I'll be travelling throughout Europe soon and I would like to know everyone's experience with Europe's rail transportation system. What were the pros/cons of using it. Are the trains fairly on-time? Are they similar to Amtrak or better? <BR> <BR>Do I need to make an advanced purchased of this pass or can I buy it over there? <BR> <BR>Thanks for the responses!!

<BR>We just got back from a month of using our Eurail pass & would highly recommend it to anyone. Europe's rail system is very well developed and very comfortable. We've travelled through France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Italy & never had a problem. <BR> <BR>The system is somewhat similar to the Amtrak service in NY-Boston-DC corridor. <BR> <BR>The Eurail pass is only available ahead of time to travellers from outside of Europe. It is available in many different variations and durations, so I'd recommend visitng a travel agency & picking up the brochures. <BR> <BR>(One of the best perks of these passes is being able to travel in the first class cars of the trains which are more comfortable and less-crowded than the 2nd class)

Although I have a bit of a reputation here on this board as "anti-train" (and "pro-rentalcar") for Europe travel, let me clarify that with a few exceptions, the worst experience on a train in Europe is better than the best experience with trains in the US. (Generally) on time, spacious, quick (some are lightning fast), and mostly easy to use. <BR> <BR>And no, you can NOT buy "it" (a Eurailpass) "over there". They're a marketing "gimmick" (actually that word is too harsh) sold only in North America to promote greater familiarity/use of Europe's trains by Americans who aren't very experienced using trains as you can do in Europe. The company www.raileurope.com (1-800-4-EURAIL) is, in essence, a marketing consortium to provide info and sell tickets, including a multitude of passes; the "classic" Eurailpass is just one such pass they offer. Make sure you investigate all the different kinds of passes. And there are various websites - - such as one of the pages on www.ricksteves.com - - just as one example - - which will let you do the calculations of how best to budget and plan your train travel. <BR> <BR>But point-to-point tickets are the most affordable way for many, many travelers - - and not hard to do. There are a ton of resources available here on this forum, and on the websites of individual countries you might be planning to visit. <BR> <BR>I suppose this answer is very general, but plenty of other people are likely to chime in and provide additional specifics - - especially if you have more specific questions. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

This site might help you decide which railpass you should get: <BR> <BR>www.railsaver.com

About the only similarity between trains in Europe and Amtrak is that they go choo-choo. Otherwise there's little comparison. Service reaches almost everywhere even to very small towns in many cases. The trains are clean, frequent, punctual and safe. In some locales (e.g. Switzerland) connections as short as two minutes are legal. <BR> <BR>Eurail passes may be purchased only outside Europe. But you may well be better off with point to point tickets. As a VERY rough guide, the passes are likely to save you money if you travel 200-300 miles every day through three or four adjacent countries. If you'll be traveling mainly in one country a country pass is likely to be better. If you'l travel less point to point will probably be cheaper. <BR> <BR>Spend some time on European rails and you'll wonder why Americans so heavily subsidize Amtrak for such poor service. <BR> <BR>The best site for an overview of European railpasses is <BR>http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/home.htm <BR> <BR>twenj