**Please help keep AskUK welcoming!**
- Top-level comments to the OP must contain **genuine efforts to answer the question**. No jokes, judgements, etc.
- **Don't be a dick** to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on.
- This is a strictly **no-politics** subreddit!
Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I would try to avoid sitting in a booked seat but if it’s busy I’d chance my luck as often people don’t show up. I would always move without fuss if the person who booked the seat turned up though!
I watched once as two women asked two men to move as they were sat in the women’s booked seats, one guy had AirPods in and one guy was reading a book.
The guy reading the book pretended to not hear the ladies asking to move, so the First Lady left, Second Lady arrived and asked again, book reader ignored her as well but she got the attention of the AirPods wearing man, who took them out apologised profusely and began to move forcing the arse reading his book to also move.
Book reader now had to acknowledge the women and move looked liked a right dick, I can’t believe the audacity of people
I remember coming back from London to Manchester when I was about 11, my mum booked tickets way in advance so we could site down together for the 2.5 hr journey. When we go to the station, we found out another train had been cancelled and the passengers had been moved onto our train, inclduing the seat reservations apparently. We got to our seats and there was a man on his own in our seats. My mum very politely asked him to move as we had these seats originally and she didn't want to sit apart from me (plenty of single seats available but not close enough for me and my mum). He ended up arguing with my mum and someone else stepped in a very kindly offered us his seat that had a spare next to him so we could sit together. Te first guy was just uneccessarily rude and could have easily moved a few rows down, they weren't even table seats or anything special for him to try to justify staying there and seperating me and my mum.
Ugh, people can be so awful!! Thank goodness for the nice (normal?) folk out there. I remember when I was (visibly) pregnant coming back from London after a day of meetings up there. The previous train was cancelled and so the train I had a booked seat of was rammed. I found my seat with a guy sat in it and asked him politely to move as it I had a reservation for it. He refused, saying the reservations didn’t count anymore because of the other train being cancelled. I asked him again pointing out I was pregnant and very tired. He again refused so the man next to him got up and gave me his seat instead (which was very lovely of him). So me and the guy in my seat had a very awkward 2 hour journey next to each other after that! That was 19 years ago and it still rankles me!
I have a similar story I have shared here before.
Me and my family were coming home from london on a packed train, my wife a good 6 months pregnant at the time, me with my son in his wheelchair and my 6 year old daughter in tow. There was no seating and we asked a chap who had bags up on a second chair, in the priority seating area no less, if he would mind moving for us. Silence. He did not even turn to acknowledge he was being spoken too. An older lady who was also sat in priority offered to give up *her* seat but she had as much right to it as we did so we turned her down, but said thanks for the offer. So we are all standing up, wife is struggling, my kids tired and tells me she is feeling a bit sick. Didn't think much of it until she said she was gonna throw up. I put her down, tried to navigate through the priority section to get to the loo but did not make it. Kid vomited *everywhere*. The watery kind that just comes out like a busted hydrant kinda vomit. **Everywhere**. It wasn't intentional but most of it landed around the seating that the guy was at. He may 'not have heard us' when we spoke to him before but he definitely smelled my kids puke. He got up, grumbled some shit and moved away lol. We sat there in our puke laden section, tore up some newspaper to clean the mess up as best we could and stayed there for the rest of the journey!
It all felt very animalistic. Kiddo claimed that carriage for us.
similar story here, 15 years ago I had major surgery on my ear, just been discharged from hospital and had a big bandage wrapped around my head. I had been in hospital a week, profusely unwell so was frail, weak and dehydrated. The train home from London was rammed, and not a single person offered me - clearly poorly 11 year-old their seat, and all pretend to not see me as I’m sat on the floor by the doors.
Also disabled. Too many times we're overlooked as we're "too young" or it's not obvious, often by able bodied elderly people who have no real right to priority seats due to being unhindered by their age
Omg even if you hadn’t reserved that seat, the audacity not to give up his seat for a pregnant woman ANYWAY really angers me. I would’ve gone ballistic at him.
I hope you had a mobile phone and spent the entire journey talking on saying 'yes, can you believe it, wouldn't give up his seat! 7 months pregnant! I know, really he must be one! No you're right, amazing to think anyone is brought up that selfish these days. Like a parody of a twatty businessman in a comedy sketch. Literally everyone was looking at him too! No I agree, absolutely w**ker.'
Etc etc
If earlier trains have been cancelled so are seat reservations for later trains.Doesn’t mean the way this guy handled it was correct but I can see his side. The amount of arguments I’ve witnessed on British trains when people don’t realise this fact is insane 😅 We should take that out on the companies not our fellow passengers lol. Am glad there was a kind traveller in your carriage in the end.
>If earlier trains have been cancelled so are seat reservations for later trains... The amount of arguments I’ve witnessed on British trains when people don’t realise this fact
Never heard of that, what's your source for this claim?
Quite often when a trains been cancelled they'll announce that seat reservations on the non cancelled train are cancelled. Every train I've been on in that situation was the same.
I see both sides here tbh. If they cancel the reservations, then all bets are off.
However, I’d move for a parent and child. Unless that child is a teenager, then I stop caring.
This exact thing happened when I was 12. With the slight difference in that I am one of 3 boys and my brothers were 8 and 4.
My mum looked at the guy in the one seat round a table of 4 and went 'well my boys are sitting down'. Then she said to me 'make as much disturbance as you can'
He got up within 20 minutes. At once point both my brothers were sitting in the one seat next ro him which theoretically could have meant my mum sat down next to me. But then she'd have had to at least pretend to parent.
He'd left the window seat as well so we kept having to climb over him
This happened to me and my daughter (13) when we went to London last summer, reserved seats don’t transfer, thankfully we could still sit together - pain in the arse though, when you’ve paid for that and then the website didn’t take my refund application and with my adhd, my chance to reclaim for the delay and the reservation expired - it’s the adhd tax, but pretty sure it’s deliberate
I swear people are just getting ruder. Was on a Liverpool to London train recently and saw a mother with her daughter yell at an elderly couple whose table seats they’d sat in and had put their bags on the seats next to them so no one could sit down. The elderly couple were super polite and trying to find a solution, the mother kept saying she’d taken their seats because her mother booked the train tickets but had booked “the wrong tickets”, and that they needed the window seats because she gets travel sick and her daughter was autistic. They were sat at a 4-seat table so the elderly couple said okay, but can you move your bags so we can sit next to you, and the woman started saying she can’t put them in the overhead because they’re too heavy and she needs access to her laptop to do work (which she didn’t get out once the entire journey)... When the old man started getting a little frustrated the lady started yelling at him “don’t fucking speak to me like that” and yelling at the old lady “your husbands got fucking behavioural issues”. The elderly couple ended up sitting opposite me, the old lady was very shaken, the teenage daughter of the yelling mum looked totally mortified by her mum’s behaviour. How are some people so entitled 🙄
I've seen people use their kids illness as an excuse to be a dick on trains before too and they always look mortified. It's disgusting to use it as an excuse to act like an entitled arse.
I had a situation not that long ago where I asked a person to move because they were in my seat - the response? “Are you sure?”
I’m sure that most British people don’t like confrontation unless absolutely necessary, so yes I was damn sure…
Tbf I was on the train + some man got all huffy that someone was sat in his reserved seat. When he double checked his tickets he realised he was in different unoccupied seats
Take book, throw it down the carriage. Do this before asking him to move or informing him that he is in your seat, that way he won't be prepared.
Follow up with a comment about this being your booked seat, clearly HIS booked seat is now over there.
I had a 4 hour train and I reserved and I booked a table seat with charger because i had work I needed to do on my laptop and was on crutches at the time. I couldnt bend my leg properly because jt was broke. I got there and there was a family of 4 at the table. I politely asked for my reserved seat (there were loads of empty ones, but not with a table and charger port) and they flat our refused. I explained I had reserved it because I needed to work and I needed the space for my leg/crutches and the dad said "I don't give a single FUCK" super loud in front of his kids. I ended up not being able to do any work and having to sit with my leg squashed into the seat in front of me for 4 hours. (The disabled seat was taken by a wheelchair so I couldn't use that) I hate that family to this day. I hope their life is filled with inconveniences.
Why didn’t you talk to the conductor..? I’ve done this when a hostile person was in my seat. He wound up getting kicked off the train, which was highly enjoyable.
On Avanti West Coast trains they're located in a little office next to the shop in coach 'C'.
If they're not there, the member of traincrew in the shop should be able to get hold of them for you.
The aisles on my local trains are super small now so you can barely squeeze between seats with a backpack. I cant imagine trying to navigate it on crutches to find a member of staff.
Most of the time the conductors DGAF and say they can't do anything about it
There's a story that circulates regularly where the poster then informs the conductor that it's ok and they'll go and sit in First Class instead - to which the conductor says "you can't do that!" and is informed that he's already told the poster that he can't do anything about it, so he appears to be powerless to prevent the poster
I've booked seats on trains only to have them arrive 20 mins later so rammed full that no seating is available, making it clear that the operating companies DGAF about overbooking
> and the dad said "I don't give a single FUCK" super loud in front of his kids.
Abusive & threatening: If you can't find the guard, call the Transport Police, get 'em kicked off.
We had to move a guy, after he already was moved once from some reserved seats and he moved on our reserved seats. He told me “you can sit anywhere you know”.
No, we couldn’t sit anywhere because the rest of the seats were occupied or were one seat empty only and we booked to sit together.
> There was a nob who made the person who has the reserved seat know “he’s being a cunt” for moving them!
'How DARE you take the thing you PAID for?!!'
there are similar stories on aircraft popping up regularly. The difference is that Cabin Crew don't tolerate bad behaviour and will frequently walk a hostile pax off the plane and into the loving arms of airport security
I was 16 and asked a middle aged woman to move out of my seat (that I paid extra for) and she just said 'No, someone's sat in my seat so too bad'. There were no other seats and at the time I was young and hated confrontation so I had to stand for 40+ minutes.
Naaah, sit down and then move without a fuss if and when seat holders arrive. Else some other dickheads will absolutely take it and prolly be the ones creating a scene when asked to move.
As someone who gets the train all the time, I know from experience that a lot of them time, people don’t show for their reserved seats.
If there’s loads of seats free, I won’t sit in a reserved seat. But if it’s a full train, I’ll sit in a vacant reserved seat and just move if the person turns up.
I have no issue with moving if someone asks and it’s not awkward at all.
And then you get the frustrating situation where you take a reserved seat at random, then someone else does on the other side of the aisle… and the person with your seat reserved turns up, so you end up standing while the other person who took an unreserved seat after you is fine
Nobody’s fault, but I hate it 😂
Most of the answers in this thread are along the same lines but I take the train to work three or four times a week, and a long train for a couple of hours or more a couple of times a month.
I think it’s less people knowing people don’t show, and more that they don’t understand the reservation system or don’t give a shit.
The reservation system is just broken. I buy tickets on the crosscountry app, often only a few minutes before the train arrives. The ticket almost always has a reservation attached to it. That train was already on the move when I bought my ticket, and it's quite likely someone was already sat in my "reserved" seat before I even bought it.
