Train Travel in Europe

Story and photography by
Nancy & Eric Anderson 

 

Train travel in Europe is easy to understand and simple to embrace. Most of the time the trains are spacious, comfortable, quiet, dependable. The staff is helpful and used to assisting foreigners; the locals sitting opposite you often speak English and want to make suggestions as to where you might want to go and what you might want to see. You sit and watch the countryside go past: hedgerows, vineyards, pastures, people on bicycles on country roads, white limestone homes with sky blue shutters, orange-tiled rooftops, cows, farm yards, tractors, mists rising in the sunrise from farmers’ fields, artistic graffiti, castles – stuff you never see if you’re driving a car.

The train concept in Europe runs something like this: the continent is small, countries lie close together, cities are compact, distances are short. The infrastructure was put in place a long time ago when costs were cheaper, the money has always been there for constant upgrades and advancing science has made the time for distances shorter than 500 miles competitive with air. In addition, the train service is popular with its citizens, it’s well-run and efficient, there is delight of ownership: national pride not Mussolini made the trains run on time.

That said, there are variations across the countries and some stereotypes hold. German trains run so crisply punctual that typical American travelers waiting absentmindedly on the platform may well miss their train. The Swiss trains have absolutely the best scenery: sparkling mountains, verdant valleys and manicured farmers’ fields. “Don’t we have the most beautiful cows?” a Swiss traveler once asked us. The Netherlands has the most amiable English-speaking conductors: “We are a country of only 16 million people and we have an ugly language,” a Dutch conductor once told us. “Why wouldn’t I know English? Who’s going to learn Dutch?”

And what we would say about the French depends on how Rail France has behaved recently. On the one hand France has softened its approach to Americans. It is nicer to its visitors. But the country has a culture of strike that goes all the way back to the French Revolution. And about twice a year it proves it. Says a French business woman wearing a severely tailored suit and carrying a slim attaché case. She’s standing on the platform of the TGV station in Avignon where those trains traveling at 180 mph take only three hours to get to the Charles de Gaule airport railway station She’s fuming because, like us, she’s just learned her train to Paris has been canceled. Rail France has a later train with a very tight connection for our flight but it won’t be a pleasant one; our reservations were null and void and the canceled train not only had been full but an additional 54 children and six adults en route to Disney Paris had arrived at the last moment. “Their damned right to strike in France was a right,” the business woman says, “recognized and guaranteed by the constitution in 1946 – to any employee who stops work to show disagreement with working conditions. When la greve happens it is undisciplined and nobody really knows what is happening.”

Says, Samina Sabir, Public Relations Manager Rail Europe, “Yes, strikes occasionally happen and when they do it’s not always possible to get accurate information in the country where the strike is happening. And this can be enormously inconvenient. However, we encourage Americans to protect themselves by paying a nominal sum for protection if their rail pass is lost or stolen and to make seat reservations before they leave the United States. We ask them to retain any tickets or reservations they bought from Rail Europe so we can get a refund from the country of origin in the event a rail service was not available.”

Strikes occur once or twice a year but usually don’t affect a complete route, for instance, 3-5 train services may be reduced to 2. When trains are cut bus services between railway stations are usually provided.

Golden Rules

You must buy your Rail Europe pass before you leave the United States. You should read the instructions carefully especially about entering the date of travel on the pass before you board the train.

The rail-pass does not give you a seat reservation but not all trains require that. On one of our days of French rail travel we found our Nîmes to Avignon trip required reservations for the 17 minute journey. The cost was 25 Euros for two people; it adds up. Be flexible.

Travel light! This is terribly important. There may not be porters or elevators. If your hotel is close to the station consider a “dry run” without bags to see what that particular station may have in the way of services. Find out where the departure board that shows train information is situated, where the platforms are, and where the elevators might be. Get to the station 20 minutes early at which time platform numbers are usually posted.

Look at your ticket to see which coach you will be in so you will be standing in the right place when the train arrives. We were once with a guide who failed to do so and had to struggle with heavy luggage the entire length of the train to get to the correct coach – and the aisle was narrow and blocked with other luggage. Another reason for traveling light!

And the pleasure of travel, the joy of the journey? Just another reason to travel by train.