EUrail pass
Feb 25th 2006, 10:13 am
#46
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Re: EUrail pass
"Hatunen" <[email protected]> skrev i meddelandet
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 25 Feb 2006 11:06:45 -0600, erilar
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>In article <[email protected]>, "tim \(in Sweden\)"
>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>> But as (I think) you have posted previously, the lack of indication
>>> on the seats that are reserved now makes this option a big risk.
>>Yes, it is a big fat nuisance having to get up and try to find another
>>place to sit every time the train stops and someone WITH a seat
>>reservation gets on and ousts you.
> Or the converse. When we got aboard the Nord Express at Brussels
> Midi we found the train full, including standees. The train
> originated at Ostend and served as a local train across Belgium.
> When we got to the compartment with our reserved seats we found
> our seats already occupied. They refused to bduge, and I had to
> find the conductor to oust them.
> By the time we got to Liege the train was almost deserted.
No doubt such rudeness do happens but it's rare. To my experience most
people do respect the reservations and personally , although I've travelled
much by rail, I've never been in that situation.
However if that situation occurs I think there's reason to be ,let's say
"somewhat impolite" until the intruder surrenders. Anyway now and the
I've seen and been involved in discussions about the reservation but near
always it's a matter of mistakes. Someone is in the wrong coach,wrong train
or travelling on wrong day (!!) such thing all happens.
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 25 Feb 2006 11:06:45 -0600, erilar
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>In article <[email protected]>, "tim \(in Sweden\)"
>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>> But as (I think) you have posted previously, the lack of indication
>>> on the seats that are reserved now makes this option a big risk.
>>Yes, it is a big fat nuisance having to get up and try to find another
>>place to sit every time the train stops and someone WITH a seat
>>reservation gets on and ousts you.
> Or the converse. When we got aboard the Nord Express at Brussels
> Midi we found the train full, including standees. The train
> originated at Ostend and served as a local train across Belgium.
> When we got to the compartment with our reserved seats we found
> our seats already occupied. They refused to bduge, and I had to
> find the conductor to oust them.
> By the time we got to Liege the train was almost deserted.
No doubt such rudeness do happens but it's rare. To my experience most
people do respect the reservations and personally , although I've travelled
much by rail, I've never been in that situation.
However if that situation occurs I think there's reason to be ,let's say
"somewhat impolite" until the intruder surrenders. Anyway now and the
I've seen and been involved in discussions about the reservation but near
always it's a matter of mistakes. Someone is in the wrong coach,wrong train
or travelling on wrong day (!!) such thing all happens.
Feb 25th 2006, 7:21 pm
#47
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Re: EUrail pass
"Lennart Petersen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Hatunen" <[email protected]> skrev i meddelandet
> news:[email protected]...
>> On Sat, 25 Feb 2006 11:06:45 -0600, erilar
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>In article <[email protected]>, "tim \(in Sweden\)"
>>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> But as (I think) you have posted previously, the lack of indication
>>>> on the seats that are reserved now makes this option a big risk.
>>>Yes, it is a big fat nuisance having to get up and try to find another
>>>place to sit every time the train stops and someone WITH a seat
>>>reservation gets on and ousts you.
>> Or the converse. When we got aboard the Nord Express at Brussels
>> Midi we found the train full, including standees. The train
>> originated at Ostend and served as a local train across Belgium.
>> When we got to the compartment with our reserved seats we found
>> our seats already occupied. They refused to bduge, and I had to
>> find the conductor to oust them.
>> By the time we got to Liege the train was almost deserted.
> No doubt such rudeness do happens but it's rare. To my experience most
> people do respect the reservations
I think this depends upon whether the reservations are
'marked'.
When I was "moved on" on a Swedish train I was very annoyed.
How was I supposed to know that the seat was reserved?
I was one of the first to get on the train and could have picked
any one of 200 seats, yet whether I pick a reserved one is
(apparently) pure luck
So when I was asked to move again on the same train I
refused.
Sorry, but if SJ want to use this system they should use the
German system of only allocating a reasonable percentage
of seats with 'hidden' reservations, leaving the rest of us to
be able to chose an unreserved seat in the certainty that
it is actually unreserved.
And to go OT, this practice has lost SJ my custom on long
distance routes. I wonder how many other people have made
the same decision. (Though this point is now moot if I don't
get a new job by the end of next month!)
tim
news:[email protected]...
