What does "Reservations not applied throughout" mean?

[elementalpat]

Every so often on the East Coast train infomation section it gives out the info

A to B
"Reservations not applied throughout"

From the outside, it looks like one has paid money for a seat, only to find that now their reservation has been revoked and now it is a free for all for seating. Would this be the case?

If so, then there may be some disgruntled passengers on these trains!

 

[jopsuk]

Sometimes there are problems with the seat reservation ticket printers. Not common, but it happens.

 

[calc7]

Every so often on the East Coast train infomation section it gives out the info

A to B
"Reservations not applied throughout"

From the outside, it looks like one has paid money for a seat, only to find that now their reservation has been revoked and now it is a free for all for seating. Would this be the case?

If so, then there may be some disgruntled passengers on these trains!

Can you explain what you mean by this?

 

[telstarbox]

40. Reserving seats
Seats in some trains can be reserved before you travel and you may have to pay a fee.
Unless you have a seat reservation, the Train Companies do not guarantee to provide a seat for your journey.

If you have a seat reservation bought with your ticket then it could be argued you have "paid for a seat" as opposed to having paid for travel.

 

[Zoe]

If you have a seat reservation bought with your ticket then it could be argued you have "paid for a seat" as opposed to having paid for travel.

If it's an advance ticket, the terms and conditions of the ticket require you to sit in your reserved seat. Not sure if this would count as paying for the seat thoguh.

 

[The North Briton]

Sometimes, sets are swapped at the last minute on depot or at the originating station for engineering reasons, and it is entirely understandable that it is not possible to swap the reservations around without delaying the departure.

Sometimes there are problems with the seat reservation ticket printers. Not common, but it happens.

You would think it would be worth investing in back-up IT equipment, as they are liable to pay compensation if a passenger with a reservation is unable to find a seat. Another embarrassing one is where the stock of reservation labels is used up before new supplies arrive...

 

[yorkie]

You don't pay for a seat*.

Seat reservations cannot be guaranteed however if there are no seats available at all then, in my experience, many TMs will upgrade you to 1st Class on production of a Seat reservation and if not the TOC will generally issue some compensation.

There's no obligation for them to do this though, but if you ask nicely then you have a chance.

(* Except FGW, and possibly Greater Anglia, charge a £2 seat reservation supplement in certain circumstances when you book a seat other than at the time of purchasing the original ticket)

 

[thelongestroad]

I don't know which draconian FGW office you've visited Yorkie but charging for seat reservations is not something I or any of my colleagues do.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

If it's an advance ticket, the terms and conditions of the ticket require you to sit in your reserved seat. Not sure if this would count as paying for the seat thoguh.

Really? I always thought it just meant that you had to travel on your booked train. Many's the time I've travelled on an advance ticket, found my reserved seat not to my liking and sat elsewhere and not once have I been challenged by the train manager.

 

[Zoe]

Really? I always thought it just meant that you had to travel on your booked train. Many's the time I've travelled on an advance ticket, found my reserved seat not to my liking and sat elsewhere and not once have I been challenged by the train manager.

It doesn't usually get enforced but it is a requirement that is stated in the terms and conditions of the ticket.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/advance_conditions.html

Where applicable, you must travel in the Class and reserved seat(s) shown on the ticket(s).

 

[MattRobinson]

It strikes me that this is where the voyagers' dot matrix displays come in. If only they worked reliably...

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk 2

 

[Zoe]

It strikes me that this is where the voyagers' dot matrix displays come in. If only they worked reliably...

It's interesting that FGW and GNER didn't install an electronic reservation system when their trains were refurbished. It would have saved the cost of having to print paper reservations.

 

[ainsworth74]

I don't know which draconian FGW office you've visited Yorkie but charging for seat reservations is not something I or any of my colleagues do.

You might not but, assuming you work for FGW you are supposed to as the seat reservation charge is £5, except in the following circumstances where reservation is free of charge:

• One reservation if reserved at the time of purchasing the ticket.
• Wheelchair spaces, assisted passengers and their companions.
• Holders of Rail Rovers.

 

[CC 72100]

You might not but, assuming you work for FGW you are supposed to as the seat reservation charge is £5, except in the following circumstances where reservation is free of charge:

• One reservation if reserved at the time of purchasing the ticket.
• Wheelchair spaces, assisted passengers and their companions.
• Holders of Rail Rovers.

