Service comparable to Red Cap Amtrak service on European trains?
 

We are planning a trip to several Western European countries and hoping to take the train. The days of me and a backpack are gone because now I have 3 kids. In the US we have found the Red Cap Amtrak Service so helpful- having someone else take care of your luggage while you wrangle 3 children on board is awesome. Does this exist in most European train stations? If so, is it just a basic porter service or is it called something else?

I have yet to see anything comparable in MOST European train stations but perhaps I have missed it.

I won't venture into the age of your children and how disciplined they may or may not be.

Ditto what Dukey wrote. I cannot remember even seeing a porter service.
While those MAY exist somewhere, I don't think what you have in mind exists, i.e. someone bringing your luggage on board.
The reason for this is that there is no time for casual or assisted "boarding" - maybe with the exception for people in wheelchairs which get assisted boarding if they reserve in advance.
Highspeed train (or most trains in general) typically stop in a station only for 1-2 minutes.
The general public is expected to manage the stuff they have in tow and get aboard without much ado.

I've noticed porters at a couple of London terminal stations (like Kings Cross). But in general, at most stations there aren't any. Disabled passengers can arrange special help in advance, but as noted above, able-bodied passengers are on their own. Many stations in the UK have no staff at all.

In Switzerland they will transfer your baggage from one station to another. And certain Swiss hotels will collect your bags: http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-service...itzerland.html.

But I'm not aware of this service in France or Germany.

And if you see someone wearing clothes that <i>look like</i> station employees suddenly appeard offering to carry your luggage -- STAY AWAY and HOLD ONTO YOUR LUGGAGE! They are free lance scammers trying to extract outrageous fee for their service. They have nothing to do with the station. If other "real" passengers see you struggling with your luggage, they would usually help you. Real passengers are usually more hesitant approaching to help you so as not to be mistaken as a free lance scammer.

I think the prudent thing to do is 1. travel light 2. travel during off peak hours where you can take more time getting on/off trains 3. choose long distance trains, as opposed to commuter trains, with more space to store luggage 4. manage itineraries to reduce hassles at stations.

Depending on you accommodation arrangement, luggage/managing children concern will also exist at accommodations. If accommodations don't have elevators, everything must be hand carried up to your room. If the hotel staff is available, they usually help you, but if they have other people checking-in/out, someone either waits or leave luggage for someone from hotel to eventually take them to your room.

You have to be prepared and a lot depends on whether you are making tight connections. You are NOT the only people with kids that need to be "wrangled" and you are certainly not the only people who are bringing "a lot" of luggage.

Some stations require you to change by going down and up sets of stairs; some have ramps; some have elevators but you have to know where to look for those things.

The rolling stock is configured in a variety of ways, also. Some coaches have room for plenty of luggage above seats; some have less room and provide areas at the end or in the middle or both of the coaches for luggage storage.

If the children are old enough and strong enough you might consider having THEM handle a few things.

It is not impossible to accomplish and for someone who has never been on a train AT ALL (believe it or not there are a LOT of Americans who haven't been) or have only been on AMTRAK European rail travel takes some getting used to.

Please do not reject the possibility just because you've never done it before.

Most train stations in euroep do NOT have porters of any kind. It's you luggage and you need to cope with it. A few larger stations may have help available - but you need to check each one.

The rule on a train is that everyone must take care of their own luggage - except infants - yes, even elementary school kids. so pack light with small rolling bags.

If it's necessary to take care of all 3 kids (and this may not just be age but how well they focus, obey instructions and organize) then I would drive rather than take a train. (Some 9 or 10 year olds can be responsible for younger kids and some are on another planet and likely just to wander away in some sort of dream. Only you know your kids, their ages and capabilities.)

Like Greg says if you see someone dressed as a porter be leery - I've only seen porters in some Italian stations like Rome Termini - but there be very careful of imposters that will help you with your bags - out of the station never to be seen again.

Now all stations virtually have luggage carts on the platform - bring small change to disengage them - you'll get the money back when you return the cart to a luggage rack - this will get you to another platform, a taxi, etc

I always use bags with wheels on them and there is inevitably a fair amount of walking in train stations and even through at times congested train corridors - PACK LIGHT if taking trains.

Switzerland is one of the few countries these days to forward baggage and at quite a steep price per bag.

For lots of great info on European trains check these superb sites: www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Though European train stations don't have Red Cap porters every other facet of their trains is far far superior to Amtrak!

details about porters in France here http://www.sncf.com/en/services/luggage-bicycles-pets

and in Germany you may get help if travelling first class http://www.bahn.com/hilfe/view/pk/en/1_klasse.shtml

but you should plan to manage all luggage and children yourself

I appreciate Greg's thoughtful comments; how you travel light with three kids I am not sure. There is no reason not to travel when you WANT TO if you are prepared.

Thank you, that's helpful information for planning. I won't avoid trains without someone to babysit our stuff, but it's helpful for planning purposes (figure out how to bring less stuff!). Our kids are well-behaved and used to traveling but it's more work than just taking a backpack with my husband to take them, too. We have traveled all over the US and Canada with our kids but haven't attempted Europe yet.

We recently took a 3 day sleeping car trip with Amtrak and felt spoiled by the ease of it, which is why I asked about porters in Europe. I fell in love with European trains in my 20s, which is what led me to try Amtrak in the first place. I agree European trains are superior, but the employees at Amtrak have always been so pleasant and helpful.

