Seat Reservations on FGW

[whole diary]

[devon_metro]

removal of seat reservations leads you liable to a fine however, despite it being issued chances 0.

As FA says; technically you should but it will be fine to sit wherever you want so long as it's the correct class of travel and isn't already reserved.

[inspector_blakey]

However the seat allocated is fairly poor (corridor seat, no window alignment)

Potentially asking a silly question here, but how do you know...? It may depend on which of the two different HST^▸ (High Speed Train) seating layouts you're travelling on (high density with 2 fixed tables vs low density with 4 fixed tables) which you won't know until it pulls into the station. And the seating layouts in different cars are different too (B,D,E all similar but A and C different).

[matt473]

Potentially asking a silly question here, but how do you know...? It may depend on which of the two different HST^▸ (High Speed Train) seating layouts you're travelling on (high density with 2 fixed tables vs low density with 4 fixed tables) which you won't know until it pulls into the station. And the seating layouts in different cars are different too (B,D,E all similar but A and C different).

I suppose with the service being to Swansea, in theory it is supposed to be a low density set so you could make an educated guess

[inspector_blakey]

I know it would probably be LD in theory but from my observations on Swansea services since the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) were refurbished there doesn't really seem to be much rhyme or reason to the allocation of LD vs HD sets, and indeed many diagrams include both duties that you would expect to be LD and HD sets (I have a feeling for example that there's an Oxford-London HST that gets to Paddington and then heads for Carmarthen).

[super tm]

I've just bought a really cheap Twyford-Swansea AP ticket (^13.00), and as such have been given a seat reservation.

However the seat allocated is fairly poor (corridor seat, no window alignment)- am I required as a part of the AP discount to sit in my allocated seat, or can I go and sit in any unreserved one? (for the sake of fairness I would remove the card from my reserved seat)

Thanks.

Technically yes

In reality

Unless its sardines at dawn

Nope so long as you are on the right train

Just remove the ticket from your seat so some other person can sit there

The penalty for the unauthorised removal of the reservation ticket is ^200 !

[inspector_blakey]

True, but has it ever been enforced? In the real world, I really don't think that a train manager is going to (a) notice or (b) care if you remove the reservation ticket from your reserved seat, provided that there aren't any other reservations printed on if for further along the journey that you would be removing too!

Obviously pinching the ticket from someone else's seat and sitting it is a rather different matter.

[Tim]

I would argue that a passenger has an implied authorisation to remove the ticket from their own seat.

Tim

[super tm]

I would argue that a passenger has an implied authorisation to remove the ticket from their own seat.

Tim

As long as it is their own seat.  Quite a few times they get the wrong coach / train or seat number.

[inspector_blakey]

That I can easily believe, having been ordered out of my seat twice by a rude pensioner (not the same one both times, I hasten to add) who demanded that I move despite the fact that they had the wrong carriage. On neither occasion did they even have the decency to apologize when I finally managed to make clear to them that they were in the wrong place!

[devon_metro]

I know it would probably be LD in theory but from my observations on Swansea services since the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) were refurbished there doesn't really seem to be much rhyme or reason to the allocation of LD vs HD sets, and indeed many diagrams include both duties that you would expect to be LD and HD sets (I have a feeling for example that there's an Oxford-London HST that gets to Paddington and then heads for Carmarthen).

All Laira allocated sets are 'Low Density'. Old Oak Common sets are 'high density' and some contain mini buffets.

[adc82140]

Certainly won't be sardines- travelling at lunchtime on a Thursday.

I'm booked in coach B, so went to have a look on the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) I was on yesterday. There was a micro buffet in coach F, so I guess that was an HD set. TBH^▸ (to be honest) forgot that there were HD and LD sets around.

Do the seat reservations still have your surname printed on them? I'm sure I would then be "authorised" to remove it.

[Chris from Nailsea]

No - surnames no longer appear on seat reservations: Data Protection issues, apparently.

[d5351]

All Laira allocated sets are 'Low Density'. Old Oak Common sets are 'high density' and some contain mini buffets.

Only LA01 to LA16 are low density. LA60 - 64 and LA71 - LA76 are high density.

[XPT]

I very rarely sit in my reserved seats.  Gave up doing so long ago, as most of the time my reserved seats are either facing the wrong direction, table seats, or aisle seats.   So I usually just find a suitable window seat which is unreserved and the adjacent seat also free, and sit there instead.

I don't ever remember surnames appearing on seat reservations.  When abouts was this stopped?

[readytostart]

I don't ever remember surnames appearing on seat reservations.  When abouts was this stopped?

You do still get them with surnames on though it's generally when something manual has been booked such as group travel or journey care. Name appear on my reservation summary, in the computer (XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) Voyager) and on manual labels if they are printed. Not however on the scrolling screens (takes forever for them to scroll anyway). I'm guessing FGW^▸ (First Great Western) would be similar as the reservations come from the same database.