Reserve your seat on trains to Lake Balaton with the help of an innovation now!

Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) has introduced a graphical seat reservation system. This allows passengers to choose and reserve seats on several trains heading towards Lake Balaton.

The enhanced seat reservation system enables passengers to select and reserve seats on trains. To help with visualisation, it uses schematic diagrams similar to cinema or theater seating arrangements. The seat reservation system, where seats can be selected on the carriage diagram, is available on the Elvira online ticketing platform (https://jegy.mav.hu/) during the purchasing process, writes Indóház Online.

Trains to Balaton

During the testing phase, it is available on 18 train lines operating with seat reservation requirements until 16 June. These include for example the Balaton Intercity trains between Déli railway station and Keszthely, as well as Jégmadár express trains between Szob and Fonyód.

For the Balaton Intercity trains, passengers can freely choose seats from an IC+ carriage with a premium section and a second-class carriage with 78 seats. On the Jégmadár express trains, passengers traveling with packages can choose from 484 available seats per KISS double-decker multiple unit, depending on availability.

Instructions

For ticket purchases made through the graphical seat reservation system, users will find a “graphical seat reservation” button on the sales interface. It can be activated for the specific train as long as there are enough available seats. During the seat selection process, icons indicating free, designated, occupied, or non-reservable seats provide guidance to passengers.

Previously, passengers relied on the ticket sales system for automatic seat allocation or could choose seats based on certain preferences. These were rudimentary however, and included options such as sitting by the window, next to a table, in a compartment or open carriage, in a quiet or family compartment, or in a wheelchair-designated area. Furthermore, for previous seat reservations, passengers could request seats next to family members or acquaintances.

The seat reservation via the carriage diagram is not yet available on the MÁV app. However, it is possible to use it on a portable smart device through the browser on the Elvira interface, just like on a computer. In the mobile view, the carriage diagram automatically rotates and zooms in to facilitate use on smaller screens. After the testing phase is over, MÁV-Start plans to gradually expand the development to domestic intercity services and certain international trains as well.

Source: Indóház Online