No fares available please choose another journey

[suzanneparis]

I never used to see this message but nowadays it sometimes pops up. Today for trains from Leicester to London St P it is showing several consecutive trains like this.

I am booked on the 11:12. Does the above message mean that my train will be completely full?

Thanks for any information. Best wishes

 

[bengolding]

I never used to see this message but nowadays it sometimes pops up. Today for trains from Leicester to London St P it is showing several consecutive trains like this.

I am booked on the 11:12. Does the above message mean that my train will be completely full?

Thanks for any information. Best wishes

EMR advised passengers on my train last week that they were removing reservations on many services deter for passengers from the Euston blockade.

 

[suzanneparis]

Thanks for replying bengolding.

Sorry don't quite follow. How can people buy tickets for those trains that say 'no fares available..'

Thanks

 

[Hadders]

All the seats on those trains will be fully reserved, which is why it's saying 'no fares available'.

You can purchase a tickey from a ticket machine which doesn't come with a reservation and take your chances of getting a seat or stand. I don't know what the situation is at Leicester but at St Pancras there are separate queues for people holding reservations - those without reservations will be held in a separate queue and only a certain number will be able to board each train.

This is all due to the WCML being closed this weekend, and to prevent the MML into St Pancras becoming overwhelmed.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Sorry don't quite follow. How can people buy tickets for those trains that say 'no fares available..'

Suppose anyone without a ticket could always buy a walk up Super Off Peak Single ticket from the (Leicester station) ticket office, but could then quite possibly find the next available train(s) full and standing as @Hadders has just hinted at. But, if you are "booked on the 11:12" as per your opening post, do you not already have a ticket (and quite possibly a reservation)?

 

[Haywain]

take your chances of getting a seat or stand.

Or getting on a train at all.

 

[yorkie]

I never used to see this message but nowadays it sometimes pops up. Today for trains from Leicester to London St P it is showing several consecutive trains like this.

I am booked on the 11:12. Does the above message mean that my train will be completely full?

Probably yes, due to the Euston station blockade, meaning passengers who would normally travel with Avanti/West Midlands Trains (branded LNR) into Euston, have to find alternative means of getting to London.

So you have to be prepared for the possibility of either a) not being able to physically board the train or b) having to stand.

I'd initially try boarding towards the rear of the train.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@suzanneparis. How did you get on? And did you get on?

 

[sheff1]

I travelled EMR from Sheffield to Norwich today - from Sat evening all trains from 0840 to at least mid afternoon were showing fully booked / no fares available (depending on retailer).

Complete nonsense of course. The 0840 left Sheffield with no more than a dozen people in my coach, most left at Chesterfield leaving 3 of us. One queried the emptiness with the trolley person having seen the fully booked message but, unsurprisingly, she could spread no light,

A fair number joined at Nottingham but coach still no more than half full, roughly equal numbers in and out at Grantham and Peterborough then filled a bit more at Ely but at no time was the coach more than 75% full.

Wonder how many didn’t travel having seen the no fares message ?

Coming back, I needed to change at Leicester and expected the ex-London train to be busy, especially as it was only 5 coaches, but when it arrived it was the emptiest I have seen for ages - choice of 6 free tables in the leading coach as it arrived snd any number of airline seats.
Would be interested in any observations from earlier in the day.
****

If one was to board a ‘no fares available’ train at a station with only a journey planner TVM, I trust it would be possible to buy a walk up ticket on board without penalty,

 

[infobleep]

Perhaps if they hadn't done this, it would have been overwhelmed.

So dammed if they don't and alas dammed if they do but the do is better than the don't.

 

[yorkie]

Perhaps if they hadn't done this, it would have been overwhelmed.

So dammed if they don't and alas dammed if they do but the do is better than the don't.

We can agree to disagree; it's no way to run a railway.

I travelled EMR from Sheffield to Norwich today - from Sat evening all trains from 0840 to at least mid afternoon were showing fully booked / no fares available (depending on retailer).

