Europe train travel 101
So you’re interested in train travel in Europe? Great! More people using public transport lowers emissions and accelerates government investment. You’re easing pressure on overtouristed areas and you have the pleasure of travelling through Europe, rather than flying over it.
Long lines in European airports this summer means more people are turning to trains for their holiday: transfers to the airport, minimum check-in times and understaffing in passport control and security, all add up to trains sometimes being the surprise winner over planes for speed. And unlike airports, trains are super comfortable and stations are bang in the centre of where you’re headed, whether that’s a big city or a remote mountain pass (plus train stations in Europe are beautiful gateways to a golden era of travel).
St Pancras International Station, photo by Unsplash
Europe is uniquely well connected – it really is possible to have breakfast in London, lunch in Paris and dinner in Barcelona. According to Travel and Leisure, Deutsche Bahn in Germany operates more than 40,000 trains each day, Trenitalia in Italy 10,000 trains each day and Renfe in Spain more than 5,000 each day.
Driving on motorways, autobahns, autoroutes or the autostrada (various names for the highway, or freeway) is wholly boring and can be challenging, as the road often passes through small towns en-route (hello narrow roads). Tolls can be complex and European drivers can be assertive (read: aggressive). Europe was made for public transit. Relax in comfort with plenty of legroom – and don’t worry, when you book a trip with Byway, our team is always on hand to answer questions and deal with any disruption. See the FAQs page for specific questions about Byway trips.
Trains in the UK and Europe
There are high speed trains (including Eurostar between London, Paris, Brussels, Lille, Rotterdam and Amsterdam) that cover the longest routes point to point; regional trains (local trains) that don’t usually need a reservation; tourist trains that tend to operate privately on the most scenic routes; and night trains (sleeper trains), which might have private sleeper compartments with proper mattresses and bed linen, “couchettes” or padded bunks with no proper mattress but at least a sheet and pillow, or just seats, which generally do recline, but not fully. Interestingly, French night trains only have couchettes (which they designate first and second class) and British night trains – the Caledonian Sleeper and Night Riviera – don’t have couchettes at all.
Onboard experience
Europe by Rail offers a good explanation to class “Most European local trains are one class only. Many regional trains and most express or long-distance services offer two classes of service, often called second and first [… ] Eurostar’s services from London to Paris and Brussels have standard, standard premier and business premier” they go on to explain “the question of class is more complex on night trains, where the basic distinction is between seats, couchettes and sleeping compartments”.
Caledonian Sleeper, photo by Rachel Mills
High-speed trains and international routes often offer buffet cars (or at the very least, a trolley service), providing a range of snacks, sandwiches and hot drinks. Buffet cars are the norm in France and Spain, but Germany, Czechia and Austria tend to retain proper dining cars with table service. On the Eurostar it depends what class you are sitting in (business premier you’ll be served a meal at your seat).
And one word of warning – it’s often not possible to book forward facing seats. You can do this on Eurostar and in French first class, but in general allocations just don’t work that way in Europe. On a lot of services, you can pick a seat, but you may not know which direction the train will be travelling.
Rail passes or regular tickets
The standard ticket type is an e-ticket, though Spain requires paper tickets for seat reservations. It is still possible to print out tickets, too. Passes are a great option for European rail travel (Interrail is designed for residents of Europe, and Eurail if you are from outside Europe, including the US), though passes don’t guarantee all-inclusive travel and on selected trains you may have to make a seat reservation or pay a high-speed supplement. Happily, Eurostar accepts Interrail and Eurail passes, with a supplement (and happily, Byway sorts all this out for you).
If you plan to hop-off and hop-on along your journey (which you absolutely should) then don’t choose high-speed. Whether you are using a pass or not doesn’t matter: local services are perfect for on-the-day spontaneity. The wonderful Europe by Rail is the definitive guide book to the best routes, with pass and ticketing information.
How far in advance should you book
Last minute can be more expensive in Europe. Lots of countries use dynamic pricing for trains (just like budget airlines), so if you go at peak times and haven't booked the tickets the moment they're released, then travel will be more expensive than at times when the trains won't be as full. However, you also aren’t allowed to book too far ahead (some operators don’t release tickets until a couple of months before). Seat 61 has some golden rules to booking trains in advance, or Byway can do it for you.
Is there check in or security
With the exception of Eurostar and trains in Spain, there are no lines for security checks and in most cases you can just hop onto your train up to two minutes before departure (though we recommend getting to your train before then!). If you’re travelling between countries in the Schengen Area, there’s no passport control, and outside this area, passports are checked onboard. Again, the Eurostar is the exception, and you must arrive at least 45 minutes before departure to pass through border control.
Platforms, place names and connections
Platforms tend not to be announced more than 20 minutes before departure, so don't worry if you don't see your train on the board hours ahead of time. Also, get confident on the place name and station name in the local language, which might be on the board or announcement (for instance, Florence is Firenze in Italian, and the station name is Santa Maria Novella). How long to allow for connections is probably shorter than you imagine, except when you need to hop across a city, like between Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon in Paris.
And what about baggage
Travel light! There is no size or weight limit, but what you pack needs to be carried and stowed by you (sometimes overhead, at least for hand baggage). There’s no need (and no chance to) check-in baggage, and you’ll find space for it in your carriage.
Rail travel in Slovenia, photo by Unsplash
If you enjoyed this article, also take a look at our blog Europe 101 – An American’s guide to vacations in Europe.