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Replies posted by Traveller749

40 Replies

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GC93New aboard

asked in Train connections & reservations

Making GWR Riviera Night Sleeper reservations from abroad

rvdborgt, my tip would be to telephone GWR’s call centre in England on a typically quieter day such as Tuesday to Thursday fairly early in the morning UK time.The call centre opens at 0700 UK time on Mondays to Saturdays and 0800 hours on Sundays. Best not to call on a Friday or Sunday afternoon as staff may be busy given these tend to be busy travel periods. The contact number is (+44) 345 7000 125.Having previously travelled on the ‘Night Riviera’, it’s an excellent way to reach Penzance or come back to London from the West Country.

10 months ago

GC93New aboard

asked in Train connections & reservations

Making GWR Riviera Night Sleeper reservations from abroad

In the last few days, I called GWR from Australia and had no problem at all booking my sleeping berths on the ‘Night Riviera’ after explaining I would have a Global Eurailpass.I used an Australian credit card: it was immediately accepted.Pleasing that this longstanding problem for overseas residents looks to have been fixed.Just remember the time difference between the UK and nations like Australia/Canada/New Zealand/USA as if one tries to ring at 0200 BST, it’ll be fruitless.

10 months ago

scottRail rookie

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Does Eurail Global pass really include the Heathrow Express?

The line on which Eurail Global Pass is valid is the ‘Elizabeth Line’, not ‘Elisabeth Line’.

10 months ago

AngeloRailmaster

posted in Travelling by train

This year 600 000 Interrail Passes sold! New Record!

Apart from Interrail Passes, how many Eurailpasses were sold in 2022, or 2023 thus far?Is there a publicly available breakdown of how many sales annually there are of each type of pass, e.g. Global 1st class Eurailpass one month validity, same for two months and so on?It would be interesting to know all these statistics.Given railways are mostly publicly funded, why aren’t these figures easily available for both Interrail and Eurail Passes?

11 months ago

Traveller749Full steam ahead

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Eurail Pass validation at Heathrow Airport

You can, but if it’s a Paper Pass with the ‘start date’ not yet filled in, ask the clerk at the ticket office to fill in the commencement and end dates and validate with a station stamp. Using it means your travel commences on that date, not the next day.

11 months ago

Traveller749Full steam ahead

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

B-Europe site not displaying London

Thank you!As one who’s travelled by rail in many nations, the Europeans need to work on making passholder reservations simpler, although I acknowledge that when some rail operators such as SNCF and RENFE intensely dislike each other (amazing!), tasks like this can be challenging.

1 year ago

Pedro PiresRight on track

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Can't book reservations - ''your pass isn't valid on this date''

I had a 1st class paper Global Pass that expired in November 2022.I have purchased a new identical paper Global Pass that I intend to use from September 2023. It arrived promptly in the mail.I have created a new ‘trip’ with my details, but have deliberately not selected a ‘start date’ to keep it flexible in case of (unlikely) last minute cancellation being required, or flight delays from Australia.However when I try to make reservations, I receive the infuriating ‘your Pass isn’t valid on this date’.Is this because despite me creating a new (undated) “trip”, the site believes I am illegally trying to reactivate last year’s pass?I successfully made a Eurostar reservation via the Belgian Railways b-europe site as bookings open six months before, and am cognisant that (for instance) TGV reservations France to Italy aren’t available on b-europe.com until four months before. However I’d like to see how good pass availability is, and so would like to insert a ‘ghost’ date, but eurail.com w

1 year ago

Traveller749Full steam ahead

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Eurail Global (Paper) Pass despatch delays

For September 2023 travels, I ordered a two month Global Eurail1st class paper pass on 5 March 2023.It was efficiently despatched from the Netherlands on Monday 6 March and delivered to my inner Melbourne house by my Australia Post postman (‘postie’) on Friday 17 March 2023 before 1200 AEDT.Great work by Eurail, Netherlands Post, Australia Post and airline staff.Very pleasing that there aren’t the lengthy delivery delays encountered last year.I prefer a paper pass as I cannot trust my smartphone to work everywhere internationally. As long as one is careful with it, it’s a far nicer travel record than a mobile pass and more reliable.

1 year ago

snowchildFull steam ahead

posted in Routes & destinations

First class global pass .. no trains. terrible service UK

To all those who constantly post that reservations in the UK are at best optional and unnecessary, I remind you that from London there are relatively few mainline rail routes, especially Lon - Scotland (LNER and Arriva west coast) and Lon - the West Country (GWR) and these trains are very busy, especially the LON - EDI route, with reservations highly recommended by the operator. These trains make up to 10 stops and passengers reserve at all these stations, so seats free from London are often needed at future stations. These reservations are available online and free. See the FAQs below. https://www.lner.co.uk/faq/on-board/seating/how-do-i-make-a-seat-reservation/ Isn’t the west coast operator called ‘Avanti West Coast’ not ‘Arriva….’?And isn’t the west coast rail operator unable to run the full timetable due to some shortage of drivers and/or reluctance or refusal of some drivers to work on Sundays (how many times that means they have a shift in a week, a fortnight or a month, I don’

1 year ago

sim0nRight on track

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Eurail, Interrail or My Interrail for UK resident?

