Train Seating

Open-plan seats, tables and compartments

An open-plan saloon has seats in a shared carriage space. Some trains arrange seats in rows on either side of an aisle, much like an aircraft cabin. Others have groups around tables, with some passengers facing one another. Italo, for example, offers table seats and a face-to-face group of four. A compartment places a group of seats in a separate section of the carriage. The number of seats, table arrangement and degree of privacy depend on the train.

A seat map may show window and aisle seats, table groups, compartments, and coach and seat numbers. Each map applies to a particular train type and booking service, so the layout shown for one departure is not a template for every train on the route.

What a seat choice confirms

A preference for a window, aisle, table or seats together is a request, not an assigned place. An issued coach and seat number confirms the assigned seat. If a ticket has no seat number, it may allow travel without a particular reserved place, subject to that ticket's rules.

Open seating and reserved seating are different. On most TER trains, for example, passengers may choose an available seat. Normandy services are an exception and require a reservation. This is one French regional example, not a rule for every French or European train. On a service with compulsory reservations, the ticket or pass conditions determine what is needed to board; a seat reservation on its own does not necessarily cover the journey. Pass travellers can use the Interrail reservation checker to see whether a specific train needs a separate reservation before relying on a seating preference.

Window and aisle describe a seat's position in the carriage, while forward- and backward-facing describe its direction. A train's direction of travel does not reveal which way every seat faces, and the formation can change. Unless the operator confirms the direction for that departure, a forward-facing preference is not a guarantee that the seat will face forwards throughout the trip.

Quiet coaches and areas

Operators define their own quiet areas. Deutsche Bahn, for example, marks them on ICE trains. Depending on the train, the quiet area may be a compartment, an ICE lounge or an entire coach. DB asks passengers there to avoid calls, ringtones, loud music and other noisy activities. The label and rules are not standard across Europe.

For ICE, IC and EC services, DB provides current-day formation information showing features such as quiet and family areas. It can also update the formation when it changes. This is useful for finding the right part of a DB train, but it does not create a Europe-wide quiet-coach standard or guarantee that an earlier seat choice will remain in the same coach.