Ignorant train passengers

timbo58

Murtle wrote: »

But what if you reserve a seat?

Not something I have the luxury of doing sadly - season ticket holders are badly treated as far as seats go :rotfl:

Some tickets come with complimentary reservations, even if you bought 500 tickets all with reserved seats you are not entitled to stop others using unoccupied seats.

The only proviso with reserved seats is they are vacated if occupied when the reserver boards and needs the seat.

IME the best way I would play this as TM is:

1.Seat reserved and no ticket -reserved passenger cannot get seated passenger to move, -ask seated passenger to move again politely, if a polite refusal move reserved passenger to another seat with an apology if one is available or to 1st class.
Announce loudly in front of seated passenger 'does anyone know who removed the seat reservation? I would be VERY interested to know and will be on this train until xxx destination so please just pop along and tell me'.
Always a really good squirm reaction to that one!

2.If seated passenger is rude: chuck them off at next manned station.

gocurlygirl

mysk_girl wrote: »

I travel with 2 children regularly on the train, so I buy one adult and one child ticket with a family railcard (both are under 5 so technically don't need a ticket) and this means I can book 2 paid for seats, which is enough space for me, 4yo and 2yo. We do try and travel on non busy trains, but it's not always possible. I got horrendous abuse from one woman because I wouldnt make my 4yo stand for 4 hours so she could sit down. I can't get both of them on my lap, and even when I pointed out that both seats were paid for and my 4yo would not stand nicely for 4 hours, she ranted on about how it shouldn't be allowed and I was teaching my children to be disrespectful.

It is very sad how little respect there is for families be it mum,dad or both with children.you had every reason to sit down and indeed when I was young it was regarded as the right thing to do to let a mother sit down with her child,we would stand to let them have our seats

gocurlygirl

pleasedelete wrote: »

I think that even if you have the seat reservation and a ticket if you are not on the train it is not your seat. Saw a guard talking to a woman arguing that she had both seats and tickets as her boss wasn't travelling (but had booked and paid). Guard said hard luck and plonked old lady in seat.

Dogs! No-one has mentioned dogs. I was on train and midway in journey automatic doors open and a dog walks through on it's own. Straight past me and on. Bit odd but hey. Go to loo 10 mins later and dog is on a seat alone. Odder still. 30 minutes later guard comes down and sees dog. Calls catering staff and lots of muttering! Dog is carried down the train. I saw the dog getting off at York- the owner had 7 dogs. No wonder they didn't notice. They were in the 1st class quiet coach as well.

Were they the corgis!must sack that lady in waiting lol:rotfl:

aileth

I remember getting a train from London to York, paid a bit extra for first to try and get a bit 'stress free' travel. We were a family of four, get to our table, lady and daughter sat there. We ask her to move, cue, "These aren't your seats", cue pointing to ticket in back of chairs and our own tickets. She swore loudly at us calling us all the names under the sun, slapping her backpack round to make sure all the toggles hit us, and proceeded to move two seats down to another reserved seat, where we could see her.

Next station, another group come on and get her to move from their reserved seats. She refuses, and they have to go get the conductor. Conductor comes, asks to check her ticket, not first class, and not even standard, she didn't have one at all. Conductor told her the price, she refused to pay it and said she deserved to be on the train (and moreover in 1st class) without paying.

Next station, she gets manhandled off the train while her daughter limps meekly behind. It certainly made our journey!

Hmm71

aileth wrote: »

I remember getting a train from London to York, paid a bit extra for first to try and get a bit 'stress free' travel. We were a family of four, get to our table, lady and daughter sat there. We ask her to move, cue, "These aren't your seats", cue pointing to ticket in back of chairs and our own tickets. She swore loudly at us calling us all the names under the sun, slapping her backpack round to make sure all the toggles hit us, and proceeded to move two seats down to another reserved seat, where we could see her.

Next station, another group come on and get her to move from their reserved seats. She refuses, and they have to go get the conductor. Conductor comes, asks to check her ticket, not first class, and not even standard, she didn't have one at all. Conductor told her the price, she refused to pay it and said she deserved to be on the train (and moreover in 1st class) without paying.

