bengley
Established Member
- Joined
- 18 May 2008
- Messages
- 1,928
Reservations are unenforceable if not displayed so this policy is a bit of a joke...
This "must have a reservation" really doesn't work when it's part of a longer journey. What if I do make a reservation but more it because my connecting train is delayed? What if I can't get a seat on the next service?
Just nonsensical though. Why should I be expected to have a charged up smartphone with me, in an area with signal and faff around with seat reservations because "the railway" has made me late? Sorry but I'm just not going to do that, especially if I've got lots of bags etc with me.Which is what happened to me on my first LNER journey in March ! My Scotrail train into Glasgow was cancelled, meaning I missed my next Scotrail train to Edinburgh, and then the LNER service on which I had a reservation to Kings X. However...... even before departing my origin station I logged into LNER's website on my phone and reserved a seat on a later train from Edinburgh, the system knew that I had another seat reserved on the same day and asked if I wanted to cancel it, which I did. The process could not have been any easier. The only problem being that when I eventually got to Edinburgh my LNER train was a 5-car vice the booked 9-car, so my new reserved seat did not exist anyway ! Fortunately the train was quiet throughout.
Just nonsensical though. Why should I be expected to have a charged up smartphone with me, in an area with signal and faff around with seat reservations because "the railway" has made me late? Sorry but I'm just not going to do that, especially if I've got lots of bags etc with me.
"The railway" will just have to accept that I don't have a reservation, through no fault of my own.
Just nonsensical though. Why should I be expected to have a charged up smartphone with me, in an area with signal and faff around with seat reservations because "the railway" has made me late? Sorry but I'm just not going to do that, especially if I've got lots of bags etc with me.
"The railway" will just have to accept that I don't have a reservation, through no fault of my own.
Just nonsensical though. Why should I be expected to have a charged up smartphone with me, in an area with signal and faff around with seat reservations because "the railway" has made me late? Sorry but I'm just not going to do that, especially if I've got lots of bags etc with me.
"The railway" will just have to accept that I don't have a reservation, through no fault of my own.
The other way of looking at this is that with a properly implemented CR system rather than the present bodged mess is that the TOC could already know your connection would miss, and have notified you (if booked on your phone) or the guard on board and you'd be proactively advised of your new itinerary and reservations or that, if you were stuck, you had a taxi already arranged and where you could meet it.
Interesting, but LNER had no idea from where, or how, I was travelling to join their train ! (My connecting trains were non-reservable).
Oooh, I think we're straying into too clever for it's own good territory here.The other way of looking at this is that with a properly implemented CR system rather than the present bodged mess is that the TOC could already know your connection would miss, and have notified you (if booked on your phone) or the guard on board and you'd be proactively advised of your new itinerary and reservations or that, if you were stuck, you had a taxi already arranged and where you could meet it.
Because it’s not just about you. It’s also about the people who have paid for a nice train journey and want to be able to easily get to and from the doors/buffet/toilets, and don’t want someone‘s bum in their face!Why can't I just rock up with a flexible ticket and accept that I might have to stand for a while if the train is full? You know, like I've been doing for 30 years?
Because it’s not just about you. It’s also about the people who have paid for a nice train journey and want to be able to easily get to and from the doors/buffet/toilets, and don’t want someone‘s bum in their face!
Not sure I am understanding your point. I am not referring to enthusiasts. I think the infrequent users are the most likely to want a set product and not have the stress of a train crowded with standees.But also about the majority of rail users, who are not experts and would probably like that sort of "handholding" to be offered to them.
The needs of the enthusiast are very often, if not "almost always", different from those of most of the rest of the punters. In some cases, like this, they are diametrically opposed, so the TOC should choose the larger group, which will be the non-enthusiast group.
Not sure I am understanding your point. I am not referring to enthusiasts. I think the infrequent users are the most likely to want a set product and not have the stress of a train crowded with standees.
I would expect reservations to be easy and up until departure, via Internet, ticket machines and ticket offices.
