A guide to seat reservations on trains

On many trains in Great Britain, it’s possible to reserve a seat. But how do you make a reservation and what else do you need to know about them? We’ve got you covered with our guide to seat reservations on trains.

What are seat reservations on trains?

A seat reservation is your way of making sure that you’re able to sit down on your trip. It’s the only way of guaranteeing that you’ll be able to get a seat. On most trains in Great Britain, you can travel without one. But, it might mean that you have to stand. And on a long trip, you don’t want to have to do that!

When will I get seat reservations on trains?

When you book a ticket with Railsmartr, we’ll always offer you a seat reservation if they’re available. Advance train tickets always come with a seat reservation, too. This is because they’re tied to a specific train, and by allocating you a seat, it means that companies can keep track of how many tickets they’ve sold.

Which trains offer seat reservations?

When it comes to seat reservations on trains, whether or not you get a seat reservation can depend on the company and where the train is going. Here’s our handy summary to which companies offer seat reservations, so you know what to expect:

Operator	Seat reservations?	Additional Information
Avanti West Coast	Yes
c2c	No
Caledonian Sleeper	Yes	Reservations are compulsory
Chiltern Railways	No
CrossCountry	Yes
East Midlands Railway	Yes	Only on trains between Sheffield/Nottingham and London
Eurostar	Yes	Reservations are compulsory
Gatwick Express	No
Grand Central	Yes
Great Northern	No
Great Western Railway	Yes	Only on trains to/from London. Reservations on the Night Riviera sleeper train are compulsory
Greater Anglia	No
Heathrow Express	No
Hull Trains	Yes
LNER	Yes
London Northwestern Railway	No
London Overground	No
Lumo	Yes	Reservations strongly recommended
Merseyrail	No
Northern	No
ScotRail	Yes	Long-distance services only
South Western Railway	No
Southeastern	No
Southern	No
Stansted Express	No
Thameslink	No
TransPennine Express	Yes
Transport for Wales	No
West Midlands Railway	No

What happens if I can’t sit in my seat?

We know this can be frustrating. If you book a seat reservation, it’s only natural that you expect to be able to sit in your seat! There are a couple of reasons why this might happen.

If the seat reservation system isn’t working on your train or the reservations haven’t been marked, then this usually means that the reservations have been cancelled. This is because it would be difficult for people without reservations to know where they can sit! In this case, simply take any available seat.

It might also happen if there has been disruption. Reservations might not have been able to be downloaded if a train didn’t start at its normal station.

If this happens and you can’t find a seat, speak to a member of staff if you can. Some rail operators also have a seat guarantee scheme, which means that you might be able to get a refund if you had to stand up. The main company that offers this is LNER.

I don’t have a seat number! What now?

Sometimes, if you get an Advance train ticket, it might look something like this:

But what does it mean when you’ve been given a reservation that says ‘no specific seat’?

When you purchase an Advance ticket, you need to catch that specific train. However, rail operators can’t sell an endless number of Advance tickets, as they’d end up becoming too full! By issuing you a reservation with no specific seat reserved, they’re giving you what’s known as a counted place. This allows them to monitor how many tickets have been sold for the train. Once they’ve sold a certain number, these counted place reservations will run out and they’ll stop selling Advance tickets for that train.

If you’ve booked an Advance ticket very close to your departure time, you may also find that there is no specific seat reserved for you. It can also happen during large events where trains are expected to be busier than normal.

I can’t stand up and need a seat!

We know that sometimes, people might not be able to stand. Whatever the reason is that you’re unable to stand, there are two things that might help you.

First of all, you’ll find priority seats on every train. They’re clearly marked and are designed to be given up when someone who needs a seat needs to sit in one. Many operators also offer a priority seat card, which means that you can show it in order to ask someone to let you sit down.

It’s also possible to book assistance for your journey. Click here to find out more about booking assistance.