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Advance Tickets and Seat Reservations
Below is a summary of the farthest travel dates in the future where it is possible to reserve seats today for those Train Companies offering seat reservations and Advance tickets.
Advance tickets are generally not available earlier than 12 weeks before the date of travel.
Once train times are confirmed, Advance tickets will begin to appear in our Journey Planner. You will be able to find full details of availability and choose to buy them from your preferred retailer.
Advance tickets are sold in limited numbers for each available service, and so are subject to availability.
Information about buying tickets
Changes to train times
Sometimes, there can be changes to train times at weekends and bank holidays to allow essential engineering work to be carried out. Trains may be retimed or re-routed. Occasionally the journey may involve travelling on a bus service. We have a dedicated area of our website which gives details about future engineering work.
Train Companies aim to provide information about changes to train times twelve weeks in advance.
Until the changes to the timetable are confirmed it is not always possible to buy Advance tickets or to make seat reservations on train services that may be affected by engineering work.
Advance ticket & reservation information last updated 27 May 2022
Temporary Timetable Change
Normally, the timetable for any particular day is confirmed 12 weeks in advance. For a temporary period Network Rail isn’t able to do this, instead confirming timetables 3 to 4 weeks in advance. Please check here for further information.
Booking Horizons
Below is a summary of the farthest travel dates in the future where it's possible to reserve seats today, for those Train Companies offering seat reservations
Caledonian Sleeper
These can be booked 12 months in advance.
Chiltern Railways - between Birmingham and London Marylebone
Saturday service:
13 August
Sunday service:
14 August
Monday to Friday service:
19 August
Latest time of reservation:
Advance tickets are available up to 18:00 the day before travel.
Notes:
Closed on weekends 28 / 29 May and 2 - 5; 11 / 12; 18 - 23; 25 / 26 June; 28 July to 8 August inclusive.
Chiltern Railways - between Oxford and London Marylebone
Saturday service:
13 August
Sunday service:
14 August
Monday to Friday service:
19 August
Latest time of reservation:
Advance tickets are available up to 18:00 the day before travel.
Notes:
Closed on weekends 28 / 29 May and 2 - 5; 11 / 12; 18 / 19; 25 / 26 June; 28 July to 8 August inclusive.
CrossCountry - East to West routes
Routes:
Between Nottingham and Cardiff via Birmingham, Stansted Airport and Birmingham New Street via Leicester.
Saturday service:
16 July
Sunday service:
17 July
Monday to Friday service:
15 July
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 21:00 the day before travel but some routes may close earlier.
Notes:
CrossCountry - North to South routes
Routes:
Between Scotland and South West, Newcastle and Southampton, Manchester and Bournemouth / Bristol.
Saturday service:
23 July
Sunday service:
24 July
Monday to Friday service:
22 July
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 15 minutes before customers board the train when booked through CrossCountry's website or app, and at a select number of online retailers / travel agents.
Notes:
East Midlands Railway - Between Liverpool and Norwich
Saturday service:
16 July
Sunday service:
17 July
Monday to Friday service:
26 August
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 23:59 the day before travel.
East Midlands Railway - London route
Saturday service:
16 July
Sunday service:
17 July
Monday to Friday service:
26 August
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 23:59 the day before travel.
Notes:
Reservations can be made up to 23:59 the day before travel.
Grand Central
Saturday service:
30 July
Sunday service:
31 July
Monday to Friday service:
18 November
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 4 hours before departing origin point.
Notes:
Reservations on the Sunderland route are closed on Saturdays and Sundays after 24 July.
Reservations on the Bradford route are closed on Saturdays and Sundays after 31 July.
Great Western Railway
Saturday service:
13 August
Sunday service:
14 August
Monday to Friday service:
16 September
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 2 minutes before travel at any station on Great Western Railway routes.
Greater Anglia / Stansted Express
Saturday service:
25 June
Sunday service:
26 June
Monday to Friday service:
1 July
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 23:59 the day before travel.
Notes:
Hull Trains
Saturday service:
8 October
Sunday service:
9 October
Monday to Friday service:
7 October
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 15:00 day before travel for early morning services.
Other services up to 4 hours before departing point of origin.
Notes:
Currently closed 28 August, due to possible engineering works.
LNER
Saturday service:
13 August
Sunday service:
14 August
Monday to Friday service:
19 August
Notes:
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 23:59 day before travel for some early morning trains.
Up to 40 minutes before departing point of origin.
Tickets are available further in advance for most weekday journeys between London and the stations north of York, including Newcastle and Edinburgh. Subject to exceptions, such as Bank Holiday periods.
Tickets will be available on the following dates only on the LNER website and app:
- From 20 August to 15 September
Lumo
Saturday service:
25 June
Sunday service:
26 June
Monday to Friday service:
30 June
Notes:
Northern
Saturday service:
2 July
Sunday service:
3 July
Monday to Friday service:
8 July
Latest time of reservation:
Advance tickets are available up to 23:59 the day before travel.