> "Hatunen" <[email protected]> skrev i meddelandet
> news:[email protected]...
>> On Sat, 25 Feb 2006 11:06:45 -0600, erilar
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>In article <[email protected]>, "tim \(in Sweden\)"
>>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> But as (I think) you have posted previously, the lack of indication
>>>> on the seats that are reserved now makes this option a big risk.
>>>Yes, it is a big fat nuisance having to get up and try to find another
>>>place to sit every time the train stops and someone WITH a seat
>>>reservation gets on and ousts you.
>> Or the converse. When we got aboard the Nord Express at Brussels
>> Midi we found the train full, including standees. The train
>> originated at Ostend and served as a local train across Belgium.
>> When we got to the compartment with our reserved seats we found
>> our seats already occupied. They refused to bduge, and I had to
>> find the conductor to oust them.
>> By the time we got to Liege the train was almost deserted.
> No doubt such rudeness do happens but it's rare. To my experience most
> people do respect the reservations
I think this depends upon whether the reservations are
'marked'.
When I was "moved on" on a Swedish train I was very annoyed.
How was I supposed to know that the seat was reserved?
I was one of the first to get on the train and could have picked
any one of 200 seats, yet whether I pick a reserved one is
(apparently) pure luck
So when I was asked to move again on the same train I
refused.
Sorry, but if SJ want to use this system they should use the
German system of only allocating a reasonable percentage
of seats with 'hidden' reservations, leaving the rest of us to
be able to chose an unreserved seat in the certainty that
it is actually unreserved.
And to go OT, this practice has lost SJ my custom on long
distance routes. I wonder how many other people have made
the same decision. (Though this point is now moot if I don't
get a new job by the end of next month!)
tim
Feb 25th 2006, 10:06 pm
#48
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: EUrail pass
On Sat, 25 Feb 2006 14:35:56 -0500, Dave Smith
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Lennart Petersen wrote:
>> It's annoying, true but the advantage is that you can make a reservation
>> until the last minute.
>If you can make a reservation at the last minute, wouldn't that mean that there
>are seats available and, therefore, no need to reserve.
However, it's a pain in the neck to get all settled and find out you
have to change your seat because someone reserved it.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Lennart Petersen wrote:
>> It's annoying, true but the advantage is that you can make a reservation
>> until the last minute.
>If you can make a reservation at the last minute, wouldn't that mean that there
>are seats available and, therefore, no need to reserve.
However, it's a pain in the neck to get all settled and find out you
have to change your seat because someone reserved it.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup
Feb 25th 2006, 10:06 pm
#49
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: EUrail pass
On Sat, 25 Feb 2006 15:36:11 -0500, Dave Smith
<[email protected]> wrote:
[about Eurail pass]
>That was in 1993. It was about $1500 Cdn. for the 15 day pass for the three of
>us. It was a buddy pass, so we had to all travel together, which we were doing
>anyway. And it was for 15 days of unlimited travel, as opposed to the option to
>have a specified number of days of travel within period of time.
>It certainly seemed reasonably compared to rail costs here in Canada. We made
>several lengthy day trips from our headquarters in Germany, and would have had
>another three days to travel around had we not been hijacked by relatives.
That's what usually fools north Americans. Rail costs in the US and
Canada are very high, and the Eurail pass looks so much cheaper that
they don't think to find out if the actual train fares might be even
cheaper.
Maybe your pass paid off, I can't say. Rail fares are pretty high in
Germany. Also in Switzerland, but a lot of the Swiss lines aren't
covered by Eurail.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup
<[email protected]> wrote:
[about Eurail pass]
>That was in 1993. It was about $1500 Cdn. for the 15 day pass for the three of
>us. It was a buddy pass, so we had to all travel together, which we were doing
>anyway. And it was for 15 days of unlimited travel, as opposed to the option to
>have a specified number of days of travel within period of time.
>It certainly seemed reasonably compared to rail costs here in Canada. We made
>several lengthy day trips from our headquarters in Germany, and would have had
>another three days to travel around had we not been hijacked by relatives.
That's what usually fools north Americans. Rail costs in the US and
Canada are very high, and the Eurail pass looks so much cheaper that
they don't think to find out if the actual train fares might be even
cheaper.
