Help with a Paddington to Swansea journey

[Miss R]

Hi,

I am new here and wasn't sure where to post this but I need some help with an issue

So I have got some advance return tickets for London Paddington to Swansea. (On First GW High speed ones) From London to Swansea is a direct train, and I have a reserved allocated seat. However, for the first part of return journey there is no seat allocated and it says that passengers can sit on any unreserved seat. but how will I know if a certain seat is unreserved or reserved? I don't want to sit in someone else's seat !

also, for the second return part of the journey I would have to change trains, and I was wondering how do you get the second train? do they inform you which platform to go to ? as there's only minutes in between to catch the second train.

Please help

 

[Cherry_Picker]

You should be able to make a reservation on the first part of the second journey. You may need to be more specific with what the change is, I mean all you are saying is that you are changing trains at an indeterminate point somewhere between Swansea and London. If you say where you have to change on the way back maybe someone who knows the station can give you some very specific advice?

 

[cactustwirly]

Reserved seats will have tickets in the seats.

for your connecting train you will need to look at a departure board, or ask someone

 

[tsr]

Good evening & welcome to the forum!

First things first, if you could post any dates/times of trains on your itinerary, that could help us as there are quite a few varying journey options.

Your reservation for the return journey may not have been issued because the train is not reservable. This means there is no booking system for seat reservations on this train, and seats are all on a "first come first served" basis. Alternatively, it may be that you will need to look for a seat which is unlabelled as reserved, if it is a train which you can have a reservation on but which, for some reason, one was not available. I should imagine in this instance it'd be most likely the reservations are displayed on white paper coupons/labels on the back of each seat. Look for a seat without a label, as per the post above, or one which only displays a reservation for a part of the train's overall journey for which you won't be travelling.

With regards to your second question, again, if you advise us of your itinerary, we should be able to assist with usual platform numbers for your change of trains. However, I believe all interchange stations on this route will have electronic departure boards on the concourse and/or platforms which list each train. Simply look for the one on your itinerary which you acquired when booking, and if your connection is fairly tight, there's a good chance a platform number (it may even be the same platform) will be shown already - if not, wait until it is.

You can use www.realtimetrains.co.uk to find out departures for any given station. In the default "Simple" mode, it will show an easy-to-use departure board when you enter the station's name on the home page. This adapts to the right time of day. When the platform number on the screen turns from light to bold print, the train is confirmed as departing from that platform, but if it is getting very close to the time of departure and nothing is shown as confirmed, check information boards at the station or speak to staff.

 

[ANDYS]

Miss R

I am no expert but I assume the service from Swansea to ?? (I assume Cardiff) is an Arriva Trains West service. These are operated by a DMU's so will have paper reservation tickets on reserved seats. I think these still stick out of the top so you can quickly see which ones are reserved. Also check them to see if they apply for the bit of the journey you are on. For instance they may only apply after the station you get off.

As to your connection you do not mention which station this occurs at. Most stations have pretty quick connections and you can find out which platform you should arrive/depart from when you know which train you are on. If you can drop a reply to say which station you will be changing at then I can provide a link to give you some idea.

Hope this helps, Andy S

 

[Miss R]

You should be able to make a reservation on the first part of the second journey. You may need to be more specific with what the change is, I mean all you are saying is that you are changing trains at an indeterminate point somewhere between Swansea and London. If you say where you have to change on the way back maybe someone who knows the station can give you some very specific advice?

No the seats are reserved however not allocated as it says on the ticket.

Have to change at Cardiff central, as the train (arriva trains wales) would continue to Manchester piccaddly I think
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Reserved seats will have tickets in the seats.

for your connecting train you will need to look at a departure board, or ask someone

those white tickets ? yes that's what I wanted to know ! thank you. Also, is this is a great western train in the picture ?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Good evening & welcome to the forum!

First things first, if you could post any dates/times of trains on your itinerary, that could help us as there are quite a few varying journey options.

