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#11
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When to reserve train tickets?
Dave Hatunen:
Which reminds me of something else I should have added for neophytes: You don't check luggage on European trains. Checking isn't totally unknown -- I've done it -- but when I did, they charged and it added time. I haven't looked for the service since, so I don't know how rare it is. There are generally fairly large overhead racks at the seats (I have had to hoist some pretty heavy bags up there), and some trains have luggage racks at the ends near the doors. In the countries I've been in, *almost all* trains have luggage racks at the ends near the doors. Not being a bird, I tend to travel heavy, and I've only once had to lift a suitacase overhead that I didn't want to. Unfortunately, on some trains the racks may get full. Also, in most countries trains half the seats face backwards, and if the layout is such that some seats are positioned back-to-back, usually the space between those seats is suitable for stashing luggage. However, layouts with back-to-back seats are relatively rare. (They used to be common in British long-distance trains where at one time most seats on were arranged in face-to-face groups, but not any more.) The fact that half the seats face backwards is one reason I don't like to reserve, by the way -- in most countries you can't request a seat that faces in a particular direction. I haven't ridden the Channel tunnel Eurostar since the London station moved to St Pancras Station, but they did have a check-in. And it's the only train service in Europe where the airline-style practice of requiring a check-in in advance of departure time is used. Everywhere else, if you turn up just before departure and still have time to find your platform, get through any pre-boarding check (and these are rare), and get onto the train, you can. -- Mark Brader That would be the opposite of "non idiotic", Toronto assuming there's some good word for that. --Ken Jennings My text in this article is in the public domain. |
#12
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When to reserve train tickets?
On 04/13/2011 03:34 PM, Giovanni Drogo wrote:
On Wed, 13 Apr 2011, Tom P wrote: It's an interesting question whether complusory seat reservation is good or not. Seat reservation on the Deutsche Bahn Intercity Express trains is optional. meaning that if you have a ticket then you can get on the train, correct me if I'm wrong : "you can get on a train of given type (e.g. ICE) and can also travel on a train of lower type (e.g. IC, IR, R)" Is that still true in Germany ? If you have a full price ticket for an ICE you can use any train, as far as I know. In general if I travel on long distance for business, I know when I depart and therefore I can book, but I might not know when I return (say the meeting ends in advance or later). [X] When I travel on long distance for leisure, say long vacations, I may fix the time when I depart a few days in advance and book at home before departure, and similarly can fix the time when I return a few days in advance and book there. If I travel on short distance for tourism, day trips or even less, or for personal reasons, say visiting a relative or friend, I'd like to have maximum flexibility [X] In the case marked like [X] compulsory reservation is just a nuisance, specially if accompanied by the fact the ticket is not valid on a train of lower type, or to change to a train of equivalent type you have to queue up if not pay an extra fee. For a short trip one may accept things like : travelling on a train of lower type if that gets you home first (*), travelling in separate distant seats if you are travelling with somebody, or even stand. (*) back in the old times when reservation was not compulsory, or compulsory only on certain trains, I used for trips Milan-Bologna-Milan to book both ways in peak seasons, or otherwise not to book for return but buy an IC ticket. Then I might get earlier to the station and catch the first IC, or get on time, discover my IC was 30 min late, and get an IR which brought me home earlier. Unless they announced the delay of the IC just one minute after the IR had departed :-( On the other hand it had happened that I had booked a seat in 1st class on an IC in the just-before-Christmas season, and found it occupied by a person who was granted permission to use it on Florence-Bologna (I had the booking Bologna-Milan). At the time they were still using paper labels to tell a seat was reserved or reservable from A to B, so if you did not have a reservation could just take it (normal trains) or get a permission from trainmaster (compulsory reservation trains). Then Trenitalia moved to all compulsory reservation trains, with no paper labels, and no electronic displays to tell when a seat is available. |
#13
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When to reserve train tickets?
Tom P wrote:
On 04/13/2011 03:34 PM, Giovanni Drogo wrote: On Wed, 13 Apr 2011, Tom P wrote: It's an interesting question whether complusory seat reservation is good or not. Seat reservation on the Deutsche Bahn Intercity Express trains is optional. meaning that if you have a ticket then you can get on the train, correct me if I'm wrong : "you can get on a train of given type (e.g. ICE) and can also travel on a train of lower type (e.g. IC, IR, R)" Is that still true in Germany ? If you have a full price ticket for an ICE you can use any train, as far as I know. I don't recall encountering any train I couldn't use with a 2nd class German rail pass -- Erilar, biblioholic medievalist with iPad |
#14
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When to reserve train tickets?
On 4/13/11 5:58 AM, Giovanni Drogo wrote:
On Wed, 13 Apr 2011, Justin wrote: We're leaving for Italy in about 50 days. Should we reserve our train tickets now? Try to avoid reservation as far as possible, unless you plan to travel in peak season or hours. You gain much flexibility in that. Okey doke. It appears the consensus is to forget about reservations and just get the tickets on the fly. I'm used to flying and since here in the US we don't use trains all that often (compared to the rest of the world) this is new territory for me. Thanks! Justin |
#15
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When to reserve train tickets?
Justin wrote:
On 4/13/11 5:58 AM, Giovanni Drogo wrote: On Wed, 13 Apr 2011, Justin wrote: We're leaving for Italy in about 50 days. Should we reserve our train tickets now? Try to avoid reservation as far as possible, unless you plan to travel in peak season or hours. You gain much flexibility in that. Okey doke. It appears the consensus is to forget about reservations and just get the tickets on the fly. Yes. A few days in advance is also ok. If you are flying in to Rome, you could get them all at Termini, the main train station in Rome. It's very easy, and they are used to dealing with us foreigners there. I'm used to flying and since here in the US we don't use trains all that often (compared to the rest of the world) this is new territory for me. Thanks! Justin |
#16
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Quote:
It is always better to book in advance to avoid any last minute hassles. Also you can get better deals by advance booking if your are traveling in the peak season. |
#17
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When to reserve train tickets?
On Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:16:24 +0000, harryoung wrote
It is always better to book in advance to avoid any last minute hassles. Also you can get better deals by advance booking if your are traveling in the peak season. Not if you book through RailEurope or any other US travel agency. -- Dave Hatunen, Tucson, Arizona, out where the cacti grow |
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