I am reviewing the train schedule on raileurope.com for my upcoming trip and I have a question about transferring from one train to another. I am taking a train from beaune to dijon, then another from dijon to laucasse, and then laucasse to lucerne. If the train arrives in laucasse 7 minutes before the next one departs to lucerne, is that enough time to get off the train and walk over to it?

If I buy the tickets in advance and I miss that leg, can I just hop on the next one (leaves a whole another hour later)?

Thanks!

Hi fugazi,

I would advise you to avoid Raileurope. For one thing, they generally overcharge for point-point tickets, and for another thing, they don't give you all the information you need.

In this case, they aren't telling you which track your arrival train arrives at and which one your departing train departs from. That's the information you need to know how long you need for a transfer. If the tracks are right next to one another, you only need about five minutes, but if the tracks are far away, you would need 10-15 minutes.

You may want to look at each country's rail site to get all the information you need, as well as to look at the actual price of the rail travel (Raileurope is a re-seller, and of course will charge some money for its services). The French national site is

www.voyages-sncf.fr (but do NOT choose USA as your country or you'll be bumped to Raileurope -- choose Canada or England)

For Switzerland, use

www.rail.ch

Have fun while you plan!

s

Thanks for the insight swandav2000! I will check out those sites and research some more.

How long you need depends on several things:

How much luggage do you have?

Can you pick it up and trot with it to the next train?

Can you easily carry it down the steps of one train (being poised to do so before the train pulls in) and up the stairs of the other train (before it pulls out)?

If the above are not true I would not be happy with a 5 to 8 minute time to change - but would want more like 15 - esp if it is a larger station.

Ditto swandav2000.

I would buy my tickets in Beaune. See the German Rail site for schedules, route maps, rudimentary station plans, and classes of service. See http://tinyurl.com/c9jp54. It also indicates whether or not a seat reservation is required. IMO seat reservations are a waste of money. Just grab any open seat when you get on the train.

In any station outside of capital cities, 5 minutes is plenty to transfer from one train to another. There are not a whole hell of a lot of tracks, and the connections are purposely set up to be as short as possible.

It should also be mentioned that trains wait for another train if it is not too late, just like connecting flights do.

nytraveler, yeah we would have all our luggage with us. It's just me any my wife but they will be suitcases since this leg of the trip is part of our 12-night adventure. The next train out of Laucasse to Lucerne leaves an hour later so I suppose we can just find our platform and wait for the train.

spaarne, I checked the DB site and entered in my info. For reservation requirement, it just says "subject to compulsory reservation". What does that mean?

They do schedule transfers so that in small stations, it is pretty easy, they are usually on adjacent quais. Even in larger stations, they are usually planned that way, although it may take a little longer to look on the boards and see where the next train is departing from (if it's not right next to you).

As for using your ticket on any train, it totally depends on what type of ticket it is. Obviously, if you have some kind of reservation for a specific seat and train and that type of train always requires that, you cannot. Also, if it's a nonrefundable ticket of some type due to discounted fares, you cannot.

just saw your note -- what does that mean? I'm not clear on what part you don't understand, it means you must have a seat reservation. It is compulsory, which means you must have one, you cannot just hop on the train without a reservation.

Is a station with 9 platforms considered large?

We did this trip in June and had no problem. The train to Luzern leaves from platform 3 and the station is easy to navigate. Plus you must have a reservation for the TGV from Dijon to Lausanne (as far as I know you have to reserve all TGV trips). However you can't (and don't need to) reserve the IR InterRegio from Lausanne to Luzern.

Happy travels!

Correction - the train leaves from platform 1 in Lausanne and arrives at platform 3 in Luzern.

rcw, when you mentioned that you did this trip back in June, was it from Dijon to Lausanne? If so, what platform did you arrive on? Thanks for the help everyone!

Yes, we took the same TGV from Dijon to Lausanne having spent 10 days in Burgundy. Sorry but I can't recall which platform it arrived at just that if you're ready to get off the train as soon as it pulls in you won't have a problem getting the connection. Or you can take it a bit slower and catch the next train...

BTW I tried a few options on the SNCF site and found we could get 1st class tickets Paris-Lausanne which were only a bit more expensive than if we had bought 2nd class Dijon-Lausanne tickets. And they don't care that you get on the train at Dijon rather than Paris.

"<i>yeah we would have all our luggage with us. It's just me any my wife but they will be suitcases since this leg of the trip is part of our 12-night adventure</i>"

That sounds like you mean a LOT of luggage. 12 nights is not a long trip. You each shouldn't need more than one small 21 or 24 inch rollaboard (26 inch absolute maximum but that is getting big and <u>heavy</u and maybe a small pack/carryon. If you mean more than that-- you may have problems on the trains.

It isn't just the dashing through stations, there is the hefting the bags up into the trains, piling them in the end of the car or in the overhead racks, then wrestling them back off the train.

I love the best part of the Fodor Forums which is about being enthusiastic about travel and being generous enough to share tips and experiences.

It depresses me when uncalled for "advice" is given in such hectoring negative tones as janisj. Sigh... Give me maitaitom and his joie de vivre any day!!

Sorry if I don't live up to your expectations. But luggage IS an issue when riding the trains.

The OP did not make it clear if they will have a LOT of luggage or a manageable amount. If they have a LOT - then they may have a problem. If not -- not to worry.

When you're changing tracks, you'll probably have to go down a set of stairs from one track through a tunnel and up another set of stairs to the other track. So you have to be able to carry your bags down and up these stairs - relatively quickly. In addition to getting your bags up into and down out of the train and possibly up onto an overhead rack.

All this is why train travel is easier with lighter luggage.

<i>
rcw on Sep 25, 11 at 7:32pm
It depresses me when uncalled for "advice" is given in such hectoring negative tones as janisj.</i>

Hardly hectoring negative tones. The OP indicted that they have a lot of luggage. Traveling by train is not like traveling by car where you can fill the trunk and back seat with all the stuff that fits. On the train you are the burro. Pack light or suffer.