To expect to sit on an empty train seat?

[NellieTheElephant1]

Travelling on a busy train to London, lady wearing a mask sitting on a window seat with her bags next to her on the aisle seat. No other seats available nearby. Asked her politely 'excuse me please' indicating that I wanted to sit there. She mumbled 'sorry no I need to distance'. Surely if you're that worried about Covid don't travel on public transport at busy times?

I'm a railway guard (not on your train OP, mine don't go to London). Half an hour before you posted, I was making announcements threatening to charge people for having bags on seats. I also went through "offering" (in the "it isn't a suggestion" sense) to assist people with putting their bags on the overhead racks.

Unless, of course you have reserved a seat (free to do).

Not all routes offer seat reservations.

Even if she has to travel by public transport, (oh the shame), she doesn't have to behave like a selfish arse.

Nellie has 3 threads in total on MN under this name.

Looks as if she doesnt come here often or name changed.

One post today and nothing else.

Covid might have been an excuse. But if someone is sensitive to covid, you could say "well I still need to sit down but will wear a mask". In my view people should still be wearing masks on public transport where possible anyway.

And I don't believe guards make announcements about bags. In all the years I've commuted I've never heard one. So I'll add those posts to the "things that didn't happen but sound good on social media" section.

@SirGawain who is the most selfish? The OP who wanted to sit next to someone who said they were distancing? Or the woman who was possibly trying to keep herself or her family safe?

I know who'd I choose and its not Nellie.

If someone went to the bother of saying they were distancing I'd respect that and not just assume they were telling lies or being selfish.

There are some horrible, cynical and truly uncaring people here.

Had someone said that to DP maybe he'd have shut them up by saying he has stage 4 cancer and was being careful not to get ill and make himself feel worse.

And I don't believe guards make announcements about bags. In all the years I've commuted I've never heard one.

They do on both the LNER and Scotrail services i use weekly.

So I'll add those posts to the "things that didn't happen but sound good on social media" section.

And I will add you to the hard of thinking section.

Sorry but you're projecting massively on this thread. Of course the person is BU to not move her bag.

So instead of doing what any normal adult would do and say, I’ve paid for a seat, and your bag is taking up the last one in the carriage, if you don’t move the bag, I will, if you want distance YOU are welcome to STAND elsewhere”…

you post on Mumsnet.

fgs! Woman up and deal with this shit.

I've definitely heard guards making announcements about bags on seats occasionally on full trains. Not funny snarky ones but straightforward "this train is very crowded so if you've got a bag on your seat then please remove it" ones. And given that I have also heard funny snarky announcements from guards on other subjects on other occasions I can well believe that the two sometimes combine.

And I don't believe guards make announcements about bags

oh yes they do @ 😀

I’m astounded that people who are vulnerable think they have a right to deny someone a seat. You have no idea what that person is going through either!

I am physically disabled and CEV - I don’t expect 2 seats purely because of that. How utterly selfish would that be? I’ve had to occasionally get the train into central London for hospital appointments. I can’t stand for very long. It’s just one of those things.

We are 2 years into the pandemic. There are vaccines (the most vulnerable are on their 5th now!), antivirals for outpatients with covid and other treatments and clinical trials if you’re unfortunate enough to need hospitalisation. People have to stop acting as if their vulnerability to Covid is the only vulnerability.

Yes - I have heard this on Cross Country, Great Western, LNER and Transpennine. Recently also heard a train manager asking people who had empty seats next to them to pro-actively offer them to people who were looking for a seat in case people were too shy to ask.

Cheeky bugger. She can stand by the doors if she wants to distance.

Hope she budged her stuff

And I don't believe guards make announcements about bags. In all the years I've commuted I've never heard one. So I'll add those posts to the "things that didn't happen but sound good on social media" section

So you have been on every single train ever ran then? Wow that's some doing....except you weren't on the Bristol to Manchester one December 2018 obviously.

I am a non driver so I travel a lot by train and I've heard bags-on-seats announcements frequently - I'd go so far as to say such announcements are standard on busy trains.

I just ask them to move their bag - I don’t do passive aggressive or sit in bag or make sarcastic comments

But the difference is, you've said you'd move your bag. That's reasonable. The woman the OP encountered, on the other hand...

If someone wants to ensure the seat next to them stays free, they need to pay for two seats.

I'd have told her to move them so I could sit down. If she didn't I'd have moved them myself or got the guard. If she wanted to distance herself from passengers, her best place was standing next to the doors.
not a cat in hells chance would I pay to stand on a train journey while somebodies luggage sat down!

Even if they did pay for two seats, it would still look mean not to let someone sit down.

I agree it would. But if they'd reserved two specific seats they'd at least have a bit more justification imo. Not that I'd do it myself.