Maybe your pass paid off, I can't say. Rail fares are pretty high in
Germany. Also in Switzerland, but a lot of the Swiss lines aren't
covered by Eurail.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup
Feb 25th 2006, 10:06 pm
#50
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: EUrail pass
On Sat, 25 Feb 2006 21:44:04 +0100, "tim \(in Sweden\)"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>"Dave Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Lennart Petersen wrote:
>>> It's annoying, true but the advantage is that you can make a reservation
>>> until the last minute.
>> If you can make a reservation at the last minute, wouldn't that mean that
>> there
>> are seats available and, therefore, no need to reserve.
>Only if:
>a) you know that you are getting on before all the
>other people without recervations.
>b) In countries with the annoying policy of not
>marking reserved seats, you are a lucky guesser.
In countries where reservations are possible at the last minute, the
only way to mark the reserved seats is by some sort of electronic
signal above the seats, which some trains are beginning to install.
In Italy they usually (always?) put all the reserved seats together in
a block, so that they can tell you that cars 3, 4,and 5 are all
reserved and cars 7and 8 are unreserved, and car 6 is mixed. However,
you usually have to ask someone, as the information may not be clearly
displayed.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup
<[email protected]> wrote:
>"Dave Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Lennart Petersen wrote:
>>> It's annoying, true but the advantage is that you can make a reservation
>>> until the last minute.
>> If you can make a reservation at the last minute, wouldn't that mean that
>> there
>> are seats available and, therefore, no need to reserve.
>Only if:
>a) you know that you are getting on before all the
>other people without recervations.
>b) In countries with the annoying policy of not
>marking reserved seats, you are a lucky guesser.
In countries where reservations are possible at the last minute, the
only way to mark the reserved seats is by some sort of electronic
signal above the seats, which some trains are beginning to install.
In Italy they usually (always?) put all the reserved seats together in
a block, so that they can tell you that cars 3, 4,and 5 are all
reserved and cars 7and 8 are unreserved, and car 6 is mixed. However,
you usually have to ask someone, as the information may not be clearly
displayed.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup
Feb 25th 2006, 10:42 pm
#51
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: EUrail pass
B Vaughan <[email protected]> wrote:
[]
> That's what usually fools north Americans. Rail costs in the US and
> Canada are very high, and the Eurail pass looks so much cheaper that
> they don't think to find out if the actual train fares might be even
> cheaper.
>
> Maybe your pass paid off, I can't say. Rail fares are pretty high in
> Germany. Also in Switzerland, but a lot of the Swiss lines aren't
> covered by Eurail.
Also, even in the UK where a lot of rail travel _is_ expensive, it is
usually cheaper just to buy the tickets you need in the UK, and
certainly cheaper to buy them in advance. With Britrail passes, these
may seem like OK value compared to some of the walk-up fares, but with
planning, you'll nearly always do better just buying the tickets you
need in the UK. For example, if you _must_ travel from London to
Manchester in the peak morning hours, you'll have to pay around �100 for
a single, but almost half that if you buy the ticket at a station
anytime up to the night before. Surely most people can plan accordingly
for something like that?
I was interested to see that the US Britrail site adds $10 for
reservations, when if you buy most tickets in advance online, you get a
free reservation anyway. That seems like a real rip off, in addition to
the 25-40% markup on individual tickets. Does the trainline (or various
UK train operators) allow people from outside the UK to book tickets?
It's very convenient in the UK certainly. Even for local journeys, I
often just order them online- one less thing to worry about when I get
to the station. Also, it's not the case that you have to book that far
in advance, especially for weekday travel. I've just booked travel for
the next couple of weeks, including Manchester to Bristol, Wolverhampton
and London, and I couldn't be flexible, yet managed to get the cheapest
advance fares in each case.
--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer http://soundjunction.org
[]
> That's what usually fools north Americans. Rail costs in the US and
> Canada are very high, and the Eurail pass looks so much cheaper that
> they don't think to find out if the actual train fares might be even
> cheaper.
>
> Maybe your pass paid off, I can't say. Rail fares are pretty high in
> Germany. Also in Switzerland, but a lot of the Swiss lines aren't
> covered by Eurail.
