quote:
Originally posted by Chris4
One thing I didn't know was that you have to reserve seats on the fast trains, such as Eurostar. Can't just use your InterRail. So I had to pay a fine. 
Correct and not correct...
You _always_ need to buy tickets on the ticket counter (Belgium/Netherlands/Germany/?...), also for local trains!! Unless there is no ticket counter in the station, then you can buy your ticket on the train itself... but that is getting more and more rare though.
The difference is that with international trains (the 'fast' trains), seats are limited, so you best
reserve them beforehand. But that is never required though! You can just as easily ask for a ticket without reservation... at the ticket counter in the station. But the chances are all seats will be gone by then.
Bottom line: you need to have a ticket _before_ you enter the train. But you don't need to '
reserve' a seat beforehand.
(Reservations are only possible on international trains anyways. You can't reserve a seat on a local train)
A train ticket on an international ('fast') train is for one specific seat on a specific time for one specific traject.
A train ticket on a local train is for a specific traject (or multiple trajects) during a specific time period.
note: since very very recently, in Belgium, for international trains, they will charge you like €7 more when you buy your ticket at the ticket counter in the train station compared to when you buy your ticket online. That €7 is for the so called 'service' they (don't) provide. It speaks for itself that there is a big protest against this brand new practice, not only from the travellers, but also from every union, even from the people working at the ticket desks themselfs (today they even had a strike for 1 hour because of it), etc. Hopefully they will stop this stupid extra charge if there are enough complaints filed....
/ 
