Seat Registration.

Many years ago the seat registration system was introduced by the Great Western Railway on its principal express passenger trains. Owing to the increasing popularity of the arrangement among travellers, marked extensions of the system have been introduced to cover almost all the main line services. The registration of seats is based on the arrangements followed in theatres and other places of amusement, plans of the trains showing the exact position of every seat and its number, the location of smoking and non-smoking compartments, and the like, being available for inspection by the traveller prior to setting out on a journey. For the privilege of reserving any particular seat, a fee of one shilling is charged irrespective of class, and a distinctive label affixed on the head cushion of the seat ensures its reservation for the passenger concerned.

The advantages of a system such as this, not only from the point of view of the railway patron, but also from that of the railway, are considerable. By its aid overcrowding of passenger trains is avoided; trains may be strengthened or duplicated as required in busy periods; and greatly increased comfort is secured for the traveller. The Great Western, although the pioneer of the seat registration system, is not the only Home line to place such facilities at the disposal of its passengers. On the L. & N. E. Company's system similar privileges have for some time been in operation, and the system of advance bookings favoured on the L. M. & S. line follows closely the idea underlying the Great Western seat registration system.