LNER compulsory reservations - what happens if you don’t have one?

[Failed Unit]

I am due to travel from Grantham to London this week, and LNER have emailed me to cancel seat reservations for my booked service. They say I should sit in any vacant seat, but they warn my service could be busy. All a bit vague! It's an early afternoon departure, so I hope that I can at least grab a seat facing forwards. Does anyone know, roughly, what the loadings are like on the ECML at the moment? This is my first trip with LNER since lockdown. Thanks!

Depends on where your trains has came from. Lincoln you will have no issues. York seems to be light as well. Leeds seems more hit and miss. If you are on an ex-Leeds / York that is a 5 car (vice 9) they are busier but not as full as the ex-Edinburgh ones (which don't stop at Grantham most hours)

Some Lincoln services recently are 9 coach vice 5 - but they also have their reservations suspending so loads of seats at Grantham.

 

[CTS1990]

Depends on where your trains has came from. Lincoln you will have no issues. York seems to be light as well. Leeds seems more hit and miss. If you are on an ex-Leeds / York that is a 5 car (vice 9) they are busier but not as full as the ex-Edinburgh ones (which don't stop at Grantham most hours)

Some Lincoln services recently are 9 coach vice 5 - but they also have their reservations suspending so loads of seats at Grantham.

It appears to be a York semi-fast, so hoping it's relatively light on passenger numbers. It was due to be worked by an Azuma, so I assume I should expect a 9 coach 225 in its place.

EDIT: Ah, unless LNER mean it is to be worked by an 801 (vice 800...?)

 

[Dave91131]

It appears to be a York semi-fast, so hoping it's relatively light on passenger numbers. It was due to be worked by an Azuma, so I assume I should expect a 9 coach 225 in its place.

I'm on a York - King's Cross stopper at present; I'd estimate 30-40% of seats occupied on departure from Newark.

Earlier on I boarded the 0830 ex London at Peterborough. I was reserved in G. A and B rolled past fairly well loaded, as was G. C had 3 passengers in it, so that's where I sat.

It's bloody pathetic.

 

[infobleep]

If you booked before we introduced dynamic reservations your 4 would have been split across two tables, seated diagonally opposite at each of them. Now we can seat a group of 4 all together if a table is available..

I think it is that the 2nd (empty) socially distanced seat is effectively reserved and therefore unavailable. We can't fully open reservations until official go ahead is given over restrictions being lifted (with potential Scottish complications!).

Whilst I had considered Scottland in terms of face masks and the need for companies such as yours to tell people when they must put a face-covering on and when it is up to them to do so, I'd not considered the seating arrangements.

How difficult would it be to allow bookings to not be socially distanced between any pair of stations in the UK l, whilst requiring social distancing in Scotland?

So if booking to Scotland or in Scotland fewer seats available but booking in England it's fine, everything is up for grabs

That isn't the say I agree with mandatory reservations. I don't.

 

[Haywain]

How difficult would it be to allow bookings to not be socially distanced between any pair of stations in the UK l, whilst requiring social distancing in Scotland?

I don’t know if it would be possible, or if we’d really want to consider it for the sake of, potentially, a few weeks.

 

[infobleep]

I don’t know if it would be possible, or if we’d really want to consider it for the sake of, potentially, a few weeks.

No guarantee it will just be a few weeks of course. That's up to the politicians.

There is another solution of course. Remove mandatory reservations. Of course, I can't say whether LNER or whoever makes these decisions would really want to consider it.

 

[Dave91131]

Based on my experiences over the last couple of days, during which I've travelled on 10+ LNER services, I'd say the answer to the question posed in the thread title is "nothing".

 

[Mainline421]

Apparently LNER's new plan is that you will be able to travel without a reservation (officially) again, but will be "restricted" to Coach C in standard or a small designated area in First. Reservations would be "strongly recommended" and you will be able to reserve seats onboard from the train manager.

I'm hoping that in reality that just means that's where the unreserved seats are, otherwise I can see this causing all kinds of problems if they intend on enforcing this. Still a significant improvement.

 

[Watershed]

Apparently LNER's new plan is that you will be able to travel without a reservation (officially) again, but will be "restricted" to Coach C in standard or a small designated area in First. Reservations would be "strongly recommended" and you will be able to reserve seats onboard from the train manager.

