Hey all, I just received my eurail ticket in the mail and it came with a time schedule book. Have any of you used this book? How accurate is it? Do the trains between cities often change times...or is it pretty regular throughout the year? Thanks

If that is the book which comes with Eurail passes I would say, if anything, it is INCOMPLETE.

You'd be better off with a Cook's Timetable or at least checking with railway on-line schedules.

There will also be schedules posted in RR stations which you really need to learn how to use (they are easy).

the Eurail Timetable is printed once a year and thus cannot obviously be totally correct. Yet in my experience it's pretty good - things could be off a few minutes but usually OK. Great for planning - compare schedules at www.bahn.de the best sight for schedules in all of Europe

Just another FYI..RR timetables generally make major changes twice yearly: in July and then again in the late Fall/early Winter.

In my experience unless some services are toitally halted, the biggest changes are in the timings and then often by only a few minutes in many cases.

thanks Dukey & PalQ

I've found those books to be fairly accurate but not complete. You can pick up current schedules at the train station. Or what I do is do some planning ahead of time on the German rail site, which lists routes for places other than Germany. And I have found this information to be very accurate. The schedules may change slightly from winter to summer.

What works for me is to do some pre-planning so I have an idea of the frequency of the trains and the length of the trip. I usually know where I'm going to next and on about what day, so I get all of the train schedules for that itinerary and day. Then double check it all when I get to my departure town. If I have to make any reservations or pay supplements, I can do all of that when I arrive.

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Have a fun trip!

If you have a rough idea of your itinerary in terms of we're you're going, you can get "Personal Timetables" from Bahn.de (http://persoenlicherfahrplan.bahn.de...ry-p2w.exe/en?)

This lets you put in two cities and will give you a PDF of all train combinations between them (including connections). I find this very useful for general planning. It's also great to bring with you so you can know what options when spending part of a day somewhere.

Paul

If reserving or having to reserve trains or night trains in Europe i find it always helps to print out the exact train info on the bahn.de site, including train number and then give it to the ticket window - helps erase any potential language barrier.

How can we get one of the timetables other than ordering tickets?

We have an old one that my husband has used for several years for planning trips.

Is there someplace to order one?

Thank you.

Byrd

I believe BETS (800-441-2387) sends them out for the price of postage - at least has in the past. In Europe you can get them at major train stations and Eurail Aide offices.

Thank you, Bob!

And if buying any European railpass you should get the Eurail Timetable free with the pass...that said some agents may not send it out not because they don't have them but it can boost postage charges! If you don't get one with your order, demand one - ask about it when ordering.
Be sure to look inside the timetable's back page and memorize all the symbols that are used in the timetable and also used universally almost throughout Europe on station timetables and ones given out at information windows. Novices should memorize these so that the train they see leaving at 14:44 for instance isn't leaving a'tal that day because it only runs on certain days, etc.
The timetable also has a box with an R inside it to denote trains that require reservations before boarding - no R does not - in the past years there have been some errors in this but in the current version i see none - could be though as i haven't perused it carefully - now using the WUNDERBAR www.bahn.de rail schedules for all of Europe. Yet the Eurail timetable allows quicker scanning of many trains at once.
It is not a comprehensive schedule, however - for example between Rome and Florence and other Italian stops lists mainly ES Eurostar Trains and not always IC trains.

Note that this schedule uses European spelling of stations - so if looking for Copenhagen look under Kobenhavn, which alphabetically follows Koblenz because the "o" in Kobenhavn is not an o but an o with a slash thru it, which i don't know how to make and apparently comes after the English "o"

And Koln for Colgone, Wien for Vienna, Firenze for Florence, Brugge for Bruges, etc.

for those unfamiliar with the Eurail Timetable given out with passes but also an extremely handy guide when planning your trip as you can quickly scan hundreds of schedules - for example all main trains from paris are grouped together - also easy to spot overnight trains, etc.
But for those unfamiliar with the schedule here's what it basically is:

Lists fastest trains between 200 key cities - lists chronologically and also denotes which trains require reservations and indicates where changes of train are required

Gives a comprehensive explanation in four languages, including English, for all symbols universally used on European rail timetables, including those posted in stations

Tell which type of overnight train it is - EuroNight, CityNightLine, Hoteltrain, DB Nachtzug - these special premier night trains and others as well

Indicates type of sleeping berths on night trains:
Sleeperettes (reclining seats)
Sleeping Car (for singles, doubles and triples
Couchette car - 4 or 6 berth couchettes - the way most Europeans travel and the cheapest sleeping option besides regular and reclining seats

Shows pictograms of these various sleeping berths

Contains a calendar and a rail map of European mainlines

A valuable thing to plan and have along with you - in Europe pick them up at information windows, though they don't always have them, or Eurail Aide offices in key stations. In U.S. be sure you get one with your pass. (If not doing pass or wishing to have once in advance for its handy planning aspect call BETS (800-441-2387) as i mentioned in resonse to Byrd - their catalog indicates it's available for a $2 postage charge. Maybe other agents or RailEurope sends them out as well but don't know.

Note the Eurail Timetable has no train info for Britain at all as Britian is the only western European country not a part of the Eurail system.

Bob,

I called and our timetable is on the way!

Thank you again.

Byrd

Byrd: Glad you got one as i was looking at BETS 2005 catalog and wasn't really sure they did this in 2006 - probably depends on how many tables they have and need for passes.

As to OP Q - accuracy - note that this schedule is usually printed around November of each year and it's probably fairly accurate then and for the next few months but is not printed again until the next November so at some post it obviously gets a bit off but still for basic planning that's irrelevant.