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I've used these train for many years on and off, at different times, and there've always been spaces from Cardiff to London. Only once I think I couldn't get on in London.
Now though you apparently need a reservation. Ok, so I called up, and I was told there are no spaces on any of the trains to Swindon tomorrow morning.
I'm not quite convinced, tbh. Something tells me something's not working quite right. Has anyone else run into this problem booking trains? Are people still just turning up?
Right, tried to book with Virgin, and it seems that it may be because it's after 6pm.. hmm...
That's utter tosh. None of the people with season tickets will book seats. Turn up. You'll be fine.
So you think the policy's not going to be enforced? Don't really want to gamble...
New policy starts 16 may 2016 thats tomorow, so every one booking bike spaces and only 6 per train.
On every single train between 4.25am and 11.59am?
I assumed you meant seats. Not bike space 😳
I'd be less confident of that.
Probably staff cant be bothered, engineering works so no trains,or computer says no.
Hah, lol! I omitted to mention I was talking about bike spaces! Sorry.
allowable route cardiff to glouceste, to swindon via stroud
I've used the train a lot from Cardiff this year...
A fairly regular trip to Chesterfield requires me to change at Bristol Parkway, so I have to use FGW trains to / from Paddington. Most seats have reservations TBH, but a lot of them aren't taken until you get to Bristol. Return journeys are worse - because travelling on an (expensive) open ticket to allow for meeting time flexibility, you often return on a train with no available seats.
CrossCountry are as bad as FGW. They give out (normal passenger) reservations for the disability access seats - so a ticket has cost £200-300, you've got a reserved seat, and you then have to stand 👿
BTW - no problem with giving up my seat, my problem is with the train company... WTF are they doing issuing reservations on disability access seats???
In '81 the London Bristol service was often full and standing, last time I went to a rugby international in Cardiff by train it was standing only. Sounds like you've been quite lucky in the past ! As per @rkk seats are often reserved but not taken, from memory if you book tickets system insists on making a seat reservation.
You've needed a reservation on FGW trains for years. I don't think anyone's ever asked to check mine.
I used to commute Port Talbot into Cardiff and would sometimes take the bike in. Sometimes on the homebound journey there would be about 12 bikes rammed in the space meant for 4. I only ever saw one occasion where the guard was refusing to let bikes on because all the spaces were taken (luckily for me this happened as I was getting off the train).