Train seat spotting eliminated

Seat Sensor, a world-first innovation, is now live on all East Coast Main Line (LNER) trains displaying reservations above the seats using a traffic light system.

The sensor records the current and future status of a seat’s availability: green when a seat is unreserved for the whole journey; amber when a seat is reserved for part of the journey (you can look at the screen above the seat to check which parts of the journey the seat is reserved for before taking a seat); and a red light when a seat is reserved for the whole journey.

It may seem a little confusing but what was Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) became LNER last June when the private company (90% funded by Stagecoach Plc) handed back its operating rights to a new government-owned operator. The Seat Sensor was but one of the innovations being developed by VTEC including the introduction of a fleet of British assembled Hitachi Azuma train sets.

LNER points out that we all want a seat when we board a train, but if we do not have a reservation how do we find the best onboard spot available? The answer, it claims, is Seat Sensor.

BTN will be reviewing LNER in a few weeks' time. Reintroduced is a service from Stirling to London King's Cross.

www.lner.co.uk/news/seat-sensor

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