Yes go first class if at all worried about baggage problems - lots more room for easy storage - 2nd class can be problematic - with kids I'd go first class for sure - often lots of empty seats IME - put bags on an adjoining seat often - some trains have family rooms even!

A point here that is worth repeating is that most long distance trains in Europe stop for a very brief time, perhaps one or two minutes. You need to be ready to board right away. No time to gather the chicks or your wits!

Back in the day, there were attractive posters in Italian railway stations with pictures showing where the cars were located in important trains so you could be standing at just the right spot on the platform when the train arrived.

Their are no doubt more modern aids available today.

You don;t mention the ages of kids which makes a big difference. If all 3 must really be taken care of - hands held, herded in teh right direction, helped up and down a couple of steep steps quickly when getting on or of trains - plus dealing with all of your AND their luggage - I wouldn't put myself though it. Esp if one is a toddler or infant this is definitely problematic.

They will be 11, 9 & 5, so only the 5 year old really still needs a hand held and his siblings can do that.

>>They will be 11, 9 & 5, so only the 5 year old really still needs a hand held and his siblings can do that.<<

But - can the siblings hold his/her hand AND get their own suitcase on the train :)

I doubt if kids that age will have their own suitcase - they could easily have a small light wieght day pack with some things in it. The key is for the family to pack light - IMPERATIVE for any train trip.

The French SNCF has some family services that you can reserve ahead of time, as well as family seating on some trains.

Kids of 11 and 9 very much should have their own suitcase and be responsible for it. There are small spinner suitcases like this http://www.ebags.com/product/rocklan...uctid=10131908 made exactly for that purpose. My kids were handling their own luggage at that age. Then put the 5 year old's stuff in with yours and problem solved. Remember if you have to you can get on a train in any car and walk through the train to get to your seats, so if it's leaving and you haven't found your car yet, do that. Load the 5 year old up first, then you go in, have the kids hand you their bags, they get on and done!

>>I doubt if kids that age will have their own suitcase - <<

Most 11 yo's I know DO travel w/ their own luggage. I'd think most 9yo's as well.

I am always impressed with the kids on trains in Europe and how well they manage their stuff. I had my eye on a mom with baby and stroller plus shopping. She had it under control but the ticket guy did grab one end to get over the gap for her.

Agree that an 11 year old can deal with their own luggage and probably a 9 year old as well (they won't be taking hug bags - but kid size luggage for kid size clothes). That leaves one adult to deal with the 5 year old and a carry-on and the other adult to deal with the rest of the luggage.

This can work if you pack light. If you have lots of luggage it won't.

And really most changes of trains are NOT 1 to 2 minutes. You usually get 9 or 10 minutes or so. That does mean being at the door of the incoming train with luggage, moving quickly in the right direction and boarding the next train expeditiously.

If there are any very short changes you can often elect to take the next train.

The key is number, size and weight of luggage. We once did see an older american couple miss a train connection - in Basel, a fairly large station. But they just had WAY too much luggage. Two large suitcases (30" or so), 2 large wheelies (23 or 24" that they seemed to think we carry-ons, then large tote bags and the woman also had a huge purse. Perhaps they were going on a cruise or something - but they were taking forever just to get off the first train - and we didn't even see them near the new platform when the ongoing train left about 12 minutes later.

>>I doubt if kids that age will have their own suitcase - <<>

well of course I mean large suitcase they could not handle but some kind of light back pack they easily could - kids that age will not be bringing much I think as parents will carry all the heavy stuff like shampoo, cameras, etc.

Many kids have their own roller-bag, not light backpack that they roll themselves from very young ages. I've seen kids probably as young as four in airports with their own suitcases. They are small suitcases, maybe an 18-20 inch one, but they are not backpacks.

Back in the day, the German railroad used to employ "Gepäckträger" (luggage carriers) to help riders with their baggage. Given that, as Pal said, the European railroads are so much superior to Amtrak, it's interesting that they haven't brought back porters in some guise.

PQ -- >>some kind of light back pack they easily could<<

I know you haven't had young kids in decades -- but no, I wasn't talking about 'My little pony back packs'. They sell regular rollaboards and luggage for children - and most kids DO carry all of their own stuff.

I am surprised nobody knows about the "Gepäckträger" service that Deutsche Bahn offers at some railway stations. :-) One of them is "my" station, Dresden Hauptbahnhof. See this link, in German only, unfortunately:

http://www.bahn.de/p/view/angebot/ge...rservice.shtml

Reservation required.

Today I arrived in Paris after a holiday in Avignon, and I saw a number of men with small (very unofficial) baggage carts waiting for people getting off the train. All I could do was hope that nobody asked for their services. Back when there were real porters, the fees were displayed on a very visible notice on the baggage cart.

On the other hand, I saw at least half a dozen people coming to the various cars with wheelchairs, because this is an official SNCF service.

Agree tht kids that age can handle their own luggage. What do people think they do with the stuff they take to school every day? Of their clothes if they go away to summer camp?

My parents used to take a cottage in sag Harbor every summer for a few weeks and you needed to take linens and some household things with you as well as clothes and other belongings - so the car was full of stuff. And I recall my brother - about 8 or 9 years old - dragging a couple of full size suitcases into the cottage (separately of course) and since I was 12 I got the really heavy stuff - bags full of linens for 6 beds.

But I woudldn't suggest it if you're trying to catch a train - then you have to pack superlight.