‘T-baggers’ are the obnoxious passengers ruining Britain’s train travel

Are you guilty of T-bagging? (Picture: Getty Images)

The platform flashes on the screen at Euston station, but you’ve no need to join the stampede to get on the train: you’ve reserved your seat.

But when you make it to your coach, someone is already sitting in the very spot you should be enjoying. Then, they refuse to move.

This unbecoming behaviour isn’t new, but now Metro has given it a name: ‘T-bagging’.

Get your mind out the gutter – it’s an abbreviated term for ‘ticket baggers’ – who are rife on cross country trains, and opt to sit in a reserved seat, sometimes even despite other seating options being available to them.

And we aren’t the only ones who have a problem with them either.

One train traveller, Lydia Wilson, took to TikTok to share her frustration with these inconsiderate passengers, in a video that hit nearly 400,000 views.

‘Just a public service announcement, if you’re sat in MY seat that I reserved on a train, I will ask you to move,’ she says. ‘Don’t look annoyed because funnily enough, you can also reserve a seat for free, or sit in an available one. I will not apologise if you are rude.’

Lydia adds: ‘As someone who gets the train regularly across the country, it is literally free (to reserve a seat), so move when I ask politely and don’t huff and puff – it literally says reserved and you chose to ignore that.’

Samuel Ryan, 30, who travels by train frequently from London to Manchester, thinks people who sit in someone’s reserved seat and refuse to move are completely ‘entitled’.

‘If they care so much about having a seat, maybe they should book it for themselves and stop playing the victim,’ he tells Metro.

‘It wouldn’t bother me if seats could or couldn’t be reserved in the first place, but as long as the system to book seats is in place, people should respect that.

‘When it’s incredibly busy, I would give my reserved seat up if someone truly needed it – if they’re elderly, pregnant or disabled.

‘Other than that, being prepared costs nothing.’

For 37-year-old Emily Pomroy-Smith, who lives with chronic pain and invisible disabilities, seat reservations are vital.

‘When I travel from Wiltshire to London the services can be incredibly busy, and I don’t just want a seat, I need one,’ the business owner tells Metro.

‘It would be incredibly stressful if someone refused to move, especially as I don’t want to have to publicly disclose my medical history in order to get a seat. That would be humiliating.’

In fact, Emily finds this behaviour ‘disrespectful and in some cases, harmful’.

‘I genuinely don’t see why someone should pay the same or sometimes considerably more if they’ve bought an advance ticket, just to have to stand,’ she adds. ‘Your poor planning should not be my problem, but on the other hand people should be able to get a seat if they need one regardless of advance reservations.’

Many others have posted similar videos on TikTok, branding t-bagging their ‘number one pet peeve’. But not everyone takes issue with this, implying train travel is first come, first serve.

‘Not gonna lie I judge real hard if someone asks me to move seats. there are clearly enough seats on the train, just find another one it’s not hard. really don’t get it,’ said @bigforeheadahh1.

‘If the seat behind is available what is the problem? I cannot believe people are that petty re a specific seat on a train, unless you need a table to work. Should stop all this specific seat nonsense,’ @sabci wrote.

‘Unless you get police here to move me, I’m not moving,’ said another. One TikToker even suggested seating should follow the ‘same rules as a bus’ – essentially making it a free-for-all, even for long journeys.

How can train travellers deal with ‘T-baggers’?

When it comes to how you should be handling the situation, multiple train providers suggested seeking out a member of staff who can ask that individual to move.

A spokesperson for Great Western Rail told Metro: ‘We recommend any customer who encounters the situation described to contact a member of staff who would then be able to speak to the other customer and ask them to move.’

But, they added they can’t forcibly remove a passenger, as this is something only the police can do. So, there could be a situation where you are sadly made to stand.

If you’re travelling with LNER, you could be entitled to compensation if someone takes your reserved seat. Under its Seat Guarantee Scheme, you can claim money back if a member of staff can’t find you an alternative place to sit.

If you’ve got a one-way ticket, you’ll get a 100% refund, while a return ticket means you’ll get a 50% refund for that half of the journey. Those travelling first class will also get compensation if the alternative seat they’re given is in standard class – you’ll be refunded the difference between the fare you paid and the standard pricing.

Of course, certain trains, like Greater Anglia, don’t have reserved seating at all, and haven’t for years, which renders the debate null and void on its trains.

Some passengers have chosen to take matters into their own hands, though, with some pretty bold solutions when someone pinches their chair.

‘I just go and sit in the 1st class carriage when this happens,’ wrote @stripycurtain. ‘If they won’t move the person in my seat, they ain’t moving me.’

One mother who fell victim to this had a brilliant response. ‘Booked a table seat for me and my kids when they were younger, specifically so we were near the toilet. We got on the train and there were people sat there so I sat my kids on their table,’ TikToker Maria John explained. ‘Never seen people move so fast.’

Another said: ‘I’ve had this before and put my bag on their table/on top of theirs and stand as close to them as physically possible and they get so uncomfortable they just give me my seat.’

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