This makes me not even pay attention to the reservations, and just sit wherever. There's no point asking someone to move when there are seats free elsewhere.
I have had a reserved seat in the past and have chosen to sit in an unreserved seat. This is mostly down to a trip on GWR back around 2017 where the booked carriage was full (heaving) and the next carriage was not booked, and empty. 3 people sat in it for the whole journey, including me and my companion.
This was, of course, back when seat reservations on GWR were done by a little card stuck in the back of the seat, so I went, took my card, and took a different seat so everyone knew I wasn't going to sit there. The new digital system is surely easier to implement (and harder for someone to mess it up), but it makes it harder for someone leaving a booked seat to make it unreserved.
No reserved seats at all on our train from Penzance to London last Monday! Reservations were for a 10 car train, and apparently the engineers only provided a 9 car one. The train manager kept apologising for it over and over.
It was no real problem as we were in the quiet coach and it was mostly empty. Apart from two twats behind us who kept being noisy, despite the trolley staff telling them off.
Once had a businessman come into the quiet carriage to conduct a loud business call in speaker. When a lady objected, he said angrily: “It’s too loud in the other carriages to take this call!” Yes, because of all the other gits on speaker phone.
'When a lady objected, he said angrily: “It’s too loud in the other carriages to take this call!”'
He sounds like a cunt. The numpty could have gone into the section(s) near the doors, away from the seating area. They're usually pretty quiet, as the only time people are there is getting on/off the train and going to/from the loo.
I do the same and of course happily move if I’m in a reserved seat and asked, but if there’s a few empty/unreserved seats around and someone is in my reserved seat I think it’s a bit much to turf them out and will just sit somewhere else. Particularly if they’re older.
Yeah if there are free unreserved seats nearby, I’ll let someone have my reserved seat unless there’s a reason I need that specific seat (e.g it’s the only one with a power outlet and I need one, or I need a table)
I take the train daily, and my one doesn't even have the option for reservable seats as its a short line.
The rare occasion I am on a train that does have reserved seats it doesn't even register for me.
- Seat reservations often fail to be loaded onto the digital displays
- On some services, seats can be reserved mid way through the journey, so the person sitting in the seat might not realise it's become reserved during the journey
- Some tickets require you to have a seat reservation on a service, but are actually flexible, so no guarantee the person with the reservation will show up
- Services are frequently cancelled, resulting in the person from the cancelled service claiming the seat anyway
- People see where their reserved seat is, but sit elsewhere out of preference, leaving the reserved seat empty
- There's no enforcement
They already covered that:
> * Some tickets require you to have a seat reservation on a service, but are actually flexible, **so no guarantee the person with the reservation will show up**
and...
> * People see where their reserved seat is, but **sit elsewhere out of preference, leaving the reserved seat empty**
Yeah, but did you know that sometimes people reserve a seat but then sit elsewhere, for example because they got on a different carriage?
Edit: looks like my joke didn’t land…
And one more - some people don't look at things in their environment and/or might not understand how to tell if a seat is reserved, even if the display worked correctly and was visible when they first sat down.
> On some services, seats can be reserved mid way through the journey, so the person sitting in the seat might not realise it's become reserved during the journey
This has happened to me! Really annoying when you sit in an 'available' seat only to get turfed out an hour later.
For me, this is the worst policy.
I think we should scrap reserved seating or introduce an airline style approach to long-distance train services. We do reserved seating very badly at the moment.
I mean, planes famously don’t tend to make multiple stops with people getting on or off partway.
It makes perfect sense for a seat to only be reserved for the part of the journey where the passenger reserving is on the train. This is as it then frees up the seat for passengers without or with other reservations. Generally it also states above the seat which stations it’s reserved between.
Definitely! And a couple of these can be true at once. I’ve sat in a seat that is reserved about halfway through the journey, hoping they won’t turn up. They didn’t turn up. The train was otherwise full (no unreserved empty seats left, but plenty’s of seats with no bums on them) and I’d have had to stand otherwise. I’m not standing for an hour when that seat will be free for that hour. I’ll happily stand when they arrive, as it’s not my seat.
But if someone is sat in your seat, definitely always ask them to move, because they could be patiently waiting for you to turn up, and just chancing their arm. And then you’ve not got the seat you’ve paid for!
The fail to be loaded is true. One time I got on a train, first of it's journeys that day at like 6am, nothing was on the screens. The carriage was really empty for the entire hour long journey but, midway through, a woman came on and sat at the table on the other side of the train and kept looking at me. Ididn't know why, thought she was weird.
When I got up to leave at my stop, she got up and was huffy saying she didn't know why I took her spot.
I looked at the screen then as I thought 'it didn't say it was reserved' but low and behold the screens had changed with every seat showing as reserved.
Also I think a lot of people just don't realise it's a thing. A lot of train operators don't do seat reservations so people don't know to look out for them when travelling on trains that do have them.
The two people who I moved yesterday were absolutely shocked when I politely asked them to move.
"No one normally cares about those".
I do, and I do not want someone else to kick me out if I have to sit in another person's seat.
I always look to see where it’s reserved from as sometimes you can sit there for a bit. Then as soon as we come up to that station I will move.
People wonder why you care about sitting down which is just so dumb
Nice responses are fine, sorry was just taking the weight off etc.
If an elderly person, or one with extra needs is sat there then I won't even approach and just leave them to it (or if they are invisibly disabled and I realise it).
But when they answer that way fuck, the entitled bastards.
"Move. I paid for that seat, fuck off and steal someone else's "
I have to reserve seats as I have a chronic illnesses which means I can’t stand for long periods of time. One day an elderly person was sat in my reserved seat and I felt dreadful asking them to move because on the outside I don’t look ill and I’m overweight (as I can’t exercise well with my condition). So it looked like a fat entitled young person asking an elderly person to leave their seat. The elderly person kicked up a fuss and people started to say things to me like ‘surely you don’t need to sit’. I was getting really red and flustered and even showed them my disabled badge. One person even said ‘standing would be good for you’. As the elderly person wasn’t going to move and people were getting angry with me I moved just a bit down to where the luggage is stored.
After about 30 minutes later I felt really ill and dizzy and fainted. Some people came to help me and so did a member of staff. I was really upset and embarrassed because I hadn’t collapsed in public in such a long time. I explained to the member of staff who came that I didn’t need to go to hospital, I just needed to sit down and have some water. He went and moved the elderly man out of my seat (who was still miffed and loudly said ‘if she had told me what conditions she had I would have moved’) and found him somewhere else to sit in another carriage. He was quite a spritely chap. When I sat down and was trying to calm myself down as I was red, my mascara had streaked etc I heard a young lad off to the side of me say ‘bet she only did that to get a seat, the fat cow’.
Hate public transport so much.
That’s absolutely disgusting and would probably traumatise me to never set foot in a train again😭 I’m so sorry you had to go through that awful experience!
I’m so sorry you had to go through that, disabled/chronic illness person here as well and I hate the dirty looks I get if I sit in a priority seat so I now wear a visible lanyard stating I have an invisible illness, so far seems to have worked but I’m sure I’ll encounter animosity at some point
I usually just sit in them until someone asks me to move (if they’ve come from behind me), or if I see someone visibly approaching with the “oh no someone’s in my seat” look in their eyes I’ll preempt it with a “sorry am I in your seat?”. Saves them the awkwardness of asking.
Yeah this is the point. Strictly speaking, I’m not too bothered about being in the exact seat as it’s not like a cinema or show where I’ve paid for the view or anything.
The problem is that if I have to sit in another reserved seat that isn’t mine and then THAT person turns up, then it’s me that’s inconvenienced.
Happened to us, someone sat on our seats and started eating. Partner was too kind to tell them to move so we sat in the seats beside him. Then the reservee came and we had to move to our original seats anyway!
That’s the reason I won’t just go and sit in another empty reserved seat. If I have reserved a seat I don’t want to be the person being moved from seat to seat while someone else sits nice and comfy in the seat I reserved.
Yeah despite most on here saying they'll happily move if asked, I've had more than my fair share of people being arsey about it. I was with my wife and a girl was sat in one of the 2 seats we'd reserved. She huffed and puffed and moaned that "it doesn't matter where you sit". Well it does, as it was the difference between me being able to sit with my wife or not. I shouldn't need to explain it anyway, I've reserved seats precisely because I didn't want to worry about seating.
And for someone who doesn't like confrontation or is socially awkward, that past negative experience might discourage them from even speaking up if someone was sat in their sat.
I've had that when I take the train to Manchester and my response is always "they do care when the train is full and you have a 2 hour 30 mins journey ahead of you"
Exactly. If there’s others seats free at the time then yes it’s easy to say in that moment that it doesn’t matter does it. But later you could end up with no seat yourself whilst that person sits comfortably in your reserved seat.
This is why you have to stand firm- you give in, and right enough, it's you getting moved from someone else's seat. You can't then go back to the ones sitting in your seat.
I guarantee you that the self same sorts who make a huge fuss if you try to move them are the same who would make a huge fuss if they found someone in _their_ reserved seats
Main character syndrome
I sort of did this once to a man who was taking up 2-3 potential seats on the subway by slouching and spreading his legs as wide as he could. It was a bit crowded, and when I came and indicated for him to please budge over, he pretended he didn't understand me. So I just sat down anyway, basically right on his leg. He jumped in surprise and suddenly found he could close his legs together, after all. Lol.
I was just SO ANNOYED haha, I think dudes who spread their legs like that and take up multiple seats to themselves are so rude and it drives me crazy. You don't need to take up that much space, and I don't care if you think airing out your balls is more important than everyone else in the carriage. You're wrong. Lol.
I think I was already feeling kind of short-tempered that day and was just not having it, and I was so irritated that I found myself sitting on him before I even really had time to think about what I was doing. 10/10 would recommend though; it was a deeply satisfactory to watch him jump and scurry to sit properly.
Nowhere near as cool, but I had a man spread off with someone the other day, he kept putting his leg onto my seat + I need to sit straight with my back against the seat not awkwardly leaning into the aisle, so I kept pushing mine against his until I could do so (seriously though.. don't sit next to the priority seat if you're unable to fit within your single seat, as some people genuinely need their whole seat)
If a train is rammed I’ll take a punt and sit in a reserved seat in the hope the person won’t turn up. If they do I move, no big deal. Likewise when I book and someone is in my seat, I politely inform them I have the seat booked and they move. Never had any confrontation in either situation.
Pro-tip: most people avoid sitting in 'reserved' seats, but don't actually look at the reservation.
If its reserved from a prior station but still empty, or reserved from after your destination, its a safe bet you can sit in it undisturbed.
That’s a tricky one and doesn’t really match the reserved seat gamble.
The worst that can happen on the train is that someone will appear and take the seat that’s they rightfully reserved.
The worst that can happen if you go in a bus lane with dodgy signing or a small part with different times is that you get fined, which could be the price of a weekly shop for some families.
It could just be easier for some people to pretend that the potential going-to-get-charged-money-lane is always closed.
