Onboard

We’re very happy for pushchairs, prams and buggies to be on our trains, just as long as you make sure they’re folded at all times and stored the same way as any other item of luggage.

Be careful not to put pushchairs and prams in wheelchair spaces as a wheelchair user might join later in the journey.

Unfortunately, we cannot offer assisted travel for help with prams, buggies or pushchairs. However, our station and onboard staff will be happy to help you when and where they can. 

Unfortunately, we cannot heat any baby food products onboard, including bottles. The reason for this is that the equipment that we use onboard is a lot more powerful than what is in your kitchen at home. We are obligated to keep all our customers safe and can only heat products that have been thoroughly tested by our catering team. 

Children should not travel on their own on an LNER train until they are mature enough to understand the risks involved with rail travel. It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to make this decision.

LNER staff are unable to provide a chaperone service and if we notice a child travelling on their own and we are worried about their safety we will contact the British Transport Police for assistance.

You'll find some helpful guidance for children travelling alone by the British Transport Police here.

Up to two children, aged 4 years old and under, can travel free of charge with a fare paying adult. Please bear in mind that as they do not have a ticket, on busy trains they will be expected to sit on your lap. You will need to purchase a childs ticket for any additional children (even if they are under 5).

If your children are aged between 5 and 15 we offer discounted fares which are available here on our website.

If you're travelling as a family, the Family Return ticket might also be a great saving for you and it offers a flexible return ticket, find out more here.

Some stations have baby-changing facilities, but not all. You can check a specific station using our Station Information page.

Our new LNER Azuma trains have baby-changing facilities in all toilets. On our electric trains, there are baby-changing facilities in coaches F and L. Check our seat maps to see how close your seat is to the onboard baby-changing facilities.

Stations we call at that do not have baby changing facilities:

• Alnmouth
• Blair Atholl
• Bradford Forster Square
• Brough Station
• Carrbridge
• Harrogate
• Horsforth
• Keighley
• Lincoln Central
• Morpeth
• Newtonmore
• Northallerton
• Perth

Unfortunately we do not have the space to carry Tricycles, cycle trailers or double deck cycles.  However, tandems are accepted if they conform to the following specifications and have two reservations: 100cm in height x 60cm in width x 260cm

Yes, as long as you make a reservation for both the bike and the trailer. You can make a reservation when you book your tickets, or in the My Bookings section of the website. Your cycle trailer can't exceed 150x150x100cm in size and should be able to be carried into the driver or guard's van. Please call Web Support on 03457 225 333 to make your trailer reservation, or visit one of our Travel Centres.

No. Trains are not permitted to carry any petrol–powered vehicles, for safety reasons.

Yes, we love to be green so you can carry your bike free of charge on LNER trains as long as you have a valid ticket and you have made a reservation for your bike. Spaces are limited and subject to availability. Find out how to make a bike reservation here.

If you're travelling with another train operator on your journey you'll need to check their own policy too. You can do this by visiting the National Rail website.

Unfortunately, we cannot heat any baby food products onboard, including bottles. The reason for this is that the equipment that we use onboard is a lot more powerful than what is in your kitchen at home. We are obligated to keep all our customers safe and can only heat products that have been thoroughly tested by our catering team. 

With a £4 Foodbar voucher, you’ll be able to get £5 worth of food and drink from the Foodbar.

You can purchase a Cafe Bar voucher from the Travel Centres at the station.

Changes to onboard catering

Following the latest guidance from the government we will be temporarily removing onboard catering from all our trains to protect both our customers and colleagues and reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and recommend bringing refreshments with you or purchasing them from station food retailers before you board.

Find out more

All our trains should have a trolley service and Let's Eat Cafe Bar, where you can buy a range of delicious hot and cold food and thirst quenching drinks. In First Class, we offer complimentary food and drink and if your journey is longer than 70 minutes we'll serve a hot meal, Monday to Friday.

On the weekend and bank holidays we offer a separate First Class menu. Get a taste for what's currently on the Cafe Bar menu here and our First Class menu here.

We’re very happy for pushchairs, prams and buggies to be on our trains, just as long as you make sure they’re folded at all times and stored the same way as any other item of luggage.

Be careful not to put pushchairs and prams in wheelchair spaces as a wheelchair user might join later in the journey.

