Question about OBB trains, reserved seats, seat maps (and etiquette)

The OBB site will let you purchase a seat assignment for any train that accepts assignments, independent of purchasing tickets. So go back to the OBB site and find the prompt for purchasing a seat only and buy the seat next to you for your husband.

Begin like you would to book a ticket. Watch carefully as 2 screens in (on the phone site at least) you will see a box to check that says seat only, I already have s ticket. Then the box thatt says graphic plan. To double check what I was telling you I walked through buying a seat on an October Vienna to Budapest train on my phone. No problems.

But first, do what I said until you reach the graphic plan and check your seat numbers to see if tgey are already together. Dont know why you had trouble. But try from time to time and see if you can get to the graphic plan.

Seats numbers are not necessarily sequential, so check the seat map.

If no one is sitting in a seat, it is anyone's, unless or until someone boards the train and shows you a seat reservation for that seat.

Mr Ɛ - thanks for your reply! I tried your suggestion - both on my phone and on my desktop. For my trip to Prague, I can make it all the way through the process but when I click on the "go to graphical seat selection" box I get an error message saying it cannot be displayed (which is the same problem I had when I booked the tickets - I have tried this on two different browsers on my desktop, as well as on the app on my phone). For the trip to Hallstatt there is no "go to graphical seat selection" box at all. I only have four drop-down options: "Without seat preference, preferably a window seat, preferably an aisle seat, requiring a window seat".

Also out of curiosity, if I was able to get an additional reservation, would there be an issue with me and my husband having three reservations but only two tickets? What happens if someone has a reserved ticket but they do not show up for it? Do the conductors have a record of who has reserved which tickets?

I dont think there is a problem with multiple seat reservations. But not 100% sure. LOL we would have found out. Can't imagine why you cant get the seat graphic. Sorry.

Try the good ol’ turn the phone off and turn it back on trick. I just tried to book a seat only on Vienna to Prague in October and had no problem. If you’d like to share your specific train, time and seats, we can tell you if they’re next to each other, or if someone has reserved the seats next to yours.

Here is a great resource for seat maps. https://www.vagonweb.cz/fotogalerie/A/OeBB_Ampz-1990-6.php

If the seat next to either of you is not reserved, go ahead and move to it. I wouldn’t bother trying to remove the reservation for the seat you are vacating. There will be a digital sign showing which cities the seat is reserved between. If no one is sitting there during that stretch, and the car is relatively full, someone will likely sit there. I wouldn’t bother trying not ask someone with a reservation to move. But you might turn around and quietly talk to him briefly - ask him to hand you something from the day bag, etc. Maybe the person next to either of you will ask if you want to swap.

I had no trouble pulling up the seat map for the RailJet (OEBB) to Prague at 9:10 am on October 9. In 1st class, seats next to each other 2 numbers apart, (42&44, 51&53, 85&83, etc)

The seat reservations on electronic displays actually disappear 15 minutes after the station from which that seat is reserved has been departed from. And then either the next one appears, or it turns blank.
Which is why you must occupy your seat, or you lose it.

But you can of course move to other seats, or swap, or whatever. You are not glued to your seat. You cannot really change your seat reservation currently, as they are not even linked to your ticket. You cannot get a new one, but then you pay extra.

The seat numbering scheme used on OBB trains is still the traditional one, that is a left over of the day the international trains in Europe were all done with standard RIC coaches. The system was such that a station clerk could know which seats were window, which aisle, which were opposite each other and in which compartment they were without needing a seat map. With modern trains with more and more airline style seating this is sometimes a bit confusing, and more and more railways are moving away from it. SNCF for example is just going to give each seat in a TGV set its own number, for example. And some railways now use airline style numbering.

I have a feeling that your seats are together - the numbers are not sequential.

See here and scroll down to 'Austria'- https://www.seat61.com/european-train-seat-maps.htm#Austria

Thank you all for your replies, your comments helped so much. I still don't quite have a solution, but at least I feel a bit more empowered with information. For whatever reason, I still can't view the seating chart for my specific train on the OBB website (I'm convinced it's a technical error related to my specific train and time, but if anyone would like to try to view the seating map for the RJ370 17:10 train from Vienna to Prague on Oct 9th I would be curious).

