Replies posted by tomchambers

15 Replies

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Full steam ahead
tomchambersFull steam ahead
asked in Train connections & reservations

How much do TGV lyria reservations cost?

Yes it’s sad. It would be great if interrail was really as advertised, you buy a pass and travel freely and spontaneously. However the complexity as well as the cost of the reservations system makes trips less of a free flowing adventure than they could be.

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Full steam ahead
8 months ago
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Full steam ahead
tomchambersFull steam ahead
asked in Train connections & reservations

How much do TGV lyria reservations cost?

Thanks for the clear information. I decided to go for it anyway (still cheaper than paying for the tickets outright) and was pleasantly surprised when the checkout page showed a much lower price of around £100 for 3 first class tickets. Still a lot for how interrail is advertised as being setup, but there you go, still a good deal for me.To be clear for anyone booking TGV Lyria tickets via Interrail’s reservations: click through to the checkout and the price will be much lower (at least until this buf is fixed).

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Full steam ahead
8 months ago
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Full steam ahead
tomchambersFull steam ahead
asked in Train connections & reservations

Is it possible to upgrade a 2nd class OBB reservation to business clas?

So it’s possible to upgrade the interrail reservation to 1st class? or only if I have 2nd class tickets? If so, how do I do that?

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Full steam ahead
8 months ago
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laleRail rookie
asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

pass ends, night train

(removed the incorrect advice)I thought yes, but according to it’s not allowed. They don’t mention it on the travel day FAQ.“This rule is only valid if the dates of departure and arrival both fall within the overall period of the Pass validity.” is mentioned in section 7 of the full terms and conditions.

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Railly clever
1 year ago
FurkanTopal
FurkanTopalRight on track
asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

What is a travel day? No, but seriously what is it "exactly"?

I think you are overcomplicating it a bit - there’s nothing more to it than the description that @Angelo gave. They don’t care if you go one stop on a local train or take 10 intercity trains.Example 1 - lots of travelling within 24 hours - yes it’s one dayExample 2 - not much travelling within 24 hours - yes, one travel dayExample 3 - journey going past midnight - no, one travel day as long as you departed before midnight and you don’t change trains after that

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Y
Full steam ahead
1 year ago
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Rob RosenthalRight on track
asked in Train connections & reservations

1st class pass, 2nd class reservation

Helpful if you let us know the specific train you want to reserve for. Different operators have different rules. However I’m guessing it’s TGV/Thalys or maybe eurostar. 1st class is probably not sold out, but there is a quota of passholder reservations available and that will have sold out.You can write to support and ask for a refund, but I don’t imagine you’d get one as the pass is still usable, just not on that specific journey. The reservation system for these trains is something I find particularly frustrating.

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1 year ago
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AroundEurope2023New aboard
asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Differences between first and second class

It varies depending on the train. You can check seat61.com for detailed photos of the routes you want to take.The difference is fairly marginal but you might want to pay for that marginal increase in comfort. The number one thing you get is increased space (2 + 1 seats instead of 2 + 2). Extra legroom as well. If you want to use a laptop that can be handy. Though European trains don’t seem to be as miserable with the space as UK trains so I’ve found it to be generally ok in standard!You probably get a few less people in there as well. Whether that’s a perk or not depends on how busy your train is. If it’s full it’s a relief, but if the train is moderately full you’ll likely get 2 seats to yourself anyway.In the UK you typically get free tea/coffee/biscuits, but not generally in Europe. I don’t think the food is a perk anyway as on many trains there is a restaurant car which is more fun and you get as much space as in 1st for free. The food I’ve been served on the eurostar in standard p

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Full steam ahead
1 year ago
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oracleNew aboard
posted in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Interrail is way to complicated. Do not use!

I am very much enjoying my interrail journey at the moment and as a dedicated train geek I have gotten famliar with all the systems involved in checking and making reservations. But let’s be honest the system is a mess, not just for interrail but booking international trains generally. It’s down to the countries of course but with interrail it’s pretty hard to work out what exactly what trains you can just get on without doing quite a bit of research.As much as it is possible to figure it all out and make it work, why should someone who has no interest in these things and just wants to travel round Europe for a couple of weeks have to? As shown here, the result is another car on the road.The trainline and raileurope do a pretty good job of collating all the ticketing together. You have to pay for the privilege, but it’s not extortionate and it’s a lot simpler than trying to figure out the various operator platforms with their sometimes confusing translations.I’m not sure why interrail

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Y
Full steam ahead
1 year ago
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Full steam ahead
tomchambersFull steam ahead
asked in Train connections & reservations

Urgent help needed - getting from Brussels to Zurich tonight

Thanks everyone for your very efficient help. I decided to cancel my journey to Zurich for tonight and stay in Brussels tonight as the homeowner I’d agreed to sit for managed to find someone else to look after his pets.I’m going to get a refund for the reservations and go to Cologne instead for the weekend. There may be some issues with the flooding, but will be a lot easier to work around than getting all the way to Zurich.

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Full steam ahead
1 year ago
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Full steam ahead
tomchambersFull steam ahead
asked in Train connections & reservations

Urgent help needed - getting from Brussels to Zurich tonight

If I were to say travel to Dusseldorf this evening, then do the rest of the journey the next morning would Interrail give me an additional travel day due to the disruption?I have a Thalys reservation from Brussels to Cologne, what’s the best way to change that to Brussels - Dusseldorf? A new reservation would be necessary whether I go overnight or split the journey.Am I also likely to get a refund from ÖBB for the altered nightjet service that’s now no longer of use to me?

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Full steam ahead
1 year ago
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Full steam ahead
tomchambersFull steam ahead
asked in Train connections & reservations

Urgent help needed - getting from Brussels to Zurich tonight

I can’t leave Brussels until 7pm as I have an important meeting until then

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T
Full steam ahead
1 year ago
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Full steam ahead
tomchambersFull steam ahead
asked in Train connections & reservations

Urgent help needed - getting from Brussels to Zurich tonight

It seems this is doable if I go via Dusseldorf and then join the IC/nightjet from Mannheim according to the DB site. But rather than a sleeper I’ll be in a regular carriage - I’m assuming there would be nowhere but the usual overhead racks/luggage compartments at the end, I wouldn’t be comfortable leaving my valuables there while asleep. 

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Full steam ahead
1 year ago
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Full steam ahead
tomchambersFull steam ahead
asked in Train connections & reservations

Night train reservations in September all sold out

Thanks the Snalltaget looks good! Seems to be some availability.There is a useful page of euronight trains which shows the availability for next 3 days without having to do multiple searches. https://www.nightjet.com/en/komfortkategorien/euronight

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Railly clever
1 year ago
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Full steam ahead
tomchambersFull steam ahead
asked in Train connections & reservations

How far in advance do reservations tend to sell out?

So a month later I’ve been checking again and reservations for London - Paris, Saturday night in 2 days time are available. So that’s good - one doesn’t have to wait weeks to get a eurostar, appears to have been a height of summer thing/abberation due to flight prices.

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Railmaster
1 year ago
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Full steam ahead
tomchambersFull steam ahead
asked in Train connections & reservations

How far in advance do reservations tend to sell out?

Thanks, yes aware of the 2 day restriction. I’d travel out to Europe and then come back at the end of the trip. So Spain is the worst, but it sounds like only then it would normally be a few days in advance that reservations would sell out? Not weeks? Is it still possible to take local slower lines as an alternative? Is there ever a time when the interrail pass would just be completely useless?

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Railmaster
1 year ago
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