No. Trains are not permitted to carry any petrol–powered vehicles, for safety reasons.

You can bring up to three pieces of luggage on our trains. If your luggage is too big or you have some extra items, you’ll have to place them in bulk storage. And you need to be able to handle it yourself (unless you have restricted mobility and have booked assistance).

You can find out more about our luggage policy here.

If you've bought your tickets through our Group Travel Team just let them know how much luggage you are planning to take. On some journeys and depending on the type of train, we may be able to carry your luggage in bulk storage.

Unfortunately we don't have luggage handling staff, however our station and onboard crew will be more than happy to help where ever they can. 

Labelling your luggage makes it easier for us to find if it was to get misplaced or lost. It is also part of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage.

When travelling with us, you’ll need to label all luggage with your name, address, destination station and a contact number. Your luggage may have built in label sleeves, but if not, it’s a good idea to write your details on a piece of card and tie it securely to the handle.

Ask a member of our station or on-board team and they’ll help you with the nuts and bolts. Some of our trains do have bulk storage areas, which our team will be happy to direct you to.

Yes. You can bring up to two dogs, cats or other small pets with you for free, as long as they aren’t taking up a seat! For each additional pet, you may have to pay up to a maximum of £5.00 for each journey. We can make special arrangements for customers travelling with an assistance dog, you can book through our assisted travel team on 0345 722 5225. Here’s some extra information on travelling with pets.

Yes, we love to be green so you can carry your bike free of charge on LNER trains as long as you have a valid ticket and you have made a reservation for your bike. Spaces are limited and subject to availability. Find out how to make a bike reservation here.

If you're travelling with another train operator on your journey you'll need to check their own policy too. You can do this by visiting the National Rail website.

With a £4 Foodbar voucher, you’ll be able to get £5 worth of food and drink from the Foodbar.

You can purchase a Cafe Bar voucher from the Travel Centres at the station.

Changes to onboard catering

Following the latest guidance from the government we will be temporarily removing onboard catering from all our trains to protect both our customers and colleagues and reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and recommend bringing refreshments with you or purchasing them from station food retailers before you board.

Find out more

All our trains should have a trolley service and Let's Eat Cafe Bar, where you can buy a range of delicious hot and cold food and thirst quenching drinks. In First Class, we offer complimentary food and drink and if your journey is longer than 70 minutes we'll serve a hot meal, Monday to Friday.

On the weekend and bank holidays we offer a separate First Class menu. Get a taste for what's currently on the Cafe Bar menu here and our First Class menu here.

Yes. You can bring up to two dogs, cats or other small pets with you for free, as long as they aren’t taking up a seat! For each additional pet, you may have to pay up to a maximum of £5.00 for each journey. We can make special arrangements for customers travelling with an assistance dog, you can book through our assisted travel team on 0345 722 5225. Here’s some extra information on travelling with pets.

Starting from lunchtime, we serve alcoholic drinks to First Class customers aged over 18. We don’t serve free alcoholic drinks on weekends or bank holidays, only on weekdays.

Yes, you are allowed to drink alcohol onboard our trains, as long as it’s in moderation. We want you to have a good time but our priority is passenger safety so any antisocial behaviour or breaking any laws or railway by-laws might mean we ask you to leave the train (at a station, of course). We offer a small selection of alcoholic beverages from our food bar, all of which are complimentary for our First Class passengers. 

We may stop service to any person that we decide is intoxicated or impaired.

From time to time, we run certain services as teetotal, 'dry trains'. This means that no alcohol is allowed on board. This normally happens on the advice of British Transport Police when we know a large group will be travelling. Lots of people drinking in a confined space has been known to end in tears, and nobody wants that. 

If a train is going 'dry' we make the decision at least 48 hours before departure. You can find these updates publicised in the departure stations, or on the timetable changes page.

You'll be able to see which seating preferences are available once you've chosen a service during booking. Your seat number will be printed along with your tickets. We’re sorry to say that we can’t always guarantee seat preferences. 

Check out our interactive seat maps when booking from the desktop version of the LNER site and you’ll be able to take a look at the carriages and pick the best seat. 

Have a look at the LNER train seat maps here.

No. Every train and station in the UK is smoke-free, including e-cigarettes.

