We’re travelling from the UK to Italy this year. We used to be able to select our seats with Senior Global Passes but have now discovered this has all changed. We can’t use SNCF or Trenitalia to do this anymore. Why is this? Does anyone have any suggestions how to get round this? Thanks
Best answer by Kyle
View originalGood point. The Paris to Milan seat plan doesn’t show the windows. I’d forgotten about that and, as you say, you can end up with just a bit of window. I should have asked about that. As for seat plans, the seat61.com website is really helpful — about lots of things. Go to the Train seat numbering plans page.
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There are plenty of options. Weirdly not via SNCF or Trenitalia. But via B-Europe and ÖBB respectively.
In this guide you'll find all the guidelines to reserve your seats:
,This is very difficult to answer this as there are so many routes to get reservations and then the train operators, some of whom have apps and other routes to make a change and others who don’t.
There is no single standard and, as you are finding out it is very dynamic as sites and apps change.
I am sure you will get some individual procedures for changing seats with specific operators, but even these may only work on certain platforms.
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Why is this?
Because the Railcompanies complained that these options were often used without a real Railpass (“Fraud”) another reason is they don´t wanna include this offer anymore on their website as it was to difficult/Expensive for them. Another unspoken reason is that they hope you finally give up and buy a standard ticket were they get the entire money from you and not just a bit.
Does anyone have any suggestions how to get round this? Thanks
Without knowing your planned route we can just provide a general advise like
Thanks. I phoned SNCF this afternoon, pressed 85 (my iMac doesn’t have a “hash” key) and spoke to a helpful man who spoke excellent English. Managed to select our seats with the aid of the seat plan onscreen in front of me. Cost 90 euros. Having a lie down now before thinking about the rest of our trip.
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I am curious about the seat plan. I like to look out of the window. Some seats are just between the windows, so you see nothing (yet they are called windowseats!). Can you see the windows on the seat plan? Is there a website with all the seatplans (with windows!) of European trains?
The dreaded "Wandfensterplätze". Brrrr. They should offer those seats with a discount, honestly.
Deutsche bahn usually has a proper seating plan of their trains if you dig a bit deeper on the website. Or if you google something like "sitzplan ICE 3" or something. But then you already need to know which kind a train is running on your route.
For the UK this is usually found easily as well, often via the man in seat 61 though.
But for the rest of Europe, no idea. Curious if someone can enlighten us about this.
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But for the rest of Europe, no idea. Curious if someone can enlighten us about this.
In Sweden you can select your seat according to the direction of the train and the location of the windows.
I am curious about the seat plan. I like to look out of the window. Some seats are just between the windows, so you see nothing (yet they are called windowseats!). Can you see the windows on the seat plan? Is there a website with all the seatplans (with windows!) of European trains?
The dreaded "Wandfensterplätze". Brrrr. They should offer those seats with a discount, honestly.
Indeed. I call them "French windows”, similar to a "French balcony”, which isn't a real balcony...
Started reserving seats with our Global Passes through Austrian Rail (OBB). Apart from annoying problems with logging in — they keep not recognising my email address (or password) even though they use it to send me tickets — it’s worked okay up until today when I tried to reserve seats from Salerno to Sicily for 5 April. Initially I tried Messina but that wouldn’t work so then tried Siracusa and Palermo, but no luck there either. Any suggestions please?
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Probably a bit too early to book. Italy is a bit late in uploading and sharing its timetables with the rest of Europe.
On Italyrail and Trenitalia I find connections for that day. Precis are low, so I don't suspect trains to be fully booked. So no worries, best check a couple of days later if they show up then and reserve then.
Thanks. We didn’t have any trouble booking as far as Salerno but it must be the north/south divide that our Italian friends talk about. I was worried that maybe seats were sold out because of Easter.
Started reserving seats with our Global Passes through Austrian Rail (OBB). Apart from annoying problems with logging in — they keep not recognising my email address (or password) even though they use it to send me tickets — it’s worked okay up until today when I tried to reserve seats from Salerno to Sicily for 5 April. Initially I tried Messina but that wouldn’t work so then tried Siracusa and Palermo, but no luck there either. Any suggestions please?
I assume you are looking at the day train, not the sleeper. Last year I did the reverse journey and it was indeed only a few weeks before departure they appeared on IR/OEBB for booking, so as above post, just keep checking - the direct train is an IC not a Freccia and crosses the Messina straits on the ferry.
