Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - leaving bags in first class compartments in trains. Safe?

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leaving bags in first class compartments in trains. Safe?

We areacoupletravelingwith europass to europe this winter. We werewondering what to do with our bags if we want to take a bite at the restaurant. Can we lock our compartment? or should we not leave them alone? what do we do? bea

Are you saying that you are planning to get off of the train and go into a restaurant located in a train station somewhere along the way and order a meal?? In my experience with European trains, most stops at stations along the way are very short. For example, if you are going from Munich to Vienna, the stop in Salzburg is only 10 minutes. But, the other stops are rarely over 5 minutes. Or, are you saying you want to go to the dining car on the train and get something to eat?

Bea, Not all trains have compartments, the newer cars have open seating, 1st class offering ameneties such as more leg room, wider, reclining seats. We had no problems leaving bags in the car when we went to the bistro car, but we did take our camera bags with us. Some of the cars did have lockable luggage compartments, similar to station lockers, located at either end of the car.

I meant to say leaving bags in the first class compartment of trains once in route to go to the dining car. We have 2 reserved seats in a compartment from Vienna to Munich and were wondering weather to safely leave our bags in the compartment or just buy food at the gocery store in the munich train station to take on board with us. Thanks, bea

Hi Bea. Glad you cleared that one up. I rode that train once years ago in the first class section. There were no compartments as far as Salzburg. The seats were big and plush, but as I recall, uncompartmented. So if you know you have a compartment, it might be one you can lock. But in second class, where I rode years ago, compartments were not lockable because there were 6 seats in each of them. We rode the TGV, first class, from Paris to Lausanne last September. Seating was "open" like an airliner. As I recall, our large luggage was in a storge bay at the end of the car, and smaller luggage was thrown onto the rack over our seats. Food was served at a snack bar type of facility a couple of cars away. So you could consume it there or bring it back to your seat. I think there is minimal security risk while the train is in motion. As you might infer, we could not watch our luggage the whole trip. So there was a certain amount of trust involved. Without mentioning any names, there are some countries were I would have felt uneasy under the circumstances. As for bringing your own food, at least you are sure of getting what you want. It is a good way to spend any extra local currency you might have and buy what you want. I always have a bottle of water!!

Fodors Very few saloon ( or "open") coaches have lockable areas at their ends, and no compartments are lockable on day trains. I don't see a picnic meal eaten at your sea as any comparison with the pleasures of a meal, or even of a drink, in the restaurant car. Moreover, these cars take currencies of countries you've just left as well as of countries you're bound for, so soak up spare coins well. I suggest you pack camera bags into heavier and larger bags. Then the choice is yours. Just walk off, or ask a fellow traveller who is not going to dine to mind your bags, or not go to the restaurant car. I'm on European trains during six weeks of each year, and have never done the last. I leave my bags unttended and without a care in Scandinavia, the British Isles, Iberia, France, Switzerland, the Low Countries, Germany and Austria. In short, in places with a good genral standard of living. Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Europe. Ben Haines, England

Ben Haines, you are going to catch a lot of flak.

Newp. Mr. Haines is on the money here. 99.9% of the time leaving your luggage in a first class care and/or asking someone to watch it works just fine!

s. Didn't mean leaving the luggage, I was referring to naming or omitting places with " a good genral(sic)standard of living". The PC police are everywhere, I know.

Bea, We have taken trains into and out of Austria this summer. We did not see any lockable compartments on Austrian nor German trains. We were in the first class compartments. Regarding compartment: We found them more on Austrian and German trains. None, at least on our route in Switzerland nor France had closable compartments. I would not count on having one. By the way, we found these intercountry trains quite long and quite a pain to find the right car. I presume Vienna is the departing station of the train so you have time to locate your car with reservations. Obviously whether particular environment is safe or not is up to each to decide for the condition. We were a party of three so we never had to leave them unattended. We have, however, arranged the luggages so that the most important things can always be carried with us if needed. Regarding using the restraurant car in the first place, if you enjoy this type of dining, it may be for you. We did not find restraurant cars good place to eat for price, selection, or quality. For us, after few bites at each train in each country, we figured out that we should buy meals in town beforehand, even at train station, and carry on with us. That was what we saw locals doing also. Finally regarding currency to use. Yes, they take currencies from both countries, BUT, whether they take changes was a different matter. As soon as we got on an Austrian train at Zurich, we tried to pay for food in SF, but no!, only SF paper money accepted. They will however gave us back SF changes. So I am still stuck with more SF changes than I care to have. We have better luck in this area on France-Switzerland TGV.

Fodors Greg makes a number of useful points. There is a kind of solution to long trains. You can show station staff your reservation slip and ask them what your wagon number (ie coach number) is: it's written on the slip. Then on the platform, halfway along, there is likely to be a glass-fronted notice board with little maps of each train, and marks to show platform sections. You find your wagon, see its platform section, look up to the painted platform section markers, and go to stand where your wagon is, or will be. Your troubles start in Serbia, Romania, and Britain, which have not reached these advanced levels (now have I further grounds to expect flak ?). Ben Haines, London

Is this the same bea that asked about taxis in Prague? If so, DO NOT leave your luggage unattended in Czech. I wouldn't even trust the conductor. Of course most people are honest, but those few people that aren't can really spoil your day (or trip). We always bring food with us, eat it at our seats, and find it entirely enjoyable. PC police -- most Czech people will tell you the same, so leave me alone.