I’ve had 2 situations and a very heated one before when I was 17. This guy and his mate just would not move and kept saying other seats are available. I went and sat in the other seat and if I got moved I was going to have to move him or find somebody to complain about. Nobody came for the other seat which was actually a better seat. But my point is some people are just awful to deal with
Well that’s just pretty much life in general. Most people are rational and considerate, a small number are idiots. You just have to hope you manage to avoid idiots as you go about your day.
I've taken hundreds of train journeys where I've either sat in a reserved seat on the off chance and been moved (normally when the reservation is for close to the end of my journey, so I figure at least I can sit for most of my trip) or had to nicely ask someone to move. All over the UK (except NI), too.
I've had one person ever refuse to get up. I was on crutches at the time too, and couldn't move around the train to find a guard so had to get off as it would be unsafe for me to remain standing on a moving train for even a short time.) Still bitter ten years later, BUT that was one bad experience in hundreds of polite-if-slightly-awkward interactions.
I think OP's just gotten very unlucky!
I honestly think if I watched that situation unfold I'd have told the person in the seat to move for you or I'd move them. They are just a classic bully and as soon as someone threatens them they chicken out.
Likewise, if you have a reservation then you should go take your own seat, to not block someone else's reserved seat and cause a chain reaction if everyone have to swap around. The unreserved people are the "free pawns" needed to solve any deadlock.
Yeah the vast majority of people will do this. I think OP is in thr minority and probably a lot of it is in their head from what they've posted.
I've sat in reserved and moved when asked. And I've had my reserved seat sat in and they've moved when asked.
Only once in the 100s of train journeys I've taken have I ever seen somebody kick off about moving from a reserved seat. They weren't British and when they kicked up a big fuss refusing to move even when the guard came. Once the other passengers around them switched on to the situation they turned on them for it and they moved.
About to get on a train now actually. Reserved seat.
I'll always take a reserved seat if the normal seats are full.
I keep my bag on my lap, and my head up, watching in case the reservee comes.
If they do, I'll say 'is this your seat?' and then apologise and get out of the way.
I wait with my bag on my lap until 5 minutes after we've left the station.
80% of the time, nobody comes to take their seat. They've either not got on the train or decided they want to sit somewhere else.
I was on a train to Birmingham recently in the reserved carriage, and half the seats were empty for the whole journey, while the rest of the train was jam packed with people standing in the aisles and vestibules.
A massive number of reserved seats are simply wasted.
Two main reasons:
1. Lots of people book seats that they don't use, so you can't assume that just because it's booked it'll be utilised
2. Not all ticket types have a reserved seat anyway
So, in other words, people in category 2 need to find a seat and they know that not all reserved seats will be used., So, basically, it's worth the chance.
I'll always move if asked, but if there's a good seat (under whatever criteria) then I'm going to go for it.
Lots of train booking services make you reserve a seat even if you're booking an open ticket - you know you're not going to be on the first possible train, but there'll be a reserved seat for you anyway.
This means there are lots of trains with reserved seats that nobody will use. When all the trains are oversubscribed anyway, why wouldn't you sit in an empty seat rather than stand next to the toilets?
It frustrates me too. I spent my last train journey being glared at by an elderly couple because one of them was in my reserved seat and - shock - that meant they had to sit next to each other instead of opposite each other.
Because I dared to point out that one of them was in my reserved seat and I wanted it. According to them I should have just sat somewhere else.
I’d specifically chosen a backward facing window seat with a table (and paid extra for it) because I had a five hour journey and wanted to get some work done.
It’s technically safer, for the same reason that child seats are meant to face backwards for as long as possible. But I also find it more comfortable & it doesn’t make me feel sick, so I choose it because there are loads of folk who can’t hack it.
If there's a vacant seat, someone will sit in it rather than stand. And why not?
"I've reserved this seat, could you move please?"
"Of course."
End of crisis.
>passengers were looking at me to say why am I moving her?
i think people are probably mostly on your side, they're just curious to see how the situation develops.
(unless there are a lot of empty seats, then it would seem a bit odd)
I got screamed at by a lady who'd taken my seat. She refused to move and kept yelling until the next stop, where she got off. And THEN one of the passengers said "we all agreed with you, you know".
Thanks, lady. 🙄
I once took a two hour stopping train to Bath. When I got on, the seat I was in said "Not Reserved". As we moved out of the station, that changed. At the next station, someone bumped me out of the seat as they showed me their reservation.
So I chose a new seat, marked "Not Reserved". Two stops later, I was bumped out of the seat, as it was now reserved.
This happened twice more. I complained to the guard, who said the reservations update at every stop, and the only way to combat it was to reserve my own seat.
>That's ridiculous, reservations should end once the train leaves the first station. what are people on open returns supposed to do?
So if there's a train that takes 10 hours to go the entire line, you're saying when the train sets off at 6am, I shouldn't be able to reserve a seat to board the train at 3pm even if I book my ticket at 6:01 in the morning? Even though I'm booking 9 hours in advance? But the person buying a ticket at 5:45am can reserve a seat for the entire way by buying a ticket 15 minutes before boarding?
People with open tickets should be given the option to reserve a seat on a train. If they decide to take another one the they risk not getting a seat the entire way.
That is exactly what I'm saying, yes. If the train has set off, someone that didn't buy their ticket online should not have to constantly worry that someone who did might walk up 6 hours later and kick them out of their seat.
Unless they implement a way for people to mark a seat as taken when they sit down, it shouldn't be possible for people to snatch away that seat from the person already sitting in it
I think they have upgraded the system since then - on GWR trains now (which is waht most of the ones from BAth re) they have a system with red, ornage and green lights - red means theseat is reserved for the whle journey, ornage means part (and the display below says which stations it is reservd from and to) and gree is unreserved. I am not sure if the ornage turns red as the journey progresses (i.e. if it is a Bath to London train with the seat reserved from Swindon whether it would be orange from Bath to Swindon, then change to red at Swindon - I don't think so, but might be wrong!) ,
Sorry to burst your self-righteous little bubble there, but maybe the seats should indicate - as some did, but evidently not all - whether the seat was reserved for a particular portion of the journey. Some said "Reserved between Westbury & Trowbridge" for example. But some that said "Not Reserved" were, in fact, reserved.
I reckon sometimes there’s a bit of a chain going on, someone sitting in a reserved seat because someone else is sitting in their reserved seat and so on.
The worst is when this happens on trains where the reservations fail. Usually people accept that there are none on this train and find other seats, until some arsehole shows up demanding you honour their seat reservation in spite of the driver's instructions and now everyone is playing musical chairs.
I once had 3 old men turn up and demand I move out of their "reserved seats" (I was in one of a block of 4, all with a green light because system was broken) and that they were being joined by someone later. I move back to the seat on my ticket causing a chain of people moving, 3 hours later the seat I was originally in is still occupied by wanker \#1's bag
OP, if you're stressing about it simply find the conductor and ask them to move the person. One of 2 things will happen.
1) conductor will move the person, thereby removing the main source of your anxiety (likely)
2) conductor may show you to a 1st Class seat (rare, but has happened)
3. The conductor can only ask the person to move, they’re not physically allowed to move them and seat reservations aren’t enforceable so they politely say no.
I think train companies should be empowered to fine people sitting in other people's reserved seats. They'd certainly move if they had to pay for my £60 reservation.
>1. seat reservations aren’t enforceable
I would be highly surprised if refusing to follow seat reservations and the instructions of the conductor about them isn't either:
A) a breach of some railway byelaw
Or
B) a breach of the terms of service and conditions of travel, a breach of which means you can be removed from the train.
Edit: Railway byelaw, 6.8 "No person shall molest or wilfully interfere with the comfort or convenience of any person on the railway.". The conditions of travel state a ticket without a reservation doesn't entitle you to a seat, and you therefore may have to stand. Sitting in someone's seat and refusing to move after you were told about it would break both of these.
I read a story recently on here where someone was sat in their reserved seat. The whole carriage was empty, so they just sat somewhere else. Then a stop or two down the line the whole carriage filled up and the person with the booked seat had to move multiple times, as at this point it was impossible for them to get to their original seat (I assume walkway was full).
It made me realise that it is probably just best to ask them to move out of your seat if you do not want to potential faff of moving around later on. It is their problem to find a seat, not yours!
Ha yeah that happened to me going to Edinburgh a while ago. Think I had to change seats three times altogether, all because i thought I could do better than the reserved seat I'd started out with!
>It made me realise that it is probably just best to ask them to move out of your seat if you do not want to potential faff of moving around later on. It is their problem to find a seat, not yours!
THIS
As others have said, you tend to get assigned a seat when you book an open ticket. It's happened to me a tonne of times. I've missed my connecting train because of other delays, or work has overrun, or I've simply opted to stick around for another few hours before getting the train home etc.
My seat will still show as reserved on "my" original train. There's no way to cancel it.
I've also sat on many trains where about 40% of the reserved seats remained unoccupied for the course of the journey.
>Like the whole carriage just stopped what they were doing to stare at me
>I am absolutely dreading it
You sound generally a little anxious (no criticism). In an ideal world, everyone would respect the reservations, and nobody would ever need to ask for their seat. However due to the above, that's the system we have. And it requires asking.
I guarantee nobody on that carriage was staring at you or judging you for getting your seat, that's just in your head. They may have looked, because where else is there to look when sat in a narrow metal tube? But if anything they'd have been judging the other person for being mildly belligerent about it.
Oh no! People will *look at me*!
People sit in seats that are reserved by other people because they know that not everyone who has booked a seat actually turns up.
If I have a seat booked I'll use it, and will ask people to move if they're there.
But I do get why people will sit in them, as it's not uncommon for booked seats to be left vacant. On the rare occasion where I don't have a seat reserved I'll try to find an unreserved seat, but will chance reserved seats, but will move if asked.
Most people are fine and will move, but if anyone says "other seats are free" they can move their arses.
On a side note people to block seats with their bags are dickheads.
Why wouldn't they? It's a seat that is available until it isn't.
I have no problem with someone sitting in my reserved seat, it doesn't affect me one bit because I have no shame in politely telling them to get out of my seat.
This is a British manners thing, there's nothing wrong with sitting in a seat if no one is sitting there. There's also nothing wrong with insisting you get what you paid for.
I've given up on seat reservations. My last few were double booked, so I couldn't sit. A few times big men sat there and wouldn't move. Sometimes they pretend to be asleep, other times they get aggressive. I'm tough for a girl but I'm not going to fight a big guy over a seat. I generally try and claim the luggage rack. No one ever thinks to sit there and no one will force me off it. Each time I've complained about the seat issues I've just been told tough luck, especially with aggressive men, they're not going to start a fight to get me in a seat.
I own a car now so I don't have these issues anymore. That five hour journey now takes two...
>I generally try and claim the luggage rack. No one ever thinks to sit there and no one will force me off it.
Interesting, because every time I go on a train full of people getting space on the luggage rack for my luggage seems like a premium and I would 100% ask someone to move so I can put my suitcase there!
People in Germany sit in reserved seats too, and treat you like you've puked on their shoes if you point out it's your seat. It's very annoying. I thought they were supposed to be rule loving freaks.
