Helping our customers to travel with confidence
We recommend making a seat reservation before you travel, you can make a reservation by calling our Customer Relations team on 0345 603 4852 (opt. 4, then 1).
Finding the right journey for you
To make sure you enjoy a comfortable journey, we recommend travelling on quieter services - the graphics below show the latest booking information for each of our services over the next two weeks.
Green services have plenty of space available.
Yellow services are a little busier.
Orange services don't have many seats left.
Red services are sold out
You can view our seating plans before you travel.
Grand Central seat availability
Book your tickets on Grand Central
Reserve your seat - and sit back and relax
For travel at weekends you must hold a seat reservation. Our Advance fares will always come with a seat reservation, but for all other fares you may need to make a reservation. To do so, simply call our Customer Relations team on 0345 603 4852 (opt.4, then 1). If you are travelling with friends and family and would like to be seated together, we would advise you to make a reservation to ensure you're seated together.
How can I reserve a seat?
If you have purchased an Advance train ticket, this will come with a seat reservation by default
Grand Central Anytime or Off-Peak tickets are currently only being sold with reservations, however these can be changed (subject to availability) by contacting our customer relations team on 0345 603 4852 (option 4, then 1).
When can I reserve seats?
Seats are available to reserve up to 5 minutes before departure (subject to availability).
I don't have a reservation
If you have purchased an "Any Permitted" ticket, you may not have a seat reservation as these can be valid for any train service. If you wish to travel on a Grand Central service using this ticket, please contact our customer relations team on 0345 603 4852 (option 4, then 1) to arrange a reservation (subject to availability).
My reserved seat was on train which has been cancelled
If your train has been cancelled, either check our social media for more information at X or Facebook, or contact our customer relations team on 0345 603 4852 (option 4, then 1). You should not board the next available train unless explicitly told this is possible. You can also change your journey to any other Grand Central service without a fee. If you no longer wish you travel, you can claim a refund for your unused ticket(s). More information is available to view here.
There are no tickets available for a service I want to travel on
If there are no tickets or seats showing for a service, this means it has sold out and you will need to select an alternative service. We publish daily seat availability charts to let you know which trains currently have seats available.
We strongly recommend that you make a seat reservation before travelling with Grand Central. Our Advance fares will always come with a seat reservation as they're a requirement of the ticket type, but if you have any other ticket type you may need to make a reservation. Doing so is quick and easy - simply call our Customer Relations team on 0345 603 4852 (opt. 4, then 1).
Why should I make a seat reservation?
We want you to feel relaxed and comfortable when you travel with Grand Central, so we always strongly recommend that you make a seat reservation before travelling with us. Advance tickets come with a mandatory seat reservation so you don't need to worry about making a reservation. To find out if you need to make a seat reservation, and to make one, just give us a call on 0345 603 4852 (opt. 4, then 1). We post regular updates showing which of our services are the quietest. Simply view the seat availability updates above for more information.