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.

They normally put on an 'unreserved' carriage where it's safe to grab a seat en route. The train manager directs people there if the train is getting busy. Of course, the whole thing goes pear-shaped if the train is shorter than it should be .

Also, I've noticed the priority seats are often left unreserved, but of course if you sit there you'd have to be prepared to move if someone else needed them.

I travel mostly on SW & GWR trains, don't pay for reservations.
That I request forward facing table seat in the quiet carriage next to the window, and find the seat reserved is facing backwards, airline style next to the aisle and not in the quiet carriage is a mild irritation!

That happened to me and my friend once, someone refused to move out of our reserved seats. My friend told them she was sitting in her seat regardless of whether or not they were in it. They still refused to move so my friend plonked herself down on the womans knee. She moved pretty quickly. She is known to be extremely petty though

Years ago, I used to do a regular long-distance train journey for work. I made a note of the numbers of seats I liked and used to book those specific seats for myself if they were available (the travel agency we used at work used to bring up a diagram of the train so you could choose your seat when you booked your ticket).

When I was little we still had stream trains. Anyway I loved train journeys during the 50's, 60's and very early 70's. I've been out of the country for 45 years and I'm shocked to read how it's changed! We used to be so polite. It was our thing. Men would jump up to give a lady their seat etc.

PS there were no booking ahead either. You just bought your tickets at the station. British Rail. And it was inexpensive.

There was so much more space in trains in the old days. They didn't try to pack you in like sardines, and there were no 'airline' seats - you either had a table or faced over a gap.

I like going on vintage trains, and the contrast is disappointing.

However, I do acknowledge that modern trains are much more crashworthy. The old Mk1 and Mk2 carriages would just splinter.

@ScreamingValenta

You didn't see any pictures of the recent collision between a new class 800 and the good old class 43?

Front end of the HST was bashed as was the azuma which is expected given they are fibreglass, the azuma derailed and the sturdy old workhorse HST remained on the track.

I didn't expect a refund

cabbageking So why did you say you would ask for one?

The problem is they have got away with it,so will try it on again

The problem is they have got away with it,so will try it on again

Got away with what? They sat in an UNRESERVED seat.

part of the problem is also people reserving seats and then NOT sitting in them.

The problem with this is that they sometimes turn the train around from what was shown when booking, which means my reserved seat is useless to me as it’s now facing backwards.

That said, I will always take the paper reservation away from my seat if not using it but again you can’t do that if it’s the above display kind.

I think if you want an absolute guarantee book as far as you can in advance and get an advance first class, which is often not that expensive.

On occasions I was known to ask ridiculous people, in my very best scary teacher/librarian voice, whether their bag REALLY required an entire seat of its own when I had a reservation. Followed by a very hard Paddington stare until they gave in. These days I might use my native clumsiness to get the same result....

I just politely ask people to move their bag(s) and they do so. I why bother with sarcasm and a dirty look?

@changeforprivacy No, I missed that - I will look for it!

It was more the carriages I was thinking of than the locomotives, if you can call Azumas locomotives.

They almost never have advance first class tickets on X-Country and Virgin because there's usually only one first class coach. GNER have loads, though.

I had a MUmsnet moment yesterday. I got on a busy train, a few people standing , no free seats except one guy about 20 had his tennis Raquets shaped bag on the seat next to him.
I asked if I could sit down please and he said no, he needed it for his bag. I said I think I need it more than his bag. He said that it wouldn’t fit in the luggage rack. I said unless your bag has bought a ticket you’ll need to move it. I asked where did I suggest. I said I’d put it on the table or your lap. So he did and I sat down
Cue much huffing

They didn't try to pack you in like sardines, and there were no 'airline' seats - you either had a table or faced over a gap.

And good old compartments. You could get an awful lot of people sat in there.

Oh, yes, I used to love travelling in a compartment with my family when I was a little girl. It felt so cosy.

Take photos. Then if they won’t move, threaten to sit your kids on their laps! You have paid for those seats, if someone has sat in hers, she should have sorted that, not caused another problem for someone else. 2 wrongs don’t make a right!

Take photos. Then if they won’t move, threaten to sit your kids on their laps! You have paid for those seats, if someone has sat in hers, she should have sorted that, not caused another problem for someone else. 2 wrongs don’t make a right!

Don't be ridiculous

Then if they won’t move, threaten to sit your kids on their laps! You have paid for those seats, if someone has sat in hers, she should have sorted that, not caused another problem for someone else.

There was no problem, as none of the seats were reserved and the OP and their family had seats all along. They were just being incredibly 'special' wanting better seats for their better bottoms.

ScreamingValenta Virgin (soon to be Avanti) have 4 first class carriages (G, H, J & K). If it’s an 11 car Pendolino, they have 2 additional standard class coaches (usually F & U) that are unreserved seating. If it’s a Voyager then yes usually only 1 First class coach (unless it’s a double set). Cross Country use a mixture of Voyagers/class 43/class 170 so don’t always have many first class seats.

I work in the industry. If reservations are not displayed they are not enforceable. On the OP's train there was nothing the Guard could've done beyond begging them to move. If reservations are displayed correctly then remaining in a reserved seat is an offence under byelaw 19.

You do not pay for a reservation, they are free. You can go into any booking office before the day of travel with your ticket and ask for one if they are available. There is no charge for this. Some operators do offer compensation if you have reserved a seat and end up standing. CrossCountry do offer walk-up reservations where it is indeed possible to reserve a seat just before your train arrives (10 mins?) and turf out someone who has travelled all the way from Aberdeen. It's an awful system. Unreserved seats have "may be reserved later" signs so if you don't have a reservation and don't want to risk having to move, you'll just have to find a space in the only unreservable carriage (Coach B on five car trains, there isn't one on four car trains).

It is possible to reserve a priority seat if you need one (elderly, pregnant etc.) you should be able to do this at the ticket office or over the phone. Ticket offices can sell all of the same advance fares as online retailers, without charging a booking fee.

@changeforprivacy 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.