Transport for Wales and seat reservations

[whole diary]

[Mark A]

It seems that TfW don't offer seat reservations for the moment. Given the changes to their services between Cardiff and Holyhead + Manchester, isn't this a thing that they need to be doing? Particularly given that they're selling increasing numbers of e.g. advance purchase fares including for 1st class.

https://tfw.wales/ways-to-travel/rail/travel-information/reserve-your-place

Mark

[IndustryInsider]

On a recent trip on a loco hauled set from Wrexham, the legacy reservation system for the ex-ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line) carriages were telling me that my seat was reserved from Kings Cross!

[Hafren]

They seem to have stopped during Covid, and never restored the offering. I think CDF^» (Cardiff - next trains)-PMH is the same.

However, with current stock shortages combined with new stock working its way onto the network, stock allocations are very much in flux at the moment, so it might be for the best not to offer proper reservations until things are more settled.

[grahame]

They seem to have stopped during Covid, and never restored the offering. I think CDF^» (Cardiff - next trains)-PMH is the same.

We have "Seat reservations without a seat" on Severn and Solent services.  The Inverse (white on black) symbol "R" in timetables means "Seat reservations recommended" which is the case on the 12:45 (Sundays) Westbury to Swindon:



If you book a "seat", however, it come up as seat ** in carriage * ... and when you ask the train manager where to find that seat he says "sit anywhere"

Edit to correct typos

[Hafren]

They really need to differentiate between reservable seats, which are helpful for those who particularly want to book a seat (but only of use if the reservations are genuinely provided) and reservable trains, i.e. trains that count as the specific booking and not a suggested connection for advance purchase tickets. At the moment, except on 'proper' InterCity services, it's one of those examples of nonsense language that the railway likes to throw around, especially when the reservation is 'recommended'.