1.as such you do NOT need any mandatory RES in the whole of GB

2.it cannot be done online in general, go to counter when there (any, not just ion Edi)-free

3.some trains=not all can be done (but there may be a max of 4 or 5 per group-check yourself) via the site of some of the multitude of British train operators,like gwr.co.uk-set up account first

But you are not overly clear-if you simply mean normal paid tickets: then you have to wit til relaesed-check nationalrail-there may be works, strikes or whatever of the mulltitude in pax-hindering things they are specialised to find =on that island

Thank you kindly for your answer.  Apologies if I wasn’t clear.  I have a family and friends railcard and a global pass.  I need to get 6 of us from Edinburgh to Gloucester on the 24th of September.  

I fear that if I don’t make seat reservations I’ll get stuck somewhere and miss out on accomodation we’ve already paid for.

I was able to easily make seat reservations from Gloucester to London on the 26th using trainline.com so figures this would be the same. Thanks again :)

A few points.

Firstly I don’t know what you are doing, Family+Friends railcard is only for buying tickets, not using a Rail pass.

ACP rail and anywhere else Selling reservations for  passholders is a complete rip-off.

Reservations for UK trains are not compulsory. They are available for anyone already holding tickets (including passes) for free at stations or online.

24 Sep is a Saturday, Engineering work that weekend has the line Edinburgh - Newcastle closed with replacement buses and diverted trains. It seems that it is just the Crosscountry trains operator’s times not added for this section but they only use buses when this section is closed anyway. With this disruption it will be quicker to avoid travelling via Newcastle and use the more direct west coast route changing in Birmingham (and probably other places as well)

Thanks for your patience in helping me with this.  In Australia there’s no passes etc so I’m very confused.

Here’s how I understand it.

On 26th September, using trainline.com I search 6 tickets from Gloucester to London on the 11.13 train for $172.34. (aud)

If i add my family and friends railcard to my search the price changes to $103.78

I purchased the family and friends railcard for $55 because I thought that I would save that in this one trip alone.  I also planned to use it to save with the Edinburgh to Gloucester trip when I can work out how to buy those tickets.

Does this make sense or am I still way off?  Thanks again, I’m so appreciative of your time.

Do you and your travelling companions have Eurail passes?

Yes we all have Eurail passes.

UK allows travel on almost any train without a reservation but for Edinbugh to Gloucester will involve several changes. As previous posts we need to know what paßea you have. Family railcard is a UK domestic product for reductions in paid for fares. The Britrail pass is again a UK specific pass allowing unlimited travel and I believe not a EURAIL product.

Again as per previous posts the UK often does work on railways at weekends, especially Sundays.

So if the UK allows travel on almost any train without a reservation does that mean that rail travel is free?  And if not, then how do I pay to travel on a train if not through a reservation?

Your Eurail pass is your ticket. You only need to pay for reservations or days your pass is invalid

Unfortunately we have to pay for any train as normal. It is only pass holders who travel free. Think of your eurail pass as a season ticket where you pay a fixed price to travel for a set time on unlimited trains.

In mainland Europe and Eurostar From UK many trains require mandatory reservations and there is often a fee.

That is what the pass is for.

A global pass is a ticket allowing travel on most European rail. Some companies require additional reservation fees but many do not. UK is one of those.

A valid pass is all that is needed for all UK trains except sleeping car services, local metros such as London Underground and the Heathrow Express service.

You have bought separate tickets for that journey from Gloucester which are not anything to do with a Eurail pass. Fortunately they were reasonably cheap so as long as the are correct for all of your party You may as well use them instead of a day on your passes or you may be able to refund them and make that journey on your passes instead.

If you choose to do the same and buy more tickets for Edinburgh - Gloucester you will pay a LOT more. Reservations/tickets are not currently available for part of the journey on the day you want due to issues with one of the train companies coinciding with a line closure on a different route.

With your passes you can just wait until closer to get FREE reservations, although reservations are NOT necessary in UK, it would be a good idea on a day with that amount of disruption.

If you have a Eurail pass and also buy a normal ticket, then you have paid two times for the same thing.

Ok I see thankyou.  So to confirm will my Eurail Global Pass cover me to travel for free to:

Edinburgh to Gloucester on the 24th September?
Gloucester to London on the 26th September?

Is there a risk that when we go to get on the train that there wont be 6 seats for me and my children? 

Thanks again for your time, I really appreciate it :)

As before, you can make reservations for most UK long (to us) journeys but in most cases it is not needed. However since they are free go ahead and book those that are bootable.

OOI  how many days are your passes foŕ?

I have 15 days over 2 months so plenty of days.  FYI most of the reservations I make aren’t free.  On top of my pass I’m paying about another $100+ to reserve seats so that I guarantee we are all together on a train we need to be at the right time.  In Australia if you didnt book a seat you risk the train being full and you missing out.  Plus, I can’t have my 12 year old sit on their own on a large crowded train.  Or doesn’t that happen?

Yes your pass covers that.

There is always a risk of not getting seats and for a large group of not getting seats together.

The Gloucester - London trip I wouldn’t be concerned about, late morning on a week day boarding at Gloucester wouldn’t be a time I’d expect to see a large crowd.

If you can’t refund the tickets you bought just use them, they will have reservations attached.

Edinburgh - Gloucester won’t be just 1 train, 2 or 3 I’d expect and some of these definitely would have the potential to be very busy.

The issue with that trip is there are 2 routes.

The one I’d have a preference for is not available to plan because the operator of the first leg (Avanti west coast) is having serious difficulties at present and are changing their times, unless they sort out their issues they are unlikely to run any decent service on your date.

The other route is normally fine and would be a single train all the way but is partially closed for engineering, with a diverted train taking much longer as well as an extra change.

This longer route can be reserved now but only by booking 2 portions separately.

example schedule:

Edinburgh 09.41 - Newcastle 12.42 (LNER train for London Kings Cross)

Newcastle 13.39 - Cheltenham Spa 17.50 (Crosscountry Train for Bristol)

Cheltenham Spa 17.59 - Gloucester 18.09 (GWR train for Swindon)

That basic pattern repeats hourly so you could leave earlier or later.

The first two would be worth reserving, the last short hop wouldn’t be.