4 ms·

I just don't think that's how rail should work, I'm not booking a flight to go to another country, I should be able to turn up to a train station and get on a b

• iso1631 5y ago
  That's certainly how I use the rail network (and often the plane network - I've booked a flight from Europe to the far east with just a few hours notice on more than one occasion), and you can do that (unlike in europe where you have to book long distance trains in advance in many countries). I don't see the conceptual difference between going London - Paris or London - Edinburgh though?
• teachingassist 5y ago
  This does work in many other European countries, but there simply isn't enough rail capacity for this in the UK. Turn up to any mainline station during peak hours and you can observe this for yourself (also non-peak hours in many cases). Trains which require reservation have scarcely any standing room. Other countries would be quick to complain if you don't get the seat that you paid for.