Finding the best service for you

Helping our customers to travel with confidence

Following the change in  government guidance on social distancing from Monday 19 July, we we will be releasing even more great value seats! This means that you might be seated next to another passenger, but we still require all customers to make a seat reservation before you travel so that we can ensure services do not become crowded, but with services now available to book up to six months in advance, it's even easier for you to plan ahead and take advantage of our lowest fares. 

In the current environment, we know how quickly things can change for you and your plans, and what seems set in stone one day might be up in the air the next. That's why, during the ongoing pandemic, we're waiving our change fees for all tickets booked with Grand Central, including our lower-priced Advance tickets. Our Book with Confidence promise runs until 31 December 2021, and we'll be reviewing this as an industry throughout the rest of the year. 

Changing your seat reservation

If you already have a ticket for a Grand Central service after Monday 19 July and made your seat reservation(s) when social distancing restrictions were still in place, you will be able to amend your seat reservations (subject to availability). If you purchased your tickets directly from Grand Central, please contact our Customer Relations team via email ([email protected]) to amend your reservation (subject to availability).

If you purchased your ticket via any other website, please contact them directly - we are unable to change ticket(s) purchased through other websites. 

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

• Trains to/from Bradford, Low Moor, Halifax, Brighouse, Mirfield, Pontefract Monkhill, Wakefield Kirkgate and Doncaster

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• Trains to/from Sunderland, Hartlepool, Eaglescliffe, Northallerton, Thirsk and York

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Book your tickets on Grand Central

You need to reserve your seats before you go

All Grand Central trains operate on a reservation-only system, which means you won't be able to travel unless you have a confirmed seat on the train prior to making your journey.

• 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 3, 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 3, 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 Twitter or Facebook, or contact our customer relations team on 0345 603 4852 (option 3, 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.
• Why has this policy been introduced?
  • By operating a reservation-only service we are able to ensure that all passengers who purchase a ticket get a seat. Reservation-only also helps us to manage capacity so that we can inform customers about quieter trains.

Reserve your seat