I would also be happy with edge case standing reservations - where intercity is also the only short hop commute service , leaving a float for disruption - but at a comfortable quantity.
Ah, sweet.I was agreeing with you. In essence, I was saying that compulsory reservations are more likely to be better for "normal" users, who these days are mostly using Advances anyway (provided there is decent disruption handling), and enthusiasts prefer full flexibility.
The other way of looking at this is that with a properly implemented CR system rather than the present bodged mess is that the TOC could already know your connection would miss, and have notified you (if booked on your phone) or the guard on board and you'd be proactively advised of your new itinerary and reservations or that, if you were stuck, you had a taxi already arranged and where you could meet it.
I don’t believe he was suggesting the TOC rebooked your outward first leg - if they did that would be due to disruption and not really any different to you turning up at the station to find your train cancelled.An idea that sounds great up until you get the email at 11:00 informing you that you've been rebooked onto the next available train at 20:19, completely torpedoing your plans for a day out. Or it rebooks you onto a later train, only for the originally delayed train to make up time and the connection be made but denied.
I still struggle to see the advantage of CR over the current system.
I don’t believe he was suggesting the TOC rebooked your outward first leg - if they did that would be due to disruption and not really any different to you turning up at the station to find your train cancelled.
I think I worded it poorly, in my hypothetical scenario you're on a delayed local train at 11:00 to connect onto an LNER service (at say, 11:19) when the email comes in.
My point is that it doesn't sound like a great idea at all when the TOC rebooks you because of the missed connection, and the first available train is not for several hours because all the other trains have been fully booked (or there's no suitable reservations available to your destination, etc). Where currently you'd get on the next train and just have to stand (or seat hop at each station), with CR you'd just be told tough luck (or allowed to board anyway - completely negating the point of CR)
An idea that sounds great up until you get the email at 11:00 informing you that you've been rebooked onto the next available train at 20:19, completely torpedoing your plans for a day out. Or it rebooks you onto a later train, only for the originally delayed train to make up time and the connection be made but denied.
I still struggle to see the advantage of CR over the current system.
Last week I tried to book a day return three days before travelling and couldn’t as every return leg was sold out until something like 8pm. I ended up making a six hour round trip by car which wasn’t what I needed. The situation was down to a combination of covid and football fans travelling down to London but the situation was still ridiculous. I make a lot of shorter journeys on LNER as well so having to pre-book is a pain, I just want to turn up and go. I’ll stand in the vestibule if needs be, the same way I have for the last 15 years!
The problem at the moment with LNER is that they are operating below capacity. Once every seat can be reserved, I suspect that issue won't be anywhere near as significant.
Because it’s not just about you. It’s also about the people who have paid for a nice train journey and want to be able to easily get to and from the doors/buffet/toilets, and don’t want someone‘s bum in their face!
I wouldn't say that allowing CR to be ignored during serious disruption does invalidate the concept. Serious disruption is not that common. More likely is one cancellation and there being enough space on the next one or two trains to get everyone a new reservation.
CR would help in disruption as you can be far surer that you could squeeze the disrupted onto a following train - as it would have left with no standees.My point is that it doesn't sound like a great idea at all when the TOC rebooks you because of the missed connection, and the first available train is not for several hours because all the other trains have been fully booked (or there's no suitable reservations available to your destination, etc). Where currently you'd get on the next train and just have to stand (or seat hop at each station), with CR you'd just be told tough luck (or allowed to board anyway - completely negating the point of CR)
CR would sort of solve that - whoever got on the train would get what they paid for as opposed to none of them getting what they paid for.If you’ve paid for a nice train journey and there’s a bum in your face, it’s probably either due to disruption (a situation which compulsory reservations *won’t* solve), or because lots of other people also wanted to pay for a nice train journey in the same timings.
A few posts in the last couple of hours have mentioned "a nice journey".
Irrespective of compulsory reservations, "a nice journey" isn't what is paid for when a ticket is purchased, is it? I thought what was purchased is a contract to be conveyed from A to B...
If the railway doesn't consider quality of journey experience at all, it might as well give up