Who was unreasonable train staff or passenger

[Chaoscreated]

Name changed
I am travelling today and witnessed a commotion between train worker and a passenger.
I do not have all specific details.
the train is around a 3 hour journey but there was no reserved seats and was a super off peak train.
due to cancellations of other trains this train became very busy.
I got on the train and there was no seats available in the carriage or the ones either side.
a women was getting on with a child and 2 large suitcases and a backpack.
she was getting assistance but they left as soon she boarded. There was no room. We were all at this point hovering at end of carriage by the doors.
the child got emotional and cried that she couldn’t stand that long.
the train worker came past and the women had asked if it was possible to pay to go to first class and explained that Her DC was disabled. They said there wasn’t any way but
then told us all that carriage A had seats but we couldn’t walk through the train and so the first stop we could get off and walk down and get back on.
women explained that it might take them a while because her DC is not very fast. She did not specify what was wrong with her DC but she seemed to have some form of tube.
they told her as we were standing right there they would have time and not to worry they would not Leave with out them.
the DC then sat on the floor until the stop.
myself, sister and 2 other men got off to make our way to carriage A. We did not have luggage so got off faster, anyway after she got her luggage off the train, she ran behind us but fell behind because of DC.
eventually they joined us on the carriage but there was a commotion
1.the train worker had got stressed with DC on the platform and started shouting they needed to move faster as train was going to go without them. 2. no one assisted like the said they would. 3. Due to her being the last of the group who got back on from original carriage the 4 available seats were now taking by the other 4 of us.
she wants a refund and he was saying it wasn’t their fault nothing they can do so she was going to put a complaint in. By the this point the whole Carriage could hear what was Going on.
she stood by luggage area and Dc sat on floor.
was she unreasonable ?

Note from MNHQ: please read the OP's subsequent posts before responding. She's admitted this thread is a reverse (and apologised for it!) but would still like MNers' opinions.

Why do people do that? My answer is just the same although obviously not aimed at OP any more if they were on receiving end.

Oh FFS.

What's the point in doing this? Reverses are really annoying.

I'm sorry about what happened to your DC, and you. But you must only YANBU.

so you and the other passengers didn’t help her with her luggage, raced her to the other carriage and nabbed the last few seats leaving a disabled child to sit on the floor? You’re a bloody disgrace should be fully ashamed of yourself. Train staff should have been more understanding and helped as well, but how could you leave the poor woman to struggle by herself?
When my eldest DD was a baby I took a train journey to see a friend and got locked on the train- it was busy and I had folded my pushchair. by the time I had waited for a bit of aisle space to get my pushchair out of the luggage rack and got my baby and bags the train had cleared of everyone else and the staff locked it and rushed off without checking first to see if it was clear. Other passengers had pushed past me and rushed off, no one offered to help. was the days before train phone charging ports and after my long journey I had just enough battery to quickly ring my husband with instructions to notify the transport police. Managed to get off the train 2 hrs later.

I have recently been in a similar situation. Train journey between 2 cities arrived with only 2 "Sprinter" carriages. Rammed to the doors. I am disabled and struggle to get on and off train at the best of times. Finished up standing and rammed against the sliding doors to the outside. No-one could move along the train - good thing no-one wet themselves! - ticket collector could not go round, ditto refreshments. In the end some kind soul could see my problem and offered me her seat.

It is a total disgrace - I could have booked passenger assist - but that would only have helped me on the platform and not helped with the massive overcrowding.

I received a partial refund.

This poor woman - the guard should have escorted her and her DD to the new carriage and helped with their luggage, but they are so fraught that they just do not have time - if the train is late then the passengers are entitled to refunds so their main priority is to keep it on time.

I am also surprised that you and the other passengers who changed carriages did not help her.

ah ok, so you have just announced it’s a reverse. In that case, YWNBU, very unkind of the other passengers

Ahh op what a rotten thing to happen. I would have totally lost it in your shoes! It is disgusting that no one assisted you, if they had helped with your luggage, you could have carried DD. I hope you can relax now and have a wonderful holiday

Exactly this. Wtf

That's disgusting, but sadly I'm no longer surprised at this kind of thing.

i don't know about a total refund, the train companies are in a real state, but definitely a refund of the difference between your booked ticket price and a random ticket.

try to put it behind you and enjoy your holiday!!

@Thewallsof

It's a reverse (read all the OP's posts).

What was the proof?

You are not being unreasonable. I fainted once when pregnant. Only other person to
Offer me a seat was also pregnant.

Just sat on the floor in the end.

Unpopular opinion but if you are responsible for a disabled child and are travelling you have to be prepared for a no seat scenario in the event of not being able to book and you have to accept that not everyone is going to want to help you.

If you can't manage or cope then you have to rethink your travel arrangements or being someone else with you to assist. Or even a collapsible wheelchair.

Saying that, in the circumstances you describe I don't know why you or other passengers didn't help to carry her luggage so she could assist child in moving along the platform in a hurry.

Sounds like a really stressful start to your trip @Chaoscreated I hope the responses have reassured you that we are not all as inconsiderate as the people around you today.

I didnt see it was a reverse before I posted.

You are responsible for your child and in an ideal world it would be great if other people helped but you cannot expect this so the onus is on you to travel with a disabled child as best you can.

Kicking off at train staff was unreasonable.

God you were all so selfish

But OP had booked seats, the train company then pulled them due to other services being cancelled. No matter how hard one tries, there is literally no way to blame this one on op.

It makes me so sad that anyone would think this way. 'Your disabled child is your problem OP, why should anyone help you'. Pathetic. Sadly OP encountered 4 people like you today.

That's terrible. Back in the day, the conductor had discretion to offer seats in 1st Class to some Standard Class passengers in the event of overcrowding (East Coast line).

You would still have had to get off though, to get there.

Once trains get cancelled, and/or run late, it is a challenge for Network Rail to keep everything co-ordinated - probably why staff felt a sense of urgency. But that is no excuse for the way you were treated.

Really puts me off using trains for long distance

I need to sit down and couldn't stand for long

It may be an unpopular opinion. It's certainly unkind. Trains are a form of public transport. They are meant to be accessible. Pre-booked passenger assistance often goes wrong when there are problems with the trains. It's also wrong that so many stations and trains are still so inaccessible that a person with a disability can't 'turn up and go', like other passengers.

OP - what an awful start to your holiday. In the past train managers used to have the authority to open up 1st class. I wonder if that's been stopped. I'm sorry that nobody helped you and am shocked that the other people better able to stand took the seats.

I’m so sorry you and your daughter were treated this way and they and the staff should be ashamed of themselves for not helping you. You should definitely complain. It really saddens me people have become so self centred and selfish 😞

In the past train managers used to have the authority to open up 1st class. I wonder if that's been stopped.

I was on a train recently where the previous one was cancelled, and they wouldn't even let people who had First Class tickets for the previous train into that train's First Class. Because in their opinion TPE's First Class (the cancelled train) is worth less than LNER's First Class (the next train).

It made for an interesting argument to listen into😄

FutureThroughLensofthePast That's awful! After all the passengers couldn't get the train for which they'd booked. That's not the same as buying an advance ticket and trying to use it on another train. It really needs sorting out. Some train companies are much better than others too. One train company in the north cancels almost all its trains. By contrast, the London Overground has really improved compared with the past.