Wekiva

In about a month we'll be making the mandatory reservations on several of the trains we'll be traveling on in May/June. We bought our train passes through Rail Europe about a month ago. We are traveling in first class and our group consists of 2 families of 4...or total of 8. As it looks now the trains I'll be making reservations on will be the following:
A. TGV train from Paris to Basel
B. EC train from Spiez to Milan
C. IC train from Milan to Venice

I have the following questions:
1. Is there a way to know the overall seating layout of the trains in advance...specifically what type of compartment seating there is. From what I understand compartment seating for 1st class holds 4 or 6. While we'd like 2 compartments for 4 - if the compartment holds 6 then we'll go with open seating in 1st class instead. Do they have seating charts of the specific trains on the countries train web site...or do they have the small symbols on the train schedules? I have not been able to find seating charts for specific trains...just generic ones.
2. A secondary question that I can probably answer with a bit of hunting...but I'm on a roll. When I make my reservations do I go through the specific train's web site or do I go through Rail Europe where I bought my passes? I found that by getting my seat reservations on the Eurostar through EuroRail I had no choice and we're not thrilled with the seats we got.

spaarne

1. Train wagons vary in configuration. There are probably too many to make it worthwhile to post them on the internet.
2. I get my reservations at train stations in Europe. That is the cheapest way. Rail Europe charges way too much. For an intro to using the trains in
Europe see http://tinyurl.com/eym5b.

Wekiva

I will check that link...thanks.

I realize that many make their reservations once they get there. But we're a large group and the first day of travel is a bank holiday. I want to get these locked in now for peace of mind. We'll have 4 young children with us and don't want to chance not sitting together.

ggreen

You might also check www.seat61.com - a very comprehensive guide to train travel in Europe.

Dukey1

The TGV services from Paris (Est) into Basel and Zurich are the "Lyria" services.

if you go to the website www.tgv-lyria.com you can find seating charts for the First Class carriages.

You can also use Budget Europe Travel Service to make seat reservations if you would prefer....they have a website and over the years i have found Byron and his wife are FAR more understanding and accommodating than some of the folks at RailEurope and there is no obligation. I've used them for the past couple years now for seat reservations..i tell them what I want such as club seating or otherwise and they inevitably deliver.

kybourbon

For the IC trains in Italy, 1st class and 2nd class compartments are for 6 people. They are both three seats facing three seats (same width, but plusher fabric in 1st). The difference is in the leg room. Are you sure you want an IC train between Milan/Venice? I would assume you would take an ESCity.

For the EC train, you will see seat selection on the sbb.ch website as you select your train. I don't think they have compartments.

altamiro

1) There is no way to see a certain train's seat diagram except a very generic one. Trains are not planes - there are very few types of planes that an airline may possess, but a rail autority runs hundreds of different carriage types since they are all interchangeable. Therefore it is impossible even for the rail workers to know more than a week in advance which actual carriages will be in which train. You reserve a number of seats in a train no. XXX, and then a few days before, when the rolling stock planning commences, your reservation is associated with the actual seats.
2) Where or when you reserve has no bearing on "good" or "bad" seats, for reasons that have to do with (1)

Man_in_seat_61

The link you want is www.seat61.com/train-seat-plans.htm, where I've tried to lost all the known seating plans for specific trains.

Altamiro is not quite right - the reservation system needs to have the layout for the train in question programmed in, naturally!