Berwick Upon Tweed to Newcastle

[David M]

I hope I'm not being obtuse but my wife has booked tickets for Saturday 18th May from Berwick Upon Tweed to Newcastle - she was originally going to use Trainline but I told her they charged a booking fee so she has used the LNER app which has given her e-tickets.
She found the app quite confusing but I think she's bought the cheapest tickets being Off Peak Singles for both ways (a return seemed impossible for some reason) but I expected she could then use any train - she's selected the trains she 'expects' to catch 0850 Cross Country outbound to Newcastle and her ticket says
Itinerary - Optional Reservations 18 May:
Berwick-upon-Tweed
08:50
CrossCountry
Coach X Seat XX
09:38
Newcastle
But her 'return' ticket has
Itinerary - Mandatory Reservations 18 May:
Newcastle
17:55
London North Eastern
Railway
Coach X Seat XX
18:37
Berwick-upon-Tweed
It's the mandatory reservation bit that's worrying her.
Am I correct that she can use ANY train from BWK-NCL and ANY train from NCL-BWK BUT if she wants to use an LNER one then she needs a seat reservation?
If so, how does she go about reserving a seat if she misses the 1755 on the way back?

 

[jfollows]

Mandatory reservations mean that if your wife uses this particular train then reservations are required, which means she is fine, but otherwise she can use any train from any operator within the restrictions (3V I think, 09:30 or later) of the ticket.

Seat reservation for a different train at https://www.lner.co.uk/travel-information/make-a-reservation/

I hope I'm not being obtuse but my wife has booked tickets for Saturday 18th May from Berwick Upon Tweed to Newcastle - she was originally going to use Trainline but I told her they charged a booking fee so she has used the LNER app which has given her e-tickets.
She found the app quite confusing but I think she's bought the cheapest tickets being Off Peak Singles for both ways (a return seemed impossible for some reason)

LNER don't do returns any more, it's their new "simplified" ticketing system, go figure ......

 

[MrJeeves]

But her 'return' ticket has
Itinerary - Mandatory Reservations 18 May:
Newcastle
17:55
London North Eastern
Railway
Coach X Seat XX
18:37
Berwick-upon-Tweed
It's the mandatory reservation bit that's worrying her.
Am I correct that she can use ANY train from BWK-NCL and ANY train from NCL-BWK BUT if she wants to use an LNER one then she needs a seat reservation?
If so, how does she go about reserving a seat if she misses the 1755 on the way back?

It'd be very helpful if you could tell us what the ticket type is on the e-ticket, and the price paid.

 

[Haywain]

Am I correct that she can use ANY train from BWK-NCL and ANY train from NCL-BWK BUT if she wants to use an LNER one then she needs a seat reservation?

No, she has a fully flexible ticket and can therefore use any train of any operator. The manadatory reservation 'flag' is a systems hack to prevent ticket being sold without a reservation, but it does not affect their usage.

 

[David M]

It'd be very helpful if you could tell us what the ticket type is on the e-ticket, and the price paid.

Ticket type both ways is Off-Peak Single
Price paid each way £18.90 = total £37.80
What was bizarre was that selecting specific trains each way worked out more expensive - can't understand that at all.

 

[TUC]

No, she has a fully flexible ticket and can therefore use any train of any operator. The manadatory reservation 'flag' is a systems hack to prevent ticket being sold without a reservation, but it does not affect their usage.

Yes, unless the ticket is an Advance one tied to a particular train, 'mandatory reservation' can effectively be ignored.

 

[David M]

Thanks for the confirmation she can use any train and thanks for the seat reservation link.

 

[Watershed]

LNER claim they have simplified ticketing by abolishing returns, but this causes confusion as passengers don't understand why a return fare isn't available.

LNER also claim to have improved the passenger experience by falsely marking their services as "reservations compulsory" in the timetable data, but this causes even more confusion as e-tickets then show "Mandatory reservation" even though the ticket remains flexible if a walk-up one. Trains also sometimes falsely show "sold out", even when it is perfectly possible to buy (and use) a walk-up ticket on them.

LNER aren't doing the rail industry any favours through their hare-brained initiatives. Not that they seem to recognise there are other trains beyond their own kingdom!