Barely mounted on the train, the trip begins … with an unpleasant moment. A occupied seat, confused looks, and the ballet of tickets that are exchanged. Why does this scenario repeat itself with each trip? Human error or design flaw? Investigation on board, just before departure.
When you travel by train, you enter a universe apart. The roll of the suitcases on the quay, the roar of the brakes, the ads at the station, the compartments already full or almost: it is a whole small theater of the trip. On board, you are looking for its place, often in a hurry, sometimes distracted, eyes riveted on the numbers. And there, familiar scene: a traveler discovers his seat … already occupied. If it is sometimes because the person wanted this place rather than that which was allocated to him for one reason or another (or because he had no sitting place), it can happen that he seated there, in good faith, that it was indeed his place.
The traveler who must sit on this number then indicates the problem for him, and follows a verification to find out who is right. Often, the person was actually poorly placed, and then moved to the right seat. Sometimes it is the other passenger who was wrong, confusing the siege numbers. But how can we explain that there is so much confusion when you settle on the train? Because this phenomenon seems to happen well with each trip! In a LinkedIn publication, the product designer Doriann Defemme explains that he understood where the problem was: in the placement of the numbering of the seats.
Indeed, going up the aisle, we look at the numbers, which are registered on the side of the file. By reflex, we sit after seeing this number, so on the row behind the famous file, because it seems perfectly logical … Except that it is actually necessary to sit on the seat on which the number is written!
In addition to this is added the eternal debate to find out what place is the window side and which is on the side. Indeed, in the TGV of the SCNF, on the panels indicating the numbers, one of the seats is colored in white and the other colored in black, but many people ignore what color corresponds to what. You will now know: White designates the seat we are talking about. For example, if you have the seat 99, yours is the one that is colorful in white on the panel.
So while waiting for the SNCF to rethinks its display system, it is better to redouble vigilance. Identify the numbers in advance, check their exact position, and not rely on your instinct alone: these are the new rules of an embarkation without a hitch.