Anyway, I have no problem viewing the seating chart of other trains on other days and times. I was able to view the seating chart for the RJ372 train and based on that map, on our way to Prague my husband and I are indeed sitting directly behind each other in a different row (in this case, our numbers are actually sequential - eg: 45 and 46).

On our trip to Hallstatt, based on the map on Vagonweb (thank you travel4fun!) on our InterCity train, it looks like we are actually sitting in the same row but on different sides of the aisle (I'm in the window seat on one side of the train and he's in the window seat on the other side - eg I'm in seat 158 and he's in seat 155).

Anyway, unfortunately I still can't seem to find a way to make a new seat reservation for our trips, but I'll keep trying. And at least I know for sure what the situation is now. I'm sure it'll work out on the train, and hopefully I can be a cautionary tale to anyone wanting to book a seat reservation who can't select on the seating map. The system might split you up if you select window as your seating preference!

sitting directly behind each other

I have no knowledge of OBB in particular, but are you sure that you are not sitting facing each other?

This is one of the Czech rail jet trains- https://www.vagonweb.cz/razeni/vlak.php?zeme=%C3%96BB&kategorie=RJ&cislo=372&nazev=Vindobona&rok=2025

Seat composition here- https://www.seat61.com/reference/trainseatplans/CD-railjet.pdf

So 45 and 46 are indeed behind each other. 45 is directly behind a luggage rack. Also, unless the train is travelling in reverse formation that day both seats are backward facing.

My interpretation of the seat map is that seats 45 and 46 are across a table from each other and of course, facing each other. They are window seats in a double seat row (4 seat table).

Sam,

That is pretty clearly not the case as 45 and 46 are facing in the same direction, and the fairly few tables are quite clearly shown eg- seats 24 to 27 or 114 to 117.

Sorry but the OP purchased 1st class tickets.

and then a few days later we're leaving Vienna and going to Prague via train (I booked in 1st for this trip since we'll have luggage)

If you look at the 1sr class carriage at the bottom of the seat61 seat map, you will see that they are window seats across a table from each other

Hi Sam and isn31c, I really appreciate both of you trying to figure this out!

I think I have finally identified my seating map. On Vagonweb, I realized the RJ370 layout they have listed on the main landing page is only valid until October 5. Once I clicked the calendar icon I found a new layout for the date I will be travelling. This map matches the coach number on my ticket (whereas all previous seating maps did not), so I am pretty confident now that this is the correct layout for my trip.

https://www.vagonweb.cz/popisy/mista/vuz.php?c=372&v=%C4%8CD%3AAmpz%3A881&r=2025&m=1

Anyway, I also really want to apologize for making things unnecessarily complicated because I picked 45 and 46 as example seats, they're not my actual seats. Looking at this new map, I am still almost completely sure we are sitting directly behind each other (I can see the layouts with the tables and we are not sitting in those seats), but I'm at peace with it now, and hopefully we will just be able to grab a seat next to each other when we board.

Thanks so much to everyone who helped me figure this out (I wouldn't have found this seating map without your help pointing me to the vagonweb website) and I will update this post once we've taken our trip and let everyone know how it went!

I guess you could have just told us your actual train seats. It would have saved a lot of time for the people trying to help you.

Hi Sam, my apologies. (Although I did say I was in sequentially numbered seats “eg 45 and 46” not that those were my seats). My seat numbers actually didn’t appear on any of the previous seating maps for similar trains I found online, which is why I picked 45 and 46 as an example. I thought seating was consistent enough across Railjet trains that as long as I could understand the general pattern of how seating maps typically worked that I could figure out roughly where we were sitting.

I never anticipated picking 45 and 46 would end up being table seats on certain trains and causing so much trouble. I also honestly didn’t expect you to put so much effort into looking into my specific seats, and I’m sorry if you feel like I have wasted your time. I really appreciate everyone’s help - and you did genuinely help me.

