Avanti tickets sold out

MrChips

Hi - would appreciate any input into my query below.

A friend and I need to travel up to Manchester from Euston for the final weekend of August as we are going to the Old Trafford test match with a group of friends.  We are travelling up on the afternoon of Friday 26 August to stay with one of our group who lives in Stockport.

I tried buying rail tickets towards the beginning of August but the website said this wasn't possible as the timetable was being reworked due to all the industrial action.

This morning I've gone on again to see if it's now allowing bookings and it says all [literally all] tickets on all services on the Friday are sold out.  We were going to get an off peak return which I understand requires travel up on the specific date booked, but is flexible about which date you return.

Is there anyway to actually get a ticket? I would be willing to stand all the way if necessary.  Would we have more luck if I tried to buy a ticket from a machine or booking office in person?

Many thanks...

msa1204

Ticket have not sold out , but Avanti have stopped selling them till timetable is confirmed.

There is a section on Avanti Webb site which is updated when tickets will be released.

MrChips

You are correct - I just found that part of their website.  That's a relief, many thanks.

SiliconChip

The problem is going to be that the trains will be crammed to bursting point because the people who already had tickets on the many trains that have now been cancelled will be permitted to travel on the train before or after that is still running, so there will be 3 times as many people as usual on board.

I had already bought tickets to travel from Birmingham to Euston for the Oval test match, the train down has been cancelled but the train back is still running, but because of the likely overcrowding I'm considering getting a refund and rebooking either with London Northwestern or Chiltern, although I'm not sure whether I'll be able to get tickets at the same cost even though both operators are usually cheaper than Avanti.

millie

SiliconChip said:

The problem is going to be that the trains will be crammed to bursting point because the people who already had tickets on the many trains that have now been cancelled will be permitted to travel on the train before or after that is still running, so there will be 3 times as many people as usual on board.

I had already bought tickets to travel from Birmingham to Euston for the Oval test match, the train down has been cancelled but the train back is still running, but because of the likely overcrowding I'm considering getting a refund and rebooking either with London Northwestern or Chiltern, although I'm not sure whether I'll be able to get tickets at the same cost even though both operators are usually cheaper than Avanti.

The problem with Chiltern is that you cannot reserve seats so they may be packed and standing too. 

marmite1979

Avanti's website for some stupid reason stopped allowing you to book trains that are unreserved and without selecting the train will not let you proceed to payment.

It does make it look like they are fully booked yet the whole train will show ''available'' when you board above the seats, so its a mad rush on the train to get yourself a seat.

In the meantime the train you booked a seat on will have ''reserved'' showing with passengers not boarding and travelling later. So you'll see the carriage relay with passengers heading up and down checking and passing every seat.

You also get those who did get a seat booked on the unreserved train turfing passengers out of the seat on their ticket, even though it ''available'' to anyone.

Even when the Covid restrictions reduced passenger numbers they were doing this, so I gather it'd be even worse now.

If you are buying off-peak train tickets then my way round it is to select the first available train to get through to completing the payment and travel back on the train you wish after peak times. 

millie

There are still no tickets on sale from Birmingham International to London Euston on sale for Saturday 3rd September. This is less than a week away. They say timetables have not been finalised. We have beeen waiting to go and see family for weeks but the train problem keeps messing up our plans.

p00hsticks

millie said:

There are still no tickets on sale from Birmingham International to London Euston on sale for Saturday 3rd September. This is less than a week away. They say timetables have not been finalised. We have beeen waiting to go and see family for weeks but the train problem keeps messing up our plans.

That's appears to be becasue there are scheduled engineering works oround London Euston on that date

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/currentAndFuture.aspx?TravelDate=03/09/2022&TOC=vt

millie

p00hsticks said:

millie said:

There are still no tickets on sale from Birmingham International to London Euston on sale for Saturday 3rd September. This is less than a week away. They say timetables have not been finalised. We have beeen waiting to go and see family for weeks but the train problem keeps messing up our plans.

That's appears to be becasue there are scheduled engineering works oround London Euston on that date

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/currentAndFuture.aspx?TravelDate=03/09/2022&TOC=vt

Can’t get the link to work but I went into a local railway station yesterday and they booked the tickets for me. I still couldn’t do it online. Not tried since yesterday. Travelling from Birmingham International Saturday 3rd September