Solved

Seat Reservations Confusion

F

Hi there! I'm going on to the UK/EU from June 10th to July 10th and got the Eurail global pass 2nd class as I'm visiting nine locations (there are two pairs of locations in the same country). 

I think I've figured out everything that I need to know to make seat reservations but there's still a bit of confusion. I know Eurail is not truly up to date with their timetables, so I'm trying to figure out how to make a seat reservation when Eurail's timetable doesn't match the official train operator's website. For example, I'm going from Glasgow to London on June 15th, but the timetable for that date won't be available until April 24th, yet, Eurail is showing times for that date. What should I do? Wait until the official tran operator releases their timetable or just book it through Eurail?

Many people say don't book through Eurail to get seat reservations and go directly through the train operator. Should I actually follow this practice? Is this recommended just because of the additional fee or is it due to another reason?

It's been 50/50 trying to see what's actually up to date and what's not. I've even run into the issue where the train operator shows a time for the train but isn't showing up on Eurail, so I'm unsure if my pass will cover that time. Also, am I still early? Should I just wait till a month before I leave to make seat reservations?

Here's my itinerary (these are set dates due to check out for my hostels, all departure times are before 2 pm, and most are between 6 am and 9 am):

Glasgow to London: June 15th 

London to Toulouse: June 21st

Toulouse to Zurich: June 24th

Zurich to Munich: June 25th

Munich to Vienna: June 27th

Vienna to Rome: July 1st

Rome to Milan: July 6th

Milan to Frankfurt: July 8th

These are all the trips that I have between the major locations that I’m staying in and am most worried about getting seat reservations for. Other trips I should be taking are Glasgow Inverness, London to Oxford, London to Dover, Vienna to Knittlesfield, Rome to Pisa or Florence, and Rome to Venice or Verona. Is it easy to make seat reservations (if necessary) on the same day for locations in the same general area?

Thank you!

icon

Best answer by Hektor 16 April 2024, 07:47

View original

11 replies

Hektor
Rank

Glasgow to London is published up to July 9th yet on the train operator's webpage: https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/

You don't need a reservation for that trip but you may do one for free if wanted. 

For your other major trips you do need reservations and they are already available. Just don't book them with Eurail itself (will become later available, are more expensive). If the trains do show in the rail planner doesn't matter for validity of your pass. If you are unsure about this, just ask here for a specific train.

For your other trips it's no problem to do it late (needed just for long distance trains in Italy).

 

R
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

There are several reasons not to book reservations via Eurail: the price (extra booking fee; also optional reservations are more expensive than elsewhere to begin with), worse refund/exchange conditions, less reliable booking module (often error messages), shorter booking horizons.

The timetable to believe is the operator's one. For the UK, check www.nationalrail.co.uk or an operator's website. Whether a train shows up in the rail planner app or Eurail website is not relevant for pass validity.

Check Seat61 for where to book. Book Eurostar reservations now (use www.raileurope.com), since this summer will be very busy and Eurostar have a pass holder quota. The other reservations can be done later.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
F

@rvdborgt and @Hector Thank you! The trains that have been giving me the worst time in trying to ensure that I can get seat reservations and make it in time for my next train are London to Paris / Paris to Toulouse and Toulouse to Zurich. If I can get these booked through b-Europe (https://www.b-europe.com/EN), do you recommend using them or Rail Europe? 

R
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

raileurope.com, since B-europe have a booking fee and Rail Europe don't (not yet, I'm guessing...)

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
T
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +5

For Toulouse - Zurich I'd avoid going all the way back to Paris (unecessary detour imo). Via Montpellier and Lyon you also get to see a bit of the Mediterranean :)

It would look like this :

- TGV Toulouse-Matabiau 07:37 - 11:48 10€

- TER Lyon Part-Dieu - Geneva 12:38 - 14:46

- IC5 Geneva - Zürich HB 15:15 - 17:56

Only the first train requires reservations so feel free to stop for a while in Lyon or Geneva and take a later train. Trains run every 30 min on all Swiss mainlines.

