Which is the first class end of a train?
 

Armed with first class Britrail passes, my wife and I arrive in the UK next month. Try as I may, I am yet to find out which part of a train is first class so that we can wait with our luggage at the right end of the platform. Not so much an issue with short trains but can be with long ones. I know that London based trains have first class at the end closest to London, but we will be traveling all over Britain. Do stations have this info posted?

Yes there are signs pointing to the location of carriages by their letter - which will be listed on your seat reservation if you have one. And some stations will have signs also pointing to First.

There are usually plenty of staff on platforms who can also point you in the right direction.

But check the monitors as well - sometimes the train can be reversed with First at the 'wrong' end!

That's not guaranteed by any means. It can be either end.

By way of example, I take exactly the same East Midlands train from London St Pancras every morning and about half the time First is at the front, half the time at the rear.

And indeed on some trains - such as Great Northern from Ely and Cambridge into King's Cross - it might be in between standard class carriages and there may well be more than one section!

It is obvious however, the markings are very clear both inside and outside the train, and you're not in a self-contained bubble - so even if you get on at the wrong place, you can still walk through standard class to reach where you want to go. You can't rely on station signs - at Peterborough, for example, the Virgin train platforms are well signed. At Norwich, you won't find anything but it's hardly a problem because it's a terminus.

Be aware also that many trains (mostly, but not exclusively, on local lines) will not routinely have First Class unless you're extremely lucky and get a train substitution (which will happen about 1% of the time).

Here's all you need to know about F.

The computer allocates reserved seats from the end of the train with no intelligence. If there are 3 F carriages all of the reserved seats are in the first carriage and most people are so dim they actually sit in them.

The other 2 carriages will be virtually empty whilst one is rammed.

In the days of loco-hauled trains, first class would always be at the "London End". But these are gradually getting replaced by multiple units, and first tends to get placed in other locations, for various reasons (e.g. cabin size, engine location - often underfloor, catering facilities, etc, etc). Where you've got a longer train, you'll typically get some indication as to where to stand on the platform if it's a through station.

If in doubt, the traditional marker for first class is to have a yellow stripe painted along the carriage, just at the top of window height. Once you see it, it becomes obvious.

Do be wary of the "staff carriage" on Virgin West Coast, though ;)

I think Virgin E and W Coast are always at the London end

Crosscountry / EMT is never guaranteed as trains may frequently reverse during their route then go into and come out of the depot in any direction.

Platform displays and announcements will usually tell you where 1st class is - but usually say it is at the FRONT or REAR and if you aren't familiar with the station, you might not know which direction the train will arrive from!

Raffles is correct about weekdays, but on weekends, Monday mornings and Friday evenings, 1st class is usually full anyway, so if taking the train from its origin you just need to arrive early.

First class is usually at the London 'end' of a train. There are some exceptions as noted on here, but it's not a bad rule to go by.

The other thing to do is look at the information screen on the platform. At many (not all) stations, particularly for longer-distance trains, this info can be displayed along the 'rolling news' bit of the screen, under the main destination info. Failing that, do ask one of the staff as they'll usually know.

I'd second Raffles' point about seat reservations. The other thing you should know is that even if you have reserved seats, you can take other, unreserved seats onboard with no problem whatsoever. This is useful in the exact circumstance Raffles mentions, when the reserved seats are stuffed into one carriage, with the next (unreserved) carriage nearly empty.

Technically, when travelling using an Advance ticket (i.e. specified train at a specified time), you are supposed to sit in your allocated reserved seat (if there is one) - however I have never had or seen this being enforced, though I have read of a few occasions where it was (I think on Crosscountry trains).

Ultimately the worst that would happen is that you'd be asked to move to your reserved seat... but in all likelihood that won't ever actually happen!

(Note this never-enforced rule only applies to Advance tickets.)

Unfortunately the board information is not always correct. I've noticed it say the wrong end a few times at Luton Airport Parkway for example. If using that information then best to hedge your bets a bit and position slightly towards the middle rather than at the very end, in case you need a last minute dash to the other end.

I had no idea there was such a rule! As you suggest it can for all intents and purposes can be ignored, as you're extremely unlikely to be asked to move from an unreserved seat.

On GWR they often mention on the platform departure board which end has first class.

Just to prove I'm not making it up, this rule does feature in the Advance ticket terms & conditions.

But I'd treat it much like the widely ignored "Dogs Must Be Carried" rule, which is problematic for the majority who aren't travelling with a canine...

On a wider note I often sit in a reserved seat when I don't have a reservation - obviously only when the person for whom it was reserved isn't sitting in it (either they didn't catch that train or are sitting elsewhere).

Also, don't forget that a reserved seat may not be reserved for the portion of the journey you are making... Always a good way to get a seat on a busy train!

Oh I've seen it happen although the train company doesn't exist anymore. Sat on Midland Mainline with a friend (who I didn't know beforehand was travelling) but not together. We weren't sitting together because she had been told by the Train Dragon that she had to sit in her Advance reserved seat on pain of buying a new standard open return ticket. All the seats around her were reserved for the time I was on the train and filled with passengers. So I gave up.