To think that it should be possible to get a guaranteed seat on a rail replacement bus if you have a ticket for a specific service at a specific time?

[MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack]

Just that, really. If I have a ticket which specifies a particular journey at a particular time, with reserved seats on connecting trains, I don't expect to be told that the rail replacement bus is "full" and that I will have to miss the connecting train?

AIBU to think that they should honour my ticket or provide me with alternative transport such as a taxi to enable me to make my connection?

I completely agree with you but suspect the train companies hope that the threat of rail replacement buses will put you off travelling by train, thus saving them money.

Yeah, you're probably right. But sometimes people have no choice but to travel!

Yanbu. I agree that if you can prove you have tickets for travel and its cancelled/replaced, they should have a responsibility to ensure you get to your destination either by replacement bus or taxi.

I agree completely with you OP
I have never understood how you can buy a ticket for a train, but not even be guaranteed a seat!

That depends on the ticket. You can buy tickets for a particular service, or tickets for any train.

OP... if you miss your connection due to delays your ticket should be valid on the next one.

Replacement bus services are terrible. I booked train tickets then found out it was a bus replacement - I was charged £66. The ordinary bus fare between these two fairly large towns is £8. I had a terrible time trying to get a refund of my 'train' ticket. They had the cheek to offer me an upgrade to 1st class for another £10. What the hell is 1st class about a 3 hour bus journey? Maybe a personal butler service and champagne on tap.

Even if you manage to get a seat on a rail replacement bus, there's no guarantee that it will get you to the next station in time to catch a particular connecting train (as it tends to be a but slower than the original train would have been).

I think the train company should ensure they charter enough buses to accommodate everyone on the cancelled/ affected train (and they could easily have asked the on-board team to tell them what numbers to expect) - but it's unclear exactly what you were told about the replacement bus - 'sorry it's full, and there aren't any going to be any more' or 'sorry that last one was full and yoiu'll have to wait 30 mins till the next one leaves'.

The people who tend to suffer the most when there are replacement buses are disabled passengers who use wheelchairs (if they're not able to physically board the bus - they really should be provided with accessible taxis as an alternative) and cyclists (who will have booked a space for their bicycle on the original train, and are often told that the replacement bus can't carry them at all).

On the bright side, surely you'll be able to claim compensation for the delay to your journey...

To be fair - rail companies can and do pay out for taxis and hotels if needed. Albeit it might be begrudgingly.

For me, I’m young (20s). I accidentally got on the wrong train due to another delayed train arriving at the platform at the same time as mine, it was a long distance train and last train of night. I told staff who offered to arrange for me to get a taxi home (must have cost hundreds). Luckily I didn’t need to go for that as they made an extra stop for me to get the train I intended to, they were doing everything to help cause they didn’t want me alone at night with no way to get home.

On other occasions, I just pay for the taxi and ask for a refund afterwards. The other week, trains were randomly delayed mid day and I think service resumed within the next 1-2 hours. I booked a taxi and explained I would have been late to a meeting, the refund of both train tickets and taxi just hit my bank
account.