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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think seats aren’t reserved on a train if they don’t put tickets out?

121 replies

alligatortoss · 24/03/2018 21:19

Or are they still reserved regardless of tickets?

Some woman just asked me to move despite there being 8 rows of identical seats free behind me.

OP posts:
pigeondujour · 25/03/2018 07:57

No one's interested in how much you've paid. If you get that train every day you should know which carriage is kept for unreserved seats.

Gunpowder · 25/03/2018 08:09

I think it all has to be one way or the other. The difficulty is when you have a reservation, someone is sitting in ‘your’ seat so you move to another seat and then someone else makes you move because it’s ‘their seat.’ This happened to me when I was pregnant and I had to stand and I was very sad about it!

HunterHearstHelmsley · 25/03/2018 08:24

@Ariesgirl1988 I was on a train recently where I was sitting next to someone and we'd both reserved the charger! Both needed to work so both needed it. I was there first and plugged in luckily.

I don't know why the train companies do stuff like this.

opinionatedfreak · 25/03/2018 08:46

I travel on the train a lot.

I almost always have a seat reservation. I've never paid for one In the UK.

However, if the seat reservation cards are not out on all the seats reservations are suspended. I wouldn't move if I inadvertently sat in a reserved seat. How are you meant to know what is reserved & what isn't. When there are no cards they will have suspended reservations. If you don't believe me ask the guard.

Complaining to fellow passengers is pointless. It isn't their fault. They got on and got a seat. The only people you can ask to move in those circs IMO are those in the priority seats if your need is greater. Complain to the operating company instead - suspending reservations is terrible service. Virgin east cost have a seat guarantee scheme whereby you get a refund if you don't get a seat when you had one reserved.

If a solitary card is missing that is different as I would be suspicious the person took it out themselves.

Virgins electronic displays are a pet hate of mine and often fail and the staff expect you to be able to divine a seat was reserved.

StereophonicallyChallenged · 25/03/2018 08:55

Virgin seem to not put reservations out whenever a previous train has been cancelled. Happens loads on the London/Leeds trains. No seat cards means no reservations apply on those definitely; but there’s always plenty of announcements telling people this!

StereophonicallyChallenged · 25/03/2018 08:58

Hunters how can you both reserve the charging socket? Surely you reserve the seat and the one next to the charger gets it 😂 I guess you might have had one of those between the seat chargers but I’ve only seen them on trains that don’t ever have reserved seating?

IanRushesInadequateFlushes · 25/03/2018 08:59

If the reservations aren't cancelled, they apply.

She was organised enough to reserve a seat and you weren't - that's how it works!

What's more annoying is when people reserve a seat and then sit somewhere they fancy more, meaning their seat often stays empty because people think it's reserved.

scottishdiem · 25/03/2018 09:19

Was on a train where there was a problem. Frail older woman got on and was actually distraught that she would have to stand because entitled wankers took same attitude as others here with no ticket meaning no reservation. I let her sit in mine and crying old ladies is not a pleasant thing to witness.

Should be noted was on the continent over Christmas and there were no tickets or signs over seats for booking. Just a carriage for the malcontents who don't like to book ahead and printed or e-tickets with seat numbers for the rest. Had to shift someone from my seat as they had accidentally booked for the day before. Their booking at my seat so we did argue about it until the date was noticed. Booking a seat should mean you get it. Seatless Booker's should be back of the queue for seats.

Of course when two trains are merged as one is cancelled then it turns into some kind of riot where the strongest willed wins.

53rdWay · 25/03/2018 09:46

I think it’s up to train manager’s discretion whether or not the reservations still hold when the system isn’t working. I have absolutely been on trains where it wasn’t working and there were announcements to say reservations were still valid and to go and sit in one of the unreserved coaches if you didn’t have one.

BlondeB83 · 25/03/2018 09:50

If there was space, I would move for someone who had a reserved seat and wanted it as she obviously didn’t realise that there were no reservations for whatever reason.

