The UK’s London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has announced that it will introduce ‘reservation only’ travel from 18 May amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
This move will be implemented until further notice.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Only passengers who have a reservation for a particular service can board the train.
By introducing ‘reservation only’ travel, LNER will be able to manage the number of passengers on one train and passengers will be able to sit at a distance from each other to ensure social distancing.
Passengers will have to reserve their seat or if they are using a flexible ticket such as a season ticket, they can avail the online seat reservation tool or speak to staff.
Passengers who have an existing reservation should choose a seat at a distance and ignore the seat details.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataNorthern has also announced that it will change the timetables, which will aid the essential workers to travel.
A Northern spokesperson said: “From next week, we will begin to introduce an amended timetable that will introduce additional services on some routes. However, due to social distancing, there will be significantly reduced capacity on each and every one of our trains.
“We’re therefore calling on people to help us keep the railway clear for those who need it most and to only take the train if there’s no other way to travel. Those customers who have to travel by train should plan ahead, check the new timetable, and consider whether journeys are absolutely essential.”
Last week, UK-based Rail Delivery Group announced that there is a 25% increase in people planning for rail journeys, which has prompted train companies to urge passengers to only travel when necessary.
