GWR COVID Reservations

[YorkshireBear]

Hope someone can shed some light on this.

What is GWR reservation policy at the moment?

A family member has booked a return from blackwater to liskeard, the off peak return cost around £72 with a Railcard. Going Friday 28th returning Sunday 30th May. By the time they booked only the 12:33 off blackwater had any reservable trains so was the only one she could buy. However having looked at some of the tweets from GWR she would be well with her rights to for the 09:33 and just find a seat, however social distancing MAY not be possible. Is this correct? It would be better for everyone involved if she got the 09:33 and then was collected by family at Tiverton Parkway en route from the north than going to liskeard for later on in the day. She returns from liskeard anyway Sunday hence the return all the way.

Any help appreciated. I have searched forum and internet, sure it's out there somewhere but I can't for the life of my find it.

 

[yorksrob]

I've been travellong on GW for the last few days and haven't been troubled about my lack of reservations.

 

[FenMan]

Hope someone can shed some light on this.

What is GWR reservation policy at the moment?

A family member has booked a return from blackwater to liskeard, the off peak return cost around £72 with a Railcard. Going Friday 28th returning Sunday 30th May. By the time they booked only the 12:33 off blackwater had any reservable trains so was the only one she could buy. However having looked at some of the tweets from GWR she would be well with her rights to for the 09:33 and just find a seat, however social distancing MAY not be possible. Is this correct? It would be better for everyone involved if she got the 09:33 and then was collected by family at Tiverton Parkway en route from the north than going to liskeard for later on in the day. She returns from liskeard anyway Sunday hence the return all the way.

Any help appreciated. I have searched forum and internet, sure it's out there somewhere but I can't for the life of my find it.

As a fellow user of Blackwater I feel your family member's pain.

Your family member is hitting up against GWR's recent decision to offer advances on the North Downs Line (NDL), which has created multiple issues with reservations on longer journeys that happen to include a leg on the NDL, mainly because some bright spark in GWR's pricing department has barred advances and, hence, "seat reservations*" on a significant number of NDL services. It's a mess entirely of the GWR pricing department's own making.

Rest assured though, as, back in the real world, your family member will be able to travel from Blackwater to Reading as normal on their service of choice to connect with the service to Liskeard. It would be extraordinarily unlikely that the guard popping their head out of the back cab door at Blackwater would demand that passengers waiting on the platform can only board if they have seat reservations (given that most would be commuters or shoppers heading towards Reading I wouldn't rule out a riot if that was attempted!).

*There are no seat reservations on NDL services. Yes, I know. Maybe GWR should call them Shrodinger's Seat Reservations?

 

[YorkshireBear]

As a fellow user of Blackwater I feel your family member's pain.

Your family member is hitting up against GWR's recent decision to offer advances on the North Downs Line (NDL), which has created multiple issues with reservations on longer journeys that happen to include a leg on the NDL, mainly because some bright spark in GWR's pricing department has barred advances and, hence, "seat reservations*" on a significant number of NDL services. It's a mess entirely of the GWR pricing department's own making.

Rest assured though, as, back in the real world, your family member will be able to travel from Blackwater to Reading as normal on their service of choice to connect with the service to Liskeard. It would be extraordinarily unlikely that the guard popping their head out of the back cab door at Blackwater would demand that passengers waiting on the platform can only board if they have seat reservations (given that most would be commuters or shoppers heading towards Reading I wouldn't rule out a riot if that was attempted!).

*There are no seat reservations on NDL services. Yes, I know. Maybe GWR should call them Shrodinger's Seat Reservations?

It seems the local North Downs services aren't the issue, but the Reading to Plymouth/Liskeard services which have no reservations available. I just wasn't sure how strict they were on the long distance services, I know LNER is blanket reservation only, again I don't know how much they police it!

 

[Bletchleyite]

It seems the local North Downs services aren't the issue, but the Reading to Plymouth/Liskeard services which have no reservations available. I just wasn't sure how strict they were on the long distance services, I know LNER is blanket reservation only, again I don't know how much they police it!

Not very is my impression, which is of course grossly unfair. They should be compulsory and fully enforced like LNER, or wholly optional like I think TPE. This half-way house disadvantages those who use the website in good faith.