I'm hoping that in reality that just means that's where the unreserved seats are, otherwise I can see this causing all kinds of problems if they intend on enforcing this. Still a significant improvement.

Have you got any source for this? Not distrusting what you've said but I've not seen anything from LNER yet.

 

[Haywain]

Have you got any source for this? Not distrusting what you've said but I've not seen anything from LNER yet.

Nor me.

 

[js517]

Have you got any source for this? Not distrusting what you've said but I've not seen anything from LNER yet.

A briefing was issued by LNER yesterday which stated:

We recommend that customers reserve a seat to travel on an LNER train

The make a reservation page has been updated and now hints at this, though it isn't explicitly clear.

Some tickets, such as Off-Peak Singles or flexible returns, don't come with a seat reservation. That doesn't mean you have to miss out, though.

• From 19 July, the governments guidance on social distancing has changed and you may be seated next to another passenger.
• If you’ve booked a ticket with LNER before the 19 July for travel after the change in government social distance guidance we’re still keeping your seat socially distanced, however, customers with flexible tickets may take seats around yours if there is limited space onboard.

 

[35B]

Meanwhile, the LNER reservation system seems a bit iffy. I had a mail telling my reservation had been canned for a trip next week because it's now planned for a 5 car set, so offered either free for all on short form, or transfer to another train.

I've booked on an alternative (actually my first preference train, but as it was dearer when I booked...), but the old reservation doesn't appear to have been cancelled against my booking. There's also little or no validation on the booking form.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It very much looks like they are trialling concepts here with COVID as an excuse. I do like the idea of trialling unmarked reservations with designated unreserved areas, though (as per PKP IC), that may well be a good balance allowing reservations to be made right up to departure at all stations as well as preserving true walk-up access.

 

[Grumbler]

It very much looks like they are trialling concepts here with COVID as an excuse. I do like the idea of trialling unmarked reservations with designated unreserved areas, though (as per PKP IC), that may well be a good balance allowing reservations to be made right up to departure at all stations as well as preserving true walk-up access.

I don't think I like that idea - does that mean you could legitimately occupy a seat from A to C but when you get to B you find that someone has just reserved it from that station so you then have to find another seat or stand?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't think I like that idea - does that mean you could legitimately occupy a seat from A to C but when you get to B you find that someone has just reserved it from that station so you then have to find another seat or stand?

The way it works is that rather than mark seats that are reserved, you mark the areas that are definitely not reserved (e.g. Coach C or whatever, or in a smaller train just a few bays of seats). To sit in any seat not in an unreserved area you require a reservation, which you can obtain by way of multiple channels, such as your phone, a TVM, the guard/buffet steward or whatever, and you can do this when already on board if you want.

So if you board without a reservation your options are to sit in the unreserved coach, stand or ask the guard (or use your phone) to reserve you a seat in a reserved area.

This would, for example, near-abolish the Euston scrum, as instead of everyone forming a baying mob they'd just obtain a reservation as soon as they knew which train they were going to get (including on arrival at Euston for the next train), or a much smaller number would form a mob darting for coach C.

 

[35B]

The way it works is that rather than mark seats that are reserved, you mark the areas that are definitely not reserved (e.g. Coach C or whatever, or in a smaller train just a few bays of seats). To sit in any seat not in an unreserved area you require a reservation, which you can obtain by way of multiple channels, such as your phone, a TVM, the guard/buffet steward or whatever, and you can do this when already on board if you want.

So if you board without a reservation your options are to sit in the unreserved coach, stand or ask the guard (or use your phone) to reserve you a seat in a reserved area.

This would, for example, near-abolish the Euston scrum, as instead of everyone forming a baying mob they'd just obtain a reservation as soon as they knew which train they were going to get (including on arrival at Euston for the next train), or a much smaller number would form a mob darting for coach C.

There are many good reasons to make it easier to get reservations quickly before a train departs it’s starting point, and to be clear about where will not be reserved. None of these go as far as to justify compulsory reservations.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There are many good reasons to make it easier to get reservations quickly before a train departs it’s starting point, and to be clear about where will not be reserved. None of these go as far as to justify compulsory reservations.