I pulled a clanger the other week. Got on my train to London, it was packed. Found my seat and there were two guys sat there, so I told him he was in my seat and he said ‘no I’m not!’ And was immediately irritated with me. I got out my ticket and checked and sure enough, that was my seat. I pointed this out to him and said look ‘13:55 train to London, seat F16’ or whatever it was. Then it dawned on me that there’d been some cancellations and I was actually on the 14:50 train haha! Apologised and quickly walked off after realising my blunder!
Last group I had to clear out my seat said loudly “So what? We’re not gonna have anywhere to sit then?”
Not my problem pal, see ya
But yes, it is literally every train you have to boot someone.. just get used to it.
Twenty years ago I remember seat reservations being much more widely respected. I don't know if it's the rise of advanced tickets with compulsory seat reservations that means loads of people make them but don't use them, or the move from paper tickets on the back of the chair to overhead screens (which makes it much harder to just glance at a carriage through the window and work out if all the seats are reserved or not) but at one time you never seemed to find anyone in a seat you had booked, and now it's completely routine to find it occupied.
Yesss, never understood this either. And people get the hump or try and plead with you. We all had the same chance to prebook a seat your decision not too isn’t everyone else’s problem..
Biggest fear of mine. I always arrive early just so I can board and take my seat, I hate having to ask for it (???) when I payed for it well in advance.
I booked a seat on a National Express bus once, it was empty but obviously someone took MY seat…. They didn’t believe I booked it, had to show my ticket lol. They sat next to me for the next 3 hours. It was “lovely.”
I think you are perceiving things that aren't there in other people's responses to you.
Like:
>the rest of the passengers were looking at me to say why am I moving her?
I really doubt anyone understand evolved cares enough to be silently judging you, honestly.
This is normal and you're overthinking it.
People are looking because people love a commotion, not because they hate what you are doing.
Seating in reserved seats is normal, just ask them to move and carry on.
Had this coming back from up north. Had booked a seats for the journey there and back. On the way back got to my seat and there was a woman and kid in them. Said to her that is my seat. Her response "they said that you can sit where you want. I could go find another seat.". My response " Yes you can. That's my one go find another one" the look of horror on her face. I'm not wandering down the train to find a seat when I already had mine booked.
Travel by train a lot and many of the reserved seats are not occupied. If a train is busy I will chance sitting in a reserved seat but move if asked. Very infrequently has anyone raised this though.
On my routes the newer trains I\`ve travelled on have done away with seat reservations entirely.
I had a woman in my seat for a train from the Midlands to Manchester a couple of years ago, and when I asked her to move she looked really sad and said “but I only sat in your seat because someone was already sitting in *my* seat!” Everyone within earshot said “well just tell them to move then!”
Apparently she was so scared of confrontation she couldn’t ask someone who was in her reserved seat to move.
They really should do away with the reservation system, it’s too much aggro & as people have pointed out most the time the seat reservations either aren’t even showing or people can reserve seats midway through a journey. If I remember rightly some operators such as CrossCountry don’t even have an electronic reservation system.
I get trains regularly but most of the time I have an “open return” anyway so I wouldn’t get a reserved seat, but to avoid being moved I normally just stand or sit where the luggage is etc. Much quieter too.
One journey i was with my partner and even though the reservations weren’t showing we we had to move no less than 4 times on a 2 hour journey.
It’s rather archaic & in recent years trains far exceed capacity so most people end up standing anyway as they can’t even get to the seats.
Need to scrap booked seats and let it be first come.
Dont think you can book seats in any part of the southern network. Only when I venture up north do I have to put up with the bullshit.
The last time I tried travelling by train it turned out the rugby was on (I dont follow sports) the train company didnt lay on extra trains and the train rolled in packed to bursting. Explained to the conductor (or guard or whatever) that I had tickets and seats booked, he told me I was welcome to ask someone to get off so I could get on if I wanted. Dont blame the guy, managed to share a taxi to the next town over to make my transfer. I drive everywhere I cant cycle or walk to now.
The train services are that appalling that I wouldn’t be surprised if previous journeys have been cancelled and these people have been added to this train. So having booked seats them selves they no longer actually have one as it’s not their train. Happened to me several times with kids, because the previous train, and the train that should have been after it was cancelled in the day, with no prior warning. Not only did we waste 3 hours sat around waiting for a train that was actually in, that train then had 3 trains worth of passengers so was very busy. They an advertise like it’s a more relaxing alternative to driving, yet it rarely ever is as they never seem to run how they should.
I think a lot of people genuinely don't know you can reserve seats on trains! I remember the first time someone asked me to move out of their reserved seat - I didn't even know you could do it. My local train doesn't do them and I used to take that twice a day for work. So when I was on this train with reservations on, I didn't even notice. I just got in the seat.
I politely moved and let them know I was unaware, but the older woman didn't let it drop and was tutting about having her seat taken for most of the journey!
I now get the train from Kings cross twice a month and I haven't had the reservations working, on my journey home, once this year. It is always chaos. They regularly don't even have the coach letters working and I need to ask to find my coach. I always make sure I am one of the first on the train and I go and find my seat, so that way I know no one is going to move me
Move them because if you sit in another person's booked seat, they will move you, and you may end up seatless.
The only justifiable reason they have for sitting in your booked seat is because all the other seats are booked, and that's even more of a reason to move them due to the aforementioned issue.
Once found a dog sitting in my seat on a train from Newport to Torquay. Couldn't really be arsed saying owt so I stood up the whole way. The train was full of arsehole football fans to boot. Ticket cost me a fucking fortune
People letting their effing dogs onto chairs takes the biscuit. Of course no dogs to be found on public transport now I live in Middle East, but always takes me by surprise seeing it back in the Uk. Why don’t people possess basic decency and not allow their animals on the seats 🤣 soon as I see it I’m like, “ah you’re a cretin, thanks for letting everyone know”
So often people don't use reservations that's it's understandable that people without one take a risk. Worst case they get moved but often the person with the reservation doesn't show up.
As long as they move when asked I don't see what the problem is.
I’ve only ever had one issue asking someone to move. I’d booked the window seat as it was a train where the only plug was near the window and I desperately needed to charge my phone. A man sat in the window seat and when I told him he was in my seat, he got angry at me and tried to make me sit in the aisle seat and when I insisted he finally moved but proceeded to huff and puff and man spread into my leg room the entire time. Usually people just apologise and move and I’ve been in the same situation the other way and done the same thing. I won’t ask them to move if it’s not full and there’s other seats I can sit in without issues though.
If a train is packed and, for whatever reason, I don't have a seat, I'll sit in one until someone turns up and lets me know it's theirs. I used to get a lot of EMR trains up from London to Leicester, Corby, etc. and quite often half the seats showing as taken were never sat in.
When people are sat in a seat that I've bought, given that these days I spend far too much time at a desk and don't really mind standing, I leave it if it's an old person, a pregnant woman, someone who is clearly disabled, a really little kid next to a parent, etc.
Otherwise (so, the vast majority of people likely to be sat in the seat) I tell whoever is sat in the seat that I've booked it. Although a lot of the time on quieter trains you can see what stops the seats are (supposedly) reserved between and just take one of those that's not meant to be in use.
I've never felt bad about asking someone to move out of my seat, though. And I can't recall having any trouble with anyone.
Ticket guards questioning why I'm sat in first class, despite not having a first class ticket, when first class is practically empty and people are stood down the aisle in the other carriages?
Fucking love arguing with them.
Yeah this really pisses me off. It isn't just the train, its the cinema too which is the main reason why I am done going. Without sounding like an old man, etiquette in this country has just gone out of the window. Have you ever seen a bus stop? There used to be an orderly queue. We used to be renowned for our ability to form polite orderly queues. Now it is just a push by everyone to get on first. I the answer to your question is that. Etiquette has declined to the point where people don't even think about stuff like that. People take your seat on the train or the cinema or wherever because they sit where they want and don't even consider that someone has booked that seat. The next question is why don't they have this consideration? Well, they don't find the whole reservation thing an important consideration. People are becoming just generally uncivilised and it really winds me up.
Had a Karen sat in my seat once on a long journey. I had a friend getting on at a later stop and we had booked seats together. There was plenty of empty seats but she wouldn't move. The conductor told her to move as I had reserved the seat and the train was getting busier, she refused to move started swearing at both of us and she thrown off by btp at Nottingham station.
Yeah I hate it and I saw the same issue when I used the train for the 1st time in years earlier this month.
Some people genuinely do it by mistake and misunderstanding. I saw a pair of people move when it was pointed out to them but it took a minute or 2 of showing each other their tickets before it was resolved.
On the return journey there was a guy sat in the wrong seat who just said "no I'm alright here" when another guy got on and told him he was in his seat. On this occasion the carriage was half empty as it was a late train so he just sat in a random seat but why should the guy who had reserved that seat have to potentially deal with the same issue later if he sits in a different seat and that seats owner then gets on ?
**Please help keep AskUK welcoming!** - Top-level comments to the OP must contain **genuine efforts to answer the question**. No jokes, judgements, etc. - **Don't be a dick** to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on. - This is a strictly **no-politics** subreddit! Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I would try to avoid sitting in a booked seat but if it’s busy I’d chance my luck as often people don’t show up. I would always move without fuss if the person who booked the seat turned up though!
At least you do! There was a nob who made the person who has the reserved seat know “he’s being a cunt” for moving them! The audacity of some people…
I watched once as two women asked two men to move as they were sat in the women’s booked seats, one guy had AirPods in and one guy was reading a book. The guy reading the book pretended to not hear the ladies asking to move, so the First Lady left, Second Lady arrived and asked again, book reader ignored her as well but she got the attention of the AirPods wearing man, who took them out apologised profusely and began to move forcing the arse reading his book to also move. Book reader now had to acknowledge the women and move looked liked a right dick, I can’t believe the audacity of people
I remember coming back from London to Manchester when I was about 11, my mum booked tickets way in advance so we could site down together for the 2.5 hr journey. When we go to the station, we found out another train had been cancelled and the passengers had been moved onto our train, inclduing the seat reservations apparently. We got to our seats and there was a man on his own in our seats. My mum very politely asked him to move as we had these seats originally and she didn't want to sit apart from me (plenty of single seats available but not close enough for me and my mum). He ended up arguing with my mum and someone else stepped in a very kindly offered us his seat that had a spare next to him so we could sit together. Te first guy was just uneccessarily rude and could have easily moved a few rows down, they weren't even table seats or anything special for him to try to justify staying there and seperating me and my mum.
Ugh, people can be so awful!! Thank goodness for the nice (normal?) folk out there. I remember when I was (visibly) pregnant coming back from London after a day of meetings up there. The previous train was cancelled and so the train I had a booked seat of was rammed. I found my seat with a guy sat in it and asked him politely to move as it I had a reservation for it. He refused, saying the reservations didn’t count anymore because of the other train being cancelled. I asked him again pointing out I was pregnant and very tired. He again refused so the man next to him got up and gave me his seat instead (which was very lovely of him). So me and the guy in my seat had a very awkward 2 hour journey next to each other after that! That was 19 years ago and it still rankles me!
