Europe by Train: Web Resources for Serious Train Riders
Apr 12 '01 (Updated Jul 21 '04)
The Bottom Line You can plan your European travel itinerary and buy rail passes and point-to-point train tickets online. But the best resource is still one great printed timetable.
There are now lots of web sites of interest to serious train travelers going to Europe. This epinion talks about sites that provide information and/or sell rail passes, point-to-point rail tickets, and other products related to European rail travel, mostly in northwestern Europe.
Rail Pass Information and Sales
Lots of web sites have information on rail passes.
Rail Europe, at www.raileurope.com , has comprehensive information about the full range of European rail passes, and you can buy just about any imaginable pass on-line, as well as point-to-point tickets. They add sometimes hefty service charges for all rail pass, ticket, and reservation transactions.
The Forsyth Travel Library at www.forsyth.com is a very useful resource for rail passes, maps, travel books, and hostelling information. You can't order on-line, but you can do so by email or telephone. Forsyth usually throws in a free copy of the Thomas Cooke European Timetable, the authoritative guide to European train schedules, if you order one or more rail passes. Even though you can't order on the web, I've always liked doing business with Forsyth. They charge $10 per order regardless of the number of passes ordered, and will do rush delivery for $25-$35.
The official Eurail web site at www.eurail.com is somewhat of a disappointment. Although it describes many different passes and gives the current prices, it is far from comprehensive and does not sell passes. On the other hand, it does have quite a bit of useful general information about riding trains.
You can also get rail passes from just about any travel agent. Since prices are fixed, all you need to do is watch out for any service charges. Most US travel agents will actually order your rail passes from the commercial portal of Rail Europe.
For my up-to-date review on rail passes available in 2004, check out: Get the best rail pass for your 2004 Europe trip.
Rail Europe
Update: Once upon a time, I was a strong advocate of Rail Europe. I no longer believe it is a good place to buy point-to-point tickets and reservations. You can save up to 50% off of Rail Europe's prices by going directly to the railroads or waiting until you get to Europe to buy your tickets. Furthermore, Rail Europe's "itinerary engine" just isn't up snuff. For example, Rail Europe gives only one daily itinerary for the Monterosso to Rome run while www.bahn.de gives a dozen.
On the other hand, Rail Europe is the official North American representative for 60 European railroads. Over the past decade, it has evolved into the largest distributor of European travel related products for both leisure and business travel, with over one million American customers each year.
It sells an array of rail passes and point-to-point tickets, as well as selected airline tickets, rental cars, and hotel reservations. Although its airline, rental car and hotel options are rather limited, it has good deals often enough that it is at least worth checking as part of your trip planning process.
Unfortunately, I would no longer use Rail Europe to plan rail itineraries. Two better choices are www.bahn.de and www.sbb.ch .
Other Sources of Detailed Rail Information
It may be useful to go to other sources of rail information for two reasons: 1) pretty much every European country has its own railroad system and 2) there are a few multinational systems. Sometimes, these individual web sites are the only places to get the complete schedule for the system you plan to use.
Here are some of the national railroad system web sites:
German railroads have a great site at www.bahn.de . It's available in several languages, and it has an amazing itinerary engine. Unfortunately, you can't buy tickets for delivery in the US.
The Swiss National railroad English language site is at www.sbb.ch/index_e.htm . This site provides amazingly detailed itineraries from point A to point B including train, bus, cable car, and walking segments. A very nice site devoted to the private Jungfrau Railroad, which goes to the highest station in Europe, is at www.jungfraubahn.ch (available in English).
British Rail's web site appears at www.britrail.net . For ticket purchases, you have to switch to Rail Europe. Another British site worth a look is www.railtrack.co.uk .
There are two interesting French sites: www.sncf.com , available in English, has comprehensive timetables for all French trains, including the TGVs. Again, ticket sales are handled by Rail Europe. There is also an excellent site devoted to the TGV at www.tgv.com (also available in English). Again, it switches you elsewhere to book tickets.
The Netherlands railroad site is at www.ns.nl .
Thalys is a high speed train service provided by a consortium of Belgian, French, Dutch and German railways. It serves Amsterdam, Brussels, Köln, Paris, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Genčve, Avignon, Marseilles and other cities on these routes. It's web site is
www.thalys.com . Again, ticket sales are referred to Rail Europe.
Finally, Eurostar is the British, French, Belgian consortium that runs the channel tunnel passenger trains that connect London, Paris, and Brussels. It too maintains an excellent web site at www.eurostar.com, but refers North American ticket sales to Rail Europe.
The Best Rail Information Source
I've already mentioned what I consider to be the most important resource for train travelers, but it really deserves emphasis. You can forget the web and just use the Thomas Cooke European Timetable to plan your European rail itinerary. Then take it with you in order to improvise even more rail junkets. It has timetables for nearly all European trains, and once you learn how to read it, it allows you to make connections that web based systems often don't notice.
The timetable is published roughly monthly, although you can use one that is a few months out of date without any problems. However, be aware that schedules change significantly between "summer" and "winter." If you're traveling around the beginning of September, watch for the change, and get the correct timetable. I'm not sure when the winter-to-summer change happens; probably around March.
Related Links: Save Travel Money By Using the Right Credit Card
Does your credit card have this feature? Find out how to save at least 2% on all overseas credit card transactions: click here.
Related Links on Transportation in Europe
-- Using public transit in Paris
-- Web Resources for Serious Train Riders
-- France and adjacent countries on the TGV, Eurostar, and Thalys
-- Getting from Charles de Gaulle airport into Paris
-- Paris to London on Eurostar, the Chunnel Train
-- London to Paris on Eurostar, the Chunnel Train
-- Using the Swiss transportation system
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