Also, even in the UK where a lot of rail travel _is_ expensive, it is
usually cheaper just to buy the tickets you need in the UK, and
certainly cheaper to buy them in advance. With Britrail passes, these
may seem like OK value compared to some of the walk-up fares, but with
planning, you'll nearly always do better just buying the tickets you
need in the UK. For example, if you _must_ travel from London to
Manchester in the peak morning hours, you'll have to pay around �100 for
a single, but almost half that if you buy the ticket at a station
anytime up to the night before. Surely most people can plan accordingly
for something like that?
I was interested to see that the US Britrail site adds $10 for
reservations, when if you buy most tickets in advance online, you get a
free reservation anyway. That seems like a real rip off, in addition to
the 25-40% markup on individual tickets. Does the trainline (or various
UK train operators) allow people from outside the UK to book tickets?
It's very convenient in the UK certainly. Even for local journeys, I
often just order them online- one less thing to worry about when I get
to the station. Also, it's not the case that you have to book that far
in advance, especially for weekday travel. I've just booked travel for
the next couple of weeks, including Manchester to Bristol, Wolverhampton
and London, and I couldn't be flexible, yet managed to get the cheapest
advance fares in each case.
--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer http://soundjunction.org
Feb 26th 2006, 12:03 am
#52
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: EUrail pass
"B Vaughan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 25 Feb 2006 21:44:04 +0100, "tim \(in Sweden\)"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>"Dave Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected]...
>>> Lennart Petersen wrote:
>>>> It's annoying, true but the advantage is that you can make a
>>>> reservation
>>>> until the last minute.
>>> If you can make a reservation at the last minute, wouldn't that mean
>>> that
>>> there
>>> are seats available and, therefore, no need to reserve.
>>Only if:
>>a) you know that you are getting on before all the
>>other people without recervations.
>>b) In countries with the annoying policy of not
>>marking reserved seats, you are a lucky guesser.
> In countries where reservations are possible at the last minute, the
> only way to mark the reserved seats is by some sort of electronic
> signal above the seats, which some trains are beginning to install.
They have these in Sweden (they are the same trains that run
in Denmark). SJ refuse to pay the cost of using them, so none
of the reserved seats are marked, but they work when in
Denmark.
In Germany they have a *very* small number of seats marked
as "may be reserved" (for last minute reservations), in Sweden
every seat is so marked.
> In Italy they usually (always?) put all the reserved seats together in
> a block, so that they can tell you that cars 3, 4,and 5 are all
> reserved and cars 7and 8 are unreserved, and car 6 is mixed. However,
> you usually have to ask someone, as the information may not be clearly
> displayed.
I think that you have no way of knowing in Sweden.
tim
> --
> Barbara Vaughan
> My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot
> it
> I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 25 Feb 2006 21:44:04 +0100, "tim \(in Sweden\)"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>"Dave Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected]...
>>> Lennart Petersen wrote:
>>>> It's annoying, true but the advantage is that you can make a
>>>> reservation
>>>> until the last minute.
>>> If you can make a reservation at the last minute, wouldn't that mean
>>> that
>>> there
>>> are seats available and, therefore, no need to reserve.
>>Only if:
>>a) you know that you are getting on before all the
>>other people without recervations.
>>b) In countries with the annoying policy of not
>>marking reserved seats, you are a lucky guesser.
> In countries where reservations are possible at the last minute, the
> only way to mark the reserved seats is by some sort of electronic
> signal above the seats, which some trains are beginning to install.
They have these in Sweden (they are the same trains that run
in Denmark). SJ refuse to pay the cost of using them, so none
of the reserved seats are marked, but they work when in
Denmark.
In Germany they have a *very* small number of seats marked
as "may be reserved" (for last minute reservations), in Sweden
every seat is so marked.
> In Italy they usually (always?) put all the reserved seats together in
> a block, so that they can tell you that cars 3, 4,and 5 are all
> reserved and cars 7and 8 are unreserved, and car 6 is mixed. However,
> you usually have to ask someone, as the information may not be clearly
> displayed.
I think that you have no way of knowing in Sweden.
tim
> --
> Barbara Vaughan
> My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot
> it
> I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup
Feb 26th 2006, 12:08 am
#53
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: EUrail pass
"David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
prestwich tesco 24h offy" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:1hbd6et.1avgcmypxtfldN%this_address_is_for_sp [email protected]...
