I am a huge fan of high-speed trains; often the fastest way to travel between city centers in Europe, beating airlines on journeys of up to 550 kilometers (three to four hours) by train. Eurostar, linking London (St. Pancras International Station) and Paris (Gare du Nord) in 2 hours, 15 minutes, and Brussels in 1 hour, 51 minutes, has captured more than 70 percent of the market from airlines.
But when it comes to booking tickets, the train can be a pain. Things we now take for granted at airline sites – such as being offered options for flights either side of the date, or time, we wish to travel; multi-sector connections, often with several carriers; electronic tickets and the ability to print out your own boarding card are light years ahead of rail. Yes, you can book rail tickets online, but don’t expect to be offered seat selection, and tickets are sent to you by snail mail!
Booking cross-border rail travel is especially frustrating because the national rail operators’ timetables do not match up, so you might have to wait for an hour or more to catch the next train. And standards of seating and service vary from operator to operator.
I was brought down to earth the other day when Madame was grounded with deep vein thrombosis, which meant that we had to cancel our EasyJet flight to Switzerland, and go by train: Eurostar from St. Pancras to Paris, a transfer from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon then the TGV to Lausanne, a journey time of less than 8 hours, with time for lunch in Paris.
Madame, a nimble navigator in cyberspace, reported that Eurostar (www.eurostar.com) could only book us tickets as far as Paris; and, after futile attempts to book the onward TGV, at Swiss Federal Railways (www.sbb,ch), ‘lost confidence when confirming and paying,’ and finally called a local travel agent.
Eurostar provides through bookings to about 68 cities in France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany; and from several British regional cities to the Continent. One can book online or at the Eurostar call center, 44-8705 186 186.
Railteam (www.railteam.eu) is an alliance of Europe’s seven high-speed rail operators, Eurostar (UK, France & Belgium), Deutsche Bahn (Germany), SNCF (France), NS Hispeed (Netherlands), OBB (Austria),SBB (Switzerland), and SNCB (Belgium), and Thalys (a partnership between French, German and Dutch railways), and TGV Lyria (connecting France and Switzerland). It aims to offer seamless high-speed train travel across international borders, with improved synchronization of timetables, better connection times, and more consistent pricing. Should you miss a connection because of a late-running train, Railteam will ensure a seat on the next train, irrespective of the type of ticket you hold. Travelers should be able to book tickets online across all seven high-speed networks by the end of 2009.
Meanwhile, travelers can book high-speed trains and other rail journeys at national rail sites or at Rail Europe (a subsidiary of French Railways (www.sncf-voyages.com).
‘We can book 99 percent of rail travel, including Eurostar and overnight trains, like Elipsos between Barcelona, Paris, and Milan and Madrid; and Artesia from Paris to Milan and Turin,’ says Jo Wilcox, marketing manager, Rail Europe. ‘Enter your departure city and destination on our site, and we will give you prices for each segment of the journey, allowing you to mix and match classes and fares with different carriers.’
Rail Europe operates more than 20 booking sites, serving most countries, including www.raileurope.com (United States); www.raileurope.ca (Canada); www.raileurope.co.uk (Britain); and www.tgv-europe.com (Continental Europe). Rail Europe has call centers in the United States, (1-800) 462 2577; Canada, (1-800) 361 7245; UK, 0844 848 5848.
‘The Man in Seat 61: A guide to taking the train through Europe’ (Bantam Press, £12.99) from railway enthusiast Mark Smith is an invaluable guide to planning train journeys from
London to 39 countries – from Albania to Ukraine. Although the book is aimed at the British traveler, it is packed with practical tips on inter-city travel within Europe, advice on routes, timetables and connections; best ways to buy tickets online, or by phone, for a particular journey; finding the best deals; rail passes; and crucially, how to change trains in cities like Brussels and Paris! Chapters are packed with useful Web site addresses and phone numbers for travel advice and booking.
For instance, German Railways (Deutsche Bahn) at http://bahn.hafas.de offers ‘the simplest, fastest and most comprehensive online European timetable for travel between any two European railway stations you care to name.’
There are sections on traveling overnight in sleeping cars or couchettes (‘A second class sleeper is far better than a first class couchette; and a second class couchette is streets ahead of a first class seat’) for journeys of up to 800 miles; and scenic routes, such as the Glacier Express from Zermatt to St Moritz in Switzerland; the classic Rhine Valley route through Koblenz; or from Athens to Larissa and Thessaloniki.