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Chur to Munich trains--do they accept Global Passes? Also Italian trains?

  • 27 April 2023
  • 9 replies
  • 164 views
K

We’re trying to figure out our train travel from Milan to Tirano, and most every train listed by the Eurail planner says “Not in Pass network.” Does this mean our Global Pass doesn’t work with these trains, and we need to purchase separate tickets? Also, the Eurail planner says that this trip takes something like eight hours, with many weird changes.

And now we’re also trying to find trains from Chur, Switzerland to Munich. We’re encountering the same thing.

So the big questions are: How do we find the correct trains and schedules? Will our Global Pass work on these trains once we find the right ones? Are there things I’m not asking that I should know??? Also, if we find trains we think will work on Rail Europe (for instance), how do we make reservations through that site while using our Global Pass?

Thank you for any enlightenment you can shed on this matter. It’s been relatively easy to navigate the UK, France, Spain, and getting into Italy as far as Milan. But now we are confused and bewildered.

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Best answer by thibcabe 27 April 2023, 02:33

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T
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First : the Italian summer timetable hasn't been published yet, Trenitalia is always late with that. That's why you see weird connections

Second : Rail Planner is not a reliable planner, use bahn.de or the companies websites.

Third : there are engineering works this summer between Sondrio and Tirano. Your route will look like this :

- Milano - Sondrio train

- Sondrio - Tirano bus (pass valid)

It'll take about 15 min longer.

Fourth : where are you looking at for Chur - Munich ? This is really weird, these timetables are published

Fifth : Rail Europe cannot sell seat reservations, only regular tickets. It's better to avoid booking seats through Eurail as they add 2€ booking fee per person per train, see these threads for advice :

https://community.eurail.com/train-connections-reservations-47/how-to-get-reservations-105

https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm

Reservations are optional in the UK (free, do not pay anything for them), Austria, Germany, Czechia, Hungary,… -> about 3€ per train

Seat reservations are not possible or not necessary in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland

T
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Sixth : the Bernina Express Tirano - Chur has a 19 CHF seat reservation fee for the panorama carriages, in my opinion a waste of money. These carriages are always crowded + sold out weeks in advance. Instead board the reservation-free carriages at the front (with pull-down windows, a nice addition !) or use hourly regional trains on the same railway

To arrive in time for the 14:24 Bernina Express, you'll leave Milan at 10:20 (regional train, reservation not possible) and change in Sondrio to a bus. Arrival in Tirano around 13:10

Let us know for questions

A
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On some dates in the summer Chur - Munich is throwing up some itineraries with bus links which have the “not in network” flag.

This can be put down to rubbish results from the eurail planner as usual, it will probably show more accurate connections eventually, closer to travel date.

 

Also, this is the reason there is a prompt to provide as much details as possible, it is far easier to figure out what problem you are having when we can reproduce the issue and this is much easier when full details are given.

 

If you have coped with France and Spain then Italy and especially Switzerland/Austria/Germany should be relatively easy, use the links @thibcabe posted to book any reservations through the recommended sources instead of Eurail and it will be fine.

T
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@Al_G Ugh you're right for those weird connections... again a proof that Rail Planner isn't reliable.

There are rail replacement buses between Buchs SG and Altstätten SG/St. Margrethen SG. On those buses Eurail/Interrail passes are valid…

Could you please have a look @Camilo. ?

@Kate Sibley what are your train journeys in Spain ? Only France - Barcelona ? You need to add seat reservations on most trains in Spain and high-speed ones in France (but I guess it is sorted ?)

K

Thank you for all of your helpful answers. I have some follow-up questions.

We seem to have broken the code for Chur-Munich, so we’re set for that now. At this point only Italy seems to be out of reach. It looks as if we’ll have to wait about two weeks from now to see our dates show up on their timetable.

Our journey into Spain is only as far as Girona, and we do have that sorted out, as well as our France trains.

I’m looking forward to getting all the train business settled so that we can start planning what to do once we get to where we’re going (actually, we’ve already done much of that as well).

 

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Trains (and buses) will run hourly between Milano and Tirano so there's no need to worry. Seat reservations are not possible anyway.

For other journeys in Germany, Austria : trains often run hourly and seat reservations are optional. You can always decide last-minute which train you'd like to take (+ make seat reservations if wanted)

K

Thank you! This is so helpful and reassuring.

Camilo.
Userlevel 6
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@Al_G Ugh you're right for those weird connections... again a proof that Rail Planner isn't reliable.

There are rail replacement buses between Buchs SG and Altstätten SG/St. Margrethen SG. On those buses Eurail/Interrail passes are valid…

Could you please have a look @Camilo. ?

@Kate Sibley what are your train journeys in Spain ? Only France - Barcelona ? You need to add seat reservations on most trains in Spain and high-speed ones in France (but I guess it is sorted ?)

If the replacement bus is to cover a route included in the Pass, it should be valid to board on it. I will double check anyway internally. 

Have a nice day!

Please note that I won't reply to any of my private messages at the moment. Thanks for your understanding
M
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@Al_G Ugh you're right for those weird connections... again a proof that Rail Planner isn't reliable.

There are rail replacement buses between Buchs SG and Altstätten SG/St. Margrethen SG. On those buses Eurail/Interrail passes are valid…

Could you please have a look @Camilo. ?

@Kate Sibley what are your train journeys in Spain ? Only France - Barcelona ? You need to add seat reservations on most trains in Spain and high-speed ones in France (but I guess it is sorted ?)

If the replacement bus is to cover a route included in the Pass, it should be valid to board on it. I will double check anyway internally. 

Have a nice day!

Hi everyone,

I've received a confirmation that the replacement bus will be still valid for the Pass holders.

Have a nice day!

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