Hi, i’m planning a trip through multiple countries (Austria, Germany and Italy). When planning out my train schedule in “book reservations” for trains “included” in my pass I’m sometimes met with:
1) “You’re ready to board”
2) an extra cost (example: for a night train (nightjet) from Cologne to Vienna)
3) “You're ready to board, You can buy a seat reservation if you like but it's not required.”
4) “+ Additional supplement required, You will need to pay an extra supplement at the station or on board the train.”
I’m wondering what these mean exactly.
Does “1)” mean i don’t need a reservation or anything else and can just show up and hop on at the station ?
If I pay the extra cost for “2)”, I will be sent an electronic ticket. Is that enough in combination with my pass to board the train ?
For “3)”, how do I know if a seat reservatiion is necessary (to avoid finding no seat on a full train)?
And just to make sure, for “4)”, Am I right for thinking the ticket person will just ask me to pay a small amount on the train itself and that this amount cannot be paid in advance?
Best answer by Angelo
if it is a regional train like RE/RB or S-Bahn in Germany or REX/S in Austria or R or RV/RE in Italy you are not able to reserve. Just hop on the train and add before the trip on the pass.
for the nightjet you need a reservation starting from 14€/seat and more for couchette or sleeping car. You can book directly via tickets.oebb.at - one way ticket and at adult choose discount: Interrail/Eurail Global Pass. Seats on Nightjets (Amsterdam-)Germany-Switzerland run as IC with only optional reservation.
for long distance trains like IC/EC, ICE/ECE/RJ/RJX/TGV the reservation is optional, but you can buy it directly via bahn.com (seat only option / only seat reservation) for 4€/trip in 2nd class. Some trains outside Germany can’t be booked abroad via DB, you can use tickets.oebb.at (3€/train) instead - only seat option.
This supplement exist only on trains to Italy that are run by DB and ÖBB. This means like EC Munich-Innsbruck-Verona/Bologna/Venice or RJ Vienna-Villach-Venice. For this trains you have to pay 10€ in 2nd class. You can pay it on board. Also online possible via tickets.oebb.at - one way ticket and at adult choose discount: Interrail/Eurail Global Pass. The EC Vienna-Ljubljana-Trieste is about 3€ fee. For the EC via Switzerland you need a reservation for the Italian part for 11€ in 2nd class. Reservations for this trains are to pay extra (except if you pay the 10€ fee at DB counter or Trenitalia counter you get a reservation free on top). If you book more trains for a trip via DB you pay for all trains only 4€ and not like ÖBB 3€/train.
For high-speed trains (Frecciarossa and EC within Italy - 10€) and IC 3€ you can also book the reservation online via tickets.oebb.at - one way ticket and at adult choose discount: Interrail/Eurail Global Pass.
I recommend to not book reservations for Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic and Germany via Interrail Reservation service.
if it is a regional train like RE/RB or S-Bahn in Germany or REX/S in Austria or R or RV/RE in Italy you are not able to reserve. Just hop on the train and add before the trip on the pass.
for the nightjet you need a reservation starting from 14€/seat and more for couchette or sleeping car. You can book directly via tickets.oebb.at - one way ticket and at adult choose discount: Interrail/Eurail Global Pass. Seats on Nightjets (Amsterdam-)Germany-Switzerland run as IC with only optional reservation.
for long distance trains like IC/EC, ICE/ECE/RJ/RJX/TGV the reservation is optional, but you can buy it directly via bahn.com (seat only option / only seat reservation) for 4€/trip in 2nd class. Some trains outside Germany can’t be booked abroad via DB, you can use tickets.oebb.at (3€/train) instead - only seat option.
This supplement exist only on trains to Italy that are run by DB and ÖBB. This means like EC Munich-Innsbruck-Verona/Bologna/Venice or RJ Vienna-Villach-Venice. For this trains you have to pay 10€ in 2nd class. You can pay it on board. Also online possible via tickets.oebb.at - one way ticket and at adult choose discount: Interrail/Eurail Global Pass. The EC Vienna-Ljubljana-Trieste is about 3€ fee. For the EC via Switzerland you need a reservation for the Italian part for 11€ in 2nd class. Reservations for this trains are to pay extra (except if you pay the 10€ fee at DB counter or Trenitalia counter you get a reservation free on top). If you book more trains for a trip via DB you pay for all trains only 4€ and not like ÖBB 3€/train.
For high-speed trains (Frecciarossa and EC within Italy - 10€) and IC 3€ you can also book the reservation online via tickets.oebb.at - one way ticket and at adult choose discount: Interrail/Eurail Global Pass.
I recommend to not book reservations for Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic and Germany via Interrail Reservation service.