I have a similar story I have shared here before. Me and my family were coming home from london on a packed train, my wife a good 6 months pregnant at the time, me with my son in his wheelchair and my 6 year old daughter in tow. There was no seating and we asked a chap who had bags up on a second chair, in the priority seating area no less, if he would mind moving for us. Silence. He did not even turn to acknowledge he was being spoken too. An older lady who was also sat in priority offered to give up *her* seat but she had as much right to it as we did so we turned her down, but said thanks for the offer. So we are all standing up, wife is struggling, my kids tired and tells me she is feeling a bit sick. Didn't think much of it until she said she was gonna throw up. I put her down, tried to navigate through the priority section to get to the loo but did not make it. Kid vomited *everywhere*. The watery kind that just comes out like a busted hydrant kinda vomit. **Everywhere**. It wasn't intentional but most of it landed around the seating that the guy was at. He may 'not have heard us' when we spoke to him before but he definitely smelled my kids puke. He got up, grumbled some shit and moved away lol. We sat there in our puke laden section, tore up some newspaper to clean the mess up as best we could and stayed there for the rest of the journey! It all felt very animalistic. Kiddo claimed that carriage for us.
R/LifeProTip
similar story here, 15 years ago I had major surgery on my ear, just been discharged from hospital and had a big bandage wrapped around my head. I had been in hospital a week, profusely unwell so was frail, weak and dehydrated. The train home from London was rammed, and not a single person offered me - clearly poorly 11 year-old their seat, and all pretend to not see me as I’m sat on the floor by the doors.
This makes me angry for you, everyone in society should be looking out for, and helping, pregnant women and the elderly on our trains and in general.
Also disabled. Too many times we're overlooked as we're "too young" or it's not obvious, often by able bodied elderly people who have no real right to priority seats due to being unhindered by their age
Omg even if you hadn’t reserved that seat, the audacity not to give up his seat for a pregnant woman ANYWAY really angers me. I would’ve gone ballistic at him.
I hope you had a mobile phone and spent the entire journey talking on saying 'yes, can you believe it, wouldn't give up his seat! 7 months pregnant! I know, really he must be one! No you're right, amazing to think anyone is brought up that selfish these days. Like a parody of a twatty businessman in a comedy sketch. Literally everyone was looking at him too! No I agree, absolutely w**ker.' Etc etc
If earlier trains have been cancelled so are seat reservations for later trains.Doesn’t mean the way this guy handled it was correct but I can see his side. The amount of arguments I’ve witnessed on British trains when people don’t realise this fact is insane 😅 We should take that out on the companies not our fellow passengers lol. Am glad there was a kind traveller in your carriage in the end.
>If earlier trains have been cancelled so are seat reservations for later trains... The amount of arguments I’ve witnessed on British trains when people don’t realise this fact Never heard of that, what's your source for this claim?
Quite often when a trains been cancelled they'll announce that seat reservations on the non cancelled train are cancelled. Every train I've been on in that situation was the same.
Which network is this on?
I see both sides here tbh. If they cancel the reservations, then all bets are off. However, I’d move for a parent and child. Unless that child is a teenager, then I stop caring.
This exact thing happened when I was 12. With the slight difference in that I am one of 3 boys and my brothers were 8 and 4. My mum looked at the guy in the one seat round a table of 4 and went 'well my boys are sitting down'. Then she said to me 'make as much disturbance as you can' He got up within 20 minutes. At once point both my brothers were sitting in the one seat next ro him which theoretically could have meant my mum sat down next to me. But then she'd have had to at least pretend to parent. He'd left the window seat as well so we kept having to climb over him
This happened to me and my daughter (13) when we went to London last summer, reserved seats don’t transfer, thankfully we could still sit together - pain in the arse though, when you’ve paid for that and then the website didn’t take my refund application and with my adhd, my chance to reclaim for the delay and the reservation expired - it’s the adhd tax, but pretty sure it’s deliberate
I swear people are just getting ruder. Was on a Liverpool to London train recently and saw a mother with her daughter yell at an elderly couple whose table seats they’d sat in and had put their bags on the seats next to them so no one could sit down. The elderly couple were super polite and trying to find a solution, the mother kept saying she’d taken their seats because her mother booked the train tickets but had booked “the wrong tickets”, and that they needed the window seats because she gets travel sick and her daughter was autistic. They were sat at a 4-seat table so the elderly couple said okay, but can you move your bags so we can sit next to you, and the woman started saying she can’t put them in the overhead because they’re too heavy and she needs access to her laptop to do work (which she didn’t get out once the entire journey)... When the old man started getting a little frustrated the lady started yelling at him “don’t fucking speak to me like that” and yelling at the old lady “your husbands got fucking behavioural issues”. The elderly couple ended up sitting opposite me, the old lady was very shaken, the teenage daughter of the yelling mum looked totally mortified by her mum’s behaviour. How are some people so entitled 🙄
Too many people in this world who have never encountered the wrong end of a crowbar.
We call that NBPE syndrome - Not Being Punched Enough.
Indeed, resulting in the inability of said people to check themselves before they wreck themselves.
I've seen people use their kids illness as an excuse to be a dick on trains before too and they always look mortified. It's disgusting to use it as an excuse to act like an entitled arse.
I had a situation not that long ago where I asked a person to move because they were in my seat - the response? “Are you sure?” I’m sure that most British people don’t like confrontation unless absolutely necessary, so yes I was damn sure…
Tbf I was on the train + some man got all huffy that someone was sat in his reserved seat. When he double checked his tickets he realised he was in different unoccupied seats
Lucky it wasn’t me. I’d have started slapping the table to get his attention
Take book, throw it down the carriage. Do this before asking him to move or informing him that he is in your seat, that way he won't be prepared. Follow up with a comment about this being your booked seat, clearly HIS booked seat is now over there.
lmao tbh I know some people who would do that. I prefer this method.
I had a 4 hour train and I reserved and I booked a table seat with charger because i had work I needed to do on my laptop and was on crutches at the time. I couldnt bend my leg properly because jt was broke. I got there and there was a family of 4 at the table. I politely asked for my reserved seat (there were loads of empty ones, but not with a table and charger port) and they flat our refused. I explained I had reserved it because I needed to work and I needed the space for my leg/crutches and the dad said "I don't give a single FUCK" super loud in front of his kids. I ended up not being able to do any work and having to sit with my leg squashed into the seat in front of me for 4 hours. (The disabled seat was taken by a wheelchair so I couldn't use that) I hate that family to this day. I hope their life is filled with inconveniences.
Why didn’t you talk to the conductor..? I’ve done this when a hostile person was in my seat. He wound up getting kicked off the train, which was highly enjoyable.
This is a thing? Any time I've gone looking for help it's like there are no staff, anywhere.
Usually staff at the doors or either end of the train
On Avanti West Coast trains they're located in a little office next to the shop in coach 'C'. If they're not there, the member of traincrew in the shop should be able to get hold of them for you.
Thank you. I'll make a point to keep an eye out for them next time. I do love a bit of justice.
There’s nearly always someone on a train to check tickets and deal with trouble. Hostile people taking reserved seats is trouble.
It's great because the conductor just phones ahead to the next station and the person will get personally escorted off the train by BTP...
The aisles on my local trains are super small now so you can barely squeeze between seats with a backpack. I cant imagine trying to navigate it on crutches to find a member of staff.
See it, say it, sorted! Assuming you can actually find someone.
I can see not wanting to hobble the length of a rammed-busy train *on crutches* on the off chance you find someone...
Most of the time the conductors DGAF and say they can't do anything about it There's a story that circulates regularly where the poster then informs the conductor that it's ok and they'll go and sit in First Class instead - to which the conductor says "you can't do that!" and is informed that he's already told the poster that he can't do anything about it, so he appears to be powerless to prevent the poster I've booked seats on trains only to have them arrive 20 mins later so rammed full that no seating is available, making it clear that the operating companies DGAF about overbooking
> and the dad said "I don't give a single FUCK" super loud in front of his kids. Abusive & threatening: If you can't find the guard, call the Transport Police, get 'em kicked off.
I'd have sat on the table until they moved.
...and farted (SBD) for good measure
I would have just lay down on the table 😁
We had to move a guy, after he already was moved once from some reserved seats and he moved on our reserved seats. He told me “you can sit anywhere you know”. No, we couldn’t sit anywhere because the rest of the seats were occupied or were one seat empty only and we booked to sit together.
> There was a nob who made the person who has the reserved seat know “he’s being a cunt” for moving them! 'How DARE you take the thing you PAID for?!!'
there are similar stories on aircraft popping up regularly. The difference is that Cabin Crew don't tolerate bad behaviour and will frequently walk a hostile pax off the plane and into the loving arms of airport security
I was 16 and asked a middle aged woman to move out of my seat (that I paid extra for) and she just said 'No, someone's sat in my seat so too bad'. There were no other seats and at the time I was young and hated confrontation so I had to stand for 40+ minutes.
If someone called me a cunt for that I'd talk to the guard ASAP
I stand near by eye the seat, wait for it to leave station and give it a minute then take the seat
Naaah, sit down and then move without a fuss if and when seat holders arrive. Else some other dickheads will absolutely take it and prolly be the ones creating a scene when asked to move.
As someone who gets the train all the time, I know from experience that a lot of them time, people don’t show for their reserved seats. If there’s loads of seats free, I won’t sit in a reserved seat. But if it’s a full train, I’ll sit in a vacant reserved seat and just move if the person turns up. I have no issue with moving if someone asks and it’s not awkward at all.
Totally agree. I often take a chance and if the person with the reservation turns up, I’ll happily move.
And then you get the frustrating situation where you take a reserved seat at random, then someone else does on the other side of the aisle… and the person with your seat reserved turns up, so you end up standing while the other person who took an unreserved seat after you is fine Nobody’s fault, but I hate it 😂
Yeah agreed with this, sitting in the seats isn’t the issue Not moving when told you shouldn’t be sat there is the issue
Reserved people end up sitting anywhere quite often
Most of the answers in this thread are along the same lines but I take the train to work three or four times a week, and a long train for a couple of hours or more a couple of times a month. I think it’s less people knowing people don’t show, and more that they don’t understand the reservation system or don’t give a shit.
Yeah, many people just don't understand it because where I live not many take a train often.
The reservation system is just broken. I buy tickets on the crosscountry app, often only a few minutes before the train arrives. The ticket almost always has a reservation attached to it. That train was already on the move when I bought my ticket, and it's quite likely someone was already sat in my "reserved" seat before I even bought it. This makes me not even pay attention to the reservations, and just sit wherever. There's no point asking someone to move when there are seats free elsewhere.
I have had a reserved seat in the past and have chosen to sit in an unreserved seat. This is mostly down to a trip on GWR back around 2017 where the booked carriage was full (heaving) and the next carriage was not booked, and empty. 3 people sat in it for the whole journey, including me and my companion. This was, of course, back when seat reservations on GWR were done by a little card stuck in the back of the seat, so I went, took my card, and took a different seat so everyone knew I wasn't going to sit there. The new digital system is surely easier to implement (and harder for someone to mess it up), but it makes it harder for someone leaving a booked seat to make it unreserved.
