Greater Anglia has announced that rail passengers using their Intercity trains between Norwich – Ipswich – Colchester and London are being advised that they will not be able to reserve seats for 6 months.
No reservations will begin for six months from Saturday 13 July 2019.
This action is part of the company’s preparation for bringing new trains into service. This is because there will be a period when both the old and new trains are in service, however, they have different reservation systems.
The train operating company is taking the step to prevent confusion or misunderstandings for passengers during this transitionary period.
Tickets such as Greater Anglia‘s cheaper Advance fares can still be purchased, and a specific train time selected.
However, as the seating configuration inside the carriages on the new trains and the lettering on the outside is going to be different to the current trains.
What did the officials say?
Greater Anglia’s Business Readiness Director, Andrew Goodrum, said:
“The new trains coming into service is really exciting, but we wanted to avoid any mix ups with reservations while the two fleets are swapped over.
“For example, if a passenger reserved their seat in advance, the reservation would be made for a seat in one of the current older trains. By the time they travel, this could have been swapped to one of the new trains, where all the seats will be different, meaning that they would not be able to find their reservation.
“The new trains are much longer than our existing fleet so getting a seat during the transition won’t be a problem.
“Once the old trains are removed from service our seat reservations system will be reinstated, but during the transition phase people will be able to get used to the new trains and familiarise themselves with the layout.”
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Responses
Suppose it does make any difference to stop seat reservations on Greater Anglia trains operating on the London Liverpool St to Norwich intercity services. As the Class 745 Flirt EMU trains are soon coming into service.
doesn’t*