We will be travelling through Europe (Switzerland, Venice, Salzburg, Germany, France (inc Eurostar) and southern England in August and September. It is the first time we will use the train network. We will have Eurail and Swiss train passes along with a large roller suitcase each and small back. I was wondering roughly how much time I need to allow in the station for reservations, tickets and boarding etc before the departure time of the train. We will be visiting places ranging from small towns to large cities.

As a general answer to your question it probably depends on the station.

If you are buying tickets and there is a line that can, obviously, slow you down. In some stations there may be machines you can use an an alternative.

I'll say this much: my experience in Switzerland is that the trains are usually on time and I've also had pretty good luck in Germany and Austria.

Trains don;t seem to be delayed all that much even when they do run late but perhaps I've just been fortunate.

If you have rail passes, I assume you won't need to buy separate tickets, otherwise, like Intrepid1 said, you might lose some time at the ticket offices. For normal trains without reservations the train stops only some minutes in each station, so you just make sure to be on the platform at the time of arrival and you get in.

For the Eurostar train you need to be there 30 to 45 minutes in advance, but that's because you have to go through border control, as Great Britain is not in the Schengen zone. Also, when travelling to/from Switzerland, some more time might be needed, though I'm not sure about that.

Hi S,

May I suggest that before you buy your passes you enter your itinerary at www.railsaver.com and click "only if it saves money"?

The half-hour check-in time for channel tunnel Eurostar trains has nothing to do with Schengen. Switzerland is not a Schengen country, but there is no check-in time for international trains to or from Switzerland: passport and customs controls are done on the train.
If you need to buy a ticket, it's best to do that in advance if possible, in case there is a delay. If you do not need to buy a ticket, then the amount of time needed depends mainly on the size and complexity of the station. I'd say ten minutes is enough for almost any station in Europe, but it's best to allow more, particularly for a long journey or where the trains are infrequent. If you have time to spare, most stations have a café of some sort.

It has a little to do with Schengen, because they do passport control in the station rather than on the train, like most international, non-Schengen trains. But it certainly isn't the main reason, since passport control takes all of 30 seconds.

The German Rail site http://www.bahn.de/ tells you how long you need for any change you list. You can book seats in any big station, not just the one you leave from, and it is good to get that done while you have no luggage with you.

If you ask Google for Man in Seat 61 you will find good and detailed notes on rail travel in Europe.

To take a train without rush you can look on each platform for a display behind glass to show the order and number of cars in each express train that uses that platform. The display shows positions along the platform, and above your head are alphabetical signs to show you how to stand at the spot where your car will arrive. For the first time you can ask railway staff or a fellow-passenger to show you the scheme.

My bag has wheels but I still like to take a luggage trolley from the front of a station to my train, or from one train to another. A trolley runs more steadily, and outside France is free.
As Geoff Hamer says, Switzerland takes no extra time.

To arrive in London by Eurostar is tedious, as you have a long walk from the exit door to busses or taxis. You leave the station nearer to the London Eye than to underground trains. One way out is to ask station staff where to find the bus to Westminster Bridge, and use that to reach Westminster underground station, which has lifts from street to booking hall and from that hall to platform. I hope the Eurostar arrival at Kings Cross in a few years will be more civilised.

Ben Haines, London
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If you have to stand in line for anything (getting reservations or tickets), the time varies a lot depending on time of day, and how busy the station is. My experience is that in very large and moderately sized cities in France, you can wait in line for that from 15 to 30 minutes, on average. I have waited longer at some stations, like 45 minutes (in Paris and Aix). In very small towns, there isn't much wait at all. If you have a railpass, it sure would be better not to have to stand in line, but when I had one, you had to stand in line the same as anyone else to get a reservation, and they can be long during busy times.

If I didn't have to get a ticket or reservation, you don't need much time at all beforehand for smaller trains and in small towns. For high-speed major trains, I try to get there and get settled in at least 15 minutes before the train leaves (so I probably get to the station 30 min. ahead). Once you start doing it, you'll learn more what it's like (I always seem to get the rail car at the far end of the train, for example).

