Passengers Who Put Backpacks On Free Seats Are Threatened  

Jobsworth train guards are making empty threats to slap customers with ‘penalty charges’ for leaving their bags on seats, it has emerged.

Passengers who place their bags on their seats during busy train hours have reportedly received warnings from rail personnel.

However, sources in the train business said there is very little chance that customers would face significant fines for obstructing chairs.

According to National Rail, there is no punishment procedure in place for travellers who are found to have left their bags on empty seats.

And although individual operators do have powers to give passengers an ‘additional luggage charge’ in practice, this is very rarely ever enacted.

Under the National Rail Conditions of Travel, rail companies are permitted to limit customers to three pieces of baggage.

Carrying luggage bigger than one metre in any dimension, having more than three items on board and placing bags on seats are all reasons why travel operators may charge more.

Rail companies counter that the threats are a ploy to dissuade passengers from misbehaving and that they do not routinely impose fines for this.

On crowded services, rail companies say that the threat of a penalty charge was a way to use ‘humour’ to stop selfish passengers from taking up room.

A GWR source told The Telegraph: ‘I’m not aware of us ever implementing these charges and it would be difficult to manage. Industry rules are in place to provide people with guidance, but we have to rely on customers being responsible and applying common sense.’

Guards on the Great Western Railway, which runs routes to South Wales and the west country, said: ‘There’s no such thing as a fine for bags on seats. Train managers do tend to find a bit of light humour is a pretty effective way of highlighting the issue and encouraging people to stow luggage more thoughtfully.’

The train operator said that staff are ’empowered’ to deal with issues on board, including asking for luggage to be moved.

Comments on social media were quick to defend GWR, highlighting that on busy services some passengers are too ‘polite’ to move luggage and sit down.

Laura Mittens, from Wiltshire, said: ‘Good on GWR for announcing that they’d charge anyone the price of an extra seat for putting luggage or coats/bags on seats whilst there are lots of people left standing on this five-carriage train to Penzance!’.

GWR cheekily replied on X that ‘Seats are for bums.’

I’m just wondering, are we paying to travel on the train or the seat itself?

Generally, on a packed train, you wouldn’t have the luxury of putting your bag on the seat next to you because it would be a packed train and the seat would already be taken by another person. If you travel after the rush hour then seats would be free, so you could put your bag on the seat next to you, and if someone did want the seat, hopefully that person would be kind enough to remove the bag so they could sit down, it’s called being courteous.

There was none of this disrespect when I was growing up. Children gave up their seats for adults, especially the elderly or people with children. Bags were never tolerated on seats, and if they were, then you never felt threatened when asking for their bag to be removed, and if there was any hint of somebody being rude, other passengers would soon put them in their place.

I would just say ‘Excuse me, do you mind?’, and if they did, then I would just take my seat and say ‘Thank you very much, you’re so kind’.

All of this being said, don’t the trains have to be running so that passengers can put their bags on the seats? Not much chance of trains running properly at the moment.

There’s a saying, ‘Seats are for ar*ses, tables are for glasses’, bags should go on laps or the floor, but sadly, these days, bags are not safe on the floor because anyone could grab the bag and be off with it, and people want their belongings to be safe, so people leave it on the seat next to them, which is fine, so long as they remove it when somebody needs the seat.