Reservation only travel

Travelling before 17 June

Your existing reservation remains valid but will no longer be linked to a specific seat number. We're asking you to choose your own seat onboard using our guidance below: 

• Please choose your own socially distanced seat, please ignore any specific coach and seat numbers as these will not be safely socially distanced until Wednesday 17 June.
• Sit at a window seat
• In Standard, leave at least two rows vacant between yourself and other passengers (one row vacant in First Class).
• Use alternate sides of the train 
• Avoid facing other passengers 

Travelling on or after 17 June

For tickets dated for travel after Wednesday 17 June please use the coach and seat number shown on your ticket. From this date all designated seat numbers are socially distanced from other passengers.

Please follow the advice from station staff on which door to board, so you can safely follow the one-way system in place when alighting and departing.

If the train you want to travel on is full you can book onto the next available service. You can make a reservation up to 10 minutes before a trains departure online here.

There's no need to collect a reservation, your email or on screen confirmation is all you need to travel.

If you are travelling with members of your household you can sit together, but please ensure you maintain a safe distance from other customers, who are not from your household. 

You can make a reservation using our free online tool. Alternatively, you can do this at the Station Travel Centre. 

Make a reservation online

If you are travelling with another operator, but are using LNER for part of your journey, you may need to make a reservation onto a specific LNER train, before boarding, if your ticket doesn't have a seat reservation associated with it.

• Use our free online tool to reserve a place on our trains if you don't already have one. 
• You can also make a reservation in one of our station Travel Centres, view the new opening hours here.  
• Reservations can be made up to 10 minutes before a trains scheduled departure but please plan ahead and be prepared to be flexible with your plans as your first choice of LNER train may not always be available. 

If your plans change, please use our online reservation tool to create a new reservation.

• If you're creating a new reservation there is no need to cancel your old one. 
• Reservations can be made up to 10 minutes before a trains scheduled departure time.
• If you are already at the station you can use our online tool or visit the station Travel Centre, the opening hours can be viewed here.

Please check before you travel. If any service delays or cancellations mean you need to choose a different time to travel, you will be able to use our online reservation tool. 

If you are already at the station, please follow any guidance provided by our people and ake a reservation for the next available train at the travel centre.

To support social distancing we are working to ensure a safe number of customers can travel on each of our train services. Find out more about reservation only travel here.

We are using the legacy train reservation system to limit numbers of customers on any specific train, and this does not currently allow us to assign socially distant seat numbers automatically.  

• If you’re travelling before Wednesday 17 June, please find your own socially distanced seat.
• If you're travelling after 17 June please use the coach and seat number shown on your confirmation email. From this date all designated seat numbers given are socially distanced.

Yes, if you need assistance when travelling with LNER please book this in advance. Find out how to do this on our Assisted Travel page.

Anyone who has been advised to self-isolate or is showing symptoms is asked not to travel with us and instead make their own arrangements. Where possible, appropriate social distancing should still be supported. In some cases, where it isn’t possible, people should wear a face covering to protect others.

Your child would not need a seat reservation and if you're travelling with people from the same household you can sit together, but please be mindful of the need to socially distance from others.

Make a reservation