Cross Country 'Ten Minute Reservations' by SMS - have they stopped?

[Roy1234]

Does anyone know what has happened to the Ten Minute Reservation service which would allow you to attempt to reserve a seat by text message in the 10 mins before departure? This used to work, sporadically, in the sense there was no guarantee of availability. But you would always get a reply saying there was no availability, if not an actual seat reservation. I noticed today that my last few attempts over some months all went unreplied to. I would hope that if stopped the systems would be changed to reply to that effect.

I've only used this with Cross Country so don't know if it's part of a wider national system. Does anyone know?

 

[dd1]

In August 2023 their robot did text me back (saying no seat was available on the service I wanted).

In March 2024 it didn't, and when I went to check the relevant web page, I found out the page was gone...

 

[CyrusWuff]

Doing a spot of digging, it was withdrawn at some point in January after CrossCountry altered how reservations were updated on the Voyagers en route.

However, they've also opened up the ability for all retail channels to be able to make reservations until around ten minutes before departure so you could use the GWR website for example.

 

[Starmill]

Doing a spot of digging, it was withdrawn at some point in January after CrossCountry altered how reservations were updated on the Voyagers en route.

However, they've also opened up the ability for all retail channels to be able to make reservations until around ten minutes before departure so you could use the GWR website for example.

Nice of them to leave a message saying so on the website and in the auto-reply to the messages!

 

[Russel]

Sad to hear it's gone, I was involved in setting this up in around 2011.

 

[trainophile]

So you still can't occupy an unreserved seat with any confidence of remaining there?

 

[Starmill]

So you still can't occupy an unreserved seat with any confidence of remaining there?

You can if you can find one which says "available" or which doesn't have a screen. The train manager is supposed to be able to reserve the seat you're already sat in, but this isn't very practical for them not least because they'll probably be busy. Otherwise you're quite correct.

 

[Russel]

So you still can't occupy an unreserved seat with any confidence of remaining there?

When I was involved in the project in it's early days there was only a set number of seats that could be reserved under the 10 min project and they were labled up as so near the display screen...

Has this changed to every seat on the train now?

 

[rg177]

When I was involved in the project in it's early days there was only a set number of seats that could be reserved under the 10 min project and they were labled up as so near the display screen...

Has this changed to every seat on the train now?

Its changed so that you can reserve effectively any seat (with a display) through all the usual retail channels up to 10 mins beforehand.

Coach F is also no longer unreserved - so the number of unreserved seats on a four-car set is extremely limited.

 

[bengley]

Its changed so that you can reserve effectively any seat (with a display) through all the usual retail channels up to 10 mins beforehand.

Coach F is also no longer unreserved - so the number of unreserved seats on a four-car set is extremely limited.

Fantastic news for those of us who don't book advance tickets. Not.

 

[Tim_UK]

Earlier this year, I turned up for an lner train that was cancelled. Advance ticket.

The lner website let me book a seat on the next available train. Kind of cool.

 

[12LDA28C]

Fantastic news for those of us who don't book advance tickets. Not.

I travelled from Edinburgh to Birmingham yesterday without having reserved a seat, on the last day of the Edinburgh Festival. 8-car Voyager, front unit almost fully reserved and packed, rear unit no reservations and plenty of seats available, probably only 30% occupancy in my coach (J) with the coach behind almost completely empty. Sometimes it pays to just turn up with no reservation...

 

[WAB]

I travelled from Edinburgh to Birmingham yesterday without having reserved a seat, on the last day of the Edinburgh Festival. 8-car Voyager, front unit almost fully reserved and packed, rear unit no reservations and plenty of seats available, probably only 30% occupancy in my coach (J) with the coach behind almost completely empty. Sometimes it pays to just turn up with no reservation...

Only when it’s a double, though…

 

[Jimini]

I travelled from Edinburgh to Birmingham yesterday without having reserved a seat, on the last day of the Edinburgh Festival. 8-car Voyager, front unit almost fully reserved and packed, rear unit no reservations and plenty of seats available, probably only 30% occupancy in my coach (J) with the coach behind almost completely empty. Sometimes it pays to just turn up with no reservation...

The 1105 dropped off the back set at Bristol, and the 1222 at Derby (they were the only two 8-car sets on that route yesterday that I can see), so it depends on how far you're travelling I guess.

Also worth noting as discussed in other threads that it's not uncommon for the back set to be locked out of use to to lack of staff. As a long-standing (if you'll pardon the pun) sufferer of CrossCountry overcrowding, I'll always grab a reservation wherever possible!