Please, please do not confuse Europe with the European Union. Irrespective of the vote to leave the latter we are still part of the continent of Europe. Interrail is for Europeans, Eurail is for those who live elsewhere. So if ‘Interrail is for Europeans’, why are Russians not allowed to purchase a Eurail despite almost four in five of Russia’s square kilometres being in Asia, not Europe? You would have to debate that with Eurail/Interrail themselves. But you said ‘Interrail is for Europeans’. Perhaps not quite as simple as you endeavoured to make out.If I lived in the UK, I’d feel miffed that I couldn’t purchase a Eurail given that Interrail restriction of only a journey to start using the pass and one to conclude usage in the ‘home nation’.Maybe what this tells us is that many in Europe, such as at Eurail HQ in the Netherlands don’t understand, or refuse to acknowledge, the majority attitude of those pesky Englishmen and wo

1 year ago

sim0nRight on track

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Eurail, Interrail or My Interrail for UK resident?

1 year ago

sim0nRight on track

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Eurail, Interrail or My Interrail for UK resident?

Very strange that despite the UK NOT being part of Europe due to Brexit, its residents still cannot purchase Eurailpasses.Surely this needs to be reconsidered?The UK public’s verdict was clear!

1 year ago

Traveller749Full steam ahead

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Eurail Pass validation at Heathrow Airport

If it is undated then maybe, if there is a space on it marked for a stamp then yes. If needed, starting in Britain will mean you will have no trouble as validating BritRail passes is still the standard procedure there. When your pass arrives I (and I imagine a few others here) would be interested to see how it is printed, if you could post up a pic (with your details blocked) that would be appreciated. I recently ordered a mobile pass because I didn’t want to fix a start date so if I could have gotten a n undated paper pass instead... It arrived weeks ago, and was exactly as I said. It still has space for start/end dates plus a station booking office stamp.I’m not good at posting photos but I have a relative who is, so I’ll ask him to assist.

11 months ago

Beatrice BentiniNew aboard

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Seat reservation

While a slightly different angle to what you ask, some trains (much to Eurailpass holders’ chagrin) have ‘quotas’ so if the number of Eurail/Interrail passholders who have booked a seat has reached its limit, you won’t be able to travel. This policy is ludicrous. Why not release unoccupied seats to passholders the day before, unless SNCF etc. “know” from past history there’s a huge likely last minute rush of passengers with revenue tickets who book onb the day before, or day of, travel? Eurail passholders in particular often come from Australian, Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Chile/Brazil/Argentina, and it’s not always easy to book in advance. Given Global passes supposedly offer flexibility, ‘quota controls’ are not fair, especially when on top of the significant daily amount for consecutive or even greater for ‘4 days in a month’ passes, one has to pay a substantial supplement to travel on some high speed or other trains.

1 year ago

AakankshiNew aboard

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Interrail from Netherlands to UK. Are these destinations included. How to book?

There are not ‘strikes every few days’ in the UK.There were three strike days recently in quick succession, though not consecutive. On those days, most if not all rail operators ran trains: for instance, a friend travelled on LNER from London to Durham and return, though frequency was markedly reduced.There is one strike planned by a separate union on 25 July 2022, and media tells me one operator (Greater Anglia) may have had another, separate recent strike day. Amy strike is regrettable and a huge inconvenience for travellers, but let’s not exaggerate.

1 year ago

AakankshiNew aboard

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

AitorRail rookie

asked in Train connections & reservations

Budapest Nyugati to Prague Hlavni Nadrazi train is missing after app update

seat61.com says:A seat reservation is optional on the Prague-Bratislava-Budapest route, except for the EuroNight sleeper train Metropol. If you choose not to reserve a seat, you simply sit in any unreserved seat - a small paper label above each seat shows whether it is reserved or not. However, a seat reservation is strongly recommended especially in summer, or on Friday or Sunday afternoons at any time of year. You can add a seat reservation when you book for a fee of around €4.There are EC trains every two hours, so if for some reason the 1140 hours isn’t running, see if the 0940 hours is.My printed European Rail Timetable (printed and digital versions available at its website: excellent resource) says EC276 departs Budapest Nyugati daily at 1140 hours.

1 year ago

AleSpool97Right on track

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

My order has not arrived yet. Starting date 20 July

Give it until the 16th or 17th of July, as you can quickly purchase a Mobile Pass if need be.

1 year ago

AleSpool97Right on track

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

My order has not arrived yet. Starting date 20 July

Yes, that’s what you can do, but hold off for a few days to see if the Paper Pass arrives as to my mind it’s easier to use. Smartphone reception is variable, including on trains, worldwide.If you seek a refund, you must mail the Paper Pass back, and comply with the conditions re timeliness and others. For goodness’ sake, take a few minutes to read the website.

1 year ago

AleSpool97Right on track

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

My order has not arrived yet. Starting date 20 July

Wait for Eurail’s response.Isn’t the Italian postal system unreliable? Years ago, my relatives used to always post mail from Vatican City. One suspects you’ve not left sufficient time to receive it from the ordering date.We are supposed to purchase a mobile pass if the paper one doesn’t arrive, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

1 year ago

AleSpool97Right on track

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

My order has not arrived yet. Starting date 20 July

I assume you are not in Italy yet, and the pass is being mailed to another nation, perhaps the USA?

1 year ago

moulichakrabortyRail rookie

asked in Eurail & Interrail Passes

information about eurail global pass

See the online guide for discounts offered on Swiss privately owned railways, often 25 per cent off.

1 year ago

Renia TaNew aboard

posted in Eurail & Interrail Passes

Global pass and children. Advice

Some will disagree, but assuming your Polish postal service is reliable like here in Australia, I’d go for a paper pass.

1 year ago

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