Leading global design firm Seymourpowell has unveiled a new seating layout system which it hopes will revolutionise rail travel.

Developed with a focus on the business and premium travel segments, the new designs allow passengers to reconfigure seats to suit their needs.

For example, seats can be arranged as large groups for meetings, or, for those seeking privacy, as solo units. Seats can also face each other, creating a two-person cocoon, with protruding side rests providing privacy from the outside world

Nick Talbot, design director at Seymourpowell explained: “The core of the idea allows two sets of seats to face another two sets of seats creating a so called ‘bay’ or club seating system where people can share the space in a convivial manner.”

Sequences of the core layout arranged together create a system where a huge combination of facing pairs, facing quads, and single seats in a line (so called airline style) can be provided for, allowing great flexibility of the orientation of seating within the environment and of the overall layout of an interior space.

The conversion can be undertaken very quickly by the operator/owner of the interior environment.

With the addition of utility units and appropriate lighting, both the physical space and the relevant ambience can be changed very easily to suit customer preference and mood.

Talbot added: “In the case of rail vehicles, we envisage passengers and public would pre-book a specific layout to suit their needs – travelling in groups, pairs or the privacy of travelling solo.

“In some circumstances the occupant of the seats could re-configure their space according to their requirements at the time.

“For rail operators in the business and premium segment this means being able to offer customers increased convenience and/or privacy according to personal choice,” he concluded.