Re: Couple on train
As someone who commuted for the last 20 years, there are countless times that arguments ensued between those who booked seats only to find others sitting in them.
For starters, you may not know, but to reserve a seat costs nothing. The train I caught every morning from a very small country train station had one Arriva train per hour on the one track up and one track down, with no other franchise but that one, This train always consisted of just two carriages.
Most people caught the 6.58 am or the 8.10am commuter trains, which, thankfully, ours was the second stop after starting out from Chester, so most people were able to get a seat before the train was inevitably packed.
Our station is where most commuters got on the train.
The problem of sitting in reserved seats always seemed to start when people got on these two carriage Arriva rickety old rolling stock to see empty carriages but every seat with a card on the back, ready for people who had reserved a seat further along the line at stations to Birmingham where the journey ended. Of course people were going to sit in them. I was usually fortunate enough to be able to find the odd seat that didn't have a reservation ticket because I knew there would be ructions further on down the line.
By the time the train had left the next station, Shrewsbury, one could not fail to hear arguments going on about reserved seats being taken, people would be shouting at each other, one saying ''those are our reserved seats'' and the other saying ''go speak to the guard then'' knowing full well the guard was usually hiding somewhere until the dust had settled. (I kid you not).
This was the daily ritual. My personal opinion. Stations should under no circumstances reserve seats between the hours of 7am and 10am as these are commuter trains.
It would be different if people actually paid to reserve seats, but they don't. And those who have weekly, monthly or annual season tickets, which most commuters do, THEY are not allowed to reserve seats. (quite rightly).
It's unfortunate for the unknowing public who decide to travel during these hours and reserve seats, but that is the way it was, and still is.