How do you secure train compartment doors?
 

We are taking a night train from Krakow to Budapest in September. We have a friend who had unwanted visiters (with a pass key) in the middle of the night trying to rob them. Does anyone know a method of securing the sliding door in the compartment to prevent this?

Buy one of those little motion detectors that you can hang on the doorknob. The compartments have locks, but the thieves have copies of the conductor's keys.

But wouldn't the motion detector go off simply with the motion of the train? You'd need something else, I think. Perhaps a cord/string to something that would get pulled off and fall with a loud noise when the door was opened? Perhaps something to wedge against the handle/door?

Couchette compartments and sleeper compartments have not only a lock tha people outside with a pass key can open but also a fixed chain and slit, or a bolt, that only people inside can open. The supplement for a couchette berth is about 15 US dollars, and for a sleeper about 40. The sleeping car has a conductor, who locks the outside doors during the night (but of course opens them at frontiers, where he or she stays awake). I don't think you should use a seats compartment overnight. First you sleep badly. Second, unless you are six people (and thus are crowded) you have no right to jam your door. You have paid for one or two seats, not the whole compartment. <BR> <BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Europe. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London

Big mean boyfriend sleeping on the floor up against the door. Or piles of bags..... Mean boyfriend is a great deterrent!