made, how many people will be using two or more TOCs?
On SWR anyone changing at Clapham Junction or going Waterloo - Waterloo East will be using two TOC's. If either avoids use of the underground it's probably the better option!

Though in all fairness the majority of passengers are more likely to be just using a single TOC for their essential journeys.
 

111-111-1

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If you have a barrier line, if you want to, it is possible to put some control on who enters the platform but would only work at smaller stations eg newark or grantham but Donny or York no chance with more than 1 TOC serving same places.
A) none of those stations have gates
B) EMR also serve both
c) We don't have any stations where we are the only TOC.

Apology if you did not understand the point of my post.

My point being that IF you have barrier lines you can if you want have some control in access to platforms but it could only work at smaller station. Newark and Grantham were exampled as they used to have them have very limited trains with more than 1 TOC serving same points and LNER in charge. So control possible to a degree if LNER want a ticket check point could be made at the single entrance. As wrote the bigger stations no way of contol of access.

Yes understand no station LNER only TOC
Same apply to west coast intercity
 
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