Train boarding, seat reservations, & missed connections

Roy,
Q1) Platforms do not "open", however they do not display the platform number until 15-20 minutes before departure. Usually to give them time to clean the train after its incoming journey. See this example from King's Cross: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Departure_board_at_Kings_Cross_station.JPG
The first 3 departures have a platform listed, the 4th (13:41 to Welwyn Garden City) does not. Everybody just mills around by the departure board until the platform is listed, and then goes there.

Q2) Yes, you can reserve in 2nd class on most long distance trains, and you usually do it when you book the ticket. It is not true that passengers ignore the reservations. There is a piece of card inserted at the back of the seat that says "reserved from AAA to BBB". If someone is in your reserved seat, tell them to move.

Q3) It is unlikely you will miss the connection. If it is a short delay, the second train will often be "held" to wait the connection. If not, you can use the next train.
If there is no other train (last train of the day), the railway company must provided transport at their expense. In extremis, if no other option, they will provide a taxi!

Emma -

Thank you for the detailed reply. This helps me anticipate things.

Still unclear how seat reservations are made. Do seats get automatically assigned at the time the ticket is purchased, even if done online? Is the seat just randomly assigned? How does one request a table seat? Does one need to make a specific request for a seat either online or at a station? How much in advance if done at any station (not the specific station for the train)?

Not all Advance tickets come with a seat reservation. If they do, it happens when you buy the ticket.

With some train companies you can actually pick a specific seat rather than a 'type'.

If reservations on the train are being done by the 'card-in-the-seat' rather than an electronic method, if the cards have not been put out (say if the inward service was late) then reservations are in effect cancelled. (It can be a bit more difficult with the electronic system as they can suddenly reappear.) If you can't get a seat you do get some compensation.

On some routes only some of the trains may have reservable seats - this is the case for example with London-Oxford. Even some of the limited stop trains from Paddington don't have reserved seats as it depends on the type of train on the service. None of the trains from Marylebone have reservations (which these days is a reasonable alternative to Paddington for Oxford, it is more convenient for you).

Even if you have split tickets, you can still travel on the next train if you miss the connection at the fault of the railway. It is not like air travel.

Where the National Rail website says that a connection can be made, then that is a viable connection - even though to you it might seem that they are cutting things fine. If that connection is missed, then you have the right to travel on the next available service at no penalty. If you are late at your final destination by more than about 30 minutes, you may be able to claim compensation & should ask for a claim form. DO NOT put your ticket in a ticket barrier but tell the staff that you wish to retain it as proof of travel.

At London terminals, trains arrive and gangs of cleaners go onboard to make ready for the next outbound trip. Passengers are ‘held’ in the concourse whilst this happens. Then, on big signs, it tells you that the train is now boarding. The yellow band on coaches denotes 1st class and this is almost always at the London end of trains that go to London. At other stations, the trains come in and often they only wait for 2 to 3 minutes before going off again. So, in these places, you simply make your way to the known platform and wait for the correct train. (This is all made clear with signs). On modern trains, the seat reservations are on electronic signs on the edge of the overhead rack. On older trains, paper tabs are on the seat backs. Some of these reservations might be for a section of the trip when you are not actually on the train. That being so, you can sit in such seats. If you don’t like your allotted seat, you have the right to move to a non reserved seat.

I would avoid Sunday travel as this is prone to engineering works.

Your train companies will be:> London(Paddington) > Oxford > Bath & Bristol Temple Meads = www.gwr.com
Bristol tm > York = www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk
York > Penrith = https://www.tpexpress.co.uk
Penrith > London (Euston) = https://www.virgintrains.co.uk

If you click this link and put in the name of stations that you will be using, you will be able to see the number of trains that come in and out and whether they run to time. (You can click the - hour arrow to show how things panned out during the day in Britain). Trains in faint type are freights passing through. Train numbers starting with a 1 = expresses. 2 = slower passenger trains. If you click on the train code, it will show you all the places that the train stops at en- route. XC = Cross Country Trains.http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/BRI/2017/02/04/0752?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt

I've never heard of getting compensation for not getting a seat. How does that work?

Only if you have reserved one and you don't get one either because there are no reservations put out or if there is some recalcitrant individual who won't shift from it. If there simply isn't a seat free and you haven't reserved one, then it is just bad luck. It may vary with company policy though as it isn't a national term I think - although the national terms do explicitly say no compensation without a reservation.