Train seat


A train seat is a seat used in a passenger train's passenger railroad car allowing passengers to sit during their travels.

Features and amenities

A train seat design has a seat base height, seating angle, seat depth, seat hardness and seat width that can support the sitting position of average passengers.
The seats generally have paddings or are cushioned, providing a level of comfort to the passengers and distributing the sitting passenger's weight. The chairs generally are equipped with armrests and neck support at a height of the average passenger. At the back of a chair often flip-down tables, magazine racks and waste containers are installed for passengers behind them. More luxurious railroad coaches like lounge cars can provide recliners with special upholstery with amenities like headphone connections and electronic visual displays are the like.
To use the available space in an optimal way often also jump seats are installed that only take up space when a passenger sits on it. When nobody uses them there's extra space for bicycles, strollers and the like.
These seats are generally installed near the doors, which means at stops passengers who wish to continue using these seats will have to stand up to make room for passengers who want to leave the train.

Seating layout

Train passenger coaches can have different seating layouts, based on the coach's maximum seating capacity, that determine the placement of the train seats, space for walking and legroom for the passengers. In a corridor coach there are several compartments with generally two times three seats facing each other.
The chairs in an open coach, with one or more open plan areas with a centre aisle, are usually arranged in pairs of two with an aisle seat and a window seat. In a composite coach are mixed-class cars featuring both open seating and compartments.
Some seats, generally close to the train doors, are designated as priority seats for elderly, disabled, pregnant women and the injured.
In first class coaches individual seat arrangements with more legroom are provided for.
The chairs are not necessarily facing the direction that the train is travelling as trains change direction and often sets of seats are arranged facing each other with a single or double tables in between.

Long seats (Longitudinal seats)

Long seats or longitudinal seats refers to a layout in which bench seats are installed along the side walls of the train car. This configuration minimizes seating space to maximize standing room, allowing for smoother boarding and alighting of passengers.
Since this style emphasizes transportation volume above all else, it is often used for rapid transit within cities, commuter rails and lines of a similar nature.

Cross seats (Transverse seats)

Cross seats or transverse seats refers to seats oriented across the width of the car. Since this style emphasizes passenger comfort, it is often used for long-distance inter-city routes, high-speed rails, and tourist railways.
Cross seats can be classified into fixed cross seats, rotating cross seats, and flip-over cross seats. Fixed cross seats include box seats and fixed unidirectional seats.
  • Fixed cross seats: These do not rotate and are the most basic form of cross seat.
  • Rotating cross seats: These seats can be rotated to face different directions.
  • Flip-over cross seats: These switch direction by sliding the seatback forward or backward.
In some countries, such as Japan, the alignment of seat pitch and window placement is considered integral in cars with cross seat. Designs also must consider factors such as seat rotation and table deployment from the walls.
On routes with a high number of tourists, cross seat is preferred over long seat. This creates a challenge in balancing tourism-oriented transport with regular commuting needs.

Priority seat

Priority seats refers to designated seats on public transportation systems such as trains and buses, where seating is prioritized for passengers with specific needs. These seats are installed for welfare purposes, primarily to accommodate transportation-vulnerable individuals such as the elderly, people with disabilities or injuries, pregnant women, and passengers with infants or strollers. In some countries, the seats are also designated for religious reasons. For example, in Thailand, priority seats are also given to Buddhist monks.

Seating availability and communication

In most trains there's free or open seating. In case one can make seat reservations, train seating plans or train seat maps are provided in computer reservation systems to allow future train passengers to select their seat, usually an aisle seat or window seat. On railway platforms passenger information systems generally display coach and seat numbers, allowing passenger to more easily find their reserved seat in the train.

Japan

This section mainly mentions about open coach cars in Japan.
For Japanese train seats for individual compartments, see :ja:コンパートメント席.
For Japanese train beds, see :ja:寝台車.

Materials

Historically, wooden seats were used on trains. Even today, certain sightseeing trains operating in various parts of Japan, such as the Sagano Scenic Railway and the Kurobe Gorge Railway, still use wooden seating.
Excluding the aforementioned torokko trains, the standard seating found on most Japanese trains, including metro, typically features cushions on the seat and backrest, which are covered with a type of fabric called moquette. In some trains, leather is used instead of fabric.
In countries outside Japan, especially in metro / rapid transit designed for short-distance travel, it is common to find seats made of plastic or metal, which lack cushioning and are not covered with fabric. However, such seats are rarely seen on Japanese trains. The introduced in 1973 were a rare example, featuring seats made with an FRP frame filled with polyurethane foam and covered in vinyl leather. However, especially during the summer months, the combination of the non-air-conditioned cars and the vinyl leather caused the seats to become slippery or sticky with sweat, drawing strong criticism from passengers. As a result, the seats were later replaced with more conventional moquette-covered ones.

