Shoutbox

how's it going?

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Originally posted by Chris4
I'm touring Europe with a friend of mine from 15th August for 2 weeks.

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pics or it didn't happen

tits or gtfo?

I posted my pics and blogged

Have fun.. I am planning a trip at the end of the year but it won't be Europe. The trip next year would probably be South East Asia (some remote beach ).. so I'll probably hit Europe again in 2012.. before the end of the world

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Originally posted by aNILEator
how's it going?

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It's great.

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.

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
pics or it didn't happen

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Soon.

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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.

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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....

When I went Paris -> Geneva they made me pay a reservation fee even though I found a space on the train. Sounds similar to what cookie's going on about really, there was no reason for that charge and in fact I actually spent the majority in the luggage rack by the toilet charging my phone from the shaver socket so I didn't even use the seat

Sending this from my phone so excuse my dodgy writing.

I think you have some things mixed up there, cookie.

When you say you always need to buy a ticket at the counter, that's not correct when you have InterRail, as the IR that counts as your ticket. So tickets in my situation i never need to get, but normally yes.

I called them 'fast trains' because they're not just international, e.g. I used eurostar from one city to another in italy and going to do the same in france with the fast TGV trains.

And for these trains, you need a reservation which is 10 euros from the desk or 18 when the ticket guy comes round and checks you don't have one.

Would buy reservations online but last time i tried it wouldn't work, possibly because the train is too soon, as its a last minute thing in my travelling situation.

That's from my experience anyway.

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Originally posted by Chris4
I think you have some things mixed up there, cookie.

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actually: nope...

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Originally posted by Chris4
When you say you always need to buy a ticket at the counter, that's not correct when you have InterRail, as the IR that counts as your ticket. So tickets in my situation i never need to get, but normally yes.

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It is correct what I've said. A pass is also a form of a ticket... so you do have a 'ticket'. Again, you can not board a train without having a ticket (in one form or the other), otherwise you'll pay a fine which can be quite high depending on the situation:

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And for these trains, you need a reservation which is 10 euros from the desk or 18 when the ticket guy comes round and checks you don't have one.

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that price you payed more is actually a fine!! (and do it in Belgium and you can end up paying quite a bit more sometimes (towards €100 euro)). You are not meant to buy your ticket on the train itself, but on the ticket counter, unless there is no ticket counter in the station where you boarded the train.

Above is for Belgium, Netherlands, etc. In other European countries other rules may apply, but the principles are mostly all the same.

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I called them 'fast trains' because they're not just international, e.g. I used eurostar from one city to another in italy and going to do the same in france with the fast TGV trains.

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They still are international trains though; their complete traject goes from one country to another. Of course you can hop on and off to your likings (according to your ticket) and use them for shorter trajects, like with any other train, but they still are international long haul trains.

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
otherwise you'll pay a fine which can be quite high depending on the situatio

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My travel mate got 'caught out' going between Czech Republic and Germany, his ticket came to something like €120