Travelling on Crosscountry?

[py_megapixel]

You don't need a reservation, end of.

There's no way in hell I'd waste my time getting 10 reservations a week to get something that doesn't even guarantee a specific seat.

XC have done a very good job at alienating customers but it doesn't take much to see through their ludicrous bluff and bluster.

The question is of course, given that the relevant services are marked as mandatory reservation in the booking database, how do you buy a ticket?

 

[Elecman]

The question is of course, given that the relevant services are marked as mandatory reservation in the booking database, how do you buy a ticket?

Buy a season ticket presumably

 

[Hadders]

Use a station ticket machine.

 

[Kraken]

My wife is currently trying to book travel from the East Midlands to Devon via Birmingham and having no luck because of XC not allowing any booking of tickets past 16th October. This is extremely frustrating as presumably buying tickets on the day at the station for such a journey would be a lot more expensive (wouldn’t it?). I don’t know why you wouldn’t just allow people to buy advance tickets.

 

[STINT47]

I've run into the same issue trying to book Nottinghsm to Exeter. Very few advances and on many trains it's already fully booked.

In the end I opted to travel via London and got an advance for £41. Compares with XC quoting £91.

XC demonstrating how to alienate their customers and drive people off rail, at a time when it needs bums on seats.

 

[py_megapixel]

XC demonstrating how to alienate their customers and drive people off rail, at a time when it needs bums on seats.

Honestly in my experience of XC they were succeeding at alienating customers long before this started.

 

[father_jack]

News from XC via a work fiend today.

 

[Bletchleyite]

That's not very compulsory! The customer-facing publicity says LNER-style compulsory i.e. you get turned away without one.

 

[Mainline421]

That's not very compulsory! The customer-facing publicity says LNER-style compulsory i.e. you get turned away without one.

LNER haven't actually turned anyone who has ticket away as far as I know.

 

[father_jack]

1S45 0927 Plymouth to Edinburgh delayed at Bristol Temple Meads today booting off pax without reservations/allocations. Single voyager ? https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C86749/2020-08-28/detailed

 

[gray1404]

Are their services still going to be reservation compulsory in the reservation system? Will it be possible to book a walk up ticket again online for XC without a reservation again?

 

[trainophile]

I collected tickets today that I booked online last night, and find that I am booked on an XC from Bristol TM to Exeter St Davids next Weds. The ticket reads "no specific seat reserved". Will I encounter any problems with this?

 

[Sprinter150]

I collected tickets today that I booked online last night, and find that I am booked on an XC from Bristol TM to Exeter St Davids next Weds. The ticket reads "no specific seat reserved". Will I encounter any problems with this?

No - there shouldn't be any problems as right now only a 'counted place' system is in operation, and if you are booked on a specific train, you have a counted place. Also, on the route you are using, almost all trains are doubled-up voyagers, so there is plenty of extra capacity for social distancing. The changes (which will allow specific seats to be reserved) are outlined in post 97 and come into effect 7th September.

 

[trainophile]

No - there shouldn't be any problems as right now only a 'counted place' system is in operation, and if you are booked on a specific train, you have a counted place. Also, on the route you are using, almost all trains are doubled-up voyagers, so there is plenty of extra capacity for social distancing. The changes (which will allow specific seats to be reserved) are outlined in post 97 and come into effect 7th September.

Many thanks.

 

[Sprinter150]

Many thanks.

No problem at all

 

[_toommm_]

Are their services still going to be reservation compulsory in the reservation system? Will it be possible to book a walk up ticket again online for XC without a reservation again?

One would hope not, with it ideally being ‘Reservations Recommended’; otherwise there would be no point having whole units unreserved if it wasn’t easy to just buy A walk up ticket on the day.

 

[gray1404]

Just had a look on BR Times for XC services between Manchester and Bournemouth for w/c 7 September. They sill have their services as RESERVATIONS MANDATORY . This is going to cause problems booking walk up tickets online then if your chosen service doesn't have seats remaining according to their strict (low) quota.

 

[alistairlees]

Just had a look on BR Times for XC services between Manchester and Bournemouth for w/c 7 September. They sill have their services as RESERVATIONS MANDATORY View attachment 82894. This is going to cause problems booking walk up tickets online then if your chosen service doesn't have seats remaining according to their strict (low) quota.

If you book walk up tickets online then you should get a reservation. You should not be able to book walk up tickets if the train is full. If you want to change trains then you need to contact CrossCountry to get a new reservation. It’s not that complex. Most of the continent manages this way. The issue really is the restricted capacity.

 

[fishquinn]

If you book walk up tickets online then you should get a reservation. You should not be able to book walk up tickets if the train is full. If you want to change trains then you need to contact CrossCountry to get a new reservation. It’s not that complex. Most of the continent manages this way. The issue really is the restricted capacity.

Yeah but we're talking journeys like Leamington-Coventry and Burton-Derby here as well - if I can't get a reservation because the train is 'full' (basically 5 people on board based on my observations, and yes this is tongue in cheek) then waiting an hour for my 10 minute journey seems stupid and a sure fire way for me to abandon rail as a way to make the journey.

 

[DB]

If you book walk up tickets online then you should get a reservation. You should not be able to book walk up tickets if the train is full. If you want to change trains then you need to contact CrossCountry to get a new reservation. It’s not that complex. Most of the continent manages this way. The issue really is the restricted capacity.

Not sure why some people are so keen to defend this ridiculous system...

Capacity is restricted simply because they have put restrictions in place which are even more over the top than any other operator.

 

[voyagerdude220]

1S45 0927 Plymouth to Edinburgh delayed at Bristol Temple Meads today booting off pax without reservations/allocations. Single voyager ? https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C86749/2020-08-28/detailed

Tyrell messaging system mentioned at the time about this service being delayed due to overcrowding, although I do feel for it to be stood at Bristol Temple M for nearly half an hour and again at Cheltenham for 20 minutes, that something went wrong.

Interestingly both the Bristol and Cheltenham delays had been stated as being down to the Train Manager when I looked on Trust on Friday, although this could have changed.

 

[yorkie]

Yeah but we're talking journeys like Leamington-Coventry and Burton-Derby here as well - if I can't get a reservation because the train is 'full' (basically 5 people on board based on my observations, and yes this is tongue in cheek) then waiting an hour for my 10 minute journey seems stupid and a sure fire way for me to abandon rail as a way to make the journey.

CrossCountry want you to abandon rail, and there isn't anyone who can do anything about it

 

[Starmill]

Most of the continent manages this way. The issue really is the restricted capacity.

Indeed. On the continent, reservation compulsory trains aren't being marked as online as full or sold out despite having a very large number of spaces available in some circumstances (even by socially distanced standards), double Voyager trains with almost 50% of the train empty (!)

As you probably know, in France for example the chef de bord can issue a ticket to a 'stand by' passenger on the train, albeit with payment of a supplement, if there's a no-show or if they're happy to sit in the tip-up seat. On Eurostar, trains which are overbooked have a separate queue for the overbooked passengers, who are reallocated into the seats of the no-shows just a moment before departure. CrossCountry to my knowledge have no process in place similar to either?

 

[DB]

CrossCountry want you to abandon rail, and there isn't anyone who can do anything about it

It does look like that!

It also begs the question as to why, given that all operators are on management contracts at the moment, the DfT doesn't specify a set of operating guidelines and tell them all* to stick to it. The wide variation between different operators just causes confusion and will do nothing to encourage people back onto trains.

*OK, they can't tell Scotral / Caledonian, and no doubt Sturgeon would come up with something different just for the sake of it. Wales could to some extent be told what to do by applying to rules to all trains operating in England.

 

[yorkie]

It also begs the question as to why, given that all operators are on management contracts at the moment, the DfT doesn't specify a set of operating guidelines and tell them all* to stick to it. The wide variation between different operators just causes confusion and will do nothing to encourage people back onto trains.

Afraid of the powerful unions? Not wanting to dilute the Government's social distancing message (even though the WHO say the whole point of mandating masks is in settings where social distancing isn't possible, such as public transport)? Incompetence? Who knows, but they won't care either. There isn't anyone who cares who also has the ability to do anything about the situation.

 

[DB]

Afraid of the powerful unions? Not wanting to dilute the Government's social distancing message (even though the WHO say the whole point of mandating masks is in settings where social distancing isn't possible, such as public transport)? Incompetence? Who knows, but they won't care either. There isn't anyone who cares who also has the ability to do anything about the situation.

It seems unlikely that unions are insisting on radically different practices from one TOC to another?

 

[yorkie]

It seems unlikely that unions are insisting on radically different practices from one TOC to another?

I wouldn't put it like that.

But I believe the issue is that some TOCs have got Union agreement to reduce social distancing measures and/or introduce ticket checks on trains, and some haven't...

The whole thing is a mess, but the result is LNER are around 50% of capacity in the coaches they open up for reservations while XC is less than 20%.

 

[alistairlees]

Does anyone have a list / set of coach maps for Covid showing the various capacity levels currently? Thanks.

 

[DB]

I wouldn't put it like that.

But I believe the issue is that some TOCs have got Union agreement to reduce social distancing measures and/or introduce ticket checks on trains, and some haven't...

The whole thing is a mess, but the result is LNER are around 50% of capacity in the coaches they open up for reservations while XC is less than 20%.

The government should have hammered this out with the unions months ago - but as the politicians seem to actively want to discourage people from using trains the general confusion may be intended. Then they pretend that advice on travelling by other means primarily means walking and cycling, when they know full well that in probably the majority of cases it will mean by car

 

[yorkie]

I believe it's up to each TOC to negotiate individually.