I've had

For local trains, in small towns, in Switzerland, traveling point-to-point, you need just enough time to buy a ticket from the machine, get to the platform, and step on the train when it pulls in.

If you know your itinerary, it would save you time making some/all your mandatory reservations at the start of your trip. The staff at Switzerland were very helpful with this.

Or you could also make your outbound train reservation at the time of your arrival in the station, that way you'll know which platform to look out for when you depart and won't need to worry about queues when you leave.

I found that it could take a good 5 minutes to walk from the station entrance to the actual platform in some large stations. And in some punctual places like Switzerland where the train leaves 15 seconds into the minute, trust me you don't want to be late!

Hi all. Thanks for the advice. I will allow extra time before each journey as I'm not known for my punctuality! I'm also hoping to make as many reservations as possible in Zurich before I start any train travel. I've heard the Euraide Offices are quite good for this.

My main concern is when looking at European train timetables on the Swiss SBB website, some of the changeover times in stations are not very long (8-15 mins) so if I need to join any sort of ticket queue I could well miss my connection.

If you have a railpass and have pre-reserved a seat, do you actually have to collect any tickets or have your name checked off, or can you just walk straight on to the train/platform?

If you have a rail pass or any valid ticket, all you have to do when changing trains is to get off one train and get on the other. The Swiss railways are so beautifully coordinated that it's often just a matter of walking from one side of the platform to the other. The last time I changed trains in Switzerland, we had four minutes which was far too long.

>Hi all. Thanks for the advice. I will allow extra time before each journey as I'm not known for my punctuality! I'm also hoping to make as many reservations as possible in Zurich before I start any train travel. I've heard the Euraide Offices are quite good for this.

For most trains on your journey no reservation is required anyway.

>My main concern is when looking at European train timetables on the Swiss SBB website, some of the changeover times in stations are not very long (8-15 mins) so if I need to join any sort of ticket queue I could well miss my connection.

A 15 min changeover is a VERY long one. The schedules never list a changeover that you couldn't make. And you should have finished your reservation business before departure, not on the changeover.

>If you have a railpass and have pre-reserved a seat, do you actually have to collect any tickets or have your name checked off, or can you just walk straight on to the train/platform?

The tickets and reservations are thankfully NEVER issued on a name. If you choose to reserve you simply get a number of carriage and seat; bear in mind that if you are not there within 15 min of the departure your reservation is lost.

I was always concerned in Switzerland how I would know which train to get on. At least in the smaller towns so there's an obvious platform for heading an obvious direction (toward Geneva for example), my local friend had to convince me "Just get on the train that comes exactly at 16:03" or whatever! That's how you know it is the right one. I'm not sure this works in other countries, but the Swiss are extremely punctual!

I haven't traveled by train in Switzerland, so don't know the custom there. But in France, if you just reserve a seat with a railpass, you do have a kind of reservation "ticket" -- it's a confirmation of your reservation and your seat. You do have to show that to a conductor (if they ask, anyway, as that's the only evidence you have of a reservation).

However, you would get that when you bought it -- you should get all these things ahead of time, not wait to get them in-between trains in a few minutes. At least get it at the station when you start the journey, don't wait until a transfer (unless you have a long layover).

"I've heard the Euraide Offices are quite good for this."

You don't have to go out of your way to find the Euraide office if you're already at the train station. There's an International Tickets office and the staff speak good English too.

"If you have a railpass and have pre-reserved a seat, do you actually have to collect any tickets or have your name checked off, or can you just walk straight on to the train/platform?"

As Christina mentioned for France, it is the same across the countries. The way to reserve a seat with a Eurailpass is to get a physical ticket at the ticket office. Once you've got this, just hop on the train and the conductor will come around during the journey.

When doing your research on the websites, it pays to note down the final destination of the trains you are taking. The big electronic display boards only show the departure time and final destination, which isn't very helpful if you don't know the geography of the country well.

Thanks again. I'll try and reserve the journeys I need to in Zurich when I arrive.