Seat Reservations

Trains Magazine Passenger
1

I was recently in Germany for the first time. Sensory overload! Trains everywhere! …but many of you know that already.

The one really cool thing that Amtrak should emulate is seat reservations. A train ticket gets you on the train. That’s it. Then, you have to hunt down a seat. Not always easy to do when the train is full and everyone is schlepping suitcases.

But, for a few dollars, you can get a reserved seat of your choice. Even with all the complexity of the DB Bahn network, they manage to assign you an exact seat in a particular coach. You get to pick window or aisle, or compartment or table and they assign you a seat.

Each seat in every coach on every ICE or IC train has either an electronic sign or a slip of paper that shows if a particular seat is reserved and between which two point on the route it’s reserved. All you have to do is stand on the right spot on the platform, board your coach and sit in your seat.

It’s a value added service and they charge for it. Amtrak’s network is much, much simpler. Ought to be a slam dunk.

They do some other things that are worth emulating, too. I’ll save those for later.

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Similar system in the UK and you can choose quiet car. Last time we were there, we had a pass and the was no extra charge for reservations. System worked well.

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The Coast Starlight requires seat reservations…

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Are specific seats assigned when you make a reservation?

All coach seats on all long distance (and some shorter distance) trains are reserved, but specific seats are not assigned. Oltmand was speaking of the desirabilty of having specific seats assigned.

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Seats are assigned at the station prior to boarding. Bedrooms and roomettes are assigned when you get your reservations.

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In Germany you can do this online, at a ticket machine or at a ticket office. You get a printed seat reservation with a specific seat assignment on it. For example, it could say “Wagon 8, seat 64”. When you get to the station, you find what platform your train will board, find the train diagram on the display on that platform and go stand at that boarding location. The train arrives. There is a prominent electronic display on each coach with train info and Wagon number. You board wagon 8 and then walk down to seat 64. The display over the seat will say “Reserved: Hannover - Frankfurt” if that’s where you are getting on and going to.

If you are doing family travel, this is a great thing. You can all be assured of sitting together. The only thing I wish they’d let you add to you selection is if you want a forward or rearward facing seat.

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I just returned from five days in Baltimore. I rode Amtrak from Baltimore to DC on Saturday and Sunday to attend a symphony and visit the Air and Space Museum. I took the MARC yesterday. The fare is considerably less than on Amtrak, especially for a senior, and the congestion did not appear to be as great as on Amtrak.

Because Amtrak does not assign seats, which would be doable given the computer technology that is available, not to mention that most of the airlines assign seats, boarding the train in Washington is a scramble. People begin to line up approximately 40 minutes before train time. The line snakes around the waiting area and out onto the concourse, which creates an impediment to

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Germans don’t control access to platforms, either. There are so many people coming a going and the headway between trains is so short, it would be an impossible task. It also give people a decent chance to spread out to all the boarding locations. I’m not sure what the big deal is about restricting access to station platforms in the US is all about. Checking tickets at the gate takes a lot of manpower and doesn’t add any value that I can see. The Germans don’t even check tickets after each station on the train - but woe to you if you are caught short!

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Our experiences in the UK and on the NEC Regional service has involved some adjustment to traveling with “the masses”. If rail service is well patronized, some of those patrons don’t always behave very well. In the UK we were subjected to a fair amount of public intoxication and “gutter” language. Here, crowding at the major stations on the NEC is pretty common. Generally the crew does well at enforcing the quiet car rules, but there is usually someone for whom no rules apply. On the LD trains here, a two day coach ride with even one annoying patron can be an eternity. We are so accustomed to the comforts of our private vehicles that riding with the “folks” can be a shocker at times. Bottom line, public rail travel is just that - public. So even assigned seats won’t guarantee a pleasant trip.

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No, but it sure helps! And, you can charge for it!

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Back in the days of railroad operation of passenger trains, many different roads offered specific seat reservatons in coaches–and there were no computers to keep track of the reservations! Whether you went to a station or to a city ticket office to make your reservation, it was handled quickly. At city offices and larger stations, there may well have been blocks of seats reserved (just as Pullman would have space set aside from particular stations); if there was no space set aside from a particular station, the agent would call or wire his passenger department and get the reservation, complete with specific seat assignment. Consider how much easier it would be to keep track of such assignments now in the day of computers.

As to Pullman accommodations, when I was in high school, a man visiting us (in a small town, which had no passenger service, fifty miles from Charlotte, N. C.) wanted a berth from Charlotte to Richmond on a particular night. I went to the station in our town, told the agent what was desired; he wired the Pullman Company, and a day or so later I was given the particulars of the reservation. The man had to buy his transportation and space in Charlotte, but he had the assurance of a particular berth for that night. I learned several years later that the Pullman Company had a three letter code for every station that could request a reservation and this code along with a number would identify the reservation. Tuscaloosa’s code was KHP (King Henry Paul).

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Don: Glad you enjoyed Germany and the DB. Now you can understand why I like travel there so much.

The great thing with DB is you can decide if you want/need a reserved seat, and do it all from your laptop. If you are traveling by an ICE at busy times of the day or busier days of the week on busier routes, it’s a good idea to spend the extra 2.5 Euros. Not as needed on IC trains and no point on RE and RB .

