Utrecht Centraal to Koeln Hbf- What to do when no seat reservations are available?

Question

Hi,I was hoping to take a direct train from utrecht centraal to koln hbf on Dec 7th (ICE255) and back on Dec 8th (ICE 152). As the seat reservation is optional for this route, I did not get the reservation in advance. But, now it says the train is fully booked.  Can I still travel on the same train with my Eurail pass (knowing that I might not get a seat to sit)? Or is it advisable to take a different connection? The train on 8th says only first class seats available. Does this mean I cannot use my Eurail pass (2nd class) for the journey?(Apologies if this has already been answered before but I couldn’t find an answer for my scenario yet.)Thanks in advance!

ralderton · Accepted Answer

No problem to board without a reservation. You’ll probably find a seat - there are always seats left unreserved, or reserved but not used.

If all else fails, go and take a seat in the restaurant car and order a coffee.

Try making the reservation on https://shop.oebbtickets.at/ That shows availability, and should be cheaper anyway, at only €3.

-

Edit: Having checked on DB, they show this train as ‘exceptionally high demand expected’. I don’t know how reliable these forecasts are. In any case, ÖBB still appear to be offering reservations.

Niviventer · Answer

Thanks for the quick response! The OBB reservation worked.

There are reservations available even for the train on Dec 8th (ICE 152), but the train doesn’t show up on the Eurail app. Can I buy the seat reservation via OBB and add the train to the app (a solution that was recommended elsewhere on this community)?

Thanks a lot!

Not finding what you're looking for?

Sign up

Social Login

Login to the community

Social Login

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded