Lisa and I are travelling on a Cross Country train next month - long distance and it's likely to be crowded - so I dropped them. note (with journey details) asking for a reservation.


The Interrail people say that reservations are dealt with locally by the train operators - reasonable in many ways as common systems are not set up for all 33 countries and all TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) within those countries ... but if  TOC can't (or won't) reserve you a seat on their trains, who can?

Or pop in person to a local ticket office?  Chippenham?  Trowbridge?

Use them or lose them! 

On CrossCountry, I think not? 

Many thanks for that ...

Cross Country Reservations are like London Buses ... your struggle for one and then three come along all at the same time?

1. I wrote to XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise))'s main customer service department - who's contact details were given in that email "We don't reserve on our own trains unless you also buy your ticket from us - and we don't sell InterRail passes - so tough".  Not sure which pulldown menu I chose - "Complaint" perhaps though I am not typically a complainer.   Standard acknowledgement received ... no other answer

2. I note your 8 step process to get the reservation and it was on my agenda to do - but I still have over a month

3. On a visit to a city quite close to us, I went into the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) station there and asked at the open ticket office.  With proof of the InterRail pass, I spoke to a real human expert on these things and he issued me with the required reservations - actually 2 sets, because the first set was accidentally for later this month rather than later next month which I pointed out when I checked the tickets and he issued a fresh set

1a. Then yesterday evening I got an email following up last weeks' complaint to XC - surprise, surprise, issuing reservation in different seats in the same carriage on the same train as were issues during the day at the GWR station.

I feel slightly guilty at having two reservations for me and two for Lisa on the same train - unsure what to do with the spares. I am delighted to document ray951's third way but would feel even more guilty if I tried it out to give readers a complete rundown of options - but I do appreciate the advice!

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P.S. - Looking at the GWR website to book tickets for this train - I was gobsmacked at the price quoted. Almost one of those examples where it's cheaper to buy an Interrail pass valid for 4 days across 33 countries including 2 days in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) than to buy a local (UK) flexible ticket in the same class on the one route.

Certainly not claiming any influence here, most likely a coincidence - BUT - on Tuesday, I was in a meeting with Head of Passenger Service at XC, and at some stage in the morning, a Q&A allowed me to rattle of several XC problems that I had been storying up, including this one of reservations above the 60% mark (did YOU know that was a rule with XC? No more reservations allowed to be made once 60% are reserved? No, nor did they - but it is!) along with your interrail problem (general, no names, no pack-drill). And he said he'd investigate. Well, someone obviouslky did & located your query/complaint)

The 60% affair is being investigated urgently too

Firstbus pulled this off with a QR^▸ (QR Code - Quick Response code (2D bar code)) code linked feedback form on posters on buses a year or so back. 404 on the linked form.

Mark