Notes:
Northern do not offer seat reservations but have quota controlled advance purchase products.
ScotRail
Saturday service:
23 July
Sunday service:
24 July
Monday to Friday service:
29 July
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 23:59 day before travel for some early morning trains.
Up to 2 hours before departing point of origin.
Notes:
Engineering work is taking place on the below dates and routes:
Sunday 19 June 2022
Glasgow / Edinburgh – Aberdeen and return
Glasgow / Edinburgh– Perth / Dundee / Arbroath and return
Glasgow / Edinburgh– Inverness and return
Inverness – Aberdeen and return
Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 June
Glasgow / Edinburgh – Aberdeen and return
Glasgow / Edinburgh– Perth / Dundee / Arbroath and return
Glasgow / Edinburgh– Inverness and return
Inverness – Aberdeen and return
Glasgow - Ayr and return
Sunday 3 July 2022
Glasgow / Edinburgh – Aberdeen and return
Glasgow / Edinburgh– Perth / Dundee / Arbroath and return
Glasgow / Edinburgh– Inverness and return
Inverness – Aberdeen and return
Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 July 2022
Glasgow / Edinburgh – Aberdeen and return
Glasgow / Edinburgh – Inverness and return
Aberdeen – Inverness and return
Glasgow – Perth / Dundee / Arbroath and return
Edinburgh – Perth / Dundee and return
Tuesday 12 to Sunday 17 July
Due to the 150 Open Golf at St Andrews the following ScotRail services will not be opened for reservations as queuing systems will be in place around the ScotRail network at various stations to/from Leuchars.
- Edinburgh to Perth and return
- Edinburgh to Dundee and return
- Edinburgh to Aberdeen and return
- Edinburgh to Inverness and return
Southeastern
Saturday service:
16 July
Sunday service:
17 July
Monday to Friday service:
16 August
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 18:00 the day before.
Notes:
Weekday tickets are only bookable maximum 84 days ahead of travel.
Southeastern do not offer a specific seat allocation but use quota controls for controlling Advance tickets.
Weekend services will only be opened once train times have been confirmed.
Reservations are not open for booking 25-29 July
Southern
Saturday service:
9 July
Sunday service:
10 July
Monday to Friday service:
19 August
Latest time of reservation:
Advance tickets are available up to 18:00 the day before travel.
Notes:
Southern do not offer seat reservations but have quota controlled advance purchase products.
For Saturdays and Sundays, advance fares for Southern services will be released approximately seven days after the amended timetable has been uploaded to journey planners. Details of when the amended timetables will be uploaded are available here.
South Western Railway - Between London Waterloo and Weymouth
Saturday service:
13 August
Sunday service:
14 August
Monday to Friday service:
19 August
Latest time of reservation:
Advance tickets are available up to 23:59 the day before travel.
Notes:
South Western Railway do not offer seat reservations but have quota controlled advance purchase products.
Reservations are closed on 11 - 14 & 17 / 24 July.
South Western Railway - West of England
Saturday service:
13 August
Sunday service:
14 August
Monday to Friday service:
19 August
Latest time of reservation:
Advance tickets are available up to 23:59 the day before travel.
Notes:
South Western Railway - Portsmouth route, Isle of Wight
Saturday service:
13 August
Sunday service:
14 August
Monday to Friday service:
19 August
Latest time of reservation:
Advance tickets are available up to 23:59 the day before travel.
Notes:
Reservations are currently closed from 29 May; 25 June to 3 July inclusive and 11-14 July.
Thameslink
Saturday service:
2 July
Sunday service:
3 July
Monday to Friday service:
19 August
Latest time of reservation:
Advance tickets are available up to 18:00 the day before travel.
Notes:
Thameslink do not offer seat reservations but have quota controlled advance purchase products.
TransPennine Express
Saturday service:
12 November
Sunday service:
Closed due to Industrial Action
Monday to Friday service:
11 November
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 23:59 the day before travel.
Notes:
North Route: currently closed 29 May, 4 - 5 June
Anglo Scottish Route: currently closed 29 May, 4 - 5 June.
South Route: currently closed 29 May, 4 - 5 June
Transport for Wales
Transport for Wales advance tickets are available 6 weeks in advance of travel.
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 19:00 day before travel for some early morning trains.
Other services up to 4 hours before departure point of origin.
Notes:
A limited number of sailings are available up to 6 weeks in advance of travel.
West Midlands Trains
Saturday service:
16 July
Sunday service:
17 July
Monday to Friday service:
19 August
Special Events
Please note: NO trains will operate on Christmas Day. On Boxing Day some Train Operating Companies will run a very limited service.
The availability of Advance tickets could be affected by special events taking place along the route of the journey. Please check before travelling.
Last updated: 27 May 2022
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