No unreserved seats on various Virgin Trains West Coast (VTWC) Pendolino services

[All Line Rover]

Since the beginning of this month, all seats in Coach F have been open to reservations on VTWC Pendolinos which are diagrammed to be 11 cars.

However, as a good proportion of Pendolinos don't operate as diagrammed (9 cars instead of 11, or vice versa), various services are now operated by 9 car Pendolinos with all standard class seats - Coaches A, B, C, D, E and F - fully reserved.

After all the fuss about converting Coach G (1ST) to Coach F (STD) on the cheap, in order to provide some unreserved standard class seats for those Pendolinos which remain as 9 cars, we are now back to the starting point of Pendolinos operating with no unreserved standard class seats for walk-up ticket holders. Wonderful.

 

[DarloRich]

Since the beginning of this month, all seats in Coach F have been open to reservations on VTWC Pendolinos which are diagrammed to be 11 cars.

However, as a good proportion of Pendolinos don't operate as diagrammed (9 cars instead of 11, or vice versa), various services are now operated by 9 car Pendolinos with all standard class seats - Coaches A, B, C, D, E and F - fully reserved.

After all the fuss about converting Coach G (1ST) to Coach F (STD) on the cheap, in order to provide some unreserved standard class seats for those Pendolinos which remain as 9 cars, we are now back to the starting point of Pendolinos operating with no unreserved standard class seats for walk-up ticket holders. Wonderful.

never had a problem getting a seat.............

( outside of the obvious peak loading times)

 

[Bletchleyite]

After all the fuss about converting Coach G (1ST) to Coach F (STD) on the cheap, in order to provide some unreserved standard class seats for those Pendolinos which remain as 9 cars

That was not the reason for converting it, it was simply to provide more Standard capacity.

How was it "on the cheap"?

 

[DarloRich]

That was not the reason for converting it, it was simply to provide more Standard capacity.

How was it "on the cheap"?

Perhaps what is meant is that all trains should have converted to 11 car trains. Personally i would just convert all first class carriages............

 

[All Line Rover]

"On the cheap" in the sense of not doing what needs to be done, purely to save money in the short term.

The actual cost of the work done was, IMO, terrible value.

 

[DarloRich]

"On the cheap" in the sense of not doing what needs to be done, purely to save money in the short term.

The actual cost of the work done was, IMO, terrible value.

What needed to be done? Personally as a mere second class pleb offering us more seats seems like a good idea to me!

 

[All Line Rover]

This is going back some time now, but wasn't Coach E (Coach D?) previously an unreserved coach?

 

[All Line Rover]

What needed to be done? Personally as a mere second class pleb offering us more seats seems like a good idea to me!

Two extra standard class carriages on every train, meaning all trains have a dedicated standard class unreserved coach and there are no diagramming complexities.

 

[Qwerty133]

This is going back some time now, but wasn't Coach E (Coach D?) previously an unreserved coach?

Coach E was unreserved when all they were all 9 coaches in length

 

[Qwerty133]

Two extra standard class carriages on every train, meaning all trains have a dedicated standard class unreserved coach and there are no diagramming complexities.

Sounds good... Better start converting coach H on the 9 coach ones then

 

[Mag_seven]

However, as a good proportion of Pendolinos don't operate as diagrammed (9 cars instead of 11, or vice versa)

They should have made them all 11 cars - I'm a great fan of homogeneous fleets.

 

[DarloRich]

Two extra standard class carriages on every train, meaning all trains have a dedicated standard class unreserved coach and there are no diagramming complexities.

i agree they should all have been made upto 11 cars.

 

[sprinterguy]

However, as a good proportion of Pendolinos don't operate as diagrammed (9 cars instead of 11, or vice versa), various services are now operated by 9 car Pendolinos with all standard class seats - Coaches A, B, C, D, E and F - fully reserved.

For the past six months I've been travelling on four Pendolinos a week, and in that time I think that the booked 11 car train has been replaced by a 9 car set twice. This tallies closely with my experiences during the six months that made up the second half of 2012, when I was seeing the insides of ten Pendolinos a week, and this as I recall during the period when train lengthening was taking place and some upheaval might be expected: Altered Pendolino formations are fairly rare in my experience.

I've also never seen a Pendolino service where every, or even a majority of seats, is reserved, even when looking at those handy little occupancy diagrams they've got on the bottom of the information screens at Euston now. This in contrast to North TPE and Crosscountry Voyager services, the latter instance where train formations also seem to be much more of a gamble (though half of the time you'll get lucky and there'll be a five carriage unit in place of a four car one, or even very occasionally, that holy of holies, an HST vice Voyager ).

I do agree that a homogenous fleet of 11-car Pendolinos would be preferable though.

 

[TUC]

I find the opposite frustrating-to have tried to reserve a seat and been advised that no seats were available, only to find numerous unreserved seats on the train.

 

[bengolding]

I witnessed this on Monday, when the TM on the 1043 EUS-EDB made several announcements that there was no unreserved Standard seating with only coach K in 1st being unreserved for 1st Class only. Perhaps this was a one off 9 car as one would expect these very busy xx43s to be diagramed 11 car (except the 1143 EUS-GLC which is always a single Voyager - one to avoid).

 

[All Line Rover]

For the past six months I've been travelling on four Pendolinos a week, and in that time I think that the booked 11 car train has been replaced by a 9 car set twice.

