Reserved Seating

[Mark Gleeson]

Well they will charge you at least 10% http://www.platform11.org/passenger_...php#your_fault

If you surrender a non reserved ticket on the outward portion before departure you are entitled to full cash refund no questions no paperwork

[kevin]

Originally Posted by kevin

Filled out the paperwork at the customer service desk in Heuston. There was no mention of 50% so I guess I'll see what turns up in a few weeks.

Got a letter today denying my refund because they say the ticket wasn't surrendered before the time of travel.

I refer to your refund application reveived in this office on 10.1.07

Please note our conditions state "Iarnrod Éireann's on-line conditions state that there is no refund due on tickets that were purchased on-line but not cancelled in advance of travel". As you did not cancel your Tickets, I cannot accede to your request.

What do they mean by cancelling tickets as opposed to surrendering?

As I did exactly what the customer service rep told me to do I think I'll be calling in to them in Abbey street tomorrow

kevin

[kevin]

After explaining that I handed my ticket in to the customer service desk in heuston I'll be getting my 50% refund. Yay.

[Mark Gleeson]

Was on the 19:05 to Galway last night

Had a reserved seat, got to coach A no seat cards and my seat actually was in the first class area. Once again Irish Rail can't do the most simple of things

[choo choo]

Sorry to drag this topic up again but just wanted to tell of an expierence I had last friday with regard to reserved seating which some weeks is marked and other weeks isn't (or the yellow t-shirts get on late and get stuck on the train - they seemed to enjoy their trip though).

I tend to get their early these days just to avoid any situations, or passengers innocently sitting in my seat, but i still watch for other people. Last friday a young collage student got on the train and went to find his seat (one of the 2 seaters ) a passanger was sitting in one. A passenger I recognised as a regular every friday who unfortunately has a yearly ticket and therefore can't book a seat in the carriage (not his fault i know).

When the collage kid explained he had booked the 2 seats (the other for his girlfriend) our regular traveller said i don't see any names or reserved notifications on the seat, that this is my seat so i'm not moving, and that the collage kid would have to take things up with the conductor.

Now come on this guy knows the situation as he's always in the carriage and has moved before and the blue signs are there saying do not sit in this carriage without reservation.

So instead of biting my lip i say to our regular passenger that i know it's not his fault but that he knows the situation and that all seats in this carraige can be booked. Well that was a mistake. It has been along time since i've been f'd out of it so much, "How dare you f'n talk to me", "I can't believe your f'n talkin to me", "You f'n pup".

I now know why some conductors don't get involved with reserved seating problems if this is the type of ignorance/language/behaviour they have to put up with. The collage kid did take it up with the conductor but with no luck.

I've decided to get a different train on a friday for the next while as i don't think i could face that passenger for a while. I know it's not really appropirate to the board but i just wanted to tell my story..

Keep up the good work.. oh and the new trains in limerick are looking good..

[Mark Gleeson]

I've got a classic story about the pain I will suffer tonight already writing it up, I know its going to go wrong tonight since my seat doesn't actual legally exist, as in IE have sold me a seat which if I sit in I can be thrown off the train.

[packetswitch]

When you say the conductor didn't take it up, what exactly do you mean? I assumed that if a conductor received a complaint from a passenger that their seat was occupied, the conductor would go and instruct the other passenger to move - and that this would be part of a job description except if there was a threat of violence etc (in which case the Gardai should be called).

[Mark Gleeson]

Its easy solve while the train is in Heuston, but the ticket checker is the guy at the gate checking tickets so we are left to fend for ourselves unless the yellow tshirt crowd are present and lets face it they aren't trained to cope with this situation its team of hastily recruited teenagers

Why can't we have a few trains hosts to do it instead, for more professional, trained and have a better 'presence' than someone in a cheap yellow jumper

[choo choo]

Hi packetswitch,

No the conductor was actually just outside the door to our carraige and he told the collage kid to find a seat somewhere else as there should be no problem. They were gone for a while and eventually they walked back in to our carriage and tentatively sat in seats hoping the weren't booked. The conductors don't really want the hassle i think.

Actually that train host thing is a great idea and actually works really well..

[packetswitch]

Originally Posted by choo choo

he told the collage kid to find a seat somewhere else as there should be no problem.

See, that's the problem. Train systems elsewhere that use reservations wouldn't do that. There's no point in half measures. If IÉ want to use reservations, then the staff have to be told that 'find somewhere else' is not an acceptable answer except in an emergency.

[Oisin88]

I went to Kilkenny last Saturday on the 18:25 from Heuston. I booked my tickets on the internet from my house at 17:55 and went straight down to pick them up. Machine wouldn't do it for me but the ticket office helped out. I'm glad there was no queue.

Anyway, I got to carriage A and my seat was occupied. There were bits of paper in the reservation clips above the seats, but they were for Galway to Dublin. I just sat in a seat opposite.

Also, how come I wasn't able to reserve seats on the 15:46 back from Kilkenny on the sunday? The train was packed and it was a Mk3 with the same plastic clips over the seats. It also had "you can reserve this seat on www.irishrail.ie" (I think) which was not much comfort for the people standing.

[houstyl]

Odd that, had booked A27 myself on the 1905 Dublin-Galway tonight too and the seat didn't exist either (no cards over any seats either)

TBH I'd personally be on the verge of giving up on the reserved seating lark, the cards never seem to be used on the ex Heuston services I'm on (Galway station in fairness do use them), and the staff never seem to enforce the seating, leaving you to fend for yourself moving people out of seats.

[Oisin88]

Originally Posted by houstyl

Odd that, had booked A27 myself on the 1905 Dublin-Galway tonight too and the seat didn't exist either (no cards over any seats either)

TBH I'd personally be on the verge of giving up on the reserved seating lark, the cards never seem to be used on the ex Heuston services I'm on (Galway station in fairness do use them), and the staff never seem to enforce the seating, leaving you to fend for yourself moving people out of seats.

There was a fairly tough looking Carlow regular passenger in my seat. Would hesitate to move a regular given that I have an annual heuston-tullamore which doesn't allow me to reserve a seat.

Interesting that it is Heuston that can't be bothered putting in the seat reservations. Is it a fast train turnaround thing?

I am beginning to think that it is time I was allowed reserve my seat on the 16:31 Tullamore-Heuston on Fridays. It's starting to get busy. Maybe I'll have a word with Abbey St (or my TD )

[MrX]

Simple sollution:

If your seat's occupied and the staff do nothing:

1) Full refund
or 2) No quibble Upgrade to first class.

Otherwise, they might as well scrap the reservations system.

Twice now, I have arrived on a Cork-Dublin train with the reservation system not powered up/working correctly and my seats have been occupied. We have either had to find other seats or ask people to move.

I've heard horror stories like a German teacher who had an entire coach booked for a full school tour. People removed the reserved seating notices and sat down, staff were unhelpful / non existant and she ended up having kids scattered throughout a busy train.
She got off and just laughed it off as "typically irish disorganisation" but was very unimpressed.

[packetswitch]

Another simple solution would be that all walk-up tickets (i.e. bought at the station) come with a reservation. Hardly rocket science, and doesn't take account of return tickets or season tickets, but it would certainly reinforce the importance of the reservation system.

Virgin have an extreme policy for certain trains (which run as all-reserved); if you're in a reserved seat and don't have a reservation (or another excuse like an Irish-bought ferry/rail ticket which is a paper ticket with no possibility to reserve!), they can charge you the full open single (which is usually about £100 or something similarly ludicrous). That might sort things out

[houstyl]

Originally Posted by packetswitch

Another simple solution would be that all walk-up tickets (i.e. bought at the station) come with a reservation. Hardly rocket science, and doesn't take account of return tickets or season tickets, but it would certainly reinforce the importance of the reservation system.

Virgin have an extreme policy for certain trains (which run as all-reserved); if you're in a reserved seat and don't have a reservation (or another excuse like an Irish-bought ferry/rail ticket which is a paper ticket with no possibility to reserve!), they can charge you the full open single (which is usually about £100 or something similarly ludicrous). That might sort things out

Good idea in theory but knowing IE, in practice it wouldn't be implemented at all or else in a half-assed fashion similar to the fining of people without tickets seen on other threads.

Will the new 22000s have the electronic names over seats like the Mk 4s? Maybe once all the network has uniform equipment, train hosts etc. the whole reservation setup might improve.

[Mark Gleeson]

As promised some fun from the weekend

So I was booked on the 18:30 to Tralee on Thursday, seat A27 which the website told me was the bottom centre window at the partition with first, well actually is in first on the train when you check



Coach A was infact from what I could see a citygold coach

Yellow jumper dude had hijacked the whole of coach C (72 seats) for the 36 standard class bookings on the train and it was the usual sit anywhere thing, yellow jumper dude fecked off 8 minutes before departure and took the badly photocopied this seat is reserved notices with him, so god help you if you board beyond Heuston

So to the return leg, I book a seat A29, grand there is no first class so the software goof won't effect me. IE went one better as I was the only reservation on the 17:35 Limerick Dublin they decided to withdraw it from the booking system.



But I have a seat number, http://www.platform11.org/images/boo...eservation.JPG to prove they pulled a fast one

Show up and guess what coach A is a citygold coach, being that I boarded in Templemore its a long walk to reach coach A and not worth it when you know the seat ain't there and the train was empty.

So ZERO points to IE

[Oisin88]

And they still haven't got it right on the Cork Dublin.

We had C35 and C36 booked on the Cork-Dublin 18:30 this evening. No names up in lights over the seats.

Got on the train at about 5 past and there was people sitting in the seats. Mentioned it to them, but then just sat on the seats across the aisle, to avoid hassle.

Then the train got busy. Girl got on. walked past our seats. then asked if the seats opposite us were free. sat down. Lots of crashing of bags etc. Turned out later we were on their seats.

The train got fairly full when the Kerry crowd got on at Mallow. Huge kerryman with suit and laptop got on. Asked girl that was sitting in our seats (taking up 2) was the inner seat free. Lots more bag crashing and grumpy faces.

At the end of the day, everyone got seats but really if Irish Rail had been doing their job properly there would have been less grumpy customers.

[Mark Gleeson]

After months waiting for it, IE have finally corrected seating layout on the Mk3 coach so standard class reservations will finally work

IE have known about this since January, took them 5 months to sort it

[MOH]

Friend came back from Kilkenny on Sunday, had seats booked, no indication anywhere in the carriage that seats were reserved, eventually convinced the skang-- the gentlemen in their seats to move after much abuse, they moved to two other seats that were also reserved, conductor had to be called ot move them again.

How can they get away with claiming to reserve seats when they never actually reserve them?