>B Vaughan <[email protected]> wrote:
> []
>> That's what usually fools north Americans. Rail costs in the US and
>> Canada are very high, and the Eurail pass looks so much cheaper that
>> they don't think to find out if the actual train fares might be even
>> cheaper.
>> Maybe your pass paid off, I can't say. Rail fares are pretty high in
>> Germany. Also in Switzerland, but a lot of the Swiss lines aren't
>> covered by Eurail.
> Also, even in the UK where a lot of rail travel _is_ expensive, it is
> usually cheaper just to buy the tickets you need in the UK, and
> certainly cheaper to buy them in advance. With Britrail passes, these
> may seem like OK value compared to some of the walk-up fares, but with
> planning, you'll nearly always do better just buying the tickets you
> need in the UK. For example, if you _must_ travel from London to
> Manchester in the peak morning hours, you'll have to pay around �100 for
> a single, but almost half that if you buy the ticket at a station
> anytime up to the night before. Surely most people can plan accordingly
> for something like that?
I though that the cheap fairs on peak trains were yield managed
and that it is very uncommon for any to still be available less than
14 days ahead (even if they are theoretically available)?
tim
prestwich tesco 24h offy" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:1hbd6et.1avgcmypxtfldN%this_address_is_for_sp [email protected]...
>B Vaughan <[email protected]> wrote:
> []
>> That's what usually fools north Americans. Rail costs in the US and
>> Canada are very high, and the Eurail pass looks so much cheaper that
>> they don't think to find out if the actual train fares might be even
>> cheaper.
>> Maybe your pass paid off, I can't say. Rail fares are pretty high in
>> Germany. Also in Switzerland, but a lot of the Swiss lines aren't
>> covered by Eurail.
> Also, even in the UK where a lot of rail travel _is_ expensive, it is
> usually cheaper just to buy the tickets you need in the UK, and
> certainly cheaper to buy them in advance. With Britrail passes, these
> may seem like OK value compared to some of the walk-up fares, but with
> planning, you'll nearly always do better just buying the tickets you
> need in the UK. For example, if you _must_ travel from London to
> Manchester in the peak morning hours, you'll have to pay around �100 for
> a single, but almost half that if you buy the ticket at a station
> anytime up to the night before. Surely most people can plan accordingly
> for something like that?
I though that the cheap fairs on peak trains were yield managed
and that it is very uncommon for any to still be available less than
14 days ahead (even if they are theoretically available)?
tim
Feb 26th 2006, 12:17 am
#54
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: EUrail pass
"David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
prestwich tesco 24h offy" wrote:
>
> Does the trainline (or various
> UK train operators) allow people from outside the UK to book tickets?
>
Yes. You simply arrange to pick up the tickets at the station, making sure
you have your transaction number and the card you used to pay. I've only
once had a small problem with that (at Glasgow Queen Street) when my
tickets couldn't be found, but I had all the booking information with me,
and had them re-issued within a few minutes.
prestwich tesco 24h offy" wrote:
>
> Does the trainline (or various
> UK train operators) allow people from outside the UK to book tickets?
>
Yes. You simply arrange to pick up the tickets at the station, making sure
you have your transaction number and the card you used to pay. I've only
once had a small problem with that (at Glasgow Queen Street) when my
tickets couldn't be found, but I had all the booking information with me,
and had them re-issued within a few minutes.
Feb 26th 2006, 12:48 am
#55
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: EUrail pass
tim (in Sweden) <[email protected]> wrote:
> "David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
> prestwich tesco 24h offy" <[email protected]> wrote in
> message news:1hbd6et.1avgcmypxtfldN%this_address_is_for_sp [email protected]...
> >B Vaughan <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > []
> >> That's what usually fools north Americans. Rail costs in the US and
> >> Canada are very high, and the Eurail pass looks so much cheaper that
> >> they don't think to find out if the actual train fares might be even
> >> cheaper.
> >>
> >> Maybe your pass paid off, I can't say. Rail fares are pretty high in
> >> Germany. Also in Switzerland, but a lot of the Swiss lines aren't
> >> covered by Eurail.
