Wekiva

My boss wants a printed train schedule for a trip this summer. In the past I used the Thomas Cook European Timetable and found it to be a great resource. Are there any other printed books you can order or is this the main one.

Also...boss likes printed books for his research and isn't into cruising the Internet (what a foreign concept...haha)

alanRow

Yes - especially as it's the only one.

Dukey

The Cook Overseas Timetable is the only one as Alan has pointed out.

It changes monthly and has updated advisories about engineering works and the like. As I recall, the really major changes in timings and services are reflected in the July and December editions.

flanneruk

How very lucky you are to have such a sensible boss.

What's the point of a train journey in a foreign land if you haven't got a printed timetable, showing you in advance everywhere the train's going to stop?

PalenQ

Yes the best. Some folks find the Cooks to provide too much info and it can be hard to decipher upon casual glance without scrutinizing its symols.
For a brief schedule of trains between a few hundred key European cities (not British) i'd recommend he get the Eurail Timetable that are given out free with railpasses or rail tickets bought thru Raileurope or agents or you at times can nab one at information counters in Europe if not buying pass or ticket ahead of time. The only source i know that provides these without passes (and they are most useful for trip planning as times between key cities are simply arranged as well as overnight trains) is Budget Europe (800-441-2387) for a $2 postage charge, according to their European Planning & Rail Guide catalog portion (also excellent rail guide free at www.budgeteuropetravel.com). Of course the www.bahn.de site is unsurpassed for printed schedules and is guaranteeably up to date. Cooks is good for the month printed and has main train schedules for the coming summer and winter schedules as a supplement but you can't beat the bahn site for schedules which is why i tell most folks to forget about the Cooks and just get the Eurail Timetable and do www.bahn.de. Once in Europe there is an avalanche of free printed schedules at train station info windows.

PalenQ

As for timetables... more about the free Eurail Timetable that comes with a railpass, or which you may be able to get for the cost of postage (see above post)

It can be a very nice thing to have along or to plan your trip:

lists hundreds of trains between hundreds of cities - departure times, arrival times (but not intermediate stops) and where you may have to change en route, type of train, whether reservations are obligatory or not before boarding, overnight trains and whether or not they have couchettes and sleeping cars, or sleeperettes.
(reclining seats).
There is also a rail map, calendar and most importantly an explanation of symbols universally used on European rail schedules posted in stations and in free schedule racks in stations..such as numbers corresponding to days of the weeks (some trains only run some days. Any rail traveler should learn these well - if looking at a posted station schedule and it says a train's going your way at 10:30, the small footnotes may indicate it runs only on weekends, etc. so a knowledge of these symbols is imperative.
In all a very nice timetable...only drawback is that it's printed once a year so can be outdated the day it's printed in some cases. That's why i suggest it as a planning tool and then to confirm that specific train on www.bahn.de

Wekiva

Thanks for all the feedback. He ordered it yesterday.

I see that the Cook book is a subscription as some of you mentioned. Do the train schedules really change that much? I figuring that there probably aren't that many changes (especially to the main lines) and they just print it monthly to be up to date. I'm assuming he'd be OK with getting the book now (3 months before trip) and not getting another one right before he goes.

57BelAir

Wekiva: European train schedules change seasonally, so you or your boss should buy a new guide before the trip in June. Or check online at the national railroad site(s) for the specific trips your boss will take on those dates.

sanschag

If your boss already has an itinerary and is just looking at options for traveling between stops, you can use the Bahn's Personal Timetable option (http://persoenlicherfahrplan.bahn.de...ry-p2w.exe/en?) to generated city to city schedules as PDFs for printing. While not necessarily useful for on the the fly planning or "where can we go from X" planning, I like them when I have some idea of where we might want to go.

Paul

GeoffHamer

Most Western European countries' railways now make timetable changes once a year, in December. Other countries, in Scandinavia and eastern Europe, change theirs at different times.
There are also major upheavals such as the opening of the new TGV Est line in June this year. There can be updates for other, unexpected, reasons.
Minor railways, and bus and shipping operators make changes at any time.
If you're considering buying the Thomas Cook timetable, it's always best to get the latest edition.
Whether you need one depends on what travelling you're doing. Many countries have pocket timetables which are free or can be bought cheaply. I always get an up-to-date Thomas Cook timetable to take on my travels, but I'm often making complex journeys visiting a variety of places in different countries.

PalenQ

To get Cooks:

call Cooks UK office: 44 (0) 1733 416477

or fax 44 (0) 1733 416688

or e-mail: [email protected]

MasterCard, Visa, Amex, Switch/Delta cards accepted

price: 12.50 pounds plus 5 pound air mail fee to North America = 17.50 or about $33

PalenQ

As to whether you need the current month edition or not... to me it matters relatively little to the average traveler because the long-distance type trains they invariably end up on generally run at the same time all year and daily. Oh departures may change by a few minutes but these type trains rarely change.
And even the current schedule i have for this month has a summer supplement in the back to cover many key trains with summer schedules.
In any case a printed schedule can be outdated the day it's printed so confirm any important schedule with www.bahn.de.

PalenQ

Getting Cooks in Europe?

I traditionally land in Amsterdam and have always bought my Cooks Timetable there at the Thomas Cook offices. But this year these have morphed into Travelex i think and no longer sell the timetables.

I noticed the same thing in Paris at former Cooks offices.

Even the Cooks timetable itself, which once listed agents throughout Europe no longer does.

Only in the UK did i find one, at Thomas Cooks St James Street office.

So don't count on buying one in Europe.

www.thomascookpublishing.com

bob_brown

I find it difficult to accept the idea that some boss wants to lug a heavy book of timetables around when s/he might use a twentieth of it.

I have gone all over Europe by train and never had the need for that big tome in my luggage.

Given that every European national rail system has free on-line, highly detailed schedules, I simply decide where I want to go in advance, select my trains, and print out the schedules before I leave home. At most I end up with 7 or 8 sheets of typewriter sized paper in my carryon luggage.

These schedules have times of arrival, the stops along the way, duration of each stop, whether or not there is a dining car on the train, etc.

This boss sounds like he needs to join the modern era. If he is "too old" tell him I am 74 and don't ever see the need for a Cooks tome to burden me down.

Haven't needed it yet, not even in my youth when I spent 6 consecutive weeks roaming Europe by rail and bus, and that was long before Internet. To learn schedules, I just went to the train station.

PalenQ

While i agree with what Bob says, myself i do like to have a current Cooks with me as i freelance a lot so can't print out schedules ahead of time.

Cooks is great for planning your next day's trip from your hotel room - various routes, etc. for those of us who don't have internet access in Europe.

It gives me pleasure to look at schedules quickly as well - yes on www.bahn.de you can print practically every train schedule in Europe but only with the Cooks can you quickly scan several options.
J'aime Cooks...makes me a oldtimer, OK!