Train passengers refusing to move

[HolyGuac]

Well, I'm really disappointed in the general public. AIBU to be shocked at the hard faced people in our sets refusing to move?

I booked train tickets and reserved seats about three months ago as we are having a special pre Christmas Day out with my two kids and husband.

Get on the train and the seat reservation numbers above the seats (the digital display ones are on the blink), it says from Euston...we are going to Euston, there are people in our seats who are refusing to move.

One said there's plenty of other seats, there are other seats but not in a table which is what i had booked.

We moved on found separate seats (two two's behind each other) I've been back to ask them nicely if they could move as there are no other table seats, this is a special trip etc etc they've flat out refused.
One said someone took Her seat which is why she moved to our seats, I asked why she couldn't have asked for them to move and got some blather about just taking any seat as the displays are not working!

I'm really disappointed by people today, what a bunch of arses. They are sat there knowing it's not their booked seats.
I would never take someone's seat like that.

I would wait for the report before coming to any final conclusions about that collision. The damage to the front end mostly affects the crumple zone which is designed to be sacrificial. Much as I find older coaches far more comfortable to sit in, I'd rather have a collision in a modern unit than a Mk1.

I wasn't coming to any conclusions. I was talking about the derailment of the 800 not the crumplezones of either unit, which of course are fibreglass. Mk3 coaches.

One Christmas I was travelling to Wales from Paddington and the station was rammed. They announced the Wales train and it was like half the station got up to move to the platform. However they stopped everyone at the barriers and had staff at various points on the platform to stop those trying to board avoiding the barriers. They only let through those with a seat reservation first then, they let the other passengers without reservations on. Was amazing but I've only seen it done once. I can imagine if they had just let people board, very few reservations would have been taken up as those trains get rammed.

@DdraigGoch - fascinating, thank you.

Often the displays aren't working but guards have told me unless there is an actual announcement, the reservations are still in action, and people who show tickets with the reservations can still ask others to move, is that right, that it's all about the announcement?

What happens when the train reservations aren't displayed on some seats, but are displayed on others (whether by those paper cards or the electronic displays), as I've sometimes seen, and there's no announcement that they're not in action.

Really interesting to the byelaw part. I've called Virgin and they told me there's no law of any sort and if the reservations are displayed and in action, it is merely up to the guard to decide whether he/she wants to do anything about it and ask the seat squatters to move. But if it's a byelaw, does that mean the guard can tell them this, and call the police?

Reservations are free, I know that, but they are an important reason for customers choosing one train over another, one operator over another. If I don't get the table seat I reserved when I'm working, my whole day, the reputation of my company (if I was prepping for a presentation), my earnings etc are seriously badly impacted.

Reservations are free, I know that, but they are an important reason for customers choosing one train over another, one operator over another. If I don't get the table seat I reserved when I'm working, my whole day, the reputation of my company (if I was prepping for a presentation), my earnings etc are seriously badly impacted.

The people sitting with you at the table may be noisy and stop you working anyway though. Surely if it is that important that you work and your company will suffer financially if you don't, it would be better to sit in first class.

Reservations often get cancelled because another train has been cancelled and it doesn't actually seem fair to force those who who have already waited extra time to then have to stand on a train.
I have been in this position before and as I'm disabled there's no way I can stand for hours on a train. I did sit in the seat that had been reserved. Nobody turned up to remove me or maybe they didn't try. I wouldn't have moved if they did ask though unless they were elderly or looked as if they might be disabled themselves.

@woodchuck99

The people sitting with you at the table may be noisy and stop you working anyway though.
Yes, they may be noisy and sometimes are. No, they don't stop me working, I usually have headphones.

Surely if it is that important that you work and your company will suffer financially if you don't, it would be better to sit in first class.
Sometimes I do. Sometimes first class with tables are fully booked. Sometimes it's far too expensive.

What point are you trying to make with your observations about my preference for a reserved table?

Involving the guard would have won your case...

No it wouldn't.

