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Buying split tickets - seat reservations

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If I buy split tickets for a journey using Red Spotted Hanky, and ask for a seat reservation on each leg (which would be the same train), will they automatically give you the same seat throughout the whole journey, or will they randomly give you two separate seats, even if you book it all in one go? Just to clarify, I'm not talking about Advance tickets, but standard returns/singles, although I think the question could apply to both anyway.

If they do book you separate seats, is it possible to go into a ticket office and ask them to amend one of the legs so as you can stay in the same seat, although would there be any charge for this?

Hope someone can help with these queries. Regards.
 
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ian13

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If I buy split tickets for a journey using Red Spotted Hanky, and ask for a seat reservation on each leg (which would be the same train), will they automatically give you the same seat throughout the whole journey, or will they randomly give you two separate seats, even if you book it all in one go? Just to clarify, I'm not talking about Advance tickets, but standard returns/singles, although I think the question could apply to both anyway.

If they do book you separate seats, is it possible to go into a ticket office and ask them to amend one of the legs so as you can stay in the same seat, although would there be any charge for this?

Hope someone can help with these queries. Regards.

It'll be random, even if you book them together. If it's a XC train, you can choose your seat to be the same with their seat selector. Alternatively, if you limit to Window/Airline/Quiet Coach you're going to increase your chance of it being the same, or at least close.

For standard returns/singles, you can get new reservations issued at the ticket office (should be free, but I know FGW can charge a couple of pounds if they want, and no doubt some other operators can too). Advance tickets can't be amended without a £10 admin charge.
 
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Thanks for response. So can you select specific XC seats using RSH, or would you need to book with XC direct in order to get that functionality?

Also, does anyone know whether TOCs look to minimise the total number of seat reservation tickets issued by 'doubling up' where they can e.g. if someone booked a seat for a London-Reading train, and someone else had a Swindon-Reading booking for the same train, would the TOC try and allocate these to the same seat, or is it just random?
 

Liam

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I once had a reservation on the 0821 Glasgow-Fort William as part of the Fort Willam-London return. I later booked an advance single from Fort William-Mallaig on the same train, somehow I managed to get the same seat. Guess I was just lucky.:D
 

dzug2

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You have to book on the XC site to choose seats

With RSH (and other) sites you can attempt to get the same seat or at least a close one by booking another ticket for the same journey before completing the session then removing one of the duplicates before paying. Works about 50% of the time (for the same seat) and most of the time (for one nearby)
 

yorkie

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Is it easy for you to get to a ticket office?

If so, simply purchase the tickets (without reservations) and present them to the ticket office staff and request a through reservation from the relevant origin to destination as applicable to the combination of tickets held and the journey being made. :)
 

dvboy

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I asked at BSW ticket office to give me a seat reservation for part of a journey covered by my season ticket. They could give me the same coach but not the same seat. When I asked, they just said sit anywhere it'll probably be fine. The reservation for the advance leg wasn't reserved when I boarded but there was someone sat in it. Since the seat behind was available for the entire duration I just sat there anyway. Unless a train is really busy, I'll take an empty seat somewhere nearby if it looks more comfortable than the one I've got reserved. I've never had a problem doing this either.
 

dggar

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Am I correct in thinking that if a reserved seat has not been occupied after the train has departed from the station the seat is no longer classed as reserved.

i.e. seat reseved from Milton Keynes to Manchester. Passenger who holds that reservation does not join that train or decides to sit in a different seat.
 

John @ home

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Am I correct in thinking that if a reserved seat has not been occupied after the train has departed from the station the seat is no longer classed as reserved.
Yes that is correct
My answer would be "not necessarily". For example, a passenger travels on the 1255 Plymouth - Paddington and has a reserved seat in Standard. At Newton Abbot (1336) it is announced that lunch is being served in the restaurant car and is available to Standard and First Class ticket holders. The passenger leaves their Standard seat, returning to it after their meal at Westbury (1503). Their initial seat reservation still applies.
 

IanD

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Or the occupant has simply gone to the toilet/shop/buffet.

Or the reservation is in coach A and the holder of the reservation jumped on in coach Z and is slowly making their way to their seat behind the refreshment trolley or some other slow moving obstruction.
 

dggar

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Or the occupant has simply gone to the toilet/shop/buffet.

Or the reservation is in coach A and the holder of the reservation jumped on in coach Z and is slowly making their way to their seat behind the refreshment trolley or some other slow moving obstruction.

26 coach trains!!!!

Perhaps I should have been more specific. From my example, If I board the train at Milton Keynes and see a seat is reserved from Milton Keynes to Manchester and it has not been occupied after say 15 minutes is it the considered un reserved?
 

dvboy

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I would have thought so but to be doubly sure, sit in one that was reserved from the station before you boarded.
 

IanD

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My point was that you have to give the person who has reserved the seat a chance to get to it before you assume it's fair game.

Also, if it is reserved from Milton Keynes on VT it will just say "Reserved" on the label (the "Available until MK" disappears) so you have no idea where it was reserved from and to and whether or not it may be reserved again further along the journey. So, if you do sit, you have to be prepared to be asked to move at any station the train stops at or any point in between.

It's not just Advanced ticket holders who have reservations. I may have a ticket and reservation from Milton Keynes but may legitimately have to start short at (eg) Rugby in which case, I'd still claim my reserved seat if it was the only one available!
 