Belindabauer · 25/03/2018 09:53

This is why i hate public transport.

user365241987 · 25/03/2018 09:54

The seat is still reserved. Whilst there can seem to be lots of available seats, these could fill up with reserved passengers at subsequent stations and the person you moved out of their own reservation would be without a seat.Recently happened to me (an older lady had sat in my reserved seat for a long journey). I didn't turf her out but was travelling with a toddler and had to be ready to move at each station. It was a pain!

crunchymint · 25/03/2018 09:55

People here are acting as if people don't just bother to reserve seats. I haven't had reserved seats when

  • I miss a connection so have to get a later train. Always because my train was late
  • I am going to a meeting so I reserve a seat for when I think I will be travelling but the meeting over runs
  • I can't reserve a seat. In busy trains the companies only allow a certain number of seats to be reserved. After that you can not physicaly reserve a seat.
ConciseandNice · 25/03/2018 09:57

YABU OP

S0upertrooper · 25/03/2018 10:06

On some trains there's an electronic system on the luggage rack above. On some trains there are no reservation tickets put out. If you haven't reserved a seat you have to move.

rockinghorse3256 · 25/03/2018 10:07

They put them out when they have time. I know in many area they are making a lot of train journeys just one man (the driver) so he probably won't always have time. If someone has a reserved seat as annoying as it is for you to get up it's their seat for the journey. You should complain to the train company and not take it out on the customer who has reserved their seat. Whilst it seems weird for the person to have asked you to move, they probably did it conscious of the fact they could sit in another seat which is reserved by someone else. I often find people who have reserved seats is because they have a long journey hence they want to sit in the right seat from the start.

Thunderblunder · 25/03/2018 10:10

Maybe she bought her ticket and reserved her seat after the train had started it's journey.
I do a long train journey once a month and the electronic reservation screens above each seat always say that the seat is unreserved but this could change during the journey.

tiredbutFuckIt · 25/03/2018 10:22

East coast used to be a nightmare for attempting to “charge” you for a new ticket if you had sat in a different seat though, hence always a massive flap about who is sitting in what seat, as the alleged consequence for getting it wrong was £££££’s! Having always travelled on the (beautifully organised and simple) west coast which had “unreserved seating carriages” and DGAF about where you sat, I found the fuss really odd. Also I need a seat so I will turn people out so I get my reservation, it’s on my ticket, I reserve it for a reason. If my train is cancelled and I’m on a different one I can ask the guard to help me get a seat.

LassWiADelicateAir · 25/03/2018 11:37

Maybe she bought her ticket and reserved her seat after the train had started it's journey

You can't reserve a seat in those circumstances.

MaisyPops · 25/03/2018 11:46

I often find people who have reserved seats is because they have a long journey hence they want to sit in the right seat from the start.
This ^^
I only tend to reserve seats for long journeys of 3+ hours. I don't want to sit elsewhere because someone else is in my seat and then have to hunt for my seat later.

If it says 'reserved from york to london' but I get on at Doncaster and nobody is there then I sit in a reserved seat because they've clearly not got on.
Equally, if a seat is reserved from Leeds to York then I'll sit in it prior to Leeds (because it isn't reserved until then) and be ready to move when the person who has reserved gets ob

Thunderblunder · 25/03/2018 11:46

LassWiADelicateAir As I said further one in my post you can on the 2 trains I regularly catch.

UnicornRainbowColours · 25/03/2018 11:49

If you reserve a seat the number and row is on your ticket so yes YABU as the seat is reserved.

Jaxhog · 25/03/2018 11:55

If she has a ticket saying the seat is reserved, and there's somewhere else to sit, then you did the right thing when you moved. She booked the seat. It wasn't her fault that the train company didn't mark her seat as reserved.

Unfortunately, people do remove the reserved tickets from seats. I once reserved a seat from Bristol to London, only to find someone sitting in my seat - the reserved ticket was gone. He raved for almost 10 minutes about being a commuter and therefore entitled to my seat. He did give it up though after I showed him my ticket.

ForalltheSaints · 25/03/2018 12:02

I have always assumed it is because of a short stay in the departure station after a previously late running journey.

I have used trains in Germany and France with seat reservations and they have always been shown- maybe it is because their long distance services are much more reliable than ours.

sueelleker · 25/03/2018 14:42

I suppose you do get people who think because they 'always sit there' that that counts as a reserved seat.