Secret train cancellation?!?

[FloorWipes]

Back in May, being early bird, I booked an important journey Edinburgh to London for next Saturday with LNER. I booked direct with LNER. I downloaded my PDF tickets and they’ve been sitting there ready to go.

Today for some reason I wondered if the tickets would be easier to have on the LNER app so I downloaded it and logged in. My tickets are there - but it says “cancelled”.

I have had no emails about this.

If I try and book again, LNER is still running the a train at the same time.

What is happening? I’m feeling enraged.

I wonder whether it means you’ve already printed a copy and so you can’t use the one on the app (and flog the paper one to a mate)? DH thinks not, that they’d just accept the first ticket to be used.

YABU, this is perfectly normal in the wonderful cowboy world of privatised railways in the UK.

It would have taken you the same length of time as posting here to just contact LNER: https://www.lner.co.uk/support/. I'm baffled as to why you didn't do so.

LOL you are funny but LNER don’t know. My husband is speaking to them now.

The reason I am asking is because the most reliable info is going to come from someone who has experienced the same thing and can say what happened to them.

Surely 'cancelled' just means the tickets cannot be downloaded a second time?

This has happened to me before (although it was Avanti not LNER) and IIRC it was because I'd booked the ticket just before a timetable change so the train I booked just simply didn't exist after the change! I didn't find out until getting to Euston to travel. Was allowed to get on any train though, but annoyingly with no booked seat.

p.s the original train showed as 'cancelled'

Why would it mean that? Surely cancelled means cancelled?

So it’s definitely not this because I am able to download the e-tickets again and save them to my Apple wallet, and also share them with DH.

The phrasing is “This journey was cancelled. your booked journey has been cancelled.”

If I try and book again, LNER is still running the a train at the same time.

Your ticket will be valid.

LNER is not a private company

But what about her booked seat?

I'm blown away by your organisation OP I'm usually the one scrabbling about the day before I travel and paying astronomical fares

@listsandbudgets

But what about her booked seat?

Good thought.

OP can go and book a seat easily on the website now

Indeed, but it would be unfair on the German and Italian governments if DafT manage to run a functioning train system on the East coast in competition with their poor performance on over lines in the UK.

This. I was just coming on to say the same - I recently found out LNER let you book a seat in the app/website up to about 10 minutes before departure, provided there are still seats available

@ArthnoldManacatsaman

Ideally you do need to book it w while before the train leaves its original departure station as the at seat reservations don't change mid journey- they show as 'may be reserved later' but don't update to reserved when you book last minute meaning someone is likely to be in the seat as they have no idea it's reserved. It's a bit of a stretch claiming this system is effective by LNER tbh

Thanks everyone.

I think it’s going to be the timetable change explanation!

If I try and make a hypothetical booking on that train now, I am not able to book the 3 table seats I have booked under my original booking - so they are booked. But I suppose it’s fairly impossible for me to know if that’s because of my booking or someone else’s! Might find ourselves in a stalemate!

I think we will probably just chance it.

At least we aren’t travelling today when the whole lot are cancelled due to the weather. So many ways for things to go wrong!

Can you book another table of 3?

I would do that just in case

@tennine thanks, I didn’t realise that. I actually did mine the night before (train was cancelled and I knew we would be able to use our tickets on the next one but also that the next one would be super busy, so I booked new seats) but in my above post I was just repeating what I had read on the app

I don't know why you think it's "funny" to ask the company who you bought tickets from about the tickets, they own the systems and can confirm of your ticket is valid, if the train is running etc. You should follow up and get an answer, escalate if necessary.