Rail News
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| Europe is continually speeding up service with its newest generation of trains. |
Updated February 3, 2010
Get More with Your Railpass
Riding the rails through Europe can be less stressful than driving a rental car. It's also environmentally friendlier — and just plain friendly, offering a relaxed way to connect with traveling Europeans. Our online Guide to Eurail Passes will help you sort through the dozens of confusing railpass choices out there, to help you tailor the pass that best fits your travel plans.
Railpasses cost pretty much the same everywhere — what counts are the free extras you get. When you order railpasses from Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, we'll toss in Rick's free 90-minute European Travel Skills DVD, a free Europe Planning Map, a free Eurail schedule and map, personal email answers to your three top travel questions, and a whopping 20% discount on guidebooks, DVDs, travel bags and accessories in our online Travel Store.
Latest News Briefs
What's happening in Europe? Check Rick Steves' European Headlines for Travelers every weekday for links to news of special interest to travelers.
2010 Eurail Rule Changes
- 7 p.m. Rule Specifics: A direct overnight train uses up only one flexipass travel day (not two) if you board after 7 p.m. and do not change trains before 4:00 a.m. In that case, you just write the next day's date on your flexipass. You'll identify an overnight train in schedules both by the timing and generally by notation that it has sleepers and couchettes available. If your route requires connecting trains, you use fewer travel days by starting with an overnight train and making connections on the day of arrival, but not before 4:00 a.m.. If you're starting in a small town where the night train doesn't stop, you'll use a different day of your flexipass (or buy a separate ticket) to connect to the night train departure city (for instance, Füssen-Munich $30). The 4:00 a.m. restriction does not apply to non-Eurail-managed passes (e.g., France, Germany, BritRail, Triangle, Balkan, or European East passes).
- Eurail Survey Mandatory: It is now mandatory to fill in the Eurail travel survey (on the extended portion of the Eurail cover) as you go, in addition to filling in your travel dates for a flexipass (on the pass itself). This rule does not apply to non-Eurail-managed passes (e.g., France, Germany, Swiss, BritRail, Triangle, Balkan, or European East passes), all of which come in a different type of pass cover.
- Northern Ireland Coverage: Northern Ireland railways are now covered by any pass that includes Ireland, regardless of when the pass was issued.
2010 Railpass Features
These new railpasses or variations are for sale starting in January:
- New Pass: The Central Europe Triangle pass covers a circular Vienna-Budapest-Prague or Vienna-Salzburg-Prague itinerary completed within one month. This 3-day pass is a good value for the route it covers, cheaper than tickets or the 5-day European East pass.
- Germany: A new, shorter pass is available for 3 days of travel within one month.
- BritRail: No changes to pass durations, contrary to earlier word on this page.
Rail Service Changes from December 13, 2009
These night trains are discontinued for both directions of travel:
- Strasbourg–Vienna (Paris-Vienna overnight routing includes a change of trains at Munich.)
- Amsterdam-Vienna (Amsterdam-Vienna overnight routing includes a change of trains at Cologne.)
- Amsterdam-Milan (Several connecting routes are possible in the absence of a direct train.)
- Geneva/Zurich-Rome (This leaves no Switzerland-Italy night train. Meanwhile, daytime trains pick up a little more speed.)
These daytime trains are discontinued, though daytime connections and direct overnight trains still run:
- Vienna-Venice daytime trains now always require a connection, often including a bus on the leg between Villach and Venice (Venezia Piazzale Roma); bus is covered by passes.
- Munich-Venice daytime trains now always require a connection at Verona (or choose the route via Villach with bus connection).
- Krakow-Prague daytime service now always require one or more connections.
These trains to Italy have changed:
- Switzerland-Italy Cisalpino fast trains are discontinued and international service is re-classified as EuroCity.
