Irish Rail hopes to help more pregnant women get seats on trains by introducing a “baby on board” badge for expectant mothers.

Instead of having to ask a stranger to give up their seat, pregnant travellers will now be able to wear badges, which the company hopes will encourage other commuters to vacate seats.

“Commuting by its nature, particularly in the morning and evening peak, is busy, with high demand on our services, including Dart and Commuter trains,” a spokeswoman said.

“However, it should still be an environment where we all show consideration for others. We hope the ‘baby on board’ badge will make commuting easier for mums-to-be, and make it easier for others to offer them assistance.”

The spokeswoman said the badges could be obtained by emailing a name and address to babybadges@irishrail.ie.

“Already we’re seeing strong interest from pregnant women and, indeed, their partners, who are emailing us to get badges for their commute.”

Signs asking commuters to vacate seats for pregnant women appear to have a limited effect, prompting Irish Rail to pursue its new solution.

The badge has already been a success on the London Underground.