Complete nonsense of course. The 0840 left Sheffield with no more than a dozen people in my coach, most left at Chesterfield leaving 3 of us. One queried the emptiness with the trolley person having seen the fully booked message but, unsurprisingly, she could spread no light,

A fair number joined at Nottingham but coach still no more than half full, roughly equal numbers in and out at Grantham and Peterborough then filled a bit more at Ely but at no time was the coach more than 75% full.

Wonder how many didn’t travel having seen the no fares message ?

Coming back, I needed to change at Leicester and expected the ex-London train to be busy, especially as it was only 5 coaches, but when it arrived it was the emptiest I have seen for ages - choice of 6 free tables in the leading coach as it arrived snd any number of airline seats.
Would be interested in any observations from earlier in the day.
****

Thanks for the observation; it really is a disgraceful state of affairs.

If one was to board a ‘no fares available’ train at a station with only a journey planner TVM, I trust it would be possible to buy a walk up ticket on board without penalty,

Good question; anyone want to ask EMR?

 

[Ianigsy]

I wonder whether people have tried to circumvent the system by buying open tickets with a reservation for whatever train was available, whether it was 5 in the morning or 11 at night, and then taking their chances.

 

[infobleep]

We can agree to disagree; it's no way to run a railway.

I am just reminded of the 2012 Olympics. By telling people not to travel, it was much quieter. To the point that when there was an issue on the underground at Euston, on thebm first Monday of thr Olympics, they just closed off the entrance between platforms 8-11 and the underground whereas the agreement had been that it would be one direction only and had it been as decided for the Olympics, it wouldn't have been closed.

I did use the word perhaps so I am happy to be proven wrong. I don't actually know if it would be overwhelmed in this case.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Good question; anyone want to ask EMR?

EMR only have a very few non S&B TVMs so it's not really a problem

 

[sheff1]

EMR only have a very few non S&B TVMs so it's not really a problem

I don’t think there are any EMR TVMs at Grantham or Peterborough and the booking office at the former closes early afternoon afaik.

Don’t know what TVMs Greater Anglia have at Ely or Thetford but I guess the office at Thetford won’t have lengthy hours.

The question I raised is not EMR specific anyway, any operator could make trains appear ‘no fares available/sold out’ on journey planners, preventing the purchase of walk up tickets prior to boarding.

 

[suzanneparis]

Many thanks all of you and sorry to be slow responding.

There was plenty of room in my carriage and I had a pleasant journey to London. I even got lucky with the tube and made an earlier connection at Vauxhall
(Oyster).

All in all it was fine. Sorry if I asked a silly question I just didn't understand what the message was about and why I hadn't seen such messages in the (distant) past.

Thanks again and kind regards

 

[sheff1]

Many thanks all of you and sorry to be slow responding.

There was plenty of room in my carriage and I had a pleasant journey to London. I even got lucky with the tube and made an earlier connection at Vauxhall
(Oyster).

All in all it was fine. Sorry if I asked a silly question I just didn't understand what the message was about and why I hadn't seen such messages in the (distant) past.

Thanks again and kind regards

Not a silly question at all and glad all went well.

What is silly is a train company suggesting no fares are available when they are and/or that a train is fully booked when plenty of seats (never mind standing room) are available. Such messages didn't appear in the (not so distant) past as the drive to tie all tickets, even walk up ones, to a particular train before selling is a relatively recent thing.

The discussion resulting from your post also raised an interesting point to which, as yet, the answer is unknown.

 

[Wallsendmag]

I don’t think there are any EMR TVMs at Grantham or Peterborough and the booking office at the former closes early afternoon afaik.

Don’t know what TVMs Greater Anglia have at Ely or Thetford but I guess the office at Thetford won’t have lengthy hours.

The question I raised is not EMR specific anyway, any operator could make trains appear ‘no fares available/sold out’ on journey planners, preventing the purchase of walk up tickets prior to boarding.

GA have S&B as well