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Unread 22-09-2017, 17:31   #1
James Howard
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Sligo Line
Posts: 1,115
Default Booking is a mess

Having just come gone cold turkey after nearly 15 years of a commuter pass, I'm a bit of a newbie regarding booking seats. That being said I do have my preferences for a seat based on long experience of which are the quieter cars on the Sligo line and what works best for getting a bit of work done.

So it is somewhat bizarre that despite my long years of commuting it is not possible to figure out from the seating chart that I can request a rearward facing window seat with the window to my left on the 2nd carriage from the back of an up Sligo train. God help anyone with no experience.

Even then when I manage to guess the correct carriage and the correct direction, the probability of my booking being indicated above the seat is about 50% at best. And then even if my booking is honoured, every single time there has been somebody sitting in my seat so it is less hassle to just pick a random seat rather than do battle for my seat.

I would actually rather do without the seat reservation at all yet this is not possible with online booking. Kudos to Irish Rail for turning the perk of seat reservations into an actual hindrance. Seriously though, why do they even bother with this ridiculous system that just wrecks everyone's heads.
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