A perennial favourite of DiS, but this story has irked me something royal.
The complete refusal of the train companies to try and solve these problems, even though they fall over themselves to fine you for travelling without a ticket or travelling on the wrong service, or sitting in first when you’ve paid for standard. Get fucked you bastards! We’re going nationalise you and you have a seat reserved in hell!
The woman was pregnant as well wasn’t she and the oldies just refused to move. Tories no doubt.
Pure gammon.
I’m the sort of guy that loves to reserve a seat on a train and then sit in that seat for the duration of my journey
I got annoyed by this too.
If the train companies can make you pay full fare if you get on the wrong train, lose your ticket or forget your railcard, why can’t they add a clause that says if you occupy someone else’s reserved seat you’re liable to pay a penalty fare. Problem solved.
The article doesn’t even mention the frequent issue of the train operators not even bothering to sort out the seat reservations, and announcing you can just sit anywhere. Leads to chaos at every stop.
It would be better if:
0 voters
ah cool so you don’t need to reserve and can sit anywhere you want and no one will do anything?
sweet
with mobile techniology, it wouldn’t be too tricky to do it live, either.
Yep, if you’re willing to put up with social ostracism and mild tutting, you’re golden.
I mean we all knew that was the case, that’s how the worst people in the world glide through life, but we shouldn’t admit that to them.
I once had an amusing rail journey from Euston to Brum when an old couple similar to the one in the OP were berating a man sitting opposite them because he was in a reserved seat that wasn’t his… even though the person who had reserved it was not on the train.
i suppose the problem then is being able to get a different train. but then you can’t guarantee a seat if you can’t guarantee which train you’ll get.
Whenever I’ve been on a Cross Country train in recent times, there’s been nowhere enough train for the route.
I say this at every opportunity but Cross Country are the absolute fucking worst.
It’s always a minefield. I travelled Paddington - Cardiff on Friday evening. Went to my assigned carriage and got on, was a mix of reserved and non-reserved seats. The other seat in my two was also reserved, but thought I’d sit there and see what happened, of course, the other person showed up and we squashed in, while all the unreserved pairs only had one person in each. I should have just sat in one of them!
Then on the way back, travelling with wife and kid, we only had two reserved seats, I managed to sit separately till Swindon then it filled up and everyone claimed their seats so I moved and we crammed into our two. The system worked.
If I ever get on a train with a reserved seat and then I get to my seat and there is someone sat in it what I tend to do is say “Excuse me, I think you’re sat in my seat, sorry!” with a kind of nervous chuckle to show that I am at ease with the situation but I am also looking to rectify it.
pregnant, travelling on a long journey with three other kids, think she was probably tired and that was the final straw. Completely get why she was pissed off.
Experienced similar to this. Had to stand up by the toilets holding a 8 week old baby for 4.5 hours, it was boiling hot and thought I might faint, but the tory couple in the seat I booked wouldn’t budge.
never apologise, it shows weakness, Bad Tone wouldn’t apologise in this situation
That’s disgusting. Fully irked on your behalf. Can’t believe someone didn’t give up a seat for you.