GWR Seat Reservations and Train Formations

[Deafdoggie]

The worst scenario is when electronic displays aren't working but TM insists that reservations are valid. I've had this a number of times recently when I'm moved from seat to seat with no clue which are available or not. Not pleasant on a long journey.
In my opinion if displays are not working then all reservations should be void. End of story.

XC always insist that seat reservations still apply. Virgin do most of the time, but not always.

 

[Puppetfinger]

Give GWR their due, 1403 PAD - PNZ, set arrived late into Paddington, giving them 10 minutes to turn it around for an on time departure, in the end we left 3 minutes left but with the set serviced and ticket reservations in place, HST set.

 

[Geoff DC]

1st trip on an IET yesterday, the 10:57 Paddington Penzance 10car 2x5 - 1C79. Rammed through to Cornwall, my first class reserved seat was ‘K48 in standard’ so something amiss in the booking engine maybe? Fortunately there were a few spare seats in the other car.

Day before train up - 07:59 - was an HST vice IET - 1st class carriage L had seat reservation cards on all seats - but were actually meant for one of the standard class coaches. Full marks to an off-duty train crew member for jumping in and helping to rectify this at the last minute

 

[Morpethcurve]

Whats the latest on how GWR is doing with seat res.? I'm supposed to have res. on HSTs PAD - PLY - PAD on Feb 02/03.

Is there a designated non-reserved coach on an HST and IET?

Could someone please direct me to a seat plan for the HST? I can't find one via the GWR site.

I've read with interest above about the lack of policy for (a) when the seat res. signage isn't working and (b) when the seat cards aren't deployed on the HSTs. I'd like to be arguing from a position of knowledge if I get into a dispute, so is there a company line on the matter?

Is there a way to change seat reservations on line? I believe I've been given an aisle when requesting a window.

Many Thanks - Morpethcurve

 

[ChrisHogan]

Whats the latest on how GWR is doing with seat res.? I'm supposed to have res. on HSTs PAD - PLY - PAD on Feb 02/03.


Many Thanks - Morpethcurve

My last trip (Reading to Cardiff and back) on Wednesday: down train had card reservations, up train had electronic reservations. That is my impression from a number of recent 80x trips.

 

[jimm]

Whats the latest on how GWR is doing with seat res.? I'm supposed to have res. on HSTs PAD - PLY - PAD on Feb 02/03.

Is there a designated non-reserved coach on an HST and IET?

Could someone please direct me to a seat plan for the HST? I can't find one via the GWR site.

I've read with interest above about the lack of policy for (a) when the seat res. signage isn't working and (b) when the seat cards aren't deployed on the HSTs. I'd like to be arguing from a position of knowledge if I get into a dispute, so is there a company line on the matter?

Is there a way to change seat reservations on line? I believe I've been given an aisle when requesting a window.

Many Thanks - Morpethcurve

My general experience in recent months is that on five-car 800s operating on their own, they have cracked the seat reservation issue and I can't remember the last one I rode on when the traffic lights system was not working. Nine-car sets they don't seem to have got the software fixed yet, so card reservations still the norm.

I can't speak for coupled pairs of five-car 800s, since I hardly ever ever use them, nor for 802s as I've only had a couple of rides on 802101 and it seemed to be in the same boat as the nine-car 800s, with card reservations in use both times.

HSTs should obviously still be card reservations but if the printers are broken/someone forget to pick up/put out the cards, etc (which could happen in the past as well, it's hardly a new thing) then there may not be any.

Coach F is the one that is left unreserved in standard on HSTs. On long IET formations it should be coach G.

Old FGW HST seating plans are here - the West Country services should be the low-density layout but with the fleet being run down, someone else may know whether this is still the case or whether some high-density coaches have infiltrated sets now. First class is now lettered K and L as per the more recent GWR plan at the second link below but that one only shows a high-density formation.

http://ehelp.thetrainline.com/euf/assets/images/seating-plan-firstgreatwestern.pdf
https://www.gwr.com/~/media/gwr/pdfs/safety-information/hst-seating-plan.pdf

 

[Morpethcurve]

Many Thanks - Morpethcurve.

 

[cactustwirly]

My general experience in recent months is that on five-car 800s operating on their own, they have cracked the seat reservation issue and I can't remember the last one I rode on when the traffic lights system was not working. Nine-car sets they don't seem to have got the software fixed yet, so card reservations still the norm.

I can't speak for coupled pairs of five-car 800s, since I hardly ever ever use them, nor for 802s as I've only had a couple of rides on 802101 and it seemed to be in the same boat as the nine-car 800s, with card reservations in use both times.

HSTs should obviously still be card reservations but if the printers are broken/someone forget to pick up/put out the cards, etc (which could happen in the past as well, it's hardly a new thing) then there may not be any.

Coach F is the one that is left unreserved in standard on HSTs. On long IET formations it should be coach G.

Old FGW HST seating plans are here - the West Country services should be the low-density layout but with the fleet being run down, someone else may know whether this is still the case or whether some high-density coaches have infiltrated sets now. First class is now lettered K and L as per the more recent GWR plan at the second link below but that one only shows a high-density formation.

http://ehelp.thetrainline.com/euf/assets/images/seating-plan-firstgreatwestern.pdf
https://www.gwr.com/~/media/gwr/pdfs/safety-information/hst-seating-plan.pdf

Coach F no longer exists on HSTs, now relettered to J, and E is now H, in practice both are unreserved unless it's a really busy service.
Sets are a mixture of mostly High Density coaches IME.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

I guessed that would be the issue. To be fair to the guard he did announce that all seat reservations were cancelled but that didn’t stop passengers trying to ‘claim their seat’.

Well I'd be the same to be honest - I'd say to the passenger 'I know it says no reservations but I've reserved that seat'. I'd put it politely obviously.

This is if an IET vice HST or HST vice IET.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

I'll be honest, my biggest bugbear of the IET's is too many of them are in reverse formation. When booking seats on these trains all of last year (6 times I think), they've always run in reverse formation. Once or twice I didn't really mind.

In fact it's happened when booking First Class on these trains (4 times - 1st was February last year on 'Paddington Bear')

And again this year it's happened 3 times - however, 1 of the 3 was that my allocated backwards seat on the 12:30 from Didcot to London Paddington on the 09/01/19 was thankfully forwards (selected it to start with, online).

On the 10:20 from Oxford to Worcester Foregate Street (First Class on the 05/12/18, 2 weeks before my 26th Birthday), GWR were very apologetic when I complained about this and that I'd have booked backwards seats if I'd known this was going to happen.

The reservations team were basically considering following CrossCountry's system - not offering the choice of direction. They chose not to on the basis that GWR were improving (or going to improve the delivery of high-speed rolling stock).

Yes I can do backwards fine on IET's (that's why I now book a table seat incase of my seat being backwards) but it doesn't mean I'm happy about it.

As my sister and someone I know would say / agree - if you can't guarantee direction of travel, don't offer it.

If this carries on by the time the next GWR Customer Panel meeting takes place, 07/05/19 I think, then I'll be tempted to say something but politely stress the point!

 

[jimm]

Coach F no longer exists on HSTs, now relettered to J, and E is now H, in practice both are unreserved unless it's a really busy service.
Sets are a mixture of mostly High Density coaches IME.

But if it's a reservation-heavy service then E/H will have seats reserved, whereas F/J is never reserved.

 

[VT 390]

Is there an coach on the class 800/802 which is always unreserved?