Man Completely Baffled By Train Rule After Passenger Sits In Seat He Booked

A passenger’s recounting of their experience on a UK train has left Brits up in arms.

While you would certainly be forgiven for thinking that if you book a specific seat on a train, you’ll be damn well entitled to sit in it, it turns out that may not actually be the case at all, as one traveller found out… 

One Redditor has revealed that when they boarded their train and went to find their seat there was already someone sitting in it - this happens all the time you say, all you’ve got to do is politely ask them to move and all will be solved, but not in this case. 

The poster explained that when they came to their pre-booked table seat, they were met with four guys who 'refused to move' because the train was 'packed' and they wanted to remain sat together.

The passenger wrote: “The ticket collecter then passed and I asked him to help. "He asked the guy to move but he refused and somehow that was that.

"'So what now?' I asked. 'You can find another seat but I have no power to move him, only the police can move him and they will not turn up just to move someone out of a seat,' [the ticket collector said]."

He continued to explain that after looking around, he realised that the carriage was completely full, leaving him facing the prospect of having to stand all the way to London despite having paid for a seat. 

However, rather than battling against the four guys, he had a brainwave. “I'm going to take a seat in first class,” he then told the ticket inspector, noting that first class has ‘better surroundings, power sockets and free tea and coffee'.

"You can't sit there, you don't have a booking,” replied the ticket inspector, only to have his own previous words used in response: "Well, you could call the police to move me but apparently they won't turn out to move someone out of a seat.”

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They finished the post writing: "I had a lovely trip with power for my laptop and a wide comfy seat.”

As you can imagine, people were quick respond, expressing their outrage in the comments.

"How do the staff not have the authority though? You agree to follow their instructions when you buy a ticket. Doesn't seem like they should require police to enforce basic rules," wrote one person.

Someone else revealed how the conflict would have been handled in Ireland. "I used to work on the train from Belfast to Dublin. The conductor would not let the train leave if someone was breaking the rules, aka walk into first class, harass staff etc. 

“Many times the police would be waiting at the next stop. It sucks for other passengers but that makes their walk of shame even more enjoyable," they said.

Another person added: "You agree to their terms buying a ticket, but the staff don't have any more legal power over you. If you don't move or leave when asked, the only people that can force you to comply are the police because individual citizens do not have the right to apply physical force to one another.

"Reasonable force is a right that all citizens have, including rail workers, but rail workers don't have any more right to use physical force than that provision. Therefore, if physical force is required to enforce rail regulations, rail workers will call for police assistance."