The coaches are not numbered in any visible way and also not ordered. I traveled on the Enterprise for the first time two weeks ago. I had a reservation in coach 4. Since nothing was labeled, I just counted from a random end of the train and the fourth coach happened to actually be number 4 - there even was a print-out with my name above my seat.
On the way back, I asked a NI Railways chap on the platform at Belfast Central why the coaches were not labeled on the outside. His reply was "Well, sometimes they are." Brilliant. He happened to know which one number four was that day but he mentioned that they come in random order. Also, this time around, the reservation slips above the seats were from some previous journey.
Why is it actually that in Ireland, there has to be queueing for trains? Why not just let everyone onto the platform as they do everywhere else in the world, have the train come in ready to board, open all doors and let people go to their seats?
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