HowMuch?

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My point was that you have to give the person who has reserved the seat a chance to get to it before you assume it's fair game.

Also, if it is reserved from Milton Keynes on VT it will just say "Reserved" on the label (the "Available until MK" disappears) so you have no idea where it was reserved from and to and whether or not it may be reserved again further along the journey. So, if you do sit, you have to be prepared to be asked to move at any station the train stops at or any point in between.

It's not just Advanced ticket holders who have reservations. I may have a ticket and reservation from Milton Keynes but may legitimately have to start short at (eg) Rugby in which case, I'd still claim my reserved seat if it was the only one available!

Would the guard back up a "late claimer" ? Not very fair on the person who gets turfed out into standing room only, is it ?
 

IanD

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It's down to interpretation. My interpretation is that I have reserved a seat "between Station A and Station B" so I should be able to claim it at any point on that journey but I have no issue with someone sitting in it until I claim it. I haven't reserved a seat "between Station A and 15 minutes north of Station A".
 

HowMuch?

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Fair enough. But you can guess that my interpretation is "I waited 15 minutes and the seat was clearly unoccupied. There is no dining car on this train. I have therefore played the game fairly. If I had known the seat was occupied, I could have sat elsewhere. Now, however, all other seats are taken, so it is unreasonable to make a late claim on the seat and force me to stand".

We each think we are being reasonable. The question is, what will the guard say?
 

GadgetMan

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We each think we are being reasonable. The question is, what will the guard say?

This guard would say the reservation still counts.

If you park yourself in a seat that is reserved by someone else then you have to accept that there is a possibility you may have to vacate it.
 
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Is it easy for you to get to a ticket office?

If so, simply purchase the tickets (without reservations) and present them to the ticket office staff and request a through reservation from the relevant origin to destination as applicable to the combination of tickets held and the journey being made. :)

Thanks for all the responses. Going to the ticket office and asking for a through ticket reservation seems best then. So if I go to a ticket office with the RSH split tickets (not Advance) they can then book me a through reserved seat, and there's no charge for this?
 
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Is there a charge if you're travelling on a FGW train on any part of your journey, or does the charge apply if you ask for the reservations at a FGW run ticket office? And how much is this charge? Thanks.
 

yorkie

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The charge applies to FGW services and is £5. If you require a change of trains, then it is not clear to me if the £5 charge applies to the journey or is per FGW service.

If your journey can be made on other operators, then I would suggest doing that. If your journey involves FGW for a short section of the journey then I would simply avoid reserving that section.

All ticket offices should apply the £5 charge, but I do not know if in reality all systems have been set up to make the £5 charge. It's quite possible some older ticket issuing systems do not charge.
 

bnm

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Trans Pennine Express will also charge £5 if making a reservation after a ticket has been purchased.
 

barrykas

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Trans Pennine Express will also charge £5 if making a reservation after a ticket has been purchased.

Interesting, as I can't find a mention of that in The Manual.

Greater Anglia charge £2.50 for ANY reservation for a Standard Class walk-up ticket (except for staff travel, Disabled Railcard and assisted travel), and allegedly check sales data to make sure they're being applied.

Cheers,

Barry
 

tom3107

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Is there a charge if you're travelling on a FGW train on any part of your journey, or does the charge apply if you ask for the reservations at a FGW run ticket office? And how much is this charge? Thanks.

I frequently make reservations for FGW after I have bought walk-up tickets and have never been charged to make one. I have done this at my local FCC station, EMT St Pancras, and Leighton Buzzard (LM). At a guess, the charge is only applied if the ticket office staff know about it. There is also no mention of the charge on the FGW website as far as I know.
 

bnm

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Trans Pennine Express will also charge £5 if making a reservation after a ticket has been purchased.

Interesting, as I can't find a mention of that in The Manual.

Merely going by what TPE told me on the phone last week. A general enquiry which was backed up by an e-mail confirming TPE's seat reservation policy.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
There is also no mention of the charge on the FGW website as far as I know.

Nothing, as far as I can see, on the latest iteration of FGW's website, but a Google search brings up their previous website, which is still live and often shows as first choice on mobile devices.

http://fgw.2020apps.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=3646

How can I make a seat reservation?

Customers who wish to make seat reservations on a First Great Western train service at a time other than when they buy their tickets will be charged a £5 supplement per reservation.

This charge does not apply to customers making reservations through the Special Assistance service.
 
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34D

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Fair enough. But you can guess that my interpretation is "I waited 15 minutes and the seat was clearly unoccupied. There is no dining car on this train. I have therefore played the game fairly. If I had known the seat was occupied, I could have sat elsewhere. Now, however, all other seats are taken, so it is unreasonable to make a late claim on the seat and force me to stand".

We each think we are being reasonable. The question is, what will the guard say?

If the guard has done his job properly, he'll have removed the reservation label shortly after departure from the named station.

To the guy with a ticket from MK but legitimately boarding at rugby (or wherever) - your ticket is valid for starting short, but (in my layman and passenger view) your reservation isn't.

Do FGW still have restaurant cars where standard holders move into first class? Thought this had died everywhere now.
 

bb21

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If the guard has done his job properly, he'll have removed the reservation label shortly after departure from the named station.

I don't think this is the guard's job, otherwise on some trains with tight stops you will see the guard doing nothing but inspecting and removing labels in between.
 
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