Avanti Pendolino (UK)

ShowMeTheJourney has anticipated what questions are most often asked about travelling on Avanti West Coast Pendolino trains and answered them below.

If you can't find the information you are seeking, you can ask a question by using the Travel Planning Service.

These trains travel at up to 125mph / 200kmh for the majority of the journey on the routes which they take, though to enable this speed, they tilt when travelling around curves in the track.

Seats are automatically allocated when booking any type of ticket online - and when booking Advance tickets at station ticket offices and ticket machines,
However, when booking other types of ticket at stations you may be asked if you want to add a reservation.
It won't be possible to add a reservation when booking less than an hour prior to the departure time.

Yes, when booking on the Avanti website, at step 4, after you have chosen a ticket delivery method, you will be told the specific seat(s) you have been allocated.
You can then use the Change Seat button to access a seating plan.
On the plan you can see which seats:

• are table seats or airline style
• have a more limited window view
• are on the aisle
• are closest to the doors and luggage racks

When two or more people are travelling together, it's a good idea to use the seat picker to confirm that you have been sat together; and then choose new seats if you haven't - the Avanti website tends to assign seats randomly.
Though you will need to pick each new seat one-by-one.

More info is available below.

Yes, the direction of travel indicators are included on the Avanti West Coast seating plans and the trains don't reverse direction during the journeys.
Use the seat backs to guide you as to what seats will be facing forward.

No, but opting to reserve does not incur additional charges.

There is a staffed bar/bistro counter which can be accessed by all passengers.
Passengers travelling First Class benefit from a complimentary at-seat catering service included in the price of tickets.

They are now available at all seats.

Yes, see the info on how to connect.

Yes, you can opt to choose a seat located within the Quiet coach when making a booking.

The number of items per passenger isn't restricted, though the request is that the maximum size per item is 30 x 70 x 90cm.

Yes and they are available in both First and Standard Class - see the Avanti guide to booking a journey.

Yes, there is space for a maximum of four bikes, but places must be reserved prior to boarding.
It's best to add a reservation when booking, but if having already booked, you then subsequently discover that no bike spaces are available on the train you have selected, you can transfer tickets, including Advance tickets to an alternative departure.
You can opt to travel in Standard, Standard Premier or First Class, but the bike storage space is at the very front of the train when heading north - and at the rear when travelling south.
This is at the opposite end of the train to the First Class and Standard Premier coaches.
You can use the Seat-Picker service on the Avanti website, to ensure that you have seats in the adjacent coach to the bike storage.

Yes, up to two dogs can be taken on board and they don't require tickets.

These tilting Pendolino trains travel at up to 125 miles per hour (200 km/h), the tilting motion can be particularly noticeable when travelling to/from Scotland, the railway line twists and turns as it passes through the more spectacular scenery.

These trains operate all Avanti West Coast services on these routes:

• London Euston <> Manchester via Stoke or Crewe
• London Euston <> Liverpool
• London Euston <> Glasgow via Preston and Carlisle
• London Euston <> Birmingham via Coventry

They also operate most of the services on this route:
London Euston <> Edinburgh or Glasgow via Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Preston and Carlisle.

Seat reservations are available, but not mandatory when travelling on Avanti Pendolino services:

When booking tickets, including any journey using Advance tickets, reservations will also be issued which show specific coach and seat numbers.

Rail pass users can either opt to board without reservations, or arrange reservations prior to boarding, either at an Advance Travel desk in a station at least an before departure, or by contacting Avanti's social media channels.
There is no charge to rail pass users for booking an optional reservation.

Coach C in Standard Class is usually set aside for travellers who haven’t made reservations.
ShowMeTheJourney has made multiple journeys by Pendolino trains, on which the coach in which our reserved seats were allocated was busy, while coach C was comparatively quiet.

Worth knowing is that for your travel ticket to be valid, you don’t have to occupy the seat(s) you will be assigned* when booking online.
So if for any reason you want to travel in a different seat, you can do so.
As long as you check that the alternative seat(s) you want to move to haven’t been reserved, so will be available for your journey.

*= Advance tickets can only be used on the departure selected when booking, but the departure info is on the reservation, so it shows the conductor that you are in fact traveling by the departure you selected.

Using the seating plans:

When using the Avanti West Coast ticket booking system you can choose a type of seat preference, window or aisle etc, but two screens later, after you have chosen a delivery option, you will see a screen which shows the allocated seat numbers and also has a 'Choose seat' button.

If you have a seat reservation:

At London Euston and the stations in Edinburgh, Glasgow Liverpool and Manchester where these Avanti Pendolino trains commence their journeys, the number of the platform (track) that a specific departure will be leaving from, normally appears on the information screens 10 -15 minutes prior to departure.
This will signal the start of a race to board the train, join the throng if you have luggage, the space for storing luggage isn’t particularly generous, especially in Standard Class.

