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Buying Advance tickets and reserving seats
When can I buy Advance Tickets and make 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, and so 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 16 August.
Chiltern Railways
Saturday service:
2 November
Sunday service:
3 November
Monday to Friday service:
8 November
Latest time of reservation:
Advance tickets are available up to 18:00 the day before travel.
Notes:
Advance tickets are not available on the following dates / routes:
CrossCountry - East to West routes
Routes:
Between Nottingham and Cardiff via Birmingham, Stansted Airport and Birmingham New Street via Leicester
Saturday service:
9 November
Sunday service:
10 November
Monday to Friday service:
8 November
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:
9 November
Sunday service:
10 November
Monday to Friday service:
8 November
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:
2 November
Sunday service:
3 November
Monday to Friday service:
8 November
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 23:59 the day before travel.
Notes:
Up to 23:59 the day before travel.
East Midlands Railway - London route
Saturday service:
2 November
Sunday service:
3 November
Monday to Friday service:
8 November
Notes:
Up to 23:59 the day before travel.
Grand Central
Saturday service:
2 November
Sunday service:
3 November
Monday to Friday service:
1 November
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 4 hours before departing origin point.
Notes:
Grand Central are advising customers NOT TO TRAVEL to / from London on the 24 and 25 August due to London King Cross being closed due to engineering work.
Great Western Railway
Saturday service:
2 November
Sunday service:
3 November
Monday to Friday service:
8 November
Latest time of reservation:
Up until 18:00 the day before travel.
Notes:
Greater Anglia / Stansted Express
Saturday service:
19 October
Sunday service:
20 October
Monday to Friday service:
25 October
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 23:59 the day before travel.
Notes:
Reservations are not open on the following routes / dates:
Norwich route: minor closures 12 / 13 October
Hull Trains
Saturday service:
26 October
Sunday service:
27 October
Monday to Friday service:
8 November
Notes:
Hull Trains are advising customers NOT TO TRAVEL to / from London on the 24 and 25 August due to London King Cross being closed due to engineering work.
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.
London North Eastern Railway
Saturday service:
28 September
Sunday service:
29 September
Monday to Friday service:
7 November, with the following exceptions - Fri 25 Oct; Mon 28 Oct; Fri 1 Nov and Mon 4 Nov.
Notes:
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.
LNER are advising customers NOT TO TRAVEL to / from London on the 24 and 25 August due to London King Cross being closed due to engineering work.
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.
Northern
Saturday service:
12 October
Sunday service:
13 October
Monday to Friday service:
13 November
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:
2 November
Sunday service:
3 November
Monday to Friday service:
8 November
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:
Reservations / Advanced Purchase tickets are currently not available on the following routes / dates.
Southeastern
Saturday service:
2 November
Sunday service:
27 October
Monday to Friday service:
8 November
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 18:00 the day before.
Notes:
Reservations are partially closed on some routes on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September.
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.
Southern
Saturday service:
19 October
Sunday service:
13 October
Monday to Friday service:
1 November
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.
Southern are currently closed on Satudays 5 / 12 and Sunday 6 /13 / 20 October, due to engineering uncertainties.
South Western Railway - Between London Waterloo and Weymouth
Saturday service:
26 October
Sunday service:
27 October
Monday to Friday service:
1 November
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.
South Western Railway - West of England
Saturday service:
26 October
Sunday service:
27 October
Monday to Friday service:
1 November
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.
South Western Railway - Portsmouth route, Isle of Wight
Saturday service:
26 October
Sunday service:
27 October
Monday to Friday service:
1 November
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.
TransPennine Express
Saturday service:
14 December
Sunday service:
8 December
Monday to Friday service:
13 December
Latest time of reservation:
Up to 23:59 the day before travel.
Notes:
TransPennine Express are not open on the following dates:
Services to/from Middlesbrough, Scarborough and Newcastle:
Reservations are closed for 26 and 27 October.
Services to / from Hull:
Reservations are closed for 26 and 27 October.
Services between Manchester Airport – Manchester – Preston – Carlisle – Glasgow / Edinburgh:
Reservations are closed from 27 October onwards.
Transport for Wales
Saturday service:
2 November
Sunday service:
3 November
Monday to Friday service:
1 November
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:
Ferry reservations to Ireland are open to 3 November
Virgin Trains
Saturday service:
26 October
Sunday service:
27 October
Monday to Friday service:
7 November
Latest time of reservation:
Trains departing point of origin before 11:00 up to 23:59 the day before travel
Trains departing point of origin after 11:00 up to 4 hours before departing point of origin.
Notes:
Network Rail are carrying out vital upgrades near Milton Keynes and Macclesfield over the August Bank Holiday Weekend. During this time, Virgin Trains will run a reduced service. With a number of major events taking place along the West Coast route, Virgin Trains services are expected to much busier than normal, and some journeys will take longer. We strongly recommend that customers planning to travel make a reservation.
West Midlands Trains
Saturday service:
26 October
Sunday service:
27 October
Monday to Friday service:
8 November
Latest time of reservation:
Information will be added when available.
Notes:
Reservations are not open on 26 August and Sundays 6 / 13 October.
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.
- c2c,
- Chiltern Railways,
- CrossCountry,
- East Midlands Trains,
- Eurostar,
- Gatwick Express,
- Grand Central,
- Great Western Railway,
- Greater Anglia,
- Heathrow Connect,
- Heathrow Express,
- Hull Trains,
- Island Line,
- London North Eastern Railway,
- London Overground,
- Merseyrail,
- Northern,
- Rail Delivery Group,
- ScotRail,
- South Western Railway,
- Southeastern,
- Southern,
- Stansted Express,
- TransPennine Express,
- Transport for Wales,
- Virgin Trains,
- West Midlands Trains
Last updated: 16 August 2019
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