To ask for your helping tweeting @LNER

[ghislaine]

I’m on a crammed train, standing room only and no response to my tweets from @LNER - no guard in sight nor any announcements. Any MNer with a few seconds spare to help with a Twitter storm would be so so appreciated. My twitter account is @SmallstatesQM. Head of LNER Comms is @KateLNER1. Thank you!

Not sure what would help tbh, hope you're journey isn't too difficult. I had to talk down a lady with claustrophobia on a journey the other day, literally couldn't move. Like you've said, it gets to be a h&s risk after a certain point.

Well, a bit of publicity might get them to respond, at least!

I wonder if you are on the same train as me; we got on at York just after 3pm, going to London Kings X train.
The reserved seating system isn't working, no one is in their booked seats, and I'm standing as I'm not mean enough to ask the child in it to stand (it's less the standing that's an issue tbh, more that people keep squeezing past - dragging their trolley cases - to look for seats / find the loo, and the aisles are so narrow that my legs are taking a bit of a beating!)

I'm not mean enough to ask the child in it to stand

How is that mean?

Surely it's up to the adult with them to stand up and give them their seat if they want them sitting down?

Yes that’s the train! Apparently all the reservations have been cancelled. In my carriage a woman is standing up with a baby in a sling.

WorraLiberty I'm a healthy adult and able to stand - the adult with the child is an older person so it felt kinder to leave it as someone else is in their booked seat (and so on; with the only staff member we've seen saying that seat reservations are "cancelled" anyway, it's not like the staff are encouraging / supporting people to stick by the original bookings)

Ghislaine I've just added to your tweets. People in my coach have been a bit better - seats given up for pregnant and elderly people - but the aisles are pretty rammed. I hope you aren't too uncomfortable!

I’m not sure what you want them to do? If the reservation system hasn’t worked, then it hasn’t worked. If you think it’s too busy to be safe, then you should get off.

What do you want from LNER? An explanation of what’s gone wrong? I don’t see what else they can do. If the train is as full as you say, the senior conductor probably can’t get through the train.

I’d guess that a previous train has been cancelled/failed, so you have two trains-worth of passengers on one train.

Wouldn’t asking people to give up their seats be more efficient than asking fandoms to tweet head office? Not sure what the train crew could do, if then train is that packed they will struggle to walk through, and I don’t think they have any power over telling people to move.

Ask them, use yours and others power of persuasion.

Also, I commute on packed trains a lot. I will always offer my seat to those more in need, but I also read my book. If I’m reading and engrossed in a good bit, I’m not paying attention to what’s going on around me. But I will always respond if someone asks.

You should be entitled to a refund through the seat guarantee scheme
www.lner.co.uk/customer-service/seat-guarantee/

Err, randoms, not fandoms!

I think a simple announcement would have gone a long way.

If the train is as rammed as you are saying, then how do you expect the train manager to get through?

Train crew can declassify first class to allow standing passengers the chance of a seat, apologise, make an announcement explaining why this has happened. Even if they also can’t get through the carriages they surely can use the PA system? A little communication goes a long way.

I can’t get off this train as it’s a non-stop service.

@LNER is usually answered very quickly. They have a really proactive and sweet comms team.

They block you if you tweet stiff they dont like- ie any kind of complaint.

Finally an announcement! Hard to believe it took over an hour.

And has that now magically made everything better?!

I'm not sure what you want them to do?

What announcement were you waiting for? They should have done an apology for overcrowding and basic train info but maybe they’d just done one before you got on.

It’s slightly mollifying to have an acknowledgement that this is not ok rather than an acceptable state of affairs.

My take-away point from all of this is that my expectations of service and communications are clearly unreasonable.

I use a lot of trains and they are getting more and more crowded- one the other day, the train manager kept making announcements apologising & explaining refund process - and at the destination she apologised once again and said 'I just don't know what else I can say really...' and tailed off. She sounded so sad I nearly went to find her and offer a hug!!

@Kateplaysrugbyinmydreams - my guess is either to bump her to first class or give her compo.