The difference in seating arrangements is because you need to know whether you are on a 1st or 2nd generation railjet set (I guess on 6 October it is changing to 2nd gen), as the layout was altered.

Ultimately I suppose that means all the research could be for nought if they have to substitute a different (older) train for any reason on the day.

However this thread is of general use to others, in teaching them how to "fish"- finding out about seating arrangements and consists for trains across Western Europe.

For those who refer to this thread in the future, I would note that you can always go to the OeBB desk at any train station and buy the seat reservation just before travel. I would also note that a reservation is not required - it is just a good way to make sure you can sit instead of stand.

As for the etiquette part, it is not rude to ask people to switch seats - it is likely as well that the seat next to you might not even be reserved, which means it is anyone's seat. It is also likely that someone will be sitting in your reserved seat and it is not rude at all to ask them to move.

As for removing the sign, this is impossible as these are not literal signs, but digital displays that are controlled elsewhere.

But as I mentioned already, I am certain your seats are together. The system is designed to assign seats together.

As for the etiquette part, it is not rude to ask people to switch
seats ....

Emily should be correct, but on my last two flights that was abused ... as a result i am sort of hardened against it.

I think flights and trains are a bit different.

Emily, you are probably correct. It may not seem kind, but i'm burned out on the subject.

General remark:

• When asking help with train travel always be specific. There are a lot of knowledgeable people here. They can figure out if your trip is affect by temporary line closures, material swaps etc... but only if you are specific.

• Train travel is not like air travel. It is a lot less formal for one. And on trains it is possible that more passengers board than there are seats, and that is why you reserve seats. To be guaranteed a seat. But in most cases trains are not full. A proper railway (ie, any railway not called SNCF or RENFE) will try to keep all its rolling stock moving, as much as possible. Marginal cost of a train is low, so the train does not have to be full in order to turn a profit.
  So you will encounter lots of trains that are lightly loaded. We were on an EC from Bonn to Basel last week. I had booked seats on the left side of the car, in order to have the best views of the Rhine. When we boarded we noticed that the car had been added to the train reversed, so we ended up on the right side. So what did we do? We just moved to the other side, as there were plenty of free seats.

And yes, people swap seats all the time. I have swapped seats on a TGV so a mother could sit with her child. On some occasions I boarded, and saw someone in my seat, and just asked which was his seat and sat there, in order to avoid forcing him to have to pack everything and move...

And so on. You are not glued to your seat. Just treat the reservation as a guarantee you will be sitting in case a train is overful, and don't give it to much thought.

Hi all, I just wanted to update everyone on what happened on the trip - and hopefully it can be of use to anyone with this question in the future.

Our seats were not located next to each other. On the train from Vienna to Hallstatt (Wien - Attnang-Puchheim portion) the system gave us seats 141 and 144, which were located in the same row but were window seats on either side of the train (with two aisle seats and the aisle between us). Fortunately we boarded the train early and the seat next to me wasn’t reserved.

On the train from Vienna to Prague there was a new wrinkle. Our seats were 95 and 96 in First Class. I spoke to the OBB agent before the trip who confirmed that the seats were behind each other but said she couldn’t move us. However, when we boarded the train, the seats actually didn’t exist at all! We were one of at least four groups in the First Class carriage that this happened to - who all had seat reservations for seats that did not exist. We boarded early and were able to find two unreserved seats next to each other, but not everyone was so lucky and I think some people weren’t able to sit in the First Class carriage. I did hear the conductor say to one person “this isn’t your fault, there was a mistake”, but I’m not sure exactly what happened. It seems like the train on this route was supposed to replaced with a different, larger train, and then that swap didn’t happen.

I have updated my original post with a TLDR version of this update, but thank you again to everyone in this group for helping me navigate a somewhat confusing situation!

Stephanie, someday buying train tickets will be as civilized as buying plane tickets. Till tgen we all live and learn. I hope you enjoyed your holiday and laughed off tge train fiasco.

At least train travel is vastly more civilized than air travel...

