Economy Class - Railways

Railways

In North America, it is known as coach class by companies such as Amtrak. European railways call it second class. Standard class is used in United Kingdom and Ireland. It has been re-branded in some cases to broaden expectations. In Canada Via Rail now refers to coach as Comfort class. In India, the lowest class of service was branded third class under the British colonial rule. It was re-branded as second class following independence to avoid its former segregationist connotations. Today Indian Railways offers Economy AC-3 also in the same class. In Indonesia, the cheapest class for train is an economy class train and it is the highest percentage of train users in Indonesia for intercity and long distance travel.

Generally economy class seats consists of a seat, sometimes with a fold-down tray, that may recline. The seat may also include a pocket attached to the back of the seat in front for storage of small items such as magazines. Depending on the configuration of the passenger compartment, luggage can be stowed in overhead racks or at each end of the coach cars.

Standard class seating on British intercity trains often includes seating around permanent tables. Power sockets are available and some services offer (chargeable) Wi-Fi Internet access.

In France, Second class on the TGV superfast trains offers generous legroom and reclining seats. Regular trains of SNCF offer second class travel with 3*2 seating combination across.

In Spain 2nd-class cabins are called Tourist class on the AVE superfast trains. They offer electric sockets and there are video and audio services on most major routes.

North American intercity passenger trains are separated into different coach classes by the type of car (e.g., sleepers). Economy seating on North American passenger trains typically does not include meal service in the fare.