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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Either direction.I take all this into account to tell you the cheapest & easiest way to book each specific journey, whether you live in the UK, USA, Australia, wherever.European train travel FAQHow to use the French railways site www.sncf-connect.comHow to use the Italian railways website, trenitalia.com How to use the Spanish railways website, renfe.comHow to buy a special add-on ticket from almost any station in Britain to London International (St Pancras)Tips for buying train ticketsDo you need to book in advance? Can you just buy at the station?If you can get your head around the following 3 different concepts of train ticketing, you'll understand why you're sometimes told to book in advance, sometimes to buy at the station.(1) Local, regional, suburban trains = turn-up-and-go ticketingTickets for local, regional & suburban trains can be bought at the station. The price is fixed so there's no advantage in pre-buying. Reservation is usually not even possible, these trains can't sell out. Just buy a ticket at the station, hop on the next train and sit where you like. Think New York Subway! Buying online or on your phone saves a few minutes at the ticket office.Domestic trains within the Netherlands, Belgium & Luxembourg work like this, reservation isn't even possible. You turn up, buy a fixed-price ticket at the station & catch the next train.(2) Inter-city trains in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden = airline-style ticketingAt the other extreme, inter-city trains in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal & Sweden work like airlines, as do high-speed trains to/from France such asLondon-Paris Eurostars, Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam Eurostars, Paris-Germany trains,Paris-Switzerland TGVs,Paris-Milan TGVs & Paris-Barcelona TGVs.Fares are dynamic like air fares, cheap in advance, expensive bought on the day or for busy dates. For example, Paris to Amsterdam starts at €35 booked months in advance (no refunds, no changes to travel plans), but costs €140+ for a flexible ticket bought on the day. Expensive fares usually allow changes & refunds, cheaper fares usually mean no refunds, no changes.Every ticket comes with a reserved seat, just like flights. So trains can sell out, although in practice they seldom do except at
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