 

[12LDA28C]

Only when it’s a double, though…

Indeed. Guess I was lucky! Although if people would rather stand in the front 4-car because they're too lazy to walk down the back then more fool them...

 

[artemic]

I had the pleasure of using CrossCountry on a somewhat regular basis before the pandemic, and even then whether you could get a seat via Ten-Minute Reservation text was sometimes hit-and-miss.
Sad if it's gone though - for me no app will ever beat the efficiency of rolling up the platform 11 minutes before departure with SMS in hand!

 

[GoneSouth]

Coach F now has reserved seats? When did that happen? More to the point why did that happen as it’s the only part of a 4 car train that was unreserved. This sounds bad!

 

[Starmill]

Its changed so that you can reserve effectively any seat (with a display) through all the usual retail channels up to 10 mins beforehand.

Coach F is also no longer unreserved - so the number of unreserved seats on a four-car set is extremely limited.

To be fair that's how they always used to be - only coach B is unreserved, i.e. the coach that isn't there on four cars.

Coach F now has reserved seats? When did that happen? More to the point why did that happen as it’s the only part of a 4 car train that was unreserved. This sounds bad!

Isn't it just exactly the same as it used to be before the pandemic?

They used to sell a lot more advance tickets than they do now.

 

[Jimini]

Coach F now has reserved seats? When did that happen? More to the point why did that happen as it’s the only part of a 4 car train that was unreserved. This sounds bad!

Think I read somewhere on here that they changed it so the seating availability in coach F matched the ex. Avanti units they're in the process of inheriting, so sets could be swapped around without screwing up the seat reservations?

 

[GoneSouth]

I was going to ask how the Avant transition would screw up seat reservations, I guess I know now.

 

[sammyy]

Coach F now has reserved seats? When did that happen? More to the point why did that happen as it’s the only part of a 4 car train that was unreserved. This sounds bad!

They all seem to be going this way

 

[The exile]

Fantastic news for those of us who don't book advance tickets. Not.

Yes - seems to be symptomatic of the self-centred society we now live in that turfing someone out of the seat they are legitimately occupying is not seen as unacceptable selfishness but as a marketing plus point.

 

[GoneSouth]

XC just gets better and better

 

[bajanelite123]

They stopped this for some reason, always worked well for me. It's seems they are now on Messenger (literally every other company uses WhatsApp), and you can just request on there.

 

[occone]

seats that could be reserved under the 10 min project and they were labled up as so near the display screen...

I remember seeing the displays saying "seat may be reserved". Was amusing if you didn't know why or what that meant; I just treated it like a reserved seat and sat there if there was nothing else nearby but in readiness to be turfed out if required.

 

[CheshireCrusty]

Although if people would rather stand in the front 4-car because they're too lazy to walk down the back then more fool them...

You can't walk down the back on a 8 car voyager - they are two separate units (hence the lockout of there is a TM/Guard in both units). In Virgin days, the shop in one unit of a two unit set was sometimes closed for lack of staff - I recall a number of occasions where I left my wife sat in one unit at an intermediate station to jump in the other unit to get refreshments only to reverse the procedure at the next station (could be a bit hairy at times)!

 

[tomnoltoun]

Although if people would rather stand in the front 4-car because they're too lazy to walk down the back then more fool them...

You can't walk down the back on a 8 car voyager - they are two separate units (hence the lockout of there is a TM/Guard in both units). In Virgin days, the shop in one unit of a two unit set was sometimes closed for lack of staff - I recall a number of occasions where I left my wife sat in one unit at an intermediate station to jump in the other unit to get refreshments only to reverse the procedure at the next station (could be a bit hairy at times)!

I agree with you here!

 

[dk1]

Although if people would rather stand in the front 4-car because they're too lazy to walk down the back then more fool them...

You can't walk down the back on a 8 car voyager - they are two separate units (hence the lockout of there is a TM/Guard in both units). In Virgin days, the shop in one unit of a two unit set was sometimes closed for lack of staff - I recall a number of occasions where I left my wife sat in one unit at an intermediate station to jump in the other unit to get refreshments only to reverse the procedure at the next station (could be a bit hairy at times)!

I’ve done the same. All good fun.

 

[Seehof]

Is there any railway app that lets you just reserve a seat on X Country or indeed on any other TOC?

 

[Class172]

GWR.com will let you do this, though you won’t be able to pick a specific seat.