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I wholeheartedly agree with oltmannd’s comments – real service is possible, but Amtrak doesn’t always seem to know how.

This thread, however, reminds me of a trip I took in Europe with my mother when I was a teenager, around 1970. We were traveling from Italy into then-Yugoslavia. We were going overnight, but First Class (in traditional European coaches, with compartments of six seats, three-facing-three – and we rarely used sleepers or couchettes).

We got reservations: specific seats, specific compartment, specific car, and figured we were set. Well, we failed to consider how many Yugoslavs at the time came into Italy to shop and stock up – clothes, cigarettes, etc. – and carry these loads of stuff back (frequently to re-sell on the gray- or black markets).

With reservations in hand, we got to the station just a little before departure – and found the train absolutely packed! We were lucky to get into the vestibule. Given the luggage we had, there was no way we could negoatiate the throng and their bags of merchandise. Eventually, when a conductor worked his way by, checking on tickets, we argued for assistance in our plight, but only got a shrug in response.

Bottom line, with our reservations in hand, we spent the night in the vestibule, my mother sitting on our suitcases. I had the “deluxe” accomodations – I was sitting on the (closed) toilet seat in the “WC” (restroom). Had to get up and move when someone came by to actually use the restroom for its intended purpose (which thankfully was not often, given the difficulty in moving through the aisles).

Happily, most of my European experiences were like those of oltmannd. But not as memorable!

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Oddly enough, every Amtrak coach that I’ve ever ridden on has all the seats already numbered.

I’ve often thought that specific seat assignments would make travel more convenient and, for Amtrak, more remunerative. Not just charging more for reservations per se, but with computers today, some yield management stategies:

  • Reserving window seats that include scenic segments (e.g., the California Zephyr through the mountains during daylight) could be a premium.
  • A few dollars more for seats away from vestibule doors and (on Superliners) stairways.
  • Amtrak can offer lower fare for single, open seats that are available next to already reserved seats (to keep pairs of seats open for couples/groups).

These would also allow nice perks of free '“upgrades” (with all the usual disclaimers of “based on availability at boarding”) for Guest Rewards members.

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I like your recommendations, but they may be a bit too much for the management of a government railroad to grasp. There are some interim models, however, that could work.

Southwest Airlines issues boarding passes for passengers to board in groups, i.e. A, B, and C. There may be a D, but I have not seen it. The passes are issued at check-in, with preferences given to passengers who opt for a business fare or pay the early check-in fee, which is currently $10 per flight. The key is to check-in as close to 24 hours in advanc

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That reminded me…back in the day, I rode the Desert Wind to/from Las Vegas a few times. Boarding in Sin City, the station staff (agent? Or maybe it was a crew change point, too?) issued boarding passes based on the number of people traveling together. If I recall aright, they were simply the paper slips that conductors & car attendants use to mark occupied seats, anyway-they just made them up beforehand and gave them to passengers to put up on their own. At train time, people were boarded:

  • Groups of more than 3
  • 3 People
  • 2 People
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[quote user=“oltmannd”]

The one really cool thing that Amtrak should emulate is seat reservations. A train ticket gets you on the train. That’s it. Then, you have to hunt down a seat. Not always easy to do when the train is full and everyone is schlepping suitcases.

Each seat in every coach on every ICE or IC train has either an electronic sign or a slip of paper that shows if a particular seat is reserved and between which two point on the route it’s reserved. All you have to do is stand on the right spot on the platform, board your coach and sit in your seat.

[quote user=“oltmannd”]

Oltmannd:

The latest specifications for both the single level and bi-level cars ( alreay UC ) is that they will have a LED sign that will designate at each entrance the train number, car destination ( for split trains like Lakeshore), car number, dinning / snack car direction & any other info (delays reroutes etc ). There will be both external and internal such signs. Train number and destination can be controlled from any equipped car and the car number from its individual controller. This includes alI short distance cars. I believe that it is hoped that the info may be loaded thru unused wires in the train control ( not loco ) 27 point connectors if manufacturers find it feasibile (may require coaxial cable ).

This is supposed to be open programming architecture so present equipment can be retro fitted.

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I travel from Belleville, Ontario to and from Toronto 4-6 times a year on VIA Rail Canada. With a few exceptions, most trains have reserved seating in both Business and Economy class. Seats are assigned when booked so i already have assigned seating for December 12. It’s great to know what car to report to and to find my seat waiting for me. Seat assignment is not hard to do. I wonder why Amtrak has not done it?

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I believe that lower level seating on Superliners are reserved. If, however ther are no elderly ofr handicapped person aboard. even then it does not mean you have a specific seat. it just gaurantee a lower level seat.

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The cool think about the DB system is that seat reservation is optional and they charge for it. The system requires being able to mark specific seats as reserved so that those who don’t hold seat reservations can figure out which seats are open. The electronic version on the newer IC cars and ICE trains would seem to be a rather elaborate system, but it seemed to work on the few trains I rode - and it would be a labor-saver. But, I can imagine that a person could do the paper label system for an entire train in about an hour and the trainmen could keep it current en route (should they ever go to wireless handheld devices).

I have read that Amtrak has a rewrite of the reservation system budgeted. One can only hope that it would include seat reservations.