Yes, you can reserve a seat on all LNER trains, unless all the reservable seats are booked already.

Tickets that come with a reservation:

• If you book an Advance or First Class ticket, you'll automatically have a seat reserved, and you can use our Seat Picker to change which seat, if you like. You can check on your reservation by logging in to your account here, My Account.

How to reserve a seat:

• Visit your local LNER station
• Contact us on our Live Chat between the hours of 09:00-17:00 - via our Help and support pages

Season tickets:

• Season ticket holders can reserve a seat for free 7 days before travel, on LNER services up to 7 days beyond the expiry of your Season ticket. Once you’ve picked a seat, print the details to carry with your ticket.

Most of the time, you’ll be able to board a train without a reservation if you have a flexible ticket, but there can be exceptions on very busy days like Christmas or Bank Holidays, so we advise you reserve a seat for your journey. 

It's probably because we've run out of free tickets for the journey you're trying to book. We only have a certain number of free tickets for each journey. They're allocated on a first-come-first-served basis, so you could try changing the time or the date you want to travel to find a journey which still has free tickets available. The number of free seats varies from train to train, it also depends on the time of day. There are normally fewer at peak times and none at all at the really busy times of the year, such as Christmas and Easter. If you're still having no luck, double check that: 

• You’re booking your journey at least 7 days in advance
• You’re choosing stations that are served by LNER
• You have enough vouchers to cover the booking
• You're signed in to the site

You'll be able to see which seating preferences are available once you've chosen a service during booking. Your seat number will be printed along with your tickets. We’re sorry to say that we can’t always guarantee seat preferences. 

Check out our interactive seat maps when booking from the desktop version of the LNER site and you’ll be able to take a look at the carriages and pick the best seat. 

Have a look at the LNER train seat maps here.

There are a few reasons why this might be happening:

• Seat reservations may not be available on your journey (This is often the case for very short distances)
• Seat reservations might not have been released yet by the train operator, or the train could be out of reservable seats.
• It might be too late. Reservations normally close at 6pm the day before departure.

If you’d like to reserve a seat for a ticket you've already bought, visit a travel centre or call our web support team at least 2 hours before the train sets off from its first station.  We’ll do everything we can to find you a seat. Seat reservations for season ticket holders are subject to availability.

If you're onboard one of our electric trains you'll see out new seat selector tool above your seat. These boxes make finding an empty seat onboard a whole lot faster. Instead of relying on the old paper tickets, you can now see which seats are occupied, which seats are reserved but unoccupied, and which seats are empty.

If you're onboard one of our new Azuma trains you'll be able to see a traffic light system as you entire your coach.

• Red means reserved for the whole journey
• Amber means the seat is reserved for a portion of the journey (when you approach the seat it will tell you where it's reserved from and to)
• And green means it's available.

Most mobile devices try to access Wi-Fi straight away. Here's how to get it working: 

1) Select the 'LNER-WiFi' network when a prompt pops up (or find it in your Wi-Fi settings) 

2) Launch your internet browser and you should find yourself on the LNER WI-Fi page where you can log on or register if it's your first time.

3) Enjoy browsing!

If that doesn't work, take a look at our downloadable Wi-Fi User Guide. 

And if that still doesn't sort it, our Wi-Fi Support team are happy to help. Just give them a call on 01163 66 33 36 or email your query to wifi@lner.co.uk.

Wi-Fi is free for everyone on our trains. Most mobile devices are set up to access Wi-Fi straight away. To get connected simply:

1. Select the 'LNER WIFI' network when prompted (or in your Wi-Fi settings)
2. Launch your internet browser and you should then be directed to http://wifi.lner.co.uk where you can log on or register.

Wi-Fi is free to everyone in both Standard and First. If you're a regular traveller with us you'll no longer need to enter a Wi-Fi code from your booking confirmation if you want to get online. All you need to do is sign in with your email address and password, or register if you're new to travelling with LNER.

If you have a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop or smartphone, it should automatically find our server and direct you to our landing page when you switch on. If this doesn't happen, go to your network preferences and choose the LNER connection. When you open your browser, the Wi-Fi login page will appear. 

There’s no need to worry. Just follow the instructions on our lost property page and we'll do our best to track down whatever you've mislaid.