Next station, she gets manhandled off the train while her daughter limps meekly behind. It certainly made our journey!

Oh excellent Aileth, . I will admit to sitting in a reserved seat if I can't find an empty unreserved seat but I do always check the reservation ticket and get up at the station from where the reservation starts.

skintsue

It used to happen to me as well. Especially annoying are the ones who use the window seat for their bag and sit in the aisle seat so it looks like they are both taken.
I'd stand near them if there were no seats available elsewhere with my back to them, and sway from side to side more and more whenever as the train picked up speed or went over tracks.
After a couple of bumps in the face from a (then) 16 and half stone backside, they usually moved across and put the bag on their knee.
Better than me landing on them.;)

At leastI didn't do what an ex did - he enjoyed curry - a lot - and was not averse to sharing the aroma the next day when forced to stand when someone was taking up two seats.

Grandmama

This has reminded me of when I was about 7. About 1953. Steam trains then, Flying scotsman all the way from London to Edinbrugh, about 7 hours. In those days they did not have open carriages but small compartments. Every time someone tried to come into the compartment my Mum would tell them I had Chicken Pox (untrue). We had that compartment all to ourselves all the way!
This August (2012) I travelled Cross Country trains, Stafford to Brockenhurst. Get a cheap upgrade to 1st Class on the way down as it was the weekend. Lovely trip, 2nd class was fullish. Came back 2nd class later in the week and it was horrendous. Had to turf someone out of my reserved seat, I felt crammed in, and carriage smelt sweaty and smelly.
Having to do that journey in this October again. Booked 1st class both ways this time. Saved a bit by booking early and using my Senior railcard. Well worth it to visit my grandchildren and possiblly new Great grandson (due at that time.)

Lou67

I am with the OP here: People taking up entire seats with their bag or case and keeping their nose in their book or magazine when people are walking down the train (to avoid eye contact with anyone,) REALLY pee me off! And God forbid you ask them to move if you want to sit down. Why do some people think their bag deserves a seat of its own?:question:

axomoxia

I don't know about you, but by making sure that my usual half drunk can of Tennants Super and suspiciously soiled copy of "Razzle" are prominently displayed in front of me, I'm pretty much guaranteed a seat to myself. No idea why.....

Balgair

I guess I'd be hated by many in this thread, since I do put a bag next to me on trains which aren't full when I travel alone. But I have a reason, actually... I have Asperger Syndrome and one of the ways it affects me is that having strangers in my close personal space is extremely stressful for me (as a result I only rarely travel anyway). Naturally, if the train is clearly filling up, I suck it up and move my bag so people aren't left without a seat; I'm not so selfish as to force somebody to stand. But if the train is not full, then I put a bag beside me to try and encourage people to use the empty seats a little further down the carriage - I must say I find the comments from people who'd deliberately sit next to someone with a bag next to them rather upsetting, as being forced to share a seat always leaves me very stressed out, it takes several hours to recover after a long train journey if I had to share the seat. Unfortunately the trains I travel on most often don't have single seats in standard class (I can't afford first class), or I'd use them!

As for other peeves, abuse of the quiet carriage really gets me. Last time I was travelling by train (fortunately with my partner so at least we had a double seat reserved for us only), a whole 20-plus people in fancy dress, very drunk and very noisy, got in at Newcastle and we got to enjoy their company until York (over an hour later). We'd chosen the quiet coach because travelling is stressful for me at the best of times and quietness helps me a lot, so that level of noise was extremely upsetting to me.

I don't mind dogs on trains though, so long as they're looked after, had one cheeky little fellow keep sticking his nose in my bag one time, had to encourage him elsewhere but it made me laugh. Another time saw the biggest dog I have ever seen, whose owner rather wisely had booked a double seat; the dog stayed on the floor but even when its nose was by the side wall of the carriage, the rear end was still sticking out into the aisle! Lovely looking dog though and got a lot of friendly attention from everyone passing by