Hello,
Does anyone know if RailEurope has a website and if so what it may be . Thanks

http://www.raileurope.com but they are doing maintenance over the weekend, so check back. A caveat: they are very useful re: info about general costs, the various passes, etc. But actually purchasing things from them may cost you more than via other sources, including buying tix at the station. Check around before you click on "purchase."

If you want accurate, complete timetable information, the best thing is to consult the individual national web sites. The Deutsche Bahn site is generally good for most of Western Europe.

The Swiss national site is good also.

http://www.railfaneurope.net/links.html
Is a good site to start with. It has icons that will lead you to many national rail sites which you can bookmark. Most of the sites have an English version, athough it may not be as complete as you would like.

I just looked at the screen but the icon for the Swiss national system was missing from the general site I listed above. You can find the Swiss site at
www.sbb.ch
There are English captions available.
Look for little letters that read: en
It is not what I would call highly obvious. The first time I had to squint at it to pick it out.

OK, so that is what that little en means! English. Then I figured out that "it" was for Italian! Once you get tuned in, the Swiss site is good for many schedules as is the German one.

I never look at the RailEurope website for schedule information because it is woefully incomplete, or at least that is my impression of it. If you are only traveling from Paris to Berlin, I guess it is fine, but when it comes to getting to the smaller towns, it often does not have the detail.

The Swiss and German sites usually have information for other than purely national trains. Like the Swiss site will give you a good list of trains from Munich to Vienna or from Hamburg to Prague. You will often have to use European spellings, however.
Wien, München, Praha, Roma, etc.

In many cases, I find that the newer versions of the old reliables have been fancied up and actually they have become less easy to use. I think it is the old idea that if a little detail is good, a barrage is even better.

Also be aware that many major cities have several train stations. London has got to be the league leader in that respect. I cannot name them all. After Victoria, Waterloo, Kings Cross, Charing Cross, Euston, Liverpool Street, and St. Pancreas, I run out of steam. (If there is a liver, there has got to be a pancreas, right??

Like in Ireland, I read a business sign that said Royal Liver Insurance.
Ok. Good. Now, can I insure my lungs too?? Is this just for the ruling classes or can us commoners get in on it too?

Sean, our tour bus driver, gave me a good laugh and said try pronouncing it
Lie-ver.

Hi - I've used the German rail site extensively for travel information in Europe. I have found it easy to use and accurate. I have found the RailEurope site not to have all routes I needed infomration for. http://www.reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

If you are going to use RailEurope for seat reservations, etc., I have found the best way is to use the GermanRail site to find out the train number, departure/arrival times, etc., and THEN call RailEurope or any other agency and give them that information up front.

The people at RailEurope have access to the European railway computer system and can access the information that way. The site itself is very incomplete as to schedules, etc.

As someone above mentioned, anytime you buy tickets from an agency such as this there are usually processing or at least shipping and handling fees added on. Seat reservations, for example, usually only cost a few Euros if you buy them in Europe but bought through an agency the price is often marked up AND the handling fees are additional.

Many will tell you that RailEurope costs as much as 50% more for tickets, etc., but that claim (at least that amount of mark-up) has yet to be substantiated with EVIDENCE. Sometimes (emphasis on the word "some&quot the additional costs are worth it in terms of convenience for some travelers; other times not.

Thank you. I tried the website this weekend to no avail, that is why I thought perhaps that I had the wrong web address. We are going to Italy next week and will be taking the train from Milan to Venice. As my husband and I have only been to Italy one other time, has never ridden the train AND speak no Italian (shame) I thought that we should book a reseved seat before we leave the US. I have heard that they are more $ but easier tio deal with then trentitalia. What are your thoughts?

> I have heard that they are more $ but easier tio deal with then trentitalia. What are your thoughts?<

If you go to www.trenitalia.com/en you can book your tickets for the same price as in Italy.

You must register, which is quite easy.

Choose "ticketless" option. Pick up your tickets at the train station about an houtr before the train leaves.

ira,
where at the station would I pick up the tickets?

Dee - Search this forum (there's a search box at the top of the page) and the Web ( try http://google.com/ ), in case anyone has posted advice about possible discount offers from Trenitalia. If you do buy at the counter, Rick Steves recommends the following technique for overcoming the language barrier: write the origin, destination, date, time, class of service and train number (if known) on a slip of paper and hand this to the agent.

Intrepid - Historically, the evidence against RailEurope was that they didn't list the full range of discount fares (e.g. "Prem's" in France). I saw this firsthand last fall, when I was shopping for tickets on NachtZug 260/261 between Paris and Stuttgart. RailEurope was quoting a total price well over USD140. SNCF was offering a "Mini C" fare of EUR55 (approximately USD70 at that time). Both offerings were first class one-way, with a couchette.

Some travelers may need the flexibility afforded by full-fare tickets, but I think buyers should at least have the opportunity to compare full and discounted fares.

I tried a search on RailEurope the other day, just for fun, and did finally see a selection of discount fares. It wasn't comprehensive, but it was a step in the right direction. I still advise point-to-point buyers to check one or more national railway sites first.

SNCF's "Derniere Minute" (last-minute) and iDTGV (TGV with online-only reservations) fares are fundamentally incompatible with RailEurope's 'book in advance, get paper tickets by mail' model. We'll be seeing more and more of these specialized discounts around Europe in the coming years.

Finally, I'd call RailEurope's USD15.00 "processing charge", USD7.00 "premier train" booking fee, and USD30.00 overnight shipping charge fraudulent. The last one really gets me. The United States Postal Service offers "Express Mail" overnight service to most addresses in the US, for just $13.65. For those who think USPS is unreliable, this service is guaranteed and features electronic tracking, and the shipments actually travel on FedEx planes, thanks to a new air carriage agreement between USPS and FedEx.

Paul Marcelin-Sampson
Santa Cruz, California, USA

Thank you Paul. I appreciate your information. I am just feeling vulnerable about my ignorance. We will be on vacation so I shouldn't fret as we are not on a real time crunch. That being said, I still like to have some idea as to what to expect and getting accurate information and value. Thank you

Hi Dee,

>where at the station would I pick up the tickets?<

At the ticket counter or at the ticket kiosks, if they have them at your station.

Bring your confirmation, your passport and the same credit card you used to buy the tickets.