If the seat reservation system isn't working there's nothing the "train manager" can do about it. Seat reservations are always a gamble. They often don't work, but also people often reserve seats and don't use them.

What point are you trying to make with your observations about my preference for a reserved table?

Not saying anything about your preference. Just seems odd to rely so much on getting a reserved seat as they seem to get cancelled all the time nowadays. I wouldn't risk it.

@woodchuck99
Well, until I get my carbon-neutral Learjet, I don't have any other option. Not odd at all, that's the nature of my working life. I just do everything I can given the resources available to me.

People also move the reservation tickets about or throw them away. I've had this happen to me. It used to be considered an offence to do this. Now it no longer is. I assume it's to make it easier for the staff - when you see the sort of people who take seats that are reserved for someone else, it's not surprising. The world is full of arseholes who think the rules don't apply to them.

We travel into Euston regularly.

If the reservations arent working and someone is already in our seat refusing to move we sit elsewhere. Generally we then refuse to move because we do not want to constantly take pot luck on seats and being asked constantly to move.

If the reservations aren't working then you just have to make the best of it. That said, I dont leave the elderly, pregnant or those with babes in arms to stand and have given up my validly reserved seat to them before now.

The train companies need to sort this out. Overall it's their failure and passengers suffer

devereaux1 I can’t speak for other tocs but GWR wouldn’t announce like that. If the reservation system is down for any reason, then it’s down. You may ask someone to move if you have a reservation for that seat but they don’t have to.

Accidentially spilling a hot drinkis my go to,

Accidentially spilling a hot drinkis my go to,

If it's your 'go to' it's no accident.

Spilling hot drinks over someone deliberately is disgraceful.

Yep, I once stood all the way to Scotland (well, no, I sat down in a doorway in the entrance), because I'd booked a seat but the train was cancelled, two train-loads of people had to merge into one and it was hell! But a sort of Dunkirk spirit broke out and it has to be one of the more interesting and friendly journeys I've ever been on.

But my friend, who has an SEN son who simply couldn't cope with seats not being available, always panics about train travel in case of this.

But my friend, who has an SEN son who simply couldn't cope with seats not being available, always panics about train travel in case of this.

Yes, it is very stressful if you are disabled. People think the train companies will help in that circumstance but they really don't. I asked people to move if they are sitting in the priority seat and are disabled. So far that's worked. If it didn't I would sit in first class. If they tried to charge me extra I would make complaints.

are disabled are not disabled

@Aridane didn’t think the guard would do so as the reservations weren’t up. He did eventually move anyway when the other couple came.

I’m travelling a fair distance before a Christmas and tho I’ve never had a problem with my reserved seat, these threads make me panic!

I've seen a couple of post like this. The solution seems to be rather than call out the trouble makers, the people in the the right are just put in first class.

Ok, fine solves the problem in the short term.

But as the troublemakers have got away with it, doesn't it make this sort of behaviour more likely in the long term?

My friend's son is ASD, so 'seats for the disabled' aren't really appropriate in his case. If the seats he 'knew' were theirs weren't available, because of cancellation of all bookings, he would scream for the entire journey. My friend would be the one who would suffer.

The problem is with the train companies. It really shouldn't be THAT easy for the reservation system to break, but it seems to happen an awful lot.

If the seats he 'knew' were theirs weren't available, because of cancellation of all bookings, he would scream for the entire journey.

Zaphodsotherhead So don’t let him know what seats you have reserved, then if you get to them and can’t use them, he won’t be any the wiser. Simple solution.

So don’t let him know what seats you have reserved, then if you get to them and can’t use them, he won’t be any the wiser. Simple solution.

Serious lack of understanding here

This is why I drive with my children when I visit my Mum 4 hours away from us. It is so expensive and you are not even guaranteed a seat! The trains for us to London are really good at the weekend but we are only an hour away. Usually empty when we go up about 12 from Sussex.

My Mum visits from the midlands, gets in at Euston and it's usually pretty terrible. She is dreading the Christmas visit to my brother as she will inevitably stand, even though she is 70.