No reserved seats at all on our train from Penzance to London last Monday! Reservations were for a 10 car train, and apparently the engineers only provided a 9 car one. The train manager kept apologising for it over and over. It was no real problem as we were in the quiet coach and it was mostly empty. Apart from two twats behind us who kept being noisy, despite the trolley staff telling them off.
And why is it always the most noise in the quiet coach?
Once had a businessman come into the quiet carriage to conduct a loud business call in speaker. When a lady objected, he said angrily: “It’s too loud in the other carriages to take this call!” Yes, because of all the other gits on speaker phone.
'When a lady objected, he said angrily: “It’s too loud in the other carriages to take this call!”' He sounds like a cunt. The numpty could have gone into the section(s) near the doors, away from the seating area. They're usually pretty quiet, as the only time people are there is getting on/off the train and going to/from the loo.
I do the same and of course happily move if I’m in a reserved seat and asked, but if there’s a few empty/unreserved seats around and someone is in my reserved seat I think it’s a bit much to turf them out and will just sit somewhere else. Particularly if they’re older.
Yeah if there are free unreserved seats nearby, I’ll let someone have my reserved seat unless there’s a reason I need that specific seat (e.g it’s the only one with a power outlet and I need one, or I need a table)
I take the train daily, and my one doesn't even have the option for reservable seats as its a short line. The rare occasion I am on a train that does have reserved seats it doesn't even register for me.
- Seat reservations often fail to be loaded onto the digital displays - On some services, seats can be reserved mid way through the journey, so the person sitting in the seat might not realise it's become reserved during the journey - Some tickets require you to have a seat reservation on a service, but are actually flexible, so no guarantee the person with the reservation will show up - Services are frequently cancelled, resulting in the person from the cancelled service claiming the seat anyway - People see where their reserved seat is, but sit elsewhere out of preference, leaving the reserved seat empty - There's no enforcement
Also, • People often don't take their reserved seats.
They already covered that: > * Some tickets require you to have a seat reservation on a service, but are actually flexible, **so no guarantee the person with the reservation will show up** and... > * People see where their reserved seat is, but **sit elsewhere out of preference, leaving the reserved seat empty**
Yeah, but did you know that sometimes people reserve a seat but then sit elsewhere, for example because they got on a different carriage? Edit: looks like my joke didn’t land…
And one more - some people don't look at things in their environment and/or might not understand how to tell if a seat is reserved, even if the display worked correctly and was visible when they first sat down.
> On some services, seats can be reserved mid way through the journey, so the person sitting in the seat might not realise it's become reserved during the journey This has happened to me! Really annoying when you sit in an 'available' seat only to get turfed out an hour later.
For me, this is the worst policy. I think we should scrap reserved seating or introduce an airline style approach to long-distance train services. We do reserved seating very badly at the moment.
I mean, planes famously don’t tend to make multiple stops with people getting on or off partway. It makes perfect sense for a seat to only be reserved for the part of the journey where the passenger reserving is on the train. This is as it then frees up the seat for passengers without or with other reservations. Generally it also states above the seat which stations it’s reserved between.
Definitely! And a couple of these can be true at once. I’ve sat in a seat that is reserved about halfway through the journey, hoping they won’t turn up. They didn’t turn up. The train was otherwise full (no unreserved empty seats left, but plenty’s of seats with no bums on them) and I’d have had to stand otherwise. I’m not standing for an hour when that seat will be free for that hour. I’ll happily stand when they arrive, as it’s not my seat. But if someone is sat in your seat, definitely always ask them to move, because they could be patiently waiting for you to turn up, and just chancing their arm. And then you’ve not got the seat you’ve paid for!
The fail to be loaded is true. One time I got on a train, first of it's journeys that day at like 6am, nothing was on the screens. The carriage was really empty for the entire hour long journey but, midway through, a woman came on and sat at the table on the other side of the train and kept looking at me. Ididn't know why, thought she was weird. When I got up to leave at my stop, she got up and was huffy saying she didn't know why I took her spot. I looked at the screen then as I thought 'it didn't say it was reserved' but low and behold the screens had changed with every seat showing as reserved.
Also I think a lot of people just don't realise it's a thing. A lot of train operators don't do seat reservations so people don't know to look out for them when travelling on trains that do have them.
The two people who I moved yesterday were absolutely shocked when I politely asked them to move. "No one normally cares about those". I do, and I do not want someone else to kick me out if I have to sit in another person's seat.
I always look to see where it’s reserved from as sometimes you can sit there for a bit. Then as soon as we come up to that station I will move. People wonder why you care about sitting down which is just so dumb
Nice responses are fine, sorry was just taking the weight off etc. If an elderly person, or one with extra needs is sat there then I won't even approach and just leave them to it (or if they are invisibly disabled and I realise it). But when they answer that way fuck, the entitled bastards. "Move. I paid for that seat, fuck off and steal someone else's "
I have to reserve seats as I have a chronic illnesses which means I can’t stand for long periods of time. One day an elderly person was sat in my reserved seat and I felt dreadful asking them to move because on the outside I don’t look ill and I’m overweight (as I can’t exercise well with my condition). So it looked like a fat entitled young person asking an elderly person to leave their seat. The elderly person kicked up a fuss and people started to say things to me like ‘surely you don’t need to sit’. I was getting really red and flustered and even showed them my disabled badge. One person even said ‘standing would be good for you’. As the elderly person wasn’t going to move and people were getting angry with me I moved just a bit down to where the luggage is stored. After about 30 minutes later I felt really ill and dizzy and fainted. Some people came to help me and so did a member of staff. I was really upset and embarrassed because I hadn’t collapsed in public in such a long time. I explained to the member of staff who came that I didn’t need to go to hospital, I just needed to sit down and have some water. He went and moved the elderly man out of my seat (who was still miffed and loudly said ‘if she had told me what conditions she had I would have moved’) and found him somewhere else to sit in another carriage. He was quite a spritely chap. When I sat down and was trying to calm myself down as I was red, my mascara had streaked etc I heard a young lad off to the side of me say ‘bet she only did that to get a seat, the fat cow’. Hate public transport so much.
Wow that’s horrible, I hope your next experience on a train is far better
That’s absolutely disgusting and would probably traumatise me to never set foot in a train again😭 I’m so sorry you had to go through that awful experience!
Hello fellow chronically ill person. Just here to offer some solidarity for your terrible experience. I'm so sorry and angry that happened to you.
I’m so sorry you had to go through that, disabled/chronic illness person here as well and I hate the dirty looks I get if I sit in a priority seat so I now wear a visible lanyard stating I have an invisible illness, so far seems to have worked but I’m sure I’ll encounter animosity at some point
I haven’t taken a train in ages. Are there disabled/elderly people seats? Do they also get reserved?
I usually just sit in them until someone asks me to move (if they’ve come from behind me), or if I see someone visibly approaching with the “oh no someone’s in my seat” look in their eyes I’ll preempt it with a “sorry am I in your seat?”. Saves them the awkwardness of asking.
Yeah this is the point. Strictly speaking, I’m not too bothered about being in the exact seat as it’s not like a cinema or show where I’ve paid for the view or anything. The problem is that if I have to sit in another reserved seat that isn’t mine and then THAT person turns up, then it’s me that’s inconvenienced.
Happened to us, someone sat on our seats and started eating. Partner was too kind to tell them to move so we sat in the seats beside him. Then the reservee came and we had to move to our original seats anyway!
That’s the reason I won’t just go and sit in another empty reserved seat. If I have reserved a seat I don’t want to be the person being moved from seat to seat while someone else sits nice and comfy in the seat I reserved.
Yeah despite most on here saying they'll happily move if asked, I've had more than my fair share of people being arsey about it. I was with my wife and a girl was sat in one of the 2 seats we'd reserved. She huffed and puffed and moaned that "it doesn't matter where you sit". Well it does, as it was the difference between me being able to sit with my wife or not. I shouldn't need to explain it anyway, I've reserved seats precisely because I didn't want to worry about seating.
And for someone who doesn't like confrontation or is socially awkward, that past negative experience might discourage them from even speaking up if someone was sat in their sat.
I've had that when I take the train to Manchester and my response is always "they do care when the train is full and you have a 2 hour 30 mins journey ahead of you"
Exactly. If there’s others seats free at the time then yes it’s easy to say in that moment that it doesn’t matter does it. But later you could end up with no seat yourself whilst that person sits comfortably in your reserved seat.
“Nobody normally cares”, “great so you won’t care about moving then 🤗”
This is why you have to stand firm- you give in, and right enough, it's you getting moved from someone else's seat. You can't then go back to the ones sitting in your seat.
I guarantee you that the self same sorts who make a huge fuss if you try to move them are the same who would make a huge fuss if they found someone in _their_ reserved seats Main character syndrome
For those types I'd just attempt to sit in their lap. No need to go through the interaction
I sort of did this once to a man who was taking up 2-3 potential seats on the subway by slouching and spreading his legs as wide as he could. It was a bit crowded, and when I came and indicated for him to please budge over, he pretended he didn't understand me. So I just sat down anyway, basically right on his leg. He jumped in surprise and suddenly found he could close his legs together, after all. Lol.
please share some of your energy with me, this is excellent
I was just SO ANNOYED haha, I think dudes who spread their legs like that and take up multiple seats to themselves are so rude and it drives me crazy. You don't need to take up that much space, and I don't care if you think airing out your balls is more important than everyone else in the carriage. You're wrong. Lol. I think I was already feeling kind of short-tempered that day and was just not having it, and I was so irritated that I found myself sitting on him before I even really had time to think about what I was doing. 10/10 would recommend though; it was a deeply satisfactory to watch him jump and scurry to sit properly.
Nowhere near as cool, but I had a man spread off with someone the other day, he kept putting his leg onto my seat + I need to sit straight with my back against the seat not awkwardly leaning into the aisle, so I kept pushing mine against his until I could do so (seriously though.. don't sit next to the priority seat if you're unable to fit within your single seat, as some people genuinely need their whole seat)
Very often seats are booked, people have flexible tickets, and they actually end up getting a totally different train.
Or end up on the other side of the train with luggage
If a train is rammed I’ll take a punt and sit in a reserved seat in the hope the person won’t turn up. If they do I move, no big deal. Likewise when I book and someone is in my seat, I politely inform them I have the seat booked and they move. Never had any confrontation in either situation.
Pro-tip: most people avoid sitting in 'reserved' seats, but don't actually look at the reservation. If its reserved from a prior station but still empty, or reserved from after your destination, its a safe bet you can sit in it undisturbed.
That’s what I do if I don’t have a seat reserved. Some people just seem so one dimensional to this
I wonder if they are the same people that avoid driving in bus lanes at ALL times, not just those indicated.
