Trapped in the reservation limbo

Following power car problems yesterday, had a reasonable trip up this morning marred only by one issue that seems to be occuring rather a lot recently: the failure to print off the seat-back reservations.

My big grievance with this is that it leaves passengers in a bit of a limbo having no idea what to do. And it's not helped by the fact that I've never heard a train manager clarify the situation. Let me give you an example.

Today's train manager, Steve, delivered a very lengthy announcement at each stop, which was full of apologies but did nothing to help passengers. He said - and I'm using his words as closely as I can remember them - that passengers with seats should be 'accommodating' if approached by a fellow passenger with a reservation for that seat; and that passengers with reservation should be 'mindful' that the person sitting in their allocated seat wasn't aware that it was reserved.

That's all fine, but the question is...WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN? Have I got a reservation or not? If I'm sitting down and some guy comes up waving a reservation at me, can I tell him to take a running jump or not?

Why, oh why don't train managers cut to the chase and simply tell us whether the reservations are valid or not? That's what everybody wants to know.

Apologising for the lack of them is fine, but it doesn't provide the specific bit of information every passenger is waiting for.

In my two and a half years of daily commuting, I've been on lots of trains on which the reservations have not been placed, and heard lots of train manager announcements - but none of them every say 'Yes, the reservations are still valid' or 'No, they're not'. Instead it's left to passengers to somehow muddle through, having to make up the rules as they go. Asking us to be 'mindful' and 'accommodating' sounds lovely but just creates utter confusion. On the flip side, it means that the train manager doesn't really have to deal with the issue - unless a couple of customers come to fisticuffs.

So train managers, please, if there are no reservations on the seats, can you make it clear whether reservations are valid or not. That would save us all a lot of aggro and, frankly, make the journey more enjoyable.

PS I was also fascinated by Steve's request this morning for all rail personnel with passes to give up their seats because of overcrowding - which he reminded them was a privilege, not a right - but this didn't apply to retired personnel or their dependents, who could keep their seats. Nice. Didn't make a jot of difference, though. No one gave up their seats to any fare paying passengers as usual. Que sera sera.