However, if you don’t have luggage, but do have a reservation, you can take your time as your seat(s) will be waiting for you to occupy them.

If you will be boarding at a station, where the train will be calling during a journey, there are now usually signs on the platform (track), which will show you where to wait for easy boarding into each coach/carriage.

Don’t just check the coach/carriage numbers by the doors, also check the seat number info that’s on the outside of the train.
All coaches will have two doors, one at each end, and the other door may be nearer to your seat.

You don’t have to occupy the seat(s) you will assigned when booking online, so you check that the alternative seat(s) you want to move to haven’t been reserved, so will be available for your journey.
When you enter the coach/carriage check to see what other seats are free - the seat availability info can be checked on the electronic strip above the windows.

If you don’t have heavy luggage, after departure it can be worth having a walk through the train, to see what seats are available in other coaches.
It’s not unknown for some of the coaches on the train to relatively full while others will be comparatively empty.
Coach C in Standard Class is usually set aside for travellers who haven’t made reservations.
ShowMeTheJourney has made multiple journeys by Pendolino trains, on which the coach in which our reserved seats were allocated was busy, while coach C was comparatively quiet.

If you don’t have a seat reservation:

Coach C is usually set aside for travellers who haven’t made seat reservations, but there is something else worth being aware of if you don’t have reservations.

On the main departure screens at the larger stations, at the foot of the information for each train (below its list of calling points), you should be able to see something which resembles a table/chart.
This info will show which of the coaches on the train will be busy, because most of its seats have been reserved, and which will be relatively empty.
So if you don’t have a reservation, you can board into the coach in which you’ll be most likely to find available seats.

Standard Class:

There is an on-board café from which you can order hot food and a more extensive range of food/drink items.

First Class:

If you won’t be making a short-distance journey* complimentary food and drink is served to first class passengers at their seats

All coaches offer a mix of seats grouped around a table and airline style seats (though in First and Standard Premier class, the airline-style seats have proper tables for individual use) and you can specify a preference for being sat at a table seat(s) when booking tickets.

Particularly if you will be travelling long-distance, prior to making a booking, ShowMeTheJourney recommends looking at the seating plans, which can be downloaded from the Avanti West Coast website.
You can use these plans to check which seats have a limited view, because not all seats in First or Standard class line up with the windows - or to check which seats do have power sockets.

Power sockets are available at all seats in First Class and Standard Premium Class, but only at a limited number of seats in Standard Class.

Quiet Coach

Coach A is the 'Quiet Coach' on an Avanti Pendolino train, passengers travelling within it are requested not to make or receive calls during the journey - and to use headphones when accessing audio or video.
Seats within this Quiet Coach can be requested when making a reservation.
Coach A is usually found at the very front of trains heading north from Euston, so you will have to walk the length of the platform to access it.
On trains heading south it is usually located to the rear, so will be the closest coach to the ticket gates when boarding in Glasgow, Liverpool or Manchester.

Wi-Fi

Complimentary Wi-Fi access is available throughout the train.
Once your logged on to the Wi-Fi, you can access a complimentary entertainment portal.

Luggage

The maximum size of suitcase that can be taken on board is 30cm x 70 cm x 90 cm – more information is available here.

Travelling with dogs

Up to two dogs can travel for free with an individual, or group of travellers.

Spaces for non-folding bikes must be reserved ahead of travel, but these bike spaces can now be booked online as you book your journey tickets.
A bike reservation facility is built into the booking path on the Avanti West Coast website - and it shows how many bike spaces are still available on each departure.

Or if you want to subsequently book a bike reservation after you have booked your travel ticket, you can do so by calling 0345 528 0253

Though before doing so it's worth looking up the departure you will be travelling by, to check whether bike spaces are available

Avanti Pendolino trains have both wheelchair spaces and seats with additional leg-room, the Assisted Travel page on the Avanti West Coast website includes the booking information.

When booking tickets on the Avanti West Coast website seats will be automatically be assigned, but it's possible to use a seating plan to choose alternatives.
Though the step of the booking process at which you will be given the opportunity to do this differs from the norm, as it comes two steps after you have selected a seat preference.
When you are at Step 4 which is 'Review your journey' you will be given the option of clicking the 'Change seat' button.

This is a seating plan for a Standard Class coach, but the notes are the same when selecting seats in First Class coaches.
1 = This darkest colour of all is used to indicate the seat(s) you have been automatically assigned.
2 = This dark shade indicates the seat(s) that have already been reserved, so all of the seats in the lighter shade will be available
3 = These symbols show the locations of the luggage racks.
4 = If you can't find available seats in this coach which meet your requirements, you can click on the other green coaches

If you want to sit facing forwards, you need to combine two pieces of information:

• the direction of travel arrow
• and the indication of the back of the seats - an example of which has been circled.