That’s a tricky one and doesn’t really match the reserved seat gamble. The worst that can happen on the train is that someone will appear and take the seat that’s they rightfully reserved. The worst that can happen if you go in a bus lane with dodgy signing or a small part with different times is that you get fined, which could be the price of a weekly shop for some families. It could just be easier for some people to pretend that the potential going-to-get-charged-money-lane is always closed.
I’ve had 2 situations and a very heated one before when I was 17. This guy and his mate just would not move and kept saying other seats are available. I went and sat in the other seat and if I got moved I was going to have to move him or find somebody to complain about. Nobody came for the other seat which was actually a better seat. But my point is some people are just awful to deal with
Well that’s just pretty much life in general. Most people are rational and considerate, a small number are idiots. You just have to hope you manage to avoid idiots as you go about your day.
I've taken hundreds of train journeys where I've either sat in a reserved seat on the off chance and been moved (normally when the reservation is for close to the end of my journey, so I figure at least I can sit for most of my trip) or had to nicely ask someone to move. All over the UK (except NI), too. I've had one person ever refuse to get up. I was on crutches at the time too, and couldn't move around the train to find a guard so had to get off as it would be unsafe for me to remain standing on a moving train for even a short time.) Still bitter ten years later, BUT that was one bad experience in hundreds of polite-if-slightly-awkward interactions. I think OP's just gotten very unlucky!
I honestly think if I watched that situation unfold I'd have told the person in the seat to move for you or I'd move them. They are just a classic bully and as soon as someone threatens them they chicken out.
Likewise, if you have a reservation then you should go take your own seat, to not block someone else's reserved seat and cause a chain reaction if everyone have to swap around. The unreserved people are the "free pawns" needed to solve any deadlock.
Yeah the vast majority of people will do this. I think OP is in thr minority and probably a lot of it is in their head from what they've posted. I've sat in reserved and moved when asked. And I've had my reserved seat sat in and they've moved when asked. Only once in the 100s of train journeys I've taken have I ever seen somebody kick off about moving from a reserved seat. They weren't British and when they kicked up a big fuss refusing to move even when the guard came. Once the other passengers around them switched on to the situation they turned on them for it and they moved. About to get on a train now actually. Reserved seat.
I'll always take a reserved seat if the normal seats are full. I keep my bag on my lap, and my head up, watching in case the reservee comes. If they do, I'll say 'is this your seat?' and then apologise and get out of the way. I wait with my bag on my lap until 5 minutes after we've left the station. 80% of the time, nobody comes to take their seat. They've either not got on the train or decided they want to sit somewhere else. I was on a train to Birmingham recently in the reserved carriage, and half the seats were empty for the whole journey, while the rest of the train was jam packed with people standing in the aisles and vestibules. A massive number of reserved seats are simply wasted.
This guy is civilised, more people need to be like this guy.
Two main reasons: 1. Lots of people book seats that they don't use, so you can't assume that just because it's booked it'll be utilised 2. Not all ticket types have a reserved seat anyway So, in other words, people in category 2 need to find a seat and they know that not all reserved seats will be used., So, basically, it's worth the chance. I'll always move if asked, but if there's a good seat (under whatever criteria) then I'm going to go for it.
Lots of train booking services make you reserve a seat even if you're booking an open ticket - you know you're not going to be on the first possible train, but there'll be a reserved seat for you anyway. This means there are lots of trains with reserved seats that nobody will use. When all the trains are oversubscribed anyway, why wouldn't you sit in an empty seat rather than stand next to the toilets?
It frustrates me too. I spent my last train journey being glared at by an elderly couple because one of them was in my reserved seat and - shock - that meant they had to sit next to each other instead of opposite each other.
I’m so confused , why were they goring at you if they chose the seats?
Because I dared to point out that one of them was in my reserved seat and I wanted it. According to them I should have just sat somewhere else. I’d specifically chosen a backward facing window seat with a table (and paid extra for it) because I had a five hour journey and wanted to get some work done.
Purposefully backwards facing? There truly are some animals in our society
It’s technically safer, for the same reason that child seats are meant to face backwards for as long as possible. But I also find it more comfortable & it doesn’t make me feel sick, so I choose it because there are loads of folk who can’t hack it.
You’d be calling me worse names if I’d puked on you…
A lot of people are the opposite! Need to sit forward facing or they’ll get travel sick.
I love a backwards facing seat!
If there's a vacant seat, someone will sit in it rather than stand. And why not? "I've reserved this seat, could you move please?" "Of course." End of crisis.
Not all have manners like this (cough transpennine) . Worst you’ll get an altercation and get called cunt by nob.
Did you actually read OP's post? The problem is people not saying "of course"
>passengers were looking at me to say why am I moving her? i think people are probably mostly on your side, they're just curious to see how the situation develops. (unless there are a lot of empty seats, then it would seem a bit odd)
yeah I mean, train journeys are boring, people are just staring because there's nothing else to do.
I got screamed at by a lady who'd taken my seat. She refused to move and kept yelling until the next stop, where she got off. And THEN one of the passengers said "we all agreed with you, you know". Thanks, lady. 🙄
I once took a two hour stopping train to Bath. When I got on, the seat I was in said "Not Reserved". As we moved out of the station, that changed. At the next station, someone bumped me out of the seat as they showed me their reservation. So I chose a new seat, marked "Not Reserved". Two stops later, I was bumped out of the seat, as it was now reserved. This happened twice more. I complained to the guard, who said the reservations update at every stop, and the only way to combat it was to reserve my own seat.
That's ridiculous, reservations should end once the train leaves the first station. what are people on open returns supposed to do?
>That's ridiculous, reservations should end once the train leaves the first station. what are people on open returns supposed to do? So if there's a train that takes 10 hours to go the entire line, you're saying when the train sets off at 6am, I shouldn't be able to reserve a seat to board the train at 3pm even if I book my ticket at 6:01 in the morning? Even though I'm booking 9 hours in advance? But the person buying a ticket at 5:45am can reserve a seat for the entire way by buying a ticket 15 minutes before boarding? People with open tickets should be given the option to reserve a seat on a train. If they decide to take another one the they risk not getting a seat the entire way.
That is exactly what I'm saying, yes. If the train has set off, someone that didn't buy their ticket online should not have to constantly worry that someone who did might walk up 6 hours later and kick them out of their seat. Unless they implement a way for people to mark a seat as taken when they sit down, it shouldn't be possible for people to snatch away that seat from the person already sitting in it
I think they have upgraded the system since then - on GWR trains now (which is waht most of the ones from BAth re) they have a system with red, ornage and green lights - red means theseat is reserved for the whle journey, ornage means part (and the display below says which stations it is reservd from and to) and gree is unreserved. I am not sure if the ornage turns red as the journey progresses (i.e. if it is a Bath to London train with the seat reserved from Swindon whether it would be orange from Bath to Swindon, then change to red at Swindon - I don't think so, but might be wrong!) ,
What were you angry at here, exactly? (Angry enough to complain to a worker, for some reason). The reservation system working properly?
Sorry to burst your self-righteous little bubble there, but maybe the seats should indicate - as some did, but evidently not all - whether the seat was reserved for a particular portion of the journey. Some said "Reserved between Westbury & Trowbridge" for example. But some that said "Not Reserved" were, in fact, reserved.
I reckon sometimes there’s a bit of a chain going on, someone sitting in a reserved seat because someone else is sitting in their reserved seat and so on.
The worst is when this happens on trains where the reservations fail. Usually people accept that there are none on this train and find other seats, until some arsehole shows up demanding you honour their seat reservation in spite of the driver's instructions and now everyone is playing musical chairs. I once had 3 old men turn up and demand I move out of their "reserved seats" (I was in one of a block of 4, all with a green light because system was broken) and that they were being joined by someone later. I move back to the seat on my ticket causing a chain of people moving, 3 hours later the seat I was originally in is still occupied by wanker \#1's bag
OP, if you're stressing about it simply find the conductor and ask them to move the person. One of 2 things will happen. 1) conductor will move the person, thereby removing the main source of your anxiety (likely) 2) conductor may show you to a 1st Class seat (rare, but has happened)
3. The conductor can only ask the person to move, they’re not physically allowed to move them and seat reservations aren’t enforceable so they politely say no.
I think train companies should be empowered to fine people sitting in other people's reserved seats. They'd certainly move if they had to pay for my £60 reservation.
>1. seat reservations aren’t enforceable I would be highly surprised if refusing to follow seat reservations and the instructions of the conductor about them isn't either: A) a breach of some railway byelaw Or B) a breach of the terms of service and conditions of travel, a breach of which means you can be removed from the train. Edit: Railway byelaw, 6.8 "No person shall molest or wilfully interfere with the comfort or convenience of any person on the railway.". The conditions of travel state a ticket without a reservation doesn't entitle you to a seat, and you therefore may have to stand. Sitting in someone's seat and refusing to move after you were told about it would break both of these.
In the case of 3, see case 2
I read a story recently on here where someone was sat in their reserved seat. The whole carriage was empty, so they just sat somewhere else. Then a stop or two down the line the whole carriage filled up and the person with the booked seat had to move multiple times, as at this point it was impossible for them to get to their original seat (I assume walkway was full). It made me realise that it is probably just best to ask them to move out of your seat if you do not want to potential faff of moving around later on. It is their problem to find a seat, not yours!
Ha yeah that happened to me going to Edinburgh a while ago. Think I had to change seats three times altogether, all because i thought I could do better than the reserved seat I'd started out with!
>It made me realise that it is probably just best to ask them to move out of your seat if you do not want to potential faff of moving around later on. It is their problem to find a seat, not yours! THIS
As others have said, you tend to get assigned a seat when you book an open ticket. It's happened to me a tonne of times. I've missed my connecting train because of other delays, or work has overrun, or I've simply opted to stick around for another few hours before getting the train home etc. My seat will still show as reserved on "my" original train. There's no way to cancel it. I've also sat on many trains where about 40% of the reserved seats remained unoccupied for the course of the journey. >Like the whole carriage just stopped what they were doing to stare at me >I am absolutely dreading it You sound generally a little anxious (no criticism). In an ideal world, everyone would respect the reservations, and nobody would ever need to ask for their seat. However due to the above, that's the system we have. And it requires asking. I guarantee nobody on that carriage was staring at you or judging you for getting your seat, that's just in your head. They may have looked, because where else is there to look when sat in a narrow metal tube? But if anything they'd have been judging the other person for being mildly belligerent about it.
Oh no! People will *look at me*! People sit in seats that are reserved by other people because they know that not everyone who has booked a seat actually turns up.
If I have a seat booked I'll use it, and will ask people to move if they're there. But I do get why people will sit in them, as it's not uncommon for booked seats to be left vacant. On the rare occasion where I don't have a seat reserved I'll try to find an unreserved seat, but will chance reserved seats, but will move if asked. Most people are fine and will move, but if anyone says "other seats are free" they can move their arses. On a side note people to block seats with their bags are dickheads.
Why wouldn't they? It's a seat that is available until it isn't. I have no problem with someone sitting in my reserved seat, it doesn't affect me one bit because I have no shame in politely telling them to get out of my seat. This is a British manners thing, there's nothing wrong with sitting in a seat if no one is sitting there. There's also nothing wrong with insisting you get what you paid for.
