• Travel during quieter periods.
  Currently, our busiest times are between 9.30am-2pm, and 4pm-6pm and all day on Friday. To help you understand when services are becoming too busy, we’ll highlight popular trains when you book a ticket on our website. You can also view busy trends here. 

• Wash your hands.
  Carry hand sanitiser and wash your hands before and after travelling.
• Wear a face covering.
  

  Unless exempt, you must wear a face covering when onboard a train in England, Scotland and Wales.

• Keep your distance.
  Please respect social distancing at all times. 
• Go digital.
  Where possible, choose digital ticket options and use contactless payment methods.
• Sit in your allocated seat.
  Our onboard seating plan is based on current government advice of 1+ metre when travelling by train in England and Scotland. Therefore, you must sit in your allocated seat. However, when you cross the border into Wales, and where space is available, you may choose to socially distance further as reservations have been reduced for this leg of your journey. 
• Please be patient.
  Our team are working hard to make your journey as safe as possible.
  Please remain patient with our colleagues and other customers.

• Queue management will be in place outside some stations to support social distancing inside and on platforms.
• All Ticket Office counters will be fitted with a temporary screen for the period that social distancing remains in place. We are also temporarily reducing staffing in our ticket office to ensure our team are available for other roles vital to the running of the trains.
• Wherever possible, customers flows will follow a one-way system.  This includes entrance and exit only points.
• We’ve increased signage and floor markings to help you safely find your way.
• Boarding controls will be established to help with social distancing onboard the train.   
• Our First Class Lounges are  open again with a reduced capacity and restrictions in place. For more information, please see here.
• Our waiting rooms are now open with social distancing measures in place. We've added extra cleaning routines to help keep our waiting rooms a safe space for all.
• Customers are recommended to make a reservation before boarding the train. If you don't have one once you've arrived at the station, please speak to a member of our team.

• We're enhancing cleaning routines with a focus on ticket offices, toilet facilities and all other key touch points.
• We have introduced hand sanitising points in all of our stations. To see a full list of where these are located, please click here: Hand sanitising points

• We’ve significantly reduced seating capacity onboard to enable social distancing. We’ve also added floor markings and signage to help guide you.
• When you book ahead, please make a seat reservation with your booking. If you are booking a weekday service, we’ll allocate you a seat automatically. You must sit in the seat you’ve been allocated to ensure safe social distancing. If you’re travelling with members of your household, you may sit together – but please maintain a safe distance from other customers.
• Standing will not be permitted on any train.
• Tickets will be inspected visually, but not handled.
• Shops onboard Pendolino services will be open with protective screens and safety lines in place. We are running a reduced menu at this time, and following recent guidance issued by the Government, we will not be serving alcohol after 10pm. For more information on menus and what's available, please see here.
• Shops onboard Voyager trains are closed. Because of this, there are no food and drink options available onboard these services.
• We have now returned to our First Class at-seat service on our Pendolino services, meaning you won’t have to leave your seat to stay suitably refreshed onboard. There is, however, a reduction to our food and drink offering to make sure we’re maintaining safe travels and we’ll be limiting the time we spend in your coach. For more information on menus and what’s available, please see here.

• We’re not accepting re-usable coffee cups at this time.
• We've enhanced cleaning routines with a focus on door buttons, grab handles, tables, toilet facilities and all other key touch points. We are also trialling a new long-lasting sanitiser that provides strong antimicrobial protection against a range of bacteria, viruses and pathogens.

• We encourage high standards of hand hygiene for all our colleagues and customers. Although we don’t have hand sanitiser available for customers onboard, there are handwashing facilities on our trains. To minimise contact, and where possible, we’d suggest you bring hand sanitiser along with you. 

The Rail Industry is currently considering how best to manage Railcards that customers have been unable to use during travel restrictions. We will publish guidance to customers on Railcards soon.

If you have a Plusbus ticket, you can apply for a refund within 56 days of its validity. From 7 September 2020, refund applications must be made within 28 days.

We’re still accepting expired Rail Travel Vouchers as payment towards train tickets. Any Rail Travel Voucher that has an expiry date between 17 March 2020 and 16 September 2020, will be accepted for a maximum of 6 months after the original expiry date. 

The Government’s instructions state that a face covering is a cloth that should “cover your mouth and nose while allowing you to breathe comfortably. It can be as simple as a scarf or bandana that ties behind the head.”
You can find out more here.

Where possible, please do not wear medical grade PPE masks to help ensure these remain available for those that need them most.

Rail staff engage and educate customers about the mandatory use of face coverings when they travel by train and encourage people to wear them. The vast majority of people do the right thing and help protect others by bringing and wearing a face covering while in stations and on trains. Unless they have a good reason, those that don’t wear a face covering could receive a fine of up to £6,400 from the British Transport Police.

You must now wear a face covering (unless exempt) when onboard in England, Scotland and Wales.

In line with guidance from the Government, you must now also wear a face covering when you’re at a station in England and Scotland. If you’re at a station in Wales, we’d still strongly suggest wearing a face covering to protect yourself and others. 

Some people may not be able to wear a face covering such as young children, people with specific medical reasons, those with breathing difficulties or whose disabilities make it difficult for them to wear a face covering. 

Anyone who isn’t wearing a face covering and isn’t exempt could receive a fine of up to £6,400 from the British Transport Police.

For more information, please see current Government guidance for England, Scotland and Wales.

We recognise that not everyone is able to wear a face covering. If this applies to you, then please rest assured you can still use public transport. We want our customers to travel with dignity and our staff will act considerately if you can’t cover your face due to medical reasons or a disability – visible or not.

