Seat Reservations

[Mark Gleeson]

I'm trying to drag what little info I have for the next rainy day, user printed tickets could be coming but they have there own problems, exit validation anyone ?

[Mark Gleeson]

At this time it is EXTREMELY inadvisable to book standard class seats on the following trains

11:00 Dublin Cork
15:30 Cork Dublin

These reservations will in all certainty not be honoured

Edit reservations from 24th July will be honoured

[Mark]

Reason being?

[Mark Gleeson]

It won't work

[CSL]

is the widget broke on the train ? that's the same set isn't it ?

Ahhh Wifi, someone break da widdle radio already ? Awwww

[Mark Gleeson]

The standard class seats available online don't physically exist on that train

[James Shields]

The online booking is assuming a Mk3 set, and doesn't know how to remap them to a CDE?

[Mark Gleeson]

More or less

[Mark Gleeson]

As of Monday seat booking on the 11:00 Dublin Cork and 15:30 Cork Dublin will work

As of Monday 24th July the following will be CDE/MK4

7:00, 9:00 Dublin Cork
11:30, 13:30 Cork Dublin

Electronic seat reservations should work on both, the online booking system is set correctly

[Donal Quinn]

boarded train at thurles on saturday evening after the most depressing game of hurling in my life, brightenend only by the fact that cloonan stuffed it to the rest of the county (and country) by coming on and setting up 3 goals (one disallowed) and scoring a penalty...

to cut a long story short 3 people were sitting on reserved seats (including mine) and had to move. (i didn't move them but a cork woman had no bones about that).

I'm pretty sure that there was no signs put up saying that the seats were reserved as the train was fairly empty arriving into thurles and the people in the seat then had to stand all the way to cork whereas if they had sat into the unreserved table accross the way they would have been fine.

basically when IE are lazy about putting up the seat reserved signs then somebody gets shafted, either the guy with the reserved ticket who is to timid to move someone out of the way (not easy if they're drunk scumbags, i've seen it happen) or the chump who sits in an unmarked seat and then has to vacate it and stand for an hour or two when the train fills up. ..

[Thomas J Stamp]

Live from heuson.

There are four young glam looking people wearing yellow t shirts with"
"looking for your pre-booked seat, I ll find it for you.

Nice.

[Mark Gleeson]

Well the problem is not finding your seat its finding it with someone in it or finding there is no reservation card in the seat

On train staff are no help

Was talking to a mate last night he went to Killarney recently got on no sign of his seat guard was no help he was lucky to get a seat if only to suffer from screaming baby for 3 hours 3 minutes

Thankfully there are 144 standard class seats bookable on the 7 pm to Cork tonight normally only 36 are available

Just to show that seat res is still very very bug ridden

This is me trying to book a seat on the 9pm Dublin Cork today 5-8-2006

Coach B is the buffet coach and has only 30 seats


So here is the 12pm Cork Dublin 6-8-2006, two coach B, again one of whom only seats 30 since its the buffet coach

Someone should be shot for this

[Thomas J Stamp]

From what I've been looking at in Heuston over the weekend it appears that all of the bookable standard class seats are in the "other" half of the first carraise, ie the bit that's not first class. There is a strapline on top of each window telling you that thsese are all reserved seats. Presumably that only applies if the stub is shoved into the headrest. Also, that's where the sign and the yellow (and nubile) helpers are. Dick Ferns comley maidens indeed.

[Derek Wheeler]

Ahem....the children of IE staff are running around Heuston in canary yellow gear, helping people out with seat res issues.

I heard.

[Mark Gleeson]

Keep it in the family so, old style CIE is still here

Fact remain if seat res actually worked on the ground there would be no need for this of course the existing staff sit around and fail to assist passengers like they should

[d8boy]

I had my first experience with the girls in canary yellow at Heuston on Friday on the 17:00 to Cork. They were thorough and helpful and not allowing anyone without a reservation onto the coach with the reserved seats. While there appeared to be a long manifest of reservations, by 16:58 many seats were still unoccupied and the canary girls told passengers standing in the vestibules that they could occupy the seats just before they stepped off the train. At 16:59 4 people with reservations arrived and had a stand-up row with the people occupying their seats. One of the 4 went off in search of someone in authority but the 4 interlopers were left undisturbed. I'm not sure who was correct - the online booking system asks you to collect your tickets at least 20 minutes before departure. This seems a bit excessive but it does sort of imply that if you board one of the busiest trains of the week just one minute before departure that your seat may be gone. On the other hand I seem to recall that in Germany you are not allowed occupy an unoccupied seat with a reservation until 5 minutes *after* departure, presumably to allow the real owner to find it.
It would appear that many IE staff regard to whole seat resevation malarky as none of their business, hence the need to employ additional station staff soley to deal with reservations. This was confirmed on the way back boarding the 17:30 Cork to Dublin. I asked the ticket checker where Coach A was and was told "those reservations are only for the new trains, you can sit anywhere you like". We found Coach A at the back and all the passengers with reservations dutifully seated themsleves according to their tickets, but no-one came around to check, and the reservation stickers over the seats related to a journey on Saturday morning...
It's a real pity because with air travel becoming more hassled by the month a weekend break by rail is an attractive proposition. Up to now I was often deterred by the prospect of having to queue for ages just to be sure of getting a seat on a Friday or Sunday but seat reservations remove this hassle. There is a real opportunity for IE to market itlself as the more elegant and less stressful alternative - but only if they can get this right.

[Mark Gleeson]

You are asked to take your seats 20 minutes before departure, so 2 or 3 minutes before departure its not an unreasonable to seat standing passengers though they should be told they may have to relinquish there seats

The staff dont care thats the problem

Seat reservations apply to all trains new and old, just remember coach A is at the Cork end on the old trains, and the Dublin end of the new trains

[Portarlington Mini]

I accept that there are practical difficulties, but don't forget the regular commuter in all this, who cannot reserve a seat even if they know darn well (probably better than the one-off traveller) which train they are going to catch and pay IÉ up to €3,000 a year for the privilege.

[Mark Gleeson]

We are awating the response of the people in charge of seat reservations on how they intend to handle annual ticket holders

We are aware that seat booking will not be available on pure commuter services eg Athlone/Athy/Port Loais etc

[Oisin88]

We are awating the response of the people in charge of seat reservations on how they intend to handle annual ticket holders

Excellent...they could put a permanent seat on the 07:10 Dublin-Tullamore and the 16:26 Tullamore to Dublin with a big sign saying "Oisin's seat." I could leave my own cushion there and all!

No, seriously it will be very interesting to see how this develops.