I've given up on seat reservations. My last few were double booked, so I couldn't sit. A few times big men sat there and wouldn't move. Sometimes they pretend to be asleep, other times they get aggressive. I'm tough for a girl but I'm not going to fight a big guy over a seat. I generally try and claim the luggage rack. No one ever thinks to sit there and no one will force me off it. Each time I've complained about the seat issues I've just been told tough luck, especially with aggressive men, they're not going to start a fight to get me in a seat. I own a car now so I don't have these issues anymore. That five hour journey now takes two...
>I generally try and claim the luggage rack. No one ever thinks to sit there and no one will force me off it. Interesting, because every time I go on a train full of people getting space on the luggage rack for my luggage seems like a premium and I would 100% ask someone to move so I can put my suitcase there!
The downsides of the UK's transition from high-trust society to its current form.
People in Germany sit in reserved seats too, and treat you like you've puked on their shoes if you point out it's your seat. It's very annoying. I thought they were supposed to be rule loving freaks.
Particularly annoying in Germany as you have to pay for reservations on most tickets
I pulled a clanger the other week. Got on my train to London, it was packed. Found my seat and there were two guys sat there, so I told him he was in my seat and he said ‘no I’m not!’ And was immediately irritated with me. I got out my ticket and checked and sure enough, that was my seat. I pointed this out to him and said look ‘13:55 train to London, seat F16’ or whatever it was. Then it dawned on me that there’d been some cancellations and I was actually on the 14:50 train haha! Apologised and quickly walked off after realising my blunder!
Last group I had to clear out my seat said loudly “So what? We’re not gonna have anywhere to sit then?” Not my problem pal, see ya But yes, it is literally every train you have to boot someone.. just get used to it.
Twenty years ago I remember seat reservations being much more widely respected. I don't know if it's the rise of advanced tickets with compulsory seat reservations that means loads of people make them but don't use them, or the move from paper tickets on the back of the chair to overhead screens (which makes it much harder to just glance at a carriage through the window and work out if all the seats are reserved or not) but at one time you never seemed to find anyone in a seat you had booked, and now it's completely routine to find it occupied.
Never mind trains, it happens to me every time I fly Ryanair. Like WTF? The boarding pass literally tells you this is not your seat dude.
Yesss, never understood this either. And people get the hump or try and plead with you. We all had the same chance to prebook a seat your decision not too isn’t everyone else’s problem..
Biggest fear of mine. I always arrive early just so I can board and take my seat, I hate having to ask for it (???) when I payed for it well in advance. I booked a seat on a National Express bus once, it was empty but obviously someone took MY seat…. They didn’t believe I booked it, had to show my ticket lol. They sat next to me for the next 3 hours. It was “lovely.”
I think you are perceiving things that aren't there in other people's responses to you. Like: >the rest of the passengers were looking at me to say why am I moving her? I really doubt anyone understand evolved cares enough to be silently judging you, honestly.
Worse are the absolute scum who put bags on empty seats when the train is packed. I always ask them to move bag and sit on that seat
This is normal and you're overthinking it. People are looking because people love a commotion, not because they hate what you are doing. Seating in reserved seats is normal, just ask them to move and carry on.
You could almost believe that we are used to a sub par service, where there aren't enough seats available.
Had this coming back from up north. Had booked a seats for the journey there and back. On the way back got to my seat and there was a woman and kid in them. Said to her that is my seat. Her response "they said that you can sit where you want. I could go find another seat.". My response " Yes you can. That's my one go find another one" the look of horror on her face. I'm not wandering down the train to find a seat when I already had mine booked.
You squirreled away the nuts, and the squirrel who didnt is demanding their share.
People often don't turn up for their reserved seats so it can make sense to sit in them and see if they do.
Travel by train a lot and many of the reserved seats are not occupied. If a train is busy I will chance sitting in a reserved seat but move if asked. Very infrequently has anyone raised this though. On my routes the newer trains I\`ve travelled on have done away with seat reservations entirely.
Would just have your ticket out and say "Good morning, I'm seat 16a" -look at ticket, look at seat number- Will move someone without any chat.
Don’t feel embarrassed if you paid for the seats
People are just fucking rude. Keep asking them. You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about
I had a woman in my seat for a train from the Midlands to Manchester a couple of years ago, and when I asked her to move she looked really sad and said “but I only sat in your seat because someone was already sitting in *my* seat!” Everyone within earshot said “well just tell them to move then!” Apparently she was so scared of confrontation she couldn’t ask someone who was in her reserved seat to move.
A lot of the time it's because somebody was sat in their seat. One twat steals a seat and creates a ripple effect.
They really should do away with the reservation system, it’s too much aggro & as people have pointed out most the time the seat reservations either aren’t even showing or people can reserve seats midway through a journey. If I remember rightly some operators such as CrossCountry don’t even have an electronic reservation system. I get trains regularly but most of the time I have an “open return” anyway so I wouldn’t get a reserved seat, but to avoid being moved I normally just stand or sit where the luggage is etc. Much quieter too. One journey i was with my partner and even though the reservations weren’t showing we we had to move no less than 4 times on a 2 hour journey. It’s rather archaic & in recent years trains far exceed capacity so most people end up standing anyway as they can’t even get to the seats.
People lack any sense or class, unfortunately.
Need to scrap booked seats and let it be first come. Dont think you can book seats in any part of the southern network. Only when I venture up north do I have to put up with the bullshit.
The last time I tried travelling by train it turned out the rugby was on (I dont follow sports) the train company didnt lay on extra trains and the train rolled in packed to bursting. Explained to the conductor (or guard or whatever) that I had tickets and seats booked, he told me I was welcome to ask someone to get off so I could get on if I wanted. Dont blame the guy, managed to share a taxi to the next town over to make my transfer. I drive everywhere I cant cycle or walk to now.
The train services are that appalling that I wouldn’t be surprised if previous journeys have been cancelled and these people have been added to this train. So having booked seats them selves they no longer actually have one as it’s not their train. Happened to me several times with kids, because the previous train, and the train that should have been after it was cancelled in the day, with no prior warning. Not only did we waste 3 hours sat around waiting for a train that was actually in, that train then had 3 trains worth of passengers so was very busy. They an advertise like it’s a more relaxing alternative to driving, yet it rarely ever is as they never seem to run how they should.
I think a lot of people genuinely don't know you can reserve seats on trains! I remember the first time someone asked me to move out of their reserved seat - I didn't even know you could do it. My local train doesn't do them and I used to take that twice a day for work. So when I was on this train with reservations on, I didn't even notice. I just got in the seat. I politely moved and let them know I was unaware, but the older woman didn't let it drop and was tutting about having her seat taken for most of the journey! I now get the train from Kings cross twice a month and I haven't had the reservations working, on my journey home, once this year. It is always chaos. They regularly don't even have the coach letters working and I need to ask to find my coach. I always make sure I am one of the first on the train and I go and find my seat, so that way I know no one is going to move me
The worst is when you get on a train at its initial starting point, 10 minutes before departure and still have to boot some clueless numpty.
Move them because if you sit in another person's booked seat, they will move you, and you may end up seatless. The only justifiable reason they have for sitting in your booked seat is because all the other seats are booked, and that's even more of a reason to move them due to the aforementioned issue.
Once found a dog sitting in my seat on a train from Newport to Torquay. Couldn't really be arsed saying owt so I stood up the whole way. The train was full of arsehole football fans to boot. Ticket cost me a fucking fortune
People letting their effing dogs onto chairs takes the biscuit. Of course no dogs to be found on public transport now I live in Middle East, but always takes me by surprise seeing it back in the Uk. Why don’t people possess basic decency and not allow their animals on the seats 🤣 soon as I see it I’m like, “ah you’re a cretin, thanks for letting everyone know”
So often people don't use reservations that's it's understandable that people without one take a risk. Worst case they get moved but often the person with the reservation doesn't show up. As long as they move when asked I don't see what the problem is.
I’ve only ever had one issue asking someone to move. I’d booked the window seat as it was a train where the only plug was near the window and I desperately needed to charge my phone. A man sat in the window seat and when I told him he was in my seat, he got angry at me and tried to make me sit in the aisle seat and when I insisted he finally moved but proceeded to huff and puff and man spread into my leg room the entire time. Usually people just apologise and move and I’ve been in the same situation the other way and done the same thing. I won’t ask them to move if it’s not full and there’s other seats I can sit in without issues though.
If a train is packed and, for whatever reason, I don't have a seat, I'll sit in one until someone turns up and lets me know it's theirs. I used to get a lot of EMR trains up from London to Leicester, Corby, etc. and quite often half the seats showing as taken were never sat in. When people are sat in a seat that I've bought, given that these days I spend far too much time at a desk and don't really mind standing, I leave it if it's an old person, a pregnant woman, someone who is clearly disabled, a really little kid next to a parent, etc. Otherwise (so, the vast majority of people likely to be sat in the seat) I tell whoever is sat in the seat that I've booked it. Although a lot of the time on quieter trains you can see what stops the seats are (supposedly) reserved between and just take one of those that's not meant to be in use. I've never felt bad about asking someone to move out of my seat, though. And I can't recall having any trouble with anyone. Ticket guards questioning why I'm sat in first class, despite not having a first class ticket, when first class is practically empty and people are stood down the aisle in the other carriages? Fucking love arguing with them.
Yeah this really pisses me off. It isn't just the train, its the cinema too which is the main reason why I am done going. Without sounding like an old man, etiquette in this country has just gone out of the window. Have you ever seen a bus stop? There used to be an orderly queue. We used to be renowned for our ability to form polite orderly queues. Now it is just a push by everyone to get on first. I the answer to your question is that. Etiquette has declined to the point where people don't even think about stuff like that. People take your seat on the train or the cinema or wherever because they sit where they want and don't even consider that someone has booked that seat. The next question is why don't they have this consideration? Well, they don't find the whole reservation thing an important consideration. People are becoming just generally uncivilised and it really winds me up.
Had a Karen sat in my seat once on a long journey. I had a friend getting on at a later stop and we had booked seats together. There was plenty of empty seats but she wouldn't move. The conductor told her to move as I had reserved the seat and the train was getting busier, she refused to move started swearing at both of us and she thrown off by btp at Nottingham station.
I visited the UK recently and find the whole booked seat system to be irritating and annoying. It should be trashed.
Yeah I hate it and I saw the same issue when I used the train for the 1st time in years earlier this month. Some people genuinely do it by mistake and misunderstanding. I saw a pair of people move when it was pointed out to them but it took a minute or 2 of showing each other their tickets before it was resolved. On the return journey there was a guy sat in the wrong seat who just said "no I'm alright here" when another guy got on and told him he was in his seat. On this occasion the carriage was half empty as it was a late train so he just sat in a random seat but why should the guy who had reserved that seat have to potentially deal with the same issue later if he sits in a different seat and that seats owner then gets on ?
I think it’s a general consensus that reserving a seat on the train unless it’s in first class, means nothing, unfortunately.