Seat layouts

Long seats

On highly congested routes, priority is given to passenger capacity and ease of boarding rather than seated comfort, so long seats are commonly adopted. These are found in commuter, suburban, and general-purpose trains of Japan National Railways and its successor Japan Railways Group, as well as private railways. Many trains have been converted from cross-seated cars, or shifted to long seats during additional production phases.
In some cases, such as local trains on the Tōkaidō Main Line in the Shizuoka area, long seats are intentionally used due to the short riding time.
However, this layout is less suited for long journeys due to structural limitations: poor window view, low backrests due to window frame height, and difficulty in reclining. Therefore, it is not favorably received for less crowded periods or mid-to-long distance travel. Since the 1990s, some operators, such as JR Shikoku, have ceased manufacturing all-long seat cars, citing competition not just with other railways but with private cars and buses.
Since the late 2000s, improved comfort features have appeared, such as high-back and headrest-equipped long seats. These are found in dual-seat cars, the refurbished Keihan 8000 series, and Tokyu 2020 series.
Historically, the extra floor space in front of long seats made them suitable for premium classes of Japanese trains in the early 20th century. In the Taishō era, most premium cars on Japanese Government Railways used long seat layouts. With the wider car bodies introduced in the Shōwa era, box and flip-over cross seats with wider seat pitch became mainstream. However, even as late as the 1930s, luxury observation cars like and used long sofa-style seats. Still now, a few special salon-style cars have adopted long sofas, but such cars are very costly. Most premium seating is now cross seated, which allows privacy and high backrests without compromising window size. long seats remain prevalent in commuter/metro and suburban trains. In some cases, large tables are installed over aisle areas to convert the cars into event trains. This low-cost solution is also found on local lines and trams.
Some cars, such as JR East KiHa 100/110, Izukyu, Eizan Electric Railway Kirara, have long seats facing windows to enhance scenic views for tourists. These usually seat 1–2 people and often use high-backrests. In recent years, such seats have even been sold as paid reserved seating on trains like the Nankai's Tenkū and JR Kyushu’s Ibusuki no Tamatebako.
Outside of tourist trains, long seats facing the windows also can be found on Tokyo Monorail trains. In this case, due to structural constraints of the Alweg-type monorail, the center part of the car is raised, and seats are installed in that elevated area.

Long seat designs

On cars with long seat, some passengers may occupy the space of two seats. To combat such behavior and enhance comfort and safety during accidents, new seating innovations have been introduced.
  • Color coding
A psychological strategy involves changing the color of parts of the seat upholstery to subtly guide passenger behavior. This was first used on JNR 201 series, where the center seat in a 7-seat row had a different fabric color. Later, Chiba New Town Railway 9000 series used color distinctions between 2-seat and 4-seat sections. Patterns that define individual seating positions have also been woven into fabrics.
  • Seat division
Traditionally, long seats were installed in one piece or split into two segments. Newer models divide seating into even smaller units for better clarity of capacity. Hokusō Railway, for example, divides seats every two persons. JR Kyushu 815, 303, and SaHa 813-500 feature individual seat cushions for each person.
  • Bucket seats
These seats have contours shaped to match body shapes, guiding proper seating and improving comfort. The effectiveness of the design varies by operator. Since the 1980s, their usage has increased. In contrast, some Asian metro systems use molded plastic or metal benches. Japan has seen similar adoption in and.
  • Dividers
Some cars use vertical poles or panels to divide the seats or add high side panels in front of the doors. The latter is often a safety measure post-Amagasaki derailment. Dividers are more effective than color coding or bucket shaping for clearly defining seating areas. For example, 7-seat rows often use two dividers in a 2+3+2 layout. The trend started with Tokyu 9000 series in 1986 and has grown since the late 1990s. Dividers that double as grab poles became standard in cars manufactured after Japan’s barrier-free transport law came into effect.