I will be taking the overnight train from Heidelberg to Prague on May 16 with two of my friends. We all have rail passes and I was going to make the reservation, but they were charging us $40 a person for a reservation fee (which is a little higher than i was expecting for a 6 person couchette) and they also have to overnight ship it because I am leaving on this Sunday the 8th which is $36. I was thinking maybe I could reserve it right when I land in Frankfurt on Monday, is that too risky? Anybody have any experience with this particular route? Was it full?

I have always been able to make such reservations a day or two before the train - I always have a railpass - I am 99% sure that you could certainly do this upon arrival in Frankfurt - head to the airport train station and do it. I understand that you can also make those reservations online thru www.bahn.de, the German railways web site though I have no personal experience with that. the worst I think could happen is that in Frankfurt if all couchettes were booked you'd have to pay more for a private compartment. A triple which IMO could well be worth the extra price over being put in with strangers who could be loud snorers, etc.

Require day seat reservations are no problems. However, night trains fill up quickly so you might be to late now. You are taking a risk by waiting.

The couchette supplement for the Cologne-Prague City Night Line train is 20 euros.

You can book and pay the 20 euros online at www.bahn.de.

Switch it to English top right. Do a journey planner enquiry for Heidelberg to Prague for your date and locate the 23:34 CNL to Prague arriving 10:25 with 0 changes.

Now click to check availability to see prices. Now look for the little black link bottom right of that prices screen that says 'book only extra charge'.

That'll let you book the 20 euro supplement with an existing ticket or railpass. Let me know that you've managed it! It saves paying mark-ups and fees and postage to an overseas agency.

You then print out your own reservation!

Sorry, in my first line above I meant 20 euros for the Heidelberg-Prague City Night Line, I forgot the Switzerland-Prague train came up through heidelberg direct, you didn't need to change at Cologne onto the Cologne-Prague CNL train!

You can see what CNL trains look like at www.seat61.com/citynightline.htm

OK, they've increased it a bit, it's 25 euros in 6-berth, 35 euros in 4-berth. 25 euros is about $32.

Reservation is compulsory on this train.

Man_in_seat_61,
You have an excellent web page.

25 euros looks like $38 today not $32 so $38 is about the same as $40 OP was presumably quoted by Raileurope - i thought the Fodor mantra that RE is always a rip off was true - perhaps it ain't?

I hear a lot about Rail Europe 'marking up' ticket prices, but they don't, as such. It's more complex than that.

In theory, RailEurope.com charges the same prices as their parent company, SNCF (French railways), converted into dollars at a generous exchange rate (to them, not you!), plus they add a postage charge in many cases.

So in many cases, all you're saving is a single-digit percentage on exchange rates (depending on how good a rate your credit card company gives you if you buy direct in euros) and the cost of the postage as most European operators now offer ticketeless or self-print ticketing. But that can still be worthwhile, plus the train operator sites give more accurate and fuller details as to seating choices, sleeper and couchette types, etc.

The real problem is that the US/Canada and Australia/Asia/Africa Rail Europes (but not the UK Rail Europe) choose to suppress certain very cheap fares for the American/overseas market. And it's not consistent.

So for example, I see Paris-Barcelona on the Elipsos trainhotel for $90, which is close enough to the 72 euros or £67.50 you pay at raileurope.co.uk and tgv-europe.com for me to realise it's the same fare.

But Paris-Venice on the Artesia sleeper train I've seen Raileurope.com charge $184 on the same train and date as a 45 euro ($55 or so) fare is available on tgv-europe.com and raileurope.co.uk, and in this case they seem to be suppressing the cheap 'prems' deals.

I also think that Rail Europe mainly sells flexible changeable tickets and thus those should be compared to fully flexible tickets bought in Europe. So yes when Fodorites constantly hark that RailEurope is always a rip-off they are comparing many times apples to oranges.

and like Man in Seat 61 explains that Rail Europe does not routinely rip-off folks but many fares are rather in the same ballpark practically.

but if you say something enough others will repeat it without thinking - this IMO is what Fodorites ignorantly do - with railpasses as well - the mantra that railpasses are always a rip-off - a general blanket statement that is just so so misinformation - many folks who know nothing about rail travel and are going do automatically think of a Euraipass even if doing just a few trips and yes for those a railpass is a waste of money. But to railpasses are always a waster of money in every case as several Fodorites do constantly is simply a disservice and terrible information.