- Paris-Italy Artesia Day Trains run only two direct daytime services (to Torino or Milan) through the mid-June schedule change. More daytime connecting service is also available and direct overnight trains still run to/from Milan, Verona, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Rome, and a few other stops.
- Nice-Milan daytime trains now always require a connection at the border at Ventimiglia, and sometimes at Breil, Genova, or another stop.
These routes are faster:
- Amsterdam-Paris high-speed Thalys trains has reduced travel time down to three hours and 18 minutes on direct runs. Amsterdam-Brussels travel time drops to under two hours, but we still prefer the cheaper, unreserved trains for that route.
- Milan-Rome travel time has dropped by 30 minutes, down to three hours, with new high-speed track on the Bologna-Florence segment, as well as Novara-Milan and into Naples.
- Munich-Vienna-Budapest fast service via Railjet has increased to five departures per day (but in the reverse direction, one of the five ends at Salzburg instead of Munich).
- Spanish train schedules will continue to change, as they did through 2008-9, as that country introduces more high-speed service and considers removal of some overnight trains. Several domestic night trains to/from Barcelona will not run on Saturday nights, except during Easter and summer high seasons.
- Warsaw-Krakow day trains make the trip about a half-hour faster.
- St. Petersburg-Moscow high speed service now takes under four hours.
Dover-Calais Ferry Service Reduced
SeaFrance will take passengers with vehicles only and stop accepting foot passengers between Calais and Dover at the end of September 2009, so Eurail passholder discounts will no longer apply.
"Easy Access" TGV Reservations for France Pass Holders
Two rates apply on TGV or other French domestic trains that need reservations, as indicated on timetables. Any pass that covers France qualifies you to reserve a seat for €3-5 or $11-15, but seats at this price can sell out quickly, especially in second class. Once those are gone, travelers with a France Pass (not a pass for two or more countries) can choose the Easy Access seat reservation for $18-36, simply paying more to get on a busy train. International trains have different price ranges.
Italy Schedule and Rule Updates
From June 14, 2009, railpass holders can board InterCity trains in Italy without a reservation or extra fee (as is common in most countries), even though point-to-point ticket buyers on the same trains will buy tickets for specific dates and times. Check train schedules online, since some departure schedules and train categories changed in June. The IC Plus category name is no longer in use. For the fastest trains (Eurostar Italia, Eurostar Alta Velocita, and Eurostar City) passholder seat reservation prices have dropped to €10 in Italy, or $15 in the USA.
Scandinavian Ferries Restrict Youth Travelers
Ferries serving Stockholm, Helsinki, and Tallinn have age restrictions:
Swiss Scenic Excursions
Some of Switzerland's scenic railways have reduced service in winter, including:
- Glacier Express official service closes for maintenance between October 19 and December 13, 2009. Other regional trains continue to serve the route during that period.
- Golden Pass, and Bernina Express train service run a regular winter schedule. The Tirano-Lugano bus portion of the Bernina route does not run after October 18 and restarts in May.
- Wilhelm Tell boat and rail excursion ends for the winter on Octboer 19 restarts in May.
- Chocolate Train finishes for the winter at the end of October and restarts in June.
Wi-Fi Access for Rail Travelers
Wireless Internet access has a toehold in Europe's fast trains and train stations. Services are already available onboard Belgium's Thalys and Sweden's X-2000 departures and are promised for the future on France's TGV trains. Wi-Fi can be found in Eurostar departure stations on both sides of the Chunnel, plus 48 stations (and counting) in France and 31 stations in Switzerland. There is generally a small fee for use, with some exceptions. In stations, buy vouchers at France's "Relay" service points, or Eurostar ticket offices and Travel Centers.
Luggage Tags Mandatory on French trains
For security, all luggage must carry a luggage tag with the traveler's first and last name and current address. This applies to small hand luggage as well bags placed on storage racks above the seats or near the doorways of train cars. Free tags are available at all train stations in France. Luggage tags are also required on Thalys and Eurostar international trains.
