Coronavirus Travel Information FAQs

We're excited to welcome you back onboard our trains. With our Covid Aware safe travel pledge, you can book and travel with confidence, when you're ready.

We know that travelling on long journeys can be overwhelming. We have:

• Made our ticket change policy flexible
• Increased our onboard and station cleaning
• Introduced reservation-only travel so that each customer has a socially distanced seat.

We're here to welcome you onboard, when you're ready to travel.

Our safe travel pledge

The current government guidelines suggest that you may travel by train for non-essential journeys such as staycations and visiting family and friends. We've made our trains and stations as safe as possible so that you can travel in confidence. Please be aware of any local or regional lockdowns that may affect your travel.

We want to give you travel confidence with our safe travel pledge. We're looking forward to welcoming you onboard.

Our safe travel pledge

All our seats are socially distanced but some trains will still be busier than others. Where possible you should travel when our trains are quieter, midweek Monday to Thursday, and avoid busy travel times. Use our tool to check for quieter trains. 

Check for quieter trains

Face coverings must be worn in stations and on our trains, unless you are exempt. Otherwise you could be fined £100.

It is important that you sit in your designated coach and seat number shown on your ticket or reservation confirmation email. All seats are socially distanced from other passengers. 

If you have a ticket but need a seat reservation you can make one quickly and easily online using our seat reservation tool. 

•  For how to make a face covering go to the government how to guide.

There are different rules for children depending on where you are travelling for information on face coverings in England click here, and for information in Scotland click here. 

You can still use public transport. We want you to be able to travel with dignity and our staff will act considerately towards those who cannot wear a face covering due to their disability or medical condition.

See here for exemptions in England.

See here for exemptions in Scotland. 

At our biggest stations, National Rail are getting transparent face coverings for people in their mobility teams. Elsewhere, a common-sense approach will be taken. There are more FAQs on National Rail’s Assisted Travel FAQs page.

You should continue to maintain your distance from other passengers. Some people may be exempt from wearing a face covering on public transport. For exemptions in England click here, and exemptions in Scotland click here.

To support social distancing and to  ensure a safe number of customers can travel on each of our trains, we are asking customers to purchase a ticket in advance of travel if possible and have reservation-only travel in place. Find out more about seat reservations here.

Yes, if you require assistance for your journey you can book Passenger Assist when you're making a booking on a desktop or tablet device. Alternatively, you can book assistance here. All assistance requests must be booked by 18.00 the day before travel.

You can still book a place for your wheelchair on our trains. First thing's first: make sure you're on a desktop or tablet device when you're making your booking. When you’re on the 'seating preference' section click on 'assistance request' and request a wheelchair space. 

We’ll forward your details to our Assisted Travel team who'll contact you to confirm the space has been reserved. If a wheelchair space isn't available on the train you've requested, they'll ask if you can travel at another time. In the worst case scenario, you may have to cancel your booking.

If you'd like to talk to someone about your specific needs, contact our Assisted Travel team on:

• Let us know, at least by 5pm the day before you travel, so we can help make sure you have a hassle-free journey. But, even if you need a hand on the day, we’ll still do everything we can for you.
• Live Chat daily between the hours of 08:00 - 22:00 - on our Help and support pages.
• Call 03457 225 225 daily between the hours of 08:00 - 22:00.
• Request assistance online via the assisted travel form.
• Or use the Text Relay Service on 18001 03457 225 225. 
•  

All assistance requests must be booked by 18.00 the day before travel.

Our station Travel Centres are open. Please check the various opening times here.

We would prefer customers to use card or contactless payments but we still accept cash. 

There have been no confirmed train cancellations due to the Coronavirus. LNER and other train operating companies are continuing to run a normal service throughout the UK.

No. If you have been diagnosed with Coronavirus or are showing symptoms, you should follow the advice from the NHS.

No. If you have been asked by 111 or a medical professional to self-isolate you should avoid public places and contact with other people until you are told it is safe to do so. The NHS has more information about how to self-isolate.

If you are suffering cold or flu-like symptoms or live with someone who does, you should self-isolate for 14 days. During this time, you should avoid the use of public transport and should have minimal contact with others. If you need to use public transport to travel home and self isolate, you should take extra care to keep away from others and catch coughs and sneezes in a tissue. You can find more information about self-isolating on the NHS website.

You should follow NHS advice to reduce the risk of catching Coronavirus:

• wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
• always wash your hands when you get home or into work
• use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
• cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• put used tissues in the bin straight away and wash your hands afterwards
• try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell
• avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean

This is a temporary change to support our customers at this unprecedented time, so customers can book with confidence and are not out of pocket if plans change. Please continue to visit the Coronavirus Travel Information page for the latest information.

Yes, our book with confidence booking policy applies at the point at which you make your purchase, rather than when you plan to travel.

Yes, you can change your tickets quickly and easily in your account area.

Or you can speak to our Customer Service Team on Live Chat between the hours of 08:00-22:00 - on our Help and support pages, email customers@lner.co.uk or call 03457 225 333 to discuss your plans.

• If you bought your ticket from another company, such as the Trainline, please contact them and follow their refund procedure.
• If you bought your ticket from one of our stations you can view our revised opening hours during Coronavirus here.

If you require a refund on your car park season ticket or PlusBus ticket, please make contact with the company who the ticket was purchased from. You will then receive confirmation of the amount to be refund, and the process to be followed. Car park season tickets and PlusBus tickets will be backdated 56 days from the date of receipt.

If you have Rail Travel Vouchers which are due to expire between the 17 March 2020 and 16 September 2020, the will be valid for a further 6 months after the original expiry date. You do not need to exchange the voucher before use.

We are working with our industry partners in the best way to assist you if you have a railcard and have not been able travel during COVD-19.

As soon as we have further information from Railcards.co.uk we will update our website.

Our station toilets are open for you to wash your hands regularly when travelling.

Each of our trains has toilets with soap, running water and hand dryers so you can travel safely and wash your hands on the go.

We are in the process of installing hand sanitisers at our stations. Station toilets are open for you to wash your hands regularly. It is recommended that you carry your own hand sanitiser for times when washing your hands isn't possible.

You are able to temporarily remove your face covering to consume food or drink on board our train, providing you are socially distanced from other passengers. Your face covering should be put back on after. We have reintroduced limited catering back on our trains, find out more here. 

We are reintroducing ticket checks onboard. Before travelling please ensure you have a valid ticket for the train you are on as well as a seat reservation.

If you've bought a flexible ticket (i.e. Off-Peak or flexible return) and the train you're trying to make a seat reservation for is full, please consider changing your journey time.

If you're at the station and you don't have a seat reservation you must make one before you board. We recommend doing this as soon as possible before you set off to guarantee the time of train you want to travel on.

We're ensuring all customers can travel safely and sit socially distanced when onboard.

Make a seat reservation