Connecting Trains - How hard is it?
 

I'm traveling in March with my DH and my 60 yr old parents. We will be taking a train from Prague to Munich and from Munich to Venice. Neither route has a direct train and both require one train transfer. I've been to Europe once but never experienced train travel over there. Is it difficult to transfer in what appears to be a 15 minute window between trains? Should I be concerned about making the connection when my parents don't move quite as fast as they used to?

What do you mean? www.bahn.de shows at least one direct train from Prague to Munich and from Munich to Venice.

And how difficult it is to transfer depends entirely on where you're making said transfer. Depending on the station and the trains involved you may just have to walk across the platform, or sometimes you have to take an elevator down, walk, take an elevator up, and sometimes you have to use stairs. Generic answer not possible.

15 mins would normally be fine even in biggest stations

but trains, especially in Germany IME are often late - good if it's the connecting train that's late but not if the train coming in is

Hi overplanner,

This is probably obvious, but ---


Train connections are also easier if you don't have a lot of luggage. Everyone should be able to carry his/her bags in one trip.

s

It would normally be okay if you understand how train stations and the system work, so you don't waste any time. I really don't like connections of 10 minutes or less unless it is a very small station where you pretty much assume the tracks will be right next to each other on the same quay. In large stations, that is not always the case, so you have to figure out how to get from one to the other, quickly -- and if it involves tunnels, stairs, undergrounds, etc., it can take a while (and sometimes the signs for departures and not working or you can't find one). It certainly helps if you know the language, also, at least the words you will see on the signboards (for departure, arrival, and quay).

A lot of people don't know anything about trains, even the simplest things, so you shold learn them. When I was in Zurich recently, a group of American tourists got on the train I was on and didn't even understand the simplest things -- like that the train number was on the door and on the overhead electronic board right outside on the quay, and that a big 2 on the car meant second class, a 1 meant first class, etc.

As Zerlina indiated, there are several trains a day requiring no change.

Prague - Munich
9:16am departure, arrives 3:19pm. There is one later but this one is probably best so you arrive at a reasonable time of day.

Munich - Venice
11:30am departure, arrives 6:32pm = no changes.

You may desire to get into Venice earlier, so 7:30 or 9:30am departures with one change in Verona.

You will have plenty of time to get off the train at Verona. One stops for 15min, and the other terminates in Verona.

You will need to get to the track for the connection to Venice quickly. The connecting trains only stop for 2-3min so you will need to get on board quickly. It helps if you can wait to board at roughly the position of your seat/coach so you don't need to drag bags down the aisle the length of the train.

It's a short stop though, so don't mess around outside trying to find your coach - get on board.

Missing a connection to Venice in Verona isn't a problem. There should be another one along in about 30 minutes.

Yes, you're right there are direct routes available, but I should have been clearer in that the routes we have chosen to maximize time in each city include a connection from what I can tell. We want to leave on the 5 am train from Prague and the 7:30 am train from Munich. I obviously do not understand how the train system works and would like to learn since I'm ultimately in charge of this. Any advice on where I can go to learn all I need to know? By the way, thanks for the advice, I welcome all the information I can get.

Call Budget Europe Travel Service (http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/) 800-441-9413 or 800-441-2387 9am-5pm Eastern Time Monday-Friday.

I went online and ordered their free booklet, "European Planning & Rail Guide". Very helpful info.

You could take a look at seat61.com. I think larryincolorado has a Germany-specific train site, but I can't find the address. Personally, there's no way I'd plan to leave Prague at 5:00 am, but I'm not a morning person. I suppose you're prearranging a taxi to get to the station?

I would move my daily schedule around to take trains where you don't have to make a transfer... but that' just me.

Hi O,

>We want to leave on the 5 am train from Prague and the 7:30 am train from Munich.

Did you check with the other members of your party to find out if they are happy with getting up at 03:00?

At www.bah.de, click on the train that you want. It shows the arrv and dep platforms. For the train from Prague, they are 1 and 4, respectively.

Tracks are numbered
Station (1)......(2)..(3).....(4)..

You will have to go downstairs at track 1, under the tracks and up the stairs to track 4.

((I))

Thanks Ira, that's very helpful. My parents are early risers and normally get up at 4:30 am anyways, so they are all for it. However, I also must consider that we will be coming off of jet lag and four days in Prague and they will not be at 100%. In fact, I bet they will be more exhausted than they ever could have imagined. I'm starting to agree that the later nonstop train might be our best bet...just bummed that it gets there at 3:30 and feel like it wastes precious time. On the other hand, if we arrive at 11:30 in the morning exhausted and grumpy, that won't do us much good either!

Well, you could try to enjoy the scenery. A lot of us take trains instead of planes just to do that. I'd suggest enjoying a slow, relaxed lunch too, but it looks like the Prague-Munich direct train carries something called a Bordbistro, not a restaurant car. Maybe better to take along a picnic. And if it's a train with compartments instead of airline-type seating, there might be some interesting locals to talk too. My last trip I found out about a great massage and pool place in Graz that way.

I think Ira meant:

http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml

(this is the English version)

Hi O,

>just bummed that it gets there at 3:30 and feel like it wastes precious time. On the other hand, if we arrive at 11:30 in the morning exhausted and grumpy, ...

Well I would rather lose 4 hr in Munich than have to deal with exhausted grumps. :)

OTOH, think of it as 4 more hours in Prague. Go watch the sun come up at the Charles Bridge.

((I))

Thanks for the correction, BK

If we do take the early train (my parents are pushing hard for it), it shows a 4 minute connection time in Schwandorf, which seems nearly impossible since as ira pointed out we will be going from platform 1 to 4. Assuming we miss the connection, there is another train three minutes after that and another thirty minutes later. What are the rules for getting on one of those later trains if we miss the first connection?

What are the rules for getting on one of those later trains if we miss the first connection?

It depends on the type of train and ticket. Generally speaking, tickets are good for any train from point a to point b. Faster trains (also the ones with fewer stops) may require seat reservations.

If you want to guarantee 4 seats together it is usually advisable to pay the 3 Euro or so for a reserved seat.

Not all trains are created equal, so be careful planning to simply get on the next train going your way. It may be a milk wagon and that will kill your plan to get to Munich early.