Ah, I wasn't aware of that. I'm normally warned when buying a multi-day rover about this, but didn't know that in fact they're done for free when a Rail Rover is being used - although whether anyone would actually charge the £5 in the first place is questionable.

 

[calc7]

It's interesting that FGW and GNER didn't install an electronic reservation system when their trains were refurbished. It would have saved the cost of having to print paper reservations.

And of course, this cost is more than the physical paper and printing, it's paying somebody to put them out, somebody else to clean them up and the reputational damage when seat reservations are not placed out for whatever reason leaving customers disappointed.

That said, it is nice being able to immediately identify vacant seats by a lack of reservation coupon. And there's nothing more annoying on a Voyager/Pendolino than getting caught behind an slow-moving passenger studying every dot-matrix display as they go down the aisle. Perhaps an LED light by the screen would help.

 

[Stats]

It's interesting that FGW and GNER didn't install an electronic reservation system when their trains were refurbished. It would have saved the cost of having to print paper reservations.

Good. I can't stand the electronic reservation display. It is impossible to quickly identify unreserved seats.

 

[CC 72100]

Perhaps an LED light by the screen would help.

Red = Reserved
Amber = Reserved later on in the journey/ may be reserved at short notice (thinking of XC here) - check screen for details.
Green = Unreserved.

An idea that I think has been suggested many a time on here by various other people, it's just got too much common sense for the railway!

 

[Geezertronic]

Good. I can't stand the electronic reservation display. It is impossible to quickly identify unreserved seats.

It's probably more of an issue on the Voyagers than the 390s

 

[Eagle]

Red = Reserved
Amber = Reserved later on in the journey/ may be reserved at short notice (thinking of XC here) - check screen for details.
Green = Unreserved.

Yay disco lights on trains... :roll:

 

[CC 72100]

Yay disco lights on trains... :roll:

Except the lighting has to only be a little indicator to glance at, not full blown strobe lighting.

 

[ainsworth74]

It's probably more of an issue on the Voyagers than the 390s

Unless it's changed again XC had fixed this so that they show their unreserved without you having to wait for them to scroll. I can't remember what they say exactly but its something similar to the 390s 'Available'.

not full blown strobe lighting.

Though that could be fun

 

[DarloRich]

I have a plan!

A bit of paper. Printed upon said bit of paper are the stations between which the seat is reserved. if it is a really snazzy system you could put the persons name on the bit of paper (lets call it a ticket) for ease of the hard of brained who cant work out where they should sit

If prtinter fails staff should resort to standard issue MKI biro and said bits of paper.

 

[bb21]

I have a plan!

A bit of paper. Printed upon said bit of paper are the stations between which the seat is reserved. if it is a really snazzy system you could put the persons name on the bit of paper (lets call it a ticket) for ease of the hard of brained who cant work out where they should sit

If prtinter fails staff should resort to standard issue MKI biro and said bits of paper.

I wonder how much labour costs will be when the reservations for a fully booked HST fail to print. I'm looking at you FGW.

 

[DarloRich]

I wonder how much labour costs will be when the reservations for a fully booked HST fail to print. I'm looking at you FGW.

Just put London - Penzance and Smith on them all. Bound to get a few right!

 

[Zoe]

you could put the persons name on the bit of paper (lets call it a ticket) for ease of the hard of brained who cant work out where they should sit

Would there not be data protection issues with that?

 

[DarloRich]

Would there not be data protection issues with that?

data protection issues with putting Smith or Jones on a ticket in the back of the seat? If there are you best tell East Coast.

 

[Zoe]

data protection issues with putting Smith or Jones on a ticket in the back of the seat? If there are you best tell East Coast

Interesting, I read elsewhere that data protection was the reason FGW no longer print names on reservations.

 

[DarloRich]

Interesting, I read elsewhere that data protection was the reason FGW no longer print names on reservations.

seems odd - what data could you extract except a Smith (no gender) was going from London to, say, York?

 

[221129]

Interesting, I read elsewhere that data protection was the reason FGW no longer print names on reservations.

But they do?

 

[Zoe]

But they do?

It was a few years back when I read that they no longer did but if they have started again then the issue must have been resolved. I haven't seen any reservations with names printed on them for a few years though.