Your reservation for the return journey may not have been issued because the train is not reservable. This means there is no booking system for seat reservations on this train, and seats are all on a "first come first served" basis. Alternatively, it may be that you will need to look for a seat which is unlabelled as reserved, if it is a train which you can have a reservation on but which, for some reason, one was not available. I should imagine in this instance it'd be most likely the reservations are displayed on white paper coupons/labels on the back of each seat. Look for a seat without a label, as per the post above, or one which only displays a reservation for a part of the train's overall journey for which you won't be travelling.

With regards to your second question, again, if you advise us of your itinerary, we should be able to assist with usual platform numbers for your change of trains. However, I believe all interchange stations on this route will have electronic departure boards on the concourse and/or platforms which list each train. Simply look for the one on your itinerary which you acquired when booking, and if your connection is fairly tight, there's a good chance a platform number (it may even be the same platform) will be shown already - if not, wait until it is.

You can use www.realtimetrains.co.uk to find out departures for any given station. In the default "Simple" mode, it will show an easy-to-use departure board when you enter the station's name on the home page. This adapts to the right time of day. When the platform number on the screen turns from light to bold print, the train is confirmed as departing from that platform, but if it is getting very close to the time of departure and nothing is shown as confirmed, check information boards at the station or speak to staff.

Hi there,

Thank you for your reply! Yes the first part is sorted, I will just look for a seat which does not have that white paper ticket on it.

The interchange will be at Cardiff central, (arriva trains wales from Swansea to Manchester piccaddly I believe) so I would need to change to a great western train for London Paddington. And from the time printed on the ticket I would have about 7 minutes to change from one train to another !!! so a bit worried about that
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Miss R

I am no expert but I assume the service from Swansea to ?? (I assume Cardiff) is an Arriva Trains West service. These are operated by a DMU's so will have paper reservation tickets on reserved seats. I think these still stick out of the top so you can quickly see which ones are reserved. Also check them to see if they apply for the bit of the journey you are on. For instance they may only apply after the station you get off.

As to your connection you do not mention which station this occurs at. Most stations have pretty quick connections and you can find out which platform you should arrive/depart from when you know which train you are on. If you can drop a reply to say which station you will be changing at then I can provide a link to give you some idea.

Hope this helps, Andy S

Hi Andy, thank you for your reply. sorry I haven't mentioned full details.

Yes its from Swansea to Cardiff central (arriva trains wales).

The interchange is at the same station, Cardiff central. I would have to change to a great western train for London Paddington. as the arriva train would continue on to Manchester piccaddly, and I only have 7 minutes to change trains ! so I need to know what I am doing lol
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Reserved seats will have tickets in the seats.

for your connecting train you will need to look at a departure board, or ask someone

Sorry I meant is this an Arriva train wales ?

 

[krus_aragon]

Most trains that run Eastbound through Cardiff call at platforms 1 and 2; these are next to each other. This means you shouldn't have to go far at all. (It may even be on the same platform!)

When you get off the train at Cardiff, you will find some 'TV-like' departure screens hangig from the platform roof near the stairs. Look on this screen to find the service for London Paddington at the time stated on your tikcet. The platform number will be displayed alongside, telling you where to go.

If you are unsure, look for a member of staff wearing a fluorescent tabard on the platform. Their job is to tell the guard the train can leave, but they are of course happy to point travellers in the right direction.

 

[Hadders]

What type of ticket are you travelling on?

If it's an Advance (at the bottom of the ticket it says 'Booked Train Only') then you must travel on the trains detailed in your itinerary, although if your train from Swansea to Cardiff is late arriving you may take the next train without penalty.

If you've got a super off-peak, off-peak or Anytime ticket then you're not tied to a specific train and you may take any train (subject to the general time restrictions associated with the ticket). If you have one of these tickets you may wish to take the hourly direct service from Swansea to Paddington which would avoid the need to change at Cardiff. If you do this you won't have a seat reservation although as these trains usually start at Swansea getting a seat shouldn't be a problem.