ÖBB has a few issues. One issue they do not have is "not enough customers". Trains have become very popular, and they are scrambling to get enough wheels turning. On the IC service you took to Attnang-Phuchheim you were travelling on a double deck train that they bought second hand from DB (which in turn bought it second hand from Westbahn). Literally a hand-me-down, that they use temporarily until the new double deck RJ start running. But I guess that they never programmed their reservation system with proper seat maps for those trains.

And on Vienna - Prague there have been some short notice changes of rolling stock. If your car was replaced with a combined 1st/bistro car, then your seats would be gone indeed.

When was your Vienna - Prague trip, and what train where you on?

"...train travel is vastly more civilized than air travel." How true.

On day trains and night trains never saw anything coming close to frayed nerves leading to anger. No moronic outbursts or that sort of unpleasantness. Of course, if you propped on a reserved seat, only to be told that the seat belongs to some else, you don't like being bumped. I've bumped people and people have bumped me, so what?

I travel only using trains and buses, regardless if it's 1 hour or 10 hrs. You expect a certain degree of decorum once in the train.

Flying is not an option. What is aggravating is late trains, ie, more than 20 mins and cancelled trains, eg, Vienna to Dortmund.

What is aggravating is late trains, ie, more than 20 mins

Where I live anything over 3 minutes is a reason to revolt :-)

Here is a trick I have employed a few times when travelling on my own on the Brussels - Frankfurt ICE: Moments before the trip I go on line, and start the process of reserving a seat. This just to be able to have a look at the seating chart, and see where there are still unreserved seats. Then I abort the process, and position myself on the platform so I can immediately head for one of those free seats...

What happens if someone has a reserved ticket but they do not show up
for it?

That happens actually all the time. I have been on trains where half the reservations were no-shows. What happens is that after 15 minutes the reservation lapses (they also disappear from the screens) and then anyone can sit there.

This is another strategy for getting a seat on a full train. Look for seats reserved from the station you boarded, but that are not occupied. These have a high chance of being no-shows, and will thus become available.

What happens is that after 15 minutes the reservation lapses (they
also disappear from the screens) and then anyone can sit there.

So they are high tech seats that knows that it is empty and clears the screen after 15 minutes? Because on the very few trains I have been on the conductor is the only one who will know you are on the train and he may not show up to check tickets for an hour or more, if he ever shows up. The tran to Vienna they check tickets after the Gyor which is 1:15 into the ride and usually the next to the last stop; and I have been on the same train where the ticket was never checked.

No, the Reservation is automatically removed after 15 minutes, whether or not the seat is occupied. On many lines in the UK you can reserve seats after the train has started it's journey, so you can sit in what is a vacant seat, then find part way down the line that it has now been reserved, and you now have no seat.
Cross Country and Avanti are two of those. So you board at Plymouth, headed for say Birmingham without a reservation and find an unreserved seat. I can then book the seat on line for example while the train is between Plymouth and Exeter. So at Exeter someone (maybe me) claims your seat, and you are now left standing.

The wonders of internet connections.

I do that trick quite often.

But likewise if you see the conductor after the train leaves Plymouth you can ask him/her to reserve that seat for you with his hand held device, to stop anyone doing the above trick. I believe that one only works on Cross Country

No, the Reservation is automatically removed after 15 minutes, whether
or not the seat is occupied.

Thanks for the explanation. I guess that means once i sit, it's probably best not to get up so I don't have to confront the person who sat in my seat in my absence. I'm not a confrontational guy on holiday. But that means not too much water before a long trip.

I guess that means once i sit, it's probably best not to get up so I
don't have to confront the person who sat in my seat in my absence.

Depends. Usually when you get up it will be in between stations, when there is not a lot of moving about in the train. And I usually leave my coat.

DB has nice feature btw. You can use the "comfort check in" if you have the ticket in their app. There you can even indicate if you are sitting in a different seat then the one you originally reserved. When you do that the display on your seat will then show "besetzt bis ".
Don't know if OBB has something similar, but I find it a neat feature. Also the fact that it releases your original seat if you choose to move.

DB has nice feature btw. You can use the "comfort check in" if you have the ticket in their app.

Westbahn provides this, too.