I've used the MK4 reservation system 8 times now and it has worked flawlessly all but once, where a networking error at heuston meant the train didn't receive the information.
The system puts up notices like "THIS SEAT IS RESERVED FROM LIMERICK JUNCTION TO HEUSTON" on seats that are booked from intermediate stops and it does genuinely seem to discourage people from sitting in them.
That coupled with the constant "Please do not occupy reserved seats" announcements.
The tags also switch off when a passenger reaches their destination e.g. a seat booked Heuston to Limerick Junction will be available again once the train reaches that stop.
I think MK4 should be 100% assigned seating though. There's really no reason that the ticket machines can't dispense a ticket with an automatically assigned seat number for those who don't book online. If a cinema can do it, surely a railway company can.
It seems though, once the staff are taken out of the equation i.e the system is totally automated, it generally works very well.
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