To make it easier for you and our teams, we’ve partnered with the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower scheme to help you discreetly indicate to our team that you may need additional support, a little more time or that you’re unable to wear a face covering.

By no means do you have to take part in the scheme and, if you’d prefer, you can still just have a word with one of our colleagues. But if you’d like more information, click here.

Please wear your face covering throughout your journey when travelling with us including in stations and onboard. We also recommend that you bring a spare face covering with you.

It is acceptable for coverings to be removed for the duration of eating or drinking.

We are confident that the vast majority of people are going to want to do the right thing and help protect others by bringing and wearing a face covering while in stations and on trains. Please also be aware that some passengers may not be able to wear a mask due to medical issues. Regardless of whether someone is wearing a mask, people should keep their distance – at least two metres, if possible.

We encourage passengers to use reusable face coverings where possible as these are better for the environment. If you have a disposable face covering then please take it home to dispose of it or put it in the normal bins available on stations at the end of your journey.

Currently, our busiest times are between 9.30am-2pm, and 4pm-6pm and all day on Friday. When you book on our website, we have highlighted busier trains for you to see when you’re booking tickets. You can also view busy trends here.  Please take this into account and choose a quieter service where possible. Once a train reaches the allocated social distance seat capacity, we remove it from our booking platforms. 

We advise that you keep checking back for any changes.

Face coverings

You must wear a face covering (unless you are exempt) when onboard a train in England, Scotland and Wales.

In line with guidance from the Government, you must now also wear a face covering when you’re at a station in England and Scotland. If you’re at a station in Wales, we’d still strongly suggest wearing a face covering to protect yourself and others. 

Some people may not be able to wear a face covering such as young children, people with specific medical reasons, those with breathing difficulties or whose disabilities make it difficult for them to wear a face covering. 

Anyone who isn’t wearing a face covering and isn’t exempt could receive a fine of up to £3,200 from the British Transport Police.

For more information, please see current Government guidance for England Scotland and Wales.

Social distancing and where to sit

This is based on government guidance that, when travelling in England, passengers must remain at a distance of 1+ metre. If you’re travelling on a cross- border service in Wales, where guidance is different, then please note we’ve reduced reservations Crewe-Holyhead so that customers can space out further if wishing to do so.

Please respect local social distancing guidelines at all times.

Reservations can be made at the time of booking your journey on the Avanti West Coast website – simply select the service you would like to travel on. If you have a flexible ticket (Off-Peak, Anytime) or are a Season ticket holder, you can make a reservation by getting in touch here: seat.reservations@avantiwestcoast.co.uk

We have reduced the seating capacity on our trains. Therefore, we strongly recommend you book your place on your preferred train by using our website or app. Once a train reaches the social distance seat capacity set, we remove it from booking our booking platforms.

If you have not booked a place, we’ll do our best to help at the station, but we can’t guarantee you’ll be able to board your preferred train. In this instance, we’ll do our best to get you on the service immediately before or after your preferred train. If you have any questions when boarding, then our station team are on hand to help.

In the unlikely event the last service of the day is too full to board, speak to a member of our team who will be able to help.

In the unlikely event your train is cancelled, you can travel on an Avanti West Coast service either side of your booked train where capacity allows. Your seat reservation will no longer apply so please speak to our station teams to find out where is best to board the train.

• What happens if I can’t get on the next train because it’s too busy?
  If this is the case, unfortunately you’ll have to wait for another one where there is space onboard. Or, if you have the time, ask our station team who will do their best to secure you a seat on a later train.

• What do I do if I chose not to travel because I can’t maintain social distancing on the service either side of my cancelled train?
  Speak to our station team who will do their best to reserve a seat for you on the next available service. Otherwise, you can apply for a refund for your unused ticket.

We strongly encourage everyone to purchase a ticket online before your journey. You can purchase tickets up to 5 minutes before travel on our website and app. This will significantly help manage social distancing at the station and reduce unnecessary contact with other people.

Some of our Ticket Offices opening hours have changed. Please click here for details and opening times of your specific station. Ticket Office counters have been fitted with a temporary screen for the period that social distancing remains in place.

We’re urging all customers to keep it contactless to promote social distancing. We strongly recommend that everyone purchases tickets through our website or app before travel and choose a contactless, digital ticket. You can book up to 5 minutes before your scheduled departure time.

We are asking all colleagues and customers to keep on top of good hand hygiene and request people to follow the Government’s advice to avoid unnecessary contact and regularly wash hands for 20 seconds – especially before and after travelling. 

Although we don’t have hand sanitiser available for customers onboard, there are handwashing facilities on our trains. To minimise contact, and where possible, we’d suggest you bring hand sanitiser along with you.

We have introduced hand sanitising points in all of our stations. To see a full list of where these are located, please click here: Hand sanitising points

Yes, our toilets are open as usual and are regularly deep cleaned.

Watch this video to find out more about some of the ways we're helping to keep you safe:

COVID-19 travel safety video

If you are suffering cold or flu-like symptoms, you should now be self-isolating for 14 days according to government guidelines. You should follow NHS advice to reduce the risk of catching coronavirus or spreading it to others.

No. If you have been diagnosed with coronavirus or are showing symptoms, you should follow the advice from the NHS.

The current Government and NHS guidelines for using public transport are here: England, Scotland and Wales.
If you need more assistance whilst you travel, please use our Passenger Assist page.

You must sit in the seat you’ve been allocated as our seating plan is arranged for safe social distancing onboard. This is based on government guidance that, when travelling in England, passengers must remain at a distance of 1+ metre. If you’re travelling on a cross- border service in Wales, where guidance is different, then please note we’ve reduced reservations Crewe-Holyhead so that customers can space out further if wishing to do so.

Please respect local social distancing guidelines at all times.