> >
> > Also, even in the UK where a lot of rail travel _is_ expensive, it is
> > usually cheaper just to buy the tickets you need in the UK, and
> > certainly cheaper to buy them in advance. With Britrail passes, these
> > may seem like OK value compared to some of the walk-up fares, but with
> > planning, you'll nearly always do better just buying the tickets you
> > need in the UK. For example, if you _must_ travel from London to
> > Manchester in the peak morning hours, you'll have to pay around �100 for
> > a single, but almost half that if you buy the ticket at a station
> > anytime up to the night before. Surely most people can plan accordingly
> > for something like that?
>
> I though that the cheap fairs on peak trains were yield managed
> and that it is very uncommon for any to still be available less than
> 14 days ahead (even if they are theoretically available)?
I've never once had a problem getting, for example, the Virgin advance
ticket the day before. I just checked for tomorrow, and the tickets are
available for every peak train in both directions between London and
Manchester. Without this 'concession' the peak trains would be even
emptier than they already are, because Virgin's pricing is unrealistic.
(The commuters with season tickets pay significantly less though.) It's
theoretically possible that they may not be available (as they are
advertised 'subject to availability') but that's certainly not the
practise. With other train operators, the availability may be less
secure for 'day before' purchases, but a) their price differences aren't
as extreme as Virgin and b) they have a wider range of tickets
available- for example, tomorrow, why bother paying standard open at �60
from London to Sheffield when you can go first class for half that?!
Maybe you mean something else than peak- perhaps just 'busy'? For
example, Sunday is off-peak, but the trains are always busy then as they
are less frequent. As a result, it's more of a challenge to find the
cheapest fares, though you can still get the 'cheaper' standard fares.
--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer http://soundjunction.org
> "David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
> prestwich tesco 24h offy" <[email protected]> wrote in
> message news:1hbd6et.1avgcmypxtfldN%this_address_is_for_sp [email protected]...
> >B Vaughan <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > []
> >> That's what usually fools north Americans. Rail costs in the US and
> >> Canada are very high, and the Eurail pass looks so much cheaper that
> >> they don't think to find out if the actual train fares might be even
> >> cheaper.
> >>
> >> Maybe your pass paid off, I can't say. Rail fares are pretty high in
> >> Germany. Also in Switzerland, but a lot of the Swiss lines aren't
> >> covered by Eurail.
> >
> > Also, even in the UK where a lot of rail travel _is_ expensive, it is
> > usually cheaper just to buy the tickets you need in the UK, and
> > certainly cheaper to buy them in advance. With Britrail passes, these
> > may seem like OK value compared to some of the walk-up fares, but with
> > planning, you'll nearly always do better just buying the tickets you
> > need in the UK. For example, if you _must_ travel from London to
> > Manchester in the peak morning hours, you'll have to pay around �100 for
> > a single, but almost half that if you buy the ticket at a station
> > anytime up to the night before. Surely most people can plan accordingly
> > for something like that?
>
> I though that the cheap fairs on peak trains were yield managed
> and that it is very uncommon for any to still be available less than
> 14 days ahead (even if they are theoretically available)?
I've never once had a problem getting, for example, the Virgin advance
ticket the day before. I just checked for tomorrow, and the tickets are
available for every peak train in both directions between London and
Manchester. Without this 'concession' the peak trains would be even
emptier than they already are, because Virgin's pricing is unrealistic.
(The commuters with season tickets pay significantly less though.) It's
theoretically possible that they may not be available (as they are
advertised 'subject to availability') but that's certainly not the
practise. With other train operators, the availability may be less
secure for 'day before' purchases, but a) their price differences aren't
as extreme as Virgin and b) they have a wider range of tickets
available- for example, tomorrow, why bother paying standard open at �60
from London to Sheffield when you can go first class for half that?!
Maybe you mean something else than peak- perhaps just 'busy'? For
example, Sunday is off-peak, but the trains are always busy then as they
are less frequent. As a result, it's more of a challenge to find the
cheapest fares, though you can still get the 'cheaper' standard fares.
--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer http://soundjunction.org
Feb 26th 2006, 12:48 am
#56
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: EUrail pass
S Viemeister <[email protected]> wrote:
> "David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
> prestwich tesco 24h offy" wrote:
> >
> > Does the trainline (or various
> > UK train operators) allow people from outside the UK to book tickets?