A
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Just for your information. If you start the validity of your pass on the 10th of June, the validity will end at 23.59 on the 9th of July. The night train rule, that says that you can continue on a train after midnight without using a new travel day, doesn't apply for the last day of the validity of the pass. This means that you must finish the last day of travel no later than midnight on the 9th of July.

Please note that I don't work for Interrail/Eurail and that I don't reply to personal messages.
F

@thibcabe Thank you so much! If I’m getting into Lyon Part-Dieu around 11:48 and departing at 12:38, do you think that’s enough time? That’s another thing I’ve been realizing is that the amount of time between trains isn’t a whole lot. Being at the same station and not having to worry about getting to another, I think makes it a lot better/doable tho. In general tho, how much time should you be giving yourself between transfers? I was thinking an hour but still feel like that might be too little

F

@AnnaB for real?!? I thought it would at least cover July 10th, but I was thinking of starting it on June 11th as that’s the day I land in Glasgow. July 8th should be my last big train day since I’m going from Milan to Frankfurt and I leave from FRA on July 10th; however, I was thinking of getting an Uber/taxi from my hotel. Thank you for letting me know!

T
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +5

Highly depends on the country, station and type of transfer. Are you changing to a twice daily service or to a train running every 30 min ?

50 min is a lot for any station. I would be comfortable with 10-15 min in Lyon. Simply walk down the stairs, 50 meters across the hall and up again. It takes a minute basically so the 49 remaining minutes count as margin + time to get a drink, get lunch, etc. :)

Don't worry about 5 min connections in Switzerland : the system works that way (all trains arrive and leave at the same time for optimisation) and hundreds of thousands of people make them every day, myself included! 

As long as they show on the national planners you have enough time. Plan your itinerary with DB Navigator, more reliable than Rail Planner.

It's not an issue to take the next train either, for example Geneva has direct trains to Zurich at xx:15 and xx:42 (+ xx:59 with a change in Bern). You can be flexible with the pass :)

Between London and Toulouse you'll have to change stations in Paris (métro between Gare du Nord and Gare Montparnasse). I'd allow 2 hours but 1h is usually enough. You can buy the métro ticket onboard the Eurostar to save time: do it right after departure as the stock sells out quickly.

Feel free to ask anything.

ralderton
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

@thibcabe Thank you so much! If I’m getting into Lyon Part-Dieu around 11:48 and departing at 12:38, do you think that’s enough time? That’s another thing I’ve been realizing is that the amount of time between trains isn’t a whole lot. Being at the same station and not having to worry about getting to another, I think makes it a lot better/doable tho. In general tho, how much time should you be giving yourself between transfers? I was thinking an hour but still feel like that might be too little

It totally depends on the type of train you’re connecting to, and your attitude to risk.

If you’re connecting onto a regional train that goes twice an hour and has no reservations, then your risk is low.

If you’re connecting onto a train with compulsory reservations that are hard to get, or a sleeper train, leave more time.

The connection times given in the timetables are always fair.

50 minutes at Lyon onto a TER is absolutely loads of time! You can do the transfer in 10, and even if your arriving train is late and you miss the connection, you just take the next one. (In this case, leaving Lyon 2 hours later, and arriving in Zurich 90 minutes later than planned)

R
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

@AnnaB for real?!? I thought it would at least cover July 10th, but I was thinking of starting it on June 11th as that’s the day I land in Glasgow. July 8th should be my last big train day since I’m going from Milan to Frankfurt and I leave from FRA on July 10th; however, I was thinking of getting an Uber/taxi from my hotel. Thank you for letting me know!

Frankfurt airport is served by many trains, e.g. a suburban train every 15 minutes. You could just buy a regular ticket for €6.30, which also includes any connecting transport within the city of Frankfurt.

Similarly, Glasgow airport into the city is just a short hop, either by direct bus or by bus & train (train ticket = GBP 4.60).

So you don't really need a pass for those.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.

Reply


Terms and Conditions & Privacy PolicyCookie settings