Depends which trains you use.

The 16:07 and 17:07 Euston to Liverpool seem to be 9 cars more often than not, despite being diagrammed as 11.

The xx:20 Euston to Manchester departures can be random. As are many of the xx:30 Euston to Glasgow departures, including a couple today.

On the other hand, the 18:43 (to Birmingham), 19:00 (to Manchester), 19:03 (to Birmingham) and 19:07 (to Liverpool) from Euston are 11 cars without fail.

 

[47271]

At least you can move around a Pendolino to find somewhere to sit down.

I was on the 0750 Birmingham-Euston this morning. I'm not familiar with the service, otherwise I'd have known where to get on, but what a truly miserable and expensive 2×Voyager experience that is. Front unit virtually empty when it rolled into New Street, but everyone crammed into the rear five with reservations.

Queries on 390 reserved coaches seem obscure and academic by comparison.

 

[rmt4ever]

Perhaps what is meant is that all trains should have converted to 11 car trains. Personally i would just convert all first class carriages............

Then how would first class be provided ???

 

[Bletchleyite]

Then how would first class be provided ???

I think he's suggesting it should be abolished.

 

[MK Tom]

The problem with the Pendolinos is that the reservation screens don't tell you where it's reserved from/to, so people will pass up a seat at Euston that isn't going to be occupied until Carlisle.

 

[Mike395]

The problem with the Pendolinos is that the reservation screens don't tell you where it's reserved from/to, so people will pass up a seat at Euston that isn't going to be occupied until Carlisle.

They do if the reservation isn't applicable yet: "Available until CARLISLE" - but yes it would sometimes be useful to know where the seat is reserved from/to during the section it's reserved (in case the 'reservee' hasn't turned up!)

 

[MKB]

They do if the reservation isn't applicable yet: "Available until CARLISLE" - but yes it would sometimes be useful to know where the seat is reserved from/to during the section it's reserved (in case the 'reservee' hasn't turned up!)

It would also be useful if they were to always display each reservation separately, rather than merge them.

On a number of occasions, I have reserved a seat from Nuneaton to Liverpool, and someone else, who did not occupy the seat, has it reserved from Euston to Nuneaton.

If the display then shows simply a reservation from Euston to Liverpool, as it sometimes does, a third person typically occupies that seat on leaving Euston, assuming it is free, and is mad at me for asking them to move at Nuneaton.

 

[Starmill]

never had a problem getting a seat.............

( outside of the obvious peak loading times)

So, because you don't travel at peak times and are always alright, this is a good policy? Is it? Really?

Please please please stop posting rubbish. Thank you.

 

[mark-h]

in case the 'reservee' hasn't turned up!

How long do passengers have to claim their reserved seat after the train departs?

The system could be set to stop displaying a reservation, or switch to a future one, after the time limit expires.

 

[Mollman]

The reservation issue is that they now just show 'Reserved' once the train arrives at the station the seat is reserved from - this means that if (as frequently happens) the seat is unoccupied you do not know where from / to. For a while it use to turn to 'Available' (or show next reservation) on departure from the station but this no longer happens for some reason.

 

[Taunton]

Then there's the reservations not being shown at all, or only showing after most people have sat down. This is a regular event at Euston, and is apparently down to the radio transmission of the reservation details not being picked up by the train. It was a problem when the trains first came along, and has never been fully overcome. You don't even get any alert if they suddenly spring into life (on more than one occasion actually after departure).

 

[Mag_seven]

The problem with the Pendolinos is that the reservation screens don't tell you where it's reserved from/to, so people will pass up a seat at Euston that isn't going to be occupied until Carlisle.

My understanding is that if it just states "Reserved" then it is reserved from the starting station to the end station.

Then there's the reservations not being shown at all, or only showing after most people have sat down. This is a regular event at Euston, and is apparently down to the radio transmission of the reservation details not being picked up by the train. It was a problem when the trains first came along, and has never been fully overcome. You don't even get any alert if they suddenly spring into life (on more than one occasion actually after departure).

Yes that is annoying and frequent. Why haven't they sorted it?

 

[Bletchleyite]

My observation is that the displays don't light up green until fully downloaded - this can be used to tell if they have been or not.

They could do with a software mod to make them show "PLEASE WAIT - MAY BE RESERVED" until download is complete, though.

 

[MK Tom]

They do if the reservation isn't applicable yet: "Available until CARLISLE" - but yes it would sometimes be useful to know where the seat is reserved from/to during the section it's reserved (in case the 'reservee' hasn't turned up!)

I'm pretty sure they only do this some of the time. I board Pendolinos at Euston every week and it's very rare for me to see "Available until" - on the other hand it's extremely common to see 'Reserved' seats with nobody in them.

On other operators where paper reservations are used a good proportion of the reservations at Kings Cross or Paddington are from other stations in my experience.

It'd also be helpful to know where the reservation ended - boarding London-bound services at MKC it's generally a good bet that reserved seats that are empty are for journeys finishing before MKC and not starting here.

 

[exile]

The poster who said earlier "I've never had a problem getting a seat" did have a point - has anyone had the reverse experience - of a genuinely full-and-standing Virgin train? Are they full even at peak times? I can't say myself as I never travel in the peak. Travelling off-peak I'm often rattling around a virtually empty train, which makes me wonder how "green" my journey really was.