> >
> Yes. You simply arrange to pick up the tickets at the station, making sure
> you have your transaction number and the card you used to pay. I've only
> once had a small problem with that (at Glasgow Queen Street) when my
> tickets couldn't be found, but I had all the booking information with me,
> and had them re-issued within a few minutes.
That happened to me once too. As a result, I missed my booked train, but
they reissued a ticket for the next one.
--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer http://soundjunction.org
> "David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
> prestwich tesco 24h offy" wrote:
> >
> > Does the trainline (or various
> > UK train operators) allow people from outside the UK to book tickets?
> >
> Yes. You simply arrange to pick up the tickets at the station, making sure
> you have your transaction number and the card you used to pay. I've only
> once had a small problem with that (at Glasgow Queen Street) when my
> tickets couldn't be found, but I had all the booking information with me,
> and had them re-issued within a few minutes.
That happened to me once too. As a result, I missed my booked train, but
they reissued a ticket for the next one.
--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer http://soundjunction.org
Feb 26th 2006, 12:56 am
#57
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: EUrail pass
"David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
prestwich tesco 24h offy" wrote:
>
> S Viemeister <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > "David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
> > prestwich tesco 24h offy" wrote:
> > >
> > > Does the trainline (or various
> > > UK train operators) allow people from outside the UK to book tickets?
> > >
> > Yes. You simply arrange to pick up the tickets at the station, making sure
> > you have your transaction number and the card you used to pay. I've only
> > once had a small problem with that (at Glasgow Queen Street) when my
> > tickets couldn't be found, but I had all the booking information with me,
> > and had them re-issued within a few minutes.
>
> That happened to me once too. As a result, I missed my booked train, but
> they reissued a ticket for the next one.
I hope that didn't mess up the rest of your connections.
Luckily (and unusually), my flight had arrived quite early, so I had no
trouble catching my train!
prestwich tesco 24h offy" wrote:
>
> S Viemeister <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > "David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
> > prestwich tesco 24h offy" wrote:
> > >
> > > Does the trainline (or various
> > > UK train operators) allow people from outside the UK to book tickets?
> > >
> > Yes. You simply arrange to pick up the tickets at the station, making sure
> > you have your transaction number and the card you used to pay. I've only
> > once had a small problem with that (at Glasgow Queen Street) when my
> > tickets couldn't be found, but I had all the booking information with me,
> > and had them re-issued within a few minutes.
>
> That happened to me once too. As a result, I missed my booked train, but
> they reissued a ticket for the next one.
I hope that didn't mess up the rest of your connections.
Luckily (and unusually), my flight had arrived quite early, so I had no
trouble catching my train!
Feb 26th 2006, 2:05 am
#58
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: EUrail pass
S Viemeister <[email protected]> wrote:
> "David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
> prestwich tesco 24h offy" wrote:
> >
> > S Viemeister <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > > "David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
> > > prestwich tesco 24h offy" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Does the trainline (or various
> > > > UK train operators) allow people from outside the UK to book tickets?
> > > >
> > > Yes. You simply arrange to pick up the tickets at the station, making
> > > sure you have your transaction number and the card you used to pay.
> > > I've only once had a small problem with that (at Glasgow Queen Street)
> > > when my tickets couldn't be found, but I had all the booking
> > > information with me, and had them re-issued within a few minutes.
> >
> > That happened to me once too. As a result, I missed my booked train, but
> > they reissued a ticket for the next one.
> >
> I hope that didn't mess up the rest of your connections.
It was a direct ticket from London to Edinburgh, but in the case of an
advance purchase ticket which includes connections, the train operator
responsible for the delay reissues tickets for the rest of the journey-
though you have to see them about it- i.e. you can't just hop on the
next train and try and 'explain what happened.'
--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer http://soundjunction.org
> "David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
> prestwich tesco 24h offy" wrote:
> >
> > S Viemeister <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > > "David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
> > > prestwich tesco 24h offy" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Does the trainline (or various
> > > > UK train operators) allow people from outside the UK to book tickets?
> > > >
> > > Yes. You simply arrange to pick up the tickets at the station, making
> > > sure you have your transaction number and the card you used to pay.
> > > I've only once had a small problem with that (at Glasgow Queen Street)
> > > when my tickets couldn't be found, but I had all the booking
> > > information with me, and had them re-issued within a few minutes.
> >
> > That happened to me once too. As a result, I missed my booked train, but
> > they reissued a ticket for the next one.
