Europe To Revive International Night Train Links

BERLIN (AP) — Four European rail companies announced Tuesday they plan to boost the continent’s network of night train connections by reviving routes that were dropped several years ago for cost reasons. German rail company Deutsche Bahn and the main national train operators in France, Switzerland and Austria said the routes from Vienna to Paris, via Munich, and Zurich to Amsterdam, via Cologne, will be re-established starting next December. Further international connections from Vienna and Berlin to Brussels and Paris will be created in 2023, and a Zurich to Barcelona sleeper will begin rolling in 2024.

The move marks a change of direction for Deutsche Bahn, which successively shut down its night train service in recent years citing unsustainable costs and lack of demand due to cheaper and faster budget flights. That decision, which severed key European connections because of Germany’s central location in the continent’s rail network, was heavily criticized by fans of the sleeper service and by environmental groups who argue that train travel is more sustainable than flying. Austrian railways as well as operators in Scandinavia run what they say are profitable routes. “Night trains are the future of climate-friendly mobility in Europe,” said Leonore Gewessler, Austria’s transport minister.

Everything You Need To Know About The New Eurail Pass

Seeing Europe's famed countryside just got a lot easier.

Anyone who has spent time traversing Europe knows: The continent's countryside is the kind of charming that feels like it was plucked from a storybook. Since 1959, the Eurail Pass has treated travelers between Europe's biggest urban destinations to this scenic landscape via railway. But, in the last two decades, it’s faced some stiff competition from budget airlines like RyanAir and EasyJet—no sprawling vistas, but when you're spending half the time in transit at a comparable rate to Eurail, staring at the clouds becomes a lot easier. Then last month, Netherlands-based Eurail enhanced its famed pass, adding smart perks and new countries (bringing the total to 28) in a move that should have you considering traveling Europe's gorgeous terrain by train once again. Here's the why and how.

Wanna Explore Europe in a Week or Two? This Pass is For You.

Chances are, you don’t have much more than two weeks of vacation to go see Europe. Rather than stressing out about tickets while criss-crossing borders, just get the 5 in 10 Global Pass. It lets you travel to any five of the 28 different countries on the Eurail pass, in 10 days. So you could start in Munich to see the epic landscape that is Bavaria (and flights to Munich from the U.S. are generally cheaper), then hop over to Bordeaux to sip some of France’s best vino, head down for a day of R&R at one of Southern Spain’s famed beach towns, and finish up in Portugal—flights to the U.S from Lisbon are quick and on the less pricey side.

Greece—Easier than Ever!

If you’re finally planning that Greek getaway, check out the Attica Pass. Greek rail stations are few and far between, so the pass offers six ferry crossings, two international (between Italy and Greece), and four domestic, between Greek Islands like Santorini, Rhodes and Mykonos. You have one month to choose between any of the main Greek islands (there are over 6,000, so check that yours is serviced) for your four domestic trips. It even takes care of a rail or bus transfer from Patras, the international port, to Piraeus, the domestic port. The Greek Islands and Italian port cities are all known for sea kayaking, sailing, diving, cycling, and hiking, not to mention the lazy, whitewashed villages.

Explore a New Side of Europe

Four new off-the-beaten-path countries worth seeing have been added to the Eurail system: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Poland, and Serbia.

In Bosnia you’ll find the only remaining primeval forest in Europe, class IV rapids, waterfalls, and if you venture to Mount Trebevic, some great singletrack mountain biking. It is also home to part of a new megatrail—the Via Dinaric—that winds through the rugged Dinaric Alps. In Serbia, explore Djerdap National Park and marvel at Iron Gates gorge stretching into bordering Romania. Or hop on two wheels and pedal the Danube Bike Trail, a 2,857 km favorite for distance freaks. In Poland, head to the Tatra Mountains for hundreds of miles of hiking trails, beginning from the resort town Zakopane. More experienced mountaineers can even climb into neighboring Slovakia. Finally, find out if Montenegro deserves its nickname, “the pearl of the Mediterranean.” Cycle along the Bay of Kotor’s steep limestone cliffs and enjoy a stunning view of Our Lady of the Rocks Church in the only “fjord” in the Mediterranean. It’s a great spot for kayaking, too. Or take a guided trip to the Blue Grotto, where sunlight reflects off the white bottom and turns the water a neon blue.

The Kids Are Alright

Parents with young children don’t need anything to make traveling even more difficult. The Children Travel Passwill make it easier and cheaper to bring the munchkins. If your kids are between ages four and 11, they can come along for free, two per adult. Did your parents always make you travel in coach? Not anymore. The First Class Youth Pass makes the coveted cabin more affordable for travelers aged 15 to 25, at a 20 percent discount from the adult price. If you’re a parent, you can now upgrade your teenager for a little less. And for the under 25 set, they still offer a 35 percent discount on a number of passes. 