We managed to reserve seats today for travelling by trains in Sicily but not sure if we’ll be sitting together. We have 1st Class Global passes. From Messina to Siracusa on 6 April at 16.05 we were given seats 13C and 12C in coach 1. On the 10.00 train from Palermo to Messina on 20 April we have 2A and 2C in coach 8, and on the 10.10 train on 21 April from Messina to Sapri we have 2A and 2C in coach 1.
I suspect that we’ll be okay with the Messina to Siracusa seats but can anyone tell us if the other seats make any sense? We really don’t want to be sitting on the other side of the aisle from each other.
Hopefully the man in seat 61 has the answer for you:
https://www.seat61.com/european-train-seating-plans.htm
Thanks, but I’ve looked at seat 61 but the InterCity seat plan looks a bit old and doesn’t seem to cover what I’m looking for.
Trenitalia site suggest seats C and D are a double together, but A and C are on opposite side of the Aisle. On the few times we have been on these trains there has been plenty of spare seats to move.
Thanks. Didn’t think of checking out Trenitalia. I guess there’s no way of changing seats through them? I reserved them through OEBB.
Since they are only 3 euro each you could always check at the stations in Italy about a change and, if they can’t change them simply buy a couple more.
Also if you have the required reservation reference you could try this page:
https://www.trenitalia.com/en/purchase/manage_your_ticket.html
Thanks for all your replies. It’s my first time doing this so I hope I’m doing it correctly.
We’ve already booked Eurostar from London to Paris. Leaving from Ashford would have been better for us but alas it’s still closed and with no sign of it ever opening again. We then go Paris to Torino, Torino to Bologna, Bologna to Rome etc eventually on to Sicily. We have Interrail 1st Class Senior 2 month rail passes. Hence our slow progress. Hope that helps. We leave on 21 March.
As I am sure you are aware, always book your reservations as one booling for 2 passengers (you only need to add one pass number id needed) then at least you should be booked together.
Once onboard you can always watch for vacant seats in first class and move - at worst you may need to return to your original seat,
Do you have a destination in Sicily? We were there earlier this year.
I’ve tried OBB for travelling by trains in Italy but, although it allowed me to book reservations, I couldn’t specify which coach or seats we wanted. Maybe it’s not possible now, but I find it very frustrating that we bought these passes in good faith expecting to be able to select whichever trains and seats we wanted — like our three previous trips with Interrail passes. Things ain’t what they used to be. It’s just that because of health reasons it would make it much easier if we could select our own seats.
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I’ve tried OBB for travelling by trains in Italy but, although it allowed me to book reservations, I couldn’t specify which coach or seats we wanted. Maybe it’s not possible now, but I find it very frustrating that we bought these passes in good faith expecting to be able to select whichever trains and seats we wanted — like our three previous trips with Interrail passes. Things ain’t what they used to be. It’s just that because of health reasons it would make it much easier if we could select our own seats.
OBB cant select specific seats on the Italian trains :/ How ever the system will try to get seats next to each other :)
Paris - torino be carefull there are the direct TGV (Interrail valid) with reservations arround 35€ per seat (these are limited booking well in advance recommended) and the direct FrecciaRossa (Interrail is not valid on FrecciaRossa in France).
Within Italy you can catch FrecciaRossa without anyproblems just a reservation of 10€ :) The 1st class Interrailpass allows you to book the “Business” Class on these trains. The OBB system do it automatic when you select 1st class.
As you will be in Italy for a long period you could leave at least some of the reservations until you there.
Any Italian station booking office will be able to do them and should be able to select the seats you want.
Unfortunately this situation where a number of the major operators refuse to fairly treat passholders by allowing them the same access to seat reservations as other customers has been allowed to happen with little apparent pushback or attempt to provide an alternative solution.
Thanks. Maybe it’s my age, but I prefer to get all of our train, hotel/airbnb and museum bookings done in advance before we leave so we have an itinerary tightly mapped out. Over the last few years (prior to Covid) our previous trips worked out well, but this year is proving to be extremely taxing.
Perhaps I should just get the Paris to Turin train on 23 March sorted out first. Is it true that the only way to reserve the TGV seats is through Interrail? Thanks again.
For domestic TGV journeys you can use the b-europe site at this link https://travel.b-europe.com/eurail-ge/en/booking-tgv#TravelWish
For international TGV the interrail reservation portal is the only online booking for these very expensive reservations.
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