Time between two train connections
 

Hi,
In my schedule, I have a few train connections with difference between arrival of previous train and departing train is only 15 minutes and in one case it is only 4 minutes.

Are train regular in Germany and Italy? And, is this short time enough to get the luggage, change the platform (if applicable) and get onto other train?

Pl. advise,

Jesal

The 4 minutes one might be tight. For all others, it should be ok. Just make sure to be with your luggage at the exit at the moment the train enters the station. Try to find out if the train conductor knows at which platform your next train is leaving. If not, if not computer screens on every platform showing leaving trains and their platform, there's always a big board in the entrance hall showing all departures.

Hi nj,

Can we have some particulars?
In some cases smaller trains are held for bigger trains.
In some cases there will be another train within an hour.

It might be helpful to know which trains you are taking, for example:

On ICE trains in germany and on many Eurocity trains that travel between two countries you will receive a "travel plan" leaflet which outlines the train's timetable and at the various stops it will also list connections, and frequently the track number of the connecting train.

You will, almost undoubted, have your luggage with you on these trains rather than having it in some sort of baggage car.

For your "four minute" connection make certain you are at the end of the coach, with your luggage, before the train arrives in the station. Try to be one of the first people off the train. You may have to rely on the usual posted arrival and departure charts which will be posted on each platform to find your connecting train.

Do trains run on time? For the most part they seem to, particularly in countries such as Switzerland where there are usually very punctual.

You might want to consider consulting one of the online timetables to find out what additional connections you can make in case you miss your first one.

In my own experience I have never seen one train being "held" because another one was late and, frankly, I would NOT count on that happening.

>In my own experience I have never seen one train being "held" because another one was late and, frankly, I would NOT count on that happening.<

If you go from Paris to Bruges via Lille-Flandres they hold the R train until everyone from the TGV has gotten on, even though there is only a 5 min gap.

German trains are usually very punctual - more so than Italian trains.
Check the German rail site at "www.bahn.de" - it will tell you what platform your train will arrive on as well as the departing train. I would usually not sweat a 4 minute connection unless it is a large station - and I am travelling with more than 1 carry-on.

>German trains are usually very punctual ...<

So one day my wife and I are in the Cologne train station waiting for the 12:15 to Copenhagen to arrive.

We had arrived at 11:50, found the right track, asked the uniformed person on the platform if this was the right track and was assured that it was. He pointed to the chart showing our train and where each of the cars would stop.

At 12:08 I was concerned that something was wrong. Platform guard assured me that this was the right track.

At 12:10 - same thing.

At 12:12 - same thing

At 12:14 - I caught an announcement, in German only, that the train to Copenhagen was leaving from another track - two platforms down.

Somehow we managed to jump onto a moving train.

I have never had the same belief in German efficiency since.

When we used the trains in Germany a couple of years ago, they were late every time. Though the "latest" was only about 15 minutes.

The German trains, I found, are generally, but not always on time. The Italians trains, I found, are generally never on time. Like the stop signs in Italy, train times seem to be merely suggestions.

We had a 9 minute "layover" in Milan one year between one train arriving and the next train departing. The next train wasn't even on the main board yet when we arrived, and I started to panic a bit. Needless to say, we had plenty of time to make the next train.

And yes, throughout Europe I've seen trains hold off departure because another train from a major city was late getting in. That happens at least once every trip we take.

If you should miss a connection, go to the station ticket window. It's not hard to be rerouted because of the extensive rail network. It happened to us a couple of times and we had no problems.

Then there was the time we missed our original train, but that's another story :-)

Going to Berne we had to transfer before the final destination with only like you 15 minutes or so. But the train was running slow so we actually had a few minutes in the end to make our connection. Trouble is we didn't know which platform to board the second train and had to try and ask as best we could. We ended up running and barely made our train. I really don't know what we'd do if we'd missed it-I guess we'd have to go find out if/when we could connect to another train.

Like Ira, I have had maddening experiences with German trains...their standard of service has definitely gone downhill. Example: two days before a trip to Milan from Aachen, I bought the ticket. In Aachen, I got to the track about 20 minutes ahead of time. Everything supposedly fine. Then two minutes before the train was to arrive, the sign flipped to say the train had been CANCELED. I ran down to the ticket booth (with a few other people) only to find out that particular ICE train had been canceled Four Days Earlier (!!!) and no notice was posted--and they kept selling tickets for the train even after it had been canceled. I had to be quickly rebooked on another train and had to pick up my sleeper train a few stops farther down the line. To add insult to injury, the surly ticket agent booked me into second class even though I had a first class seat and she assured me my rebooking was for first class.
We lived in Germany for several months last year and we also travel there frequently. For *every* train that I caught with a connection time of less than 6 minutes, the train was too late to make my connection. The ICE trains were the worst--the most punctual were the little S-bahn trains. Go figure.
In January, for example, we were on an ICE train from Baden-Baden to Koln (Cologne) to connect with a Thalys back to Brussels. The ICE train arrived 15 minutes late and the Thalys pulled out just as we got to the track. The also surly Koln ticket agent insisted we had to pay for new Thalys tickets. I went and pitched a fit at the customer service desk, where the very non-surly personnel assured me that I was indeed entitled to another Thalys ticket at no charge because missing the train was their fault, not mine.
From now on, I take the www.bahn.de route recommendations with a very large grain of salt. If I want a trip that involves a connection, I do check the first route www.bahn.de recommends, but if the connecting time for the suggested route is less than 15 minutes, I book the trip in separate segments to give myself at least 15 minutes (preferably longer) between trains.
These days, the only train schedules I truly trust are the Swiss. But Belgium is pretty good and, knock wood, I haven't had many problems with Italian or French trains.