Contributed by Ben Yeager

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Best Sites For Booking European Rail Tickets

Trenitalia trains wait to depart in Milan's Central Station. (Vincenzo Lombardo/Getty)

Contributed By Sean O'Neill

European countries are constantly improving their intercity rail networks and high-speed trains have slashed travel times around the continent. Spain alone has built 3,000km of track for trains travelling at speeds up to 300km/h.

This spring, rail travel will become even more convenient as the Spanish and French rail networks integrate, allowing passengers in one country to travel by high-speed rail to a major city in the other. In mid-April, France’s state-owned rail company SNCF plans to start running high-speed servicebetween Paris and Barcelona, while Spain’s national train operatorRENFE has already debuted high-speed service between Barcelona and Madrid. Final details have yet to be announced, but it seems reasonable to predict a travel time between Paris and Madrid of nine hours; driving a similar route would take about 15.

Europe’s other recent high-speed rail revolutions include the April 2012 debut of Italo, a privately-run service that connects Milan, Rome and Naples, and the December 2011 launch of Westbahn, a privately-run train service between Vienna and Salzburg.

But despite the massive popularity of touring Europe by rail, major online travel agencies such as Expedia and Hotwire don’t sell European rail tickets. From a one-way trip to a complex multi-country journey, the broadest options and best-priced tickets can usually only be found on a few regional sites.

Look for single-country discounts

If you’re visiting a major European country and plan to see more than one city within it, you’ll save significantly by booking a single-country pass, which offers foreign travellers hop-on, hop-off use for a specified number of days and are sold by most national railway companies.

Railways often don’t require reservations trains in advance, so the passes allow flexibility for last minute planning. And the rail networks usually let you pay in your own currency, helping you avoid foreign exchange fees. They’ll also mail the tickets to major countries for free.

Say that you and another adult are planning to visit Germany in May, stopping in Cologne, Berlin, Munich, the famous Neuschwanstein Castle(near Füssen) and Frankfurt Airport. According to the offers page of Germany’s state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn, non-Europeans can purchase “twin” passes – tickets good for a pair of travellers – for a multi-city itinerary for $371, or about $185 a person. In comparison, a German using the site to book point-to-point tickets would pay 188 euro, or about $250 per adult – which would be about a third more than the pass offered to non-Europeans.

Europeans can instead take advantage of Germany’s national rail card, such as the BahnCard 25, which provides a 25% discount, justifying its 60 euro cost if you spend more than 200 euro a year on train trips. That said, it's rare for a nation to offer such a card.

Most of Europe’s national railways have similar English-language offer websites, including SNCF’s special deals page, RENFE’s Spain Pass page, Italian railway company Trenitalia’s offers page and the website of Britain’s Association of Train Operating Companies, BritRail, in combination with Network Rail Enquiries.

Save by booking direct
Heavily advertised third-party agencies, such as RailEurope.com,Railbookers and Raileasy, generally do not offer the best value for travellers. Especially for simple trips, such as a one-way ticket between cities, you’ll typically save by buying online directly from a railway company. But if you’re short of time and don’t have the patience for comparison-shopping, these third-party agencies are reliable and easy to understand.

To illustrate, let’s take a look at the same May itinerary for five German cities. If you were to price the trip through RailEurope, you would easily find the same Deutsche Bahn twin pass for only $466, or $233 a person — 25% more expensive than booking directly. On the other hand, if you hadn't known to check Deutsche Bahn’s separate “offers” page, the discount would not have appeared as a result. Deutsche Bahn’s main booking tool doesn’t automatically show non-residents the discounted rates they qualify for.

Best sites for timetables
For pricing tickets, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn’s website (and its free DB Navigator app for iPhone, Android and Blackberry devices) has the most comprehensive timetable database for nearly all of Europe. As a downside, the site only lets you book Deutsche Bahn trains and a handful of international trips that originate in Germany; the schedule information for other national lines is for planning purposes only. For help, see author Rick Steves’ tips on using the Deutsche Bahn site and the app.

Another good resource is The Man in Seat 61, the most comprehensive site for helping travelers plan rail journeys worldwide. The site is so named because its creator, Mark Smith, is a former manager in the rail industry who preferred seat 61 on his Eurostar trips because of its superior first class window view.

To pass, or not to pass?
Many foreign visitors still think of Eurail – a company that sells European rail passes to non-European residents at dramatically discounted rates – as a 1980s activity for young backpackers. But Eurail passes, which allow for nearly unlimited travel between specified countries within a set time period, have matured. Adult first-class options, for example, ensure that the other people in your train car will be similarly grown up. That said, Eurail still offers dramatic discounts on standard-class tickets for people under age 25.

InterRail is like Eurail for Europeans, and it works much the same way. InterRail passes come in two kinds: a global pass, which covers 30 countries for various lengths of time (the briefest being any five days of travel within a 10-day period), and single-country passes for each of 27 countries (with Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg counting as a single “country”). Reservations are only required for international and long-distance trains, though these can often be booked a few hours prior to departure.