> >
> I hope that didn't mess up the rest of your connections.
It was a direct ticket from London to Edinburgh, but in the case of an
advance purchase ticket which includes connections, the train operator
responsible for the delay reissues tickets for the rest of the journey-
though you have to see them about it- i.e. you can't just hop on the
next train and try and 'explain what happened.'
--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer http://soundjunction.org
Feb 26th 2006, 2:08 am
#59
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: EUrail pass
"tim \(in Sweden\)" <[email protected]> wrote:
>They have these in Sweden (they are the same trains that run
>in Denmark). SJ refuse to pay the cost of using them, so none
>of the reserved seats are marked, but they work when in
>Denmark.
The display on the Danish IC trains also shows from where to where
the seats are reserved, which is quite usefull.
--
Kristian
>They have these in Sweden (they are the same trains that run
>in Denmark). SJ refuse to pay the cost of using them, so none
>of the reserved seats are marked, but they work when in
>Denmark.
The display on the Danish IC trains also shows from where to where
the seats are reserved, which is quite usefull.
--
Kristian
Feb 26th 2006, 2:49 am
#60
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: EUrail pass
"David Horne, _the_ chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
prestwich tesco 24h offy" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:1hbdccw.1kcih6zf0dozkN%this_address_is_for_sp [email protected]...
> I've never once had a problem getting, for example, the Virgin advance
> ticket the day before. I just checked for tomorrow, and the tickets are
> available for every peak train in both directions between London and
> Manchester. Without this 'concession' the peak trains would be even
> emptier than they already are, because Virgin's pricing is unrealistic.
> (The commuters with season tickets pay significantly less though.) It's
> theoretically possible that they may not be available (as they are
> advertised 'subject to availability') but that's certainly not the
> practise. With other train operators, the availability may be less
> secure for 'day before' purchases, but a) their price differences aren't
> as extreme as Virgin and b) they have a wider range of tickets
> available- for example, tomorrow, why bother paying standard open at �60
> from London to Sheffield when you can go first class for half that?!
OK, if that's how it is for you.
But it was never like this when I had to travel in the UK,
if you didn't reserve your 'apex' ticket severeal weeks in
advance you either paid full fare or waited until whatever
time it is that a saver is valid.
I note that you have previous discussed these 'empty'
trains elsewhere in the past. Perhaps you are right and
that there is something wrong with the system. M-F peak
trains on WCML were never close to empty when I had to
use them
> Maybe you mean something else than peak- perhaps just 'busy'? For
> example, Sunday is off-peak, but the trains are always busy then as they
> are less frequent. As a result, it's more of a challenge to find the
> cheapest fares, though you can still get the 'cheaper' standard fares.
On a sunday you can always use a saver.
tim
prestwich tesco 24h offy" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:1hbdccw.1kcih6zf0dozkN%this_address_is_for_sp [email protected]...
> I've never once had a problem getting, for example, the Virgin advance
> ticket the day before. I just checked for tomorrow, and the tickets are
> available for every peak train in both directions between London and
> Manchester. Without this 'concession' the peak trains would be even
> emptier than they already are, because Virgin's pricing is unrealistic.
> (The commuters with season tickets pay significantly less though.) It's
> theoretically possible that they may not be available (as they are
> advertised 'subject to availability') but that's certainly not the
> practise. With other train operators, the availability may be less
> secure for 'day before' purchases, but a) their price differences aren't
> as extreme as Virgin and b) they have a wider range of tickets
> available- for example, tomorrow, why bother paying standard open at �60
> from London to Sheffield when you can go first class for half that?!
OK, if that's how it is for you.
But it was never like this when I had to travel in the UK,
if you didn't reserve your 'apex' ticket severeal weeks in
advance you either paid full fare or waited until whatever
time it is that a saver is valid.
I note that you have previous discussed these 'empty'
trains elsewhere in the past. Perhaps you are right and
that there is something wrong with the system. M-F peak
trains on WCML were never close to empty when I had to
use them
> Maybe you mean something else than peak- perhaps just 'busy'? For
> example, Sunday is off-peak, but the trains are always busy then as they
> are less frequent. As a result, it's more of a challenge to find the
> cheapest fares, though you can still get the 'cheaper' standard fares.
On a sunday you can always use a saver.
tim
