Raileurope site is pretty limited, listing small towns, but only giving timetables for big ones. If the Thomas Cook timetables get updated monthly how can I plan effectively previous to four days before I go? What are some of the best sources Fodorites have found for planning/understanding Eurail travel (besides reading this board)?

Both Swiss and German Rail, among others, operate excellent sites with schedules for virtually all of Europe and fares within their own countries. See www.rail.ch and http://www.bahn.de/home/typ_b_files/...l_guests.shtml <BR> <BR>Other national rail system links at www.twenj.com/usefulsites.htm#rail <BR> <BR>International fares are another matter. The RailEurope site is about as good as you can do, and they only have limited 'representative' fares which are generally quoted much higher. <BR> <BR>Europe's rail schedules only change twice a year to any degree in spring and fall. Even then the changes are usually minor except for certain seasonal routes. So a schedule you get now is going to be quite useful. <BR> <BR>Trip Tips and Tools for Visitors to Europe <BR>www.twenj.com <BR>

The German rail site is my favorite because of all the information you can get--times, fares, types of trains & extras, schedules. The site is http://bahn.hafas.de They have an English version.

The following site may prove useful to you in planning European train trips: <BR> <BR>http://www.hafas.de/index_e.html <BR> <BR>If you look on the lower right side of the first screen, there are links that will lead you to rail schedule sites for England, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The Austrian site unfortunately for us is only in German as nearly as I can tell, but the vocabulary is not too terrible. The French rail system is not included, but it is <BR>http://www.sncf.fr/indexe.htm <BR> <BR>The above URL takes you to the English page for the French national rail system; the SNCF. <BR> <BR>The two best schedule sites are the German site and the Swiss site. Both provide time tables for trains outside of Germany and Switzerland. <BR>The British site is provincial -- it lists schedules for the British Isles only, or so it seems in my brief preview of it. <BR>I use all of these sites from time to time to get ideas and figure routes and potential trips for myself and others. <BR>There is really no secret as to how some of us come up with snappy answers to train schedule questions. We just know where to look. <BR>I have not found a good source of train schedule information Italy. <BR>If someone knows where to look for that one I wish he or she would share it with us.

Ed, <BR> <BR>A slick attempt at getting your web site address on the board. Several others have been chastised for it--including me--and I'm sure the board police (those folks like Dan, Sjoern and others who think they own this board) will jump down your throat and even spam you because of it. <BR> <BR>Good luck

I work in the rail division for a major European wholesaler in the U.S. and the two sites that I often refer to are: <BR> <BR>www.ccl.kuleuven.ac.be/~corn/railinfo.html <BR> <BR>www.renfe.es/hir/ingles/html <BR> <BR>Hope these are of help as you plan your adventures!

Stop it STOPIT, You must be kidding. Not only is the twenj site one of the best personal sites on the web, it is an <BR>amazing source of wonderful tips for Euro travel and totally non-commercial. <BR>Ed and Julie are only selling one thing, <BR>their passion for independent travel.

Oh, sorry Ed. I guess you are in the exclusive club of people who can do no wrong on this board. Bob the Navigator is, of course, an officer. So is Elvira. If Bob says it is OK then it is OK. The rest of us will just sit back and wait for the Holy Father of Travel to deliver his edicts.

I think www.eurorail.com is a good one-stop site to find individual countries' rail sites, there is a link right on it to them; I don't use it for anything else. Re the advertising, Bob the Navigator is a travel agent, I believe, and therefore is biased and also doesn't know what he's talking about. To wit, the site www.twenj.com is NOT noncommercial, they make money from sponsor tie-ins, and their information is also biased. They make commissions from Amazon.com, for example. Anybody who believes people run elaborate Web sites like that(recommending specific products, for example, and advertising on boards like Fodors to increase "hits" on their Web site, plus shoving their URL in your face several times) just for fun, needs to wise up. This is not even a nonprofit company, if you read their fine print--it's a not-for-profit which is an entirely different tax entity. They are running their Web site for benefit and monetary gains and such advertising is not allowed on this board.

Has anyone travel from Paris to Bilboa via the train?