On the platforms of most larger train stations in Europe sits a rather nondescript display case with an unusual poster inside. In French it is the ‘Tableau de Composition des Trains’. Germans call it the ‘Wagenstandanzeiger’. In Britain it is referred to as a ‘Carriage Position Indicator’. In short, it tells you what coach sits where for every train coming and going, and is an extremely valuable tool to minimize dragging your luggage through a crowded Eurocity train at rush hour. Let’s look at how it works.
When traveling through Europe, especially at peak times, it’s not a bad idea to get a seat reservation. It insures that you won’t be standing for your entire journey due to an overcrowded train and also allows you to pick a favored place to sit, whether by a window to enjoy alpine scenery, or near the restaurant car to easily grab a refill on your German beer. Some countries allow you to reserve seats as late as the night before your train trip and offer the convenience of on-line reservation booking, which combine to make seat reservations easy to get on all but the most flexible travel schedules. A graphic representation of the coach showing the layout and available seats (below) makes selecting the perfect seat online easy and painless.
When traveling through Europe, especially at peak times, it’s not a bad idea to get a seat reservation. It insures that you won’t be standing for your entire journey due to an overcrowded train and also allows you to pick a favored place to sit, whether by a window to enjoy alpine scenery, or near the restaurant car to easily grab a refill on your German beer. Some countries allow you to reserve seats as late as the night before your train trip and offer the convenience of on-line reservation booking, which combine to make seat reservations easy to get on all but the most flexible travel schedules. A graphic representation of the coach showing the layout and available seats (below) makes selecting the perfect seat online easy and painless.
When your reservation comes through (whether on paper or digitally) it will contain both a coach number and a seat number. Here is an example from the German Railways:
Note that on the right side next to each connection/train there is a ‘Reservierung (Reservation)’ section which features a ‘Wagen’ (coach) number and a ‘Platz’ (seat) number. Those are your seat assignments for the journey. The next question is “How on earth do I find my seat when the train arrives?” Most tourists to Europe will wait on the platform for the train to arrive, climb aboard the nearest coach, and then start hunting for the right coach and the right seat. But not you.
The image above shows a Romanian 'Coach Arrangement in Trains' board for a particular track in Bucharest Station. It contains several very important pieces of information. First, it shows all trains expected to arrive at this platform and on this track (in this case, track 3). On the left it shows the train number, the major destinations, and the departure time in a simple table. Next to it is a graphical representation of the makeup of the train, including where the locomotive will be. Each coach is numbered and the color displays the type of coach it is (class, compartment or open seating, dining car or sleeper, etc). Simply by finding your train and the number of your coach you will know roughly where it will be in relation to the front of the train, and you’ll be able to wait in close proximity to your coach for your train to arrive.
The German ‘Wagenstandanzeiger’ for track 5 shown above is similar. On the left it shows the departure time, the train type and number, and the major stops. Again we have visual representations of the trains and all their coaches. This board contains a few additional pieces of information that the Romanian display did not. First, a small arrow shows the outbound direction of train travel. This is helpful for anyone (without reservations) who likes to sit in the direction of travel or who prefers to sit at the front or rear of the train. Remember, the train may not leave in the direction it arrived, so this arrow is certainly not redundant. The second and decidedly more important additional bit of information can be found at the top and bottom of the poster, namely the platform section, shown as letters ‘A’ through ‘G’ (see my previous post on what those mean in another post in this section of the website). By using this information you can pinpoint where your coach will stop, and while others scramble along the platform or stumble down narrow aisles dragging their luggage behind them looking for their seats you’ll already have climbed aboard and will be sitting comfortably as the train glides out of the station…
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