Railway ticketing is a complex subject but you've come to the right place to get help.

 

[Flamingo]

If the train from Swansea to Cardiff is delayed, you will be able to catch the next one from Cardiff to London - until 17.25 they are at half-hourly intervals. If your train is on time, seven minutes should be adequate (two minutes would be enough normally!), 99% of the time the London train goes off Platform 1 and the Swansea-Cardiff train arrives on Platform 2 beside it. If there is any change to this, there will be announcements galore.

As well as Arriva platform staff, Cardiff also have a few FGW Customer Ambassadors (aka Purple Pixies), they have smart Purple overcoats (female) or horrible Purple waistcoats and ties (male), they are on the platform and are there to help with a willing smile!

 

[yorkie]

I am new here and wasn't sure where to post this ...

I'm not sure myself, as it depends on whether it's a fares question or a general journey planning question, but sometimes that doesn't become clear until the thread develops

So I have got some advance return tickets for London Paddington to Swansea. (On First GW High speed ones) From London to Swansea is a direct train, and I have a reserved allocated seat. However, for the first part of return journey there is no seat allocated and it says that passengers can sit on any unreserved seat.

Do you have 'Advance Single' tickets for each direction, or do you have a flexible Return ticket that was bought in advance?

but how will I know if a certain seat is unreserved or reserved? I don't want to sit in someone else's seat !

Unless you've booked a ticket at very short notice (so it's already fully booked) or very long notice (so it's not yet open for reservations), it's likely that the train is actually not reservable.

We can't answer definitively without knowing what service it is.

also, for the second return part of the journey I would have to change trains, and I was wondering how do you get the second train? do they inform you which platform to go to ? as there's only minutes in between to catch the second train.

If we're given details of the trains, then we can provide advise on changing trains.

If you'd prefer not to post that information, you can find out much of it yourself:

• The booked platforms (note: this may change!) on a website such as Open Train Times
• A map of the stations on the National Rail Enquries website, showing where each platform is.
• Past performance details of any service on a website such as Raildar

 

[Miss R]

Most trains that run Eastbound through Cardiff call at platforms 1 and 2; these are next to each other. This means you shouldn't have to go far at all. (It may even be on the same platform!)

When you get off the train at Cardiff, you will find some 'TV-like' departure screens hangig from the platform roof near the stairs. Look on this screen to find the service for London Paddington at the time stated on your tikcet. The platform number will be displayed alongside, telling you where to go.

If you are unsure, look for a member of staff wearing a fluorescent tabard on the platform. Their job is to tell the guard the train can leave, but they are of course happy to point travellers in the right direction.

Thank you I will look out for that
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I'm not sure myself, as it depends on whether it's a fares question or a general journey planning question, but sometimes that doesn't become clear until the thread develops

Do you have 'Advance Single' tickets for each direction, or do you have a flexible Return ticket that was bought in advance?
Unless you've booked a ticket at very short notice (so it's already fully booked) or very long notice (so it's not yet open for reservations), it's likely that the train is actually not reservable.

Yes advance single tickets for each direction No I booked them well before and the seats are reserved

We can't answer definitively without knowing what service it is.

If we're given details of the trains, then we can provide advise on changing trains.

The first journey is direct so no complications. The return journey is from Swansea to Cardiff central on arriva trains wales going to Manchester piccadly. So I would need to get off and change to FGW for London Paddington. And it would be early evening times. What I can see from other replies is that the platforms for these two trains are 1 and 2 at Cardiff central


If you'd prefer not to post that information, you can find out much of it yourself:

• The booked platforms (note: this may change!) on a website such as Open Train Times
  
  I will be checking this website for the platforms at Cardiff central !
  
• A map of the stations on the National Rail Enquries website, showing where each platform is.
• Past performance details of any service on a website such as Raildar

Thank you !