A key advantage of CR (or this half-way approach) is that you can obtain reservations quickly before (or indeed after) a train has left any station, which is a considerable improvement to boarding scrums.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Apparently LNER's new plan is that you will be able to travel without a reservation (officially) again, but will be "restricted" to Coach C in standard or a small designated area in First. Reservations would be "strongly recommended" and you will be able to reserve seats onboard from the train manager.

I'm hoping that in reality that just means that's where the unreserved seats are, otherwise I can see this causing all kinds of problems if they intend on enforcing this. Still a significant improvement.

Thats not what the conversation I'm in the middle of now is saying.

 

[35B]

A key advantage of CR (or this half-way approach) is that you can obtain reservations quickly before (or indeed after) a train has left any station, which is a considerable improvement to boarding scrums.

I agree on the halfway approach; my issue is with compulsory reservation given how services are actually used in this country. My pre-Covid commute was 105 miles; compulsory reservation would have been a nightmare due to combinations of how my work organised and changes in when I had to travel.

What would have worked ~90% of the time would have left me with real difficulties the rest of the time.

 

[WAB]

As you may be aware, following the UK government’s recent announcement, guidance for England on social distancing and the wearing of face coverings will be changing from 19 July. We’re getting in touch to let you know what this means for your journeys with us and how it affects the measures we currently have in place.

Social distancing

As UK government guidance for England on social distancing is changing, you may be seated next to another passenger when travelling after 19 July. If you booked a ticket before 13 July, for travel with LNER from 19 July onwards, we’re keeping your seat socially distanced. However, customers with flexible tickets may take seats around yours if there is limited space onboard.

Whilst social distancing guidance remains in place in Scotland, we have reached an agreement with Transport Scotland that LNER will operate under English guidance. This will ensure a consistent experience for customers on our cross-border services. However, face coverings remain mandatory in Scotland for the time being.

Face coverings

From 19 July, please continue to wear a face covering on our trains, in our stations and our Travel Centres. Thank you for being considerate of other customers and our colleagues. We understand if you are unable to wear a face covering due to medical reasons.

If you're travelling in Scotland, please note it is still a legal requirement to wear a face covering, unless exempt.

Seat reservations

We highly recommend that you reserve a seat to travel on an LNER service. Most seats on our trains require a reservation. Reserving a seat is quick and simple and can be done up to five minutes before departure on our website or on the LNER app. There will be a number of unreserved seats in the Standard and First Class areas of each of our trains.

Email from LNER today

 

[Failed Unit]

Email from LNER today

It will be interesting to know why they think that travelling by a train with no facemask on, is more risky then sitting in a pub or cafe without one. As they are certainly implying that rail travel isn't safe with that email.

 

[35B]

It will be interesting to know why they think that travelling by a train with no facemask on, is more risky then sitting in a pub or cafe without one. As they are certainly implying that rail travel isn't safe with that email.

It isn't. But when I travel on Wednesday, I shall wear a mask out of respect for the request from my host's request.

 

[Ianno87]

Email from LNER today

Note the wording that Seat Reservations are merely "recommended". Make of that what you will.

 

[Failed Unit]

It isn't. But when I travel on Wednesday, I shall wear a mask out of respect for the request from my host's request.

But if you are the only person in the coach won't you be slightly tempted to take it off? I won't out of respect to my medical condition, hopefully others on train will also respect it now.

 

[35B]

But if you are the only person in the coach won't you be slightly tempted to take it off? I won't out of respect to my medical condition, hopefully others on train will also respect it now.

The temptation may well be strong; but I doubt that scenario will apply.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Very strange as the mandatory flag in the timetable feed isn’t changing so you won’t be able to buy a ticket online without a reservation

 

[Ianno87]

Very strange as the mandatory flag in the timetable feed isn’t changing so you won’t be able to buy a ticket online without a reservation

So basically the "CrossCountry model"? Trains will show as sold out online, but nothing stopping travelling with a walk up ticket at the station.

 

[Wallsendmag]

So basically the "CrossCountry model"? Trains will show as sold out online, but nothing stopping travelling with a walk up ticket at the station.

For next week it’s looking that way

 

[infobleep]

For next week it’s looking that way

Will they make more advanced fares available or limited them to discourage too many from travelling?

 

[Wallsendmag]

Will they make more advanced fares available or limited them to discourage too many from travelling?

Sorry we're not involved in the Revenue Management side of things.