To Europe by Train – Rail Travel: Prices, Benefits, Travel Tickets

Europe by Train:

Wondering how to get to Europe by train? The rhythm of human life is becoming faster every year: just some half a century ago, air travel was a rarity and was considered a real luxury available only to a select few. Nowadays, the situation has changed radically and rail travel is often used only on the scale of one or several neighboring countries.

The benefits of rail travel

Indeed, at first glance, it seems that, due to the time spent, long journeys by rail are meaningless. But this is far from the case, traveling by train has a number of advantages:

• This is a great alternative for people who are afraid to fly;
  Modern international trains have a high level of comfort and first-class service;
• The ticket price is lower than that of air carriers;
• The opportunity to change the environment, admire the scenery, get acquainted with the living conditions of local residents.
• In short, with the right organization and good company, train travel can turn into a real adventure.

Issuance of international train tickets

As a rule, there are no problems with buying domestic tickets from residents of our country, but if you are going to Europe by train , you will have to be especially vigilant.

I remember when I bought such a ticket for the first time, I almost had an apoplectic stroke – so many details and nuances need to be taken into account. Therefore, I will give several recommendations for their purchase, following which will save you from trouble when boarding the car.

Validity of the travel document: the ticket is valid for travel on the date specified in it.

Processing time: no earlier than 60 days before the day of the train departure.

Method of registration: in automated reservation systems, manual registration is excluded.

Form: registration is carried out on one form (ticket + reserved seat) indicating the cost of travel.

Currency: the ticket price is set in Euro, payment is made in the currency of the country of purchase.

Tariffs: set for children, adults, special, group, and other tariffs. Thus, there is a gradation of fares for passengers depending on age, number of travelers, and so on.

Refund: in case of cancellation of the trip, the cost of the ticket is returned to the passenger in full if applied no later than 6 hours before the train departure time.

To Europe by train – customs control

When carrying out rail travel, you should not forget about customs control. If you are traveling to Europe by train from Moscow, then you need to apply for a Schengen visa. Depending on the route of the train, passengers go through border guards’ control once on a particular section of the route. Further along the route, customs officers occasionally check documents and carry out identification of passengers.

How to travel cheaply by train in Europe

InterRail Pass is a single ticket that is bought by a passenger once and is valid for travel on the railways of European countries for a certain period of time.

Thus, the InterRail One Country Pass is valid only within one country, in contrast to the InterRail GlobalPass, which can be used to travel throughout Europe.

I was very surprised to learn about such a profitable “option” as the InterRail Pass and I was waiting for a catch, but I still haven’t.

This is indeed a winning option, but it is only advisable to use it if you plan to make a large number of trips across the territory of different countries. So, before you issue such a ticket, you need to carefully calculate the budget.

As for the cost of the InterRail One Country Pass, it depends on the country of destination, the cheapest tickets are in Serbia and Macedonia (42 Euros), and the most expensive ones are in France (154 Euros). Expensive rates for UK and Germany

InterRail Rass includes the following kit :

• The ticket itself, which is attached to the sheet. This list contains time, date, departure and arrival stations, train number. Each passenger must fill out this sheet independently, and this must be done before the train departs.
• The InterRail Traveler’s Guide, which sets out the instructions for using the ticket;
  A map of Europe showing the routes and conditions of use for each.
  Certain points and restrictions when using the pass:

Rail Tours

A separate niche in travel is occupied by rail tours, or, as they are also called “train cruises.” This is a very interesting and unusual way to travel, both in Europe and in Russia. Train cruises have all the advantages of bus tours, that is, passengers can enjoy the breathtaking views outside the windows of the carriage of the most interesting countries. At the same time, travel by train is much more comfortable than by bus.

As for the cost, the price for such tours is lower than the tickets of any airline.

The variety of railway routes and their history is amazing. For example, the legendary Orient Express route first traveled in 1883 between Paris and Constantinople. At one time, his services were used by Elizabeth II, Franz Joseph. And the famous Agatha Christie liked the trip on the Orient Express so much that she described the train in one of her novels.

If you are interested in this train – and the opposite is hard to believe! – you can visit the express website. No less famous route ” Vostok ” departs from Moscow and travels all the way to Beijing, the travel time is 6 days.

Similar railway travels within the country are of great interest: the retro-trains “Circum-Baikal Express” and “Baikal Cruise” carry out tours along the picturesque direction – the Circum-Baikal Railway.

And here is a list of the most popular “train cruises” that run between Europe and Russia, and within our country:

Passenger train “Orient Express”;
Trans-Siberian Express “Golden Eagle”;
Royal Scots train;
Train “Circum-Baikal Express”;
Fast train “Vostok”: Moscow – Beijing;
Train Palma de Mallorca – Soller;
Train “Moscow – Berlin – Paris”;
Train “Moscow – Nice”;
Danube Express train;
Signature train “Red Arrow”;
Allegro high-speed train;
Signature train “Lev Tolstoy”.

Diverse and exciting train tours are offered here. From my fairly rich experience, I can say that the service and maintenance on such trains are impeccable. And the trip, along with unforgettable impressions, can also provide a true enjoyment of the carefree rest in such an extraordinary way.

So do not rush to discount rail travel, in addition to benefits, they can bring you a lot of pleasure and unforgettable impressions.