Beautiful views from the window under the sound of wheels, famous cup holders, interesting interlocutors - the romance of trains is familiar to many. Today we’ll talk about how to ride trains properly, how to save money and spend time comfortably.
Read also:
So, 15 tricks and life hacks when traveling by train in Russia!
1. Save on buying train tickets
RZD has a dynamic pricing rule, which means that the sooner you buy a ticket, the cheaper it will be. For international trains (and some Russian) tickets begin to be sold in 60 days, and for domestic - in 45 days. The discount can reach 50% - thus, for example, you can buy a ticket in a compartment at the price of a reserved seat. There are also promotions and special fares for some trains that are constantly changing. Read more about discounts and special rates.
2. Seasonal tariff changes
Depending on the season, train tickets can cost differently - in summer, of course, more expensive, but on May 8 and 9 with a 50% discount. There are also seasons with 10% and 15% discount. .
3. Group discounts on Russian Railways
There are also discounts when buying tickets for 10 people or more - from 10 to 40% depending on the number of people and distance. This rule is valid, unfortunately, not on all dates, but only on certain dates, you will not pass this way in the summer).
Romance of the railways :)
More about discounts:
: instructions on how to register for the program and get a ticket for free
4. Car seats
Remember that even places are the top shelves, and odd places are the bottom, respectively. Try not to take compartment 3 and 6, as opening the window will not work (for old trains without air conditioning). Places from 37 to 54 are the side walls, and 37 and 38 are the same side walls at the toilet :-) When you buy on the website, you yourself choose a place, and when buying at the cashier, ask the cashier to sell what you need.
5. Children's ticket for free
If the child does not occupy a separate seat and is less than 5 years old, then you can issue a free ticket “without a seat” for him. Children's tariff applies to children from 5 to 10 years old, and ranges from 35 to 50% of an adult.
6. Return of tickets
Everyone knows that the return of RZD tickets is possible:
- no later than 8 hours before the train departure - the full fare is returned
- from 2 to 8 hours before departure - the ticket price and 50% of the reserved seat cost are returned
- less than 2 hours before departure - only the cost of the ticket is returned. The cost of a reserved seat is not refundable.
But few know that it is possible to return money for an unused Russian Railways ticket after the train leaves - within 12 hours (only the ticket price is returned). As an option, you can issue a new ticket by paying the cost of a reserved seat.
By the way, no refund fees are charged.
If there was a delay or cancellation of the train departure through no fault of your own, then you must return the money regardless of the time of return.
Train ride in Russia
7. Last boarding the train
According to the instructions, you should be put in any car if less than 5 minutes are left before the train leaves. True, this rule only works if there is a regular ticket from the ticket office or from the terminal. It is better not to be late with printing an electronic ticket on a regular A4 sheet, because the conductor checks the lists, and only the conductor of your carriage has such lists.
8. Free toilet at the station
Not everyone knows that you have the right to use the toilet at the departure station for free by presenting a train ticket. Officially, you can go in no more than 2 hours, but no one really looks, the main thing is that the date coincides.
9. Baggage on Russian Railways trains
Baggage is limited in weight (not more than 36 kg) and size (not more than 180 cm in the sum of three dimensions). You can also bring skis, packaged bicycles, and strollers with you.
10. Bedding
You have the right to refuse bedding, especially if you travel a short distance during the day, you won’t need it. But if you did not take the linen, then using blankets and a mattress is prohibited. Although we were once carefully covered by blankets by a compassionate guide when we slept on bare shelves on the way to Kiev.
According to the new rules, you are not obliged to take linen at the end of the trip - this is the duty of the guide, as well as making a bed for passengers with children, the elderly, and pregnant women. I always give up - it’s not difficult for me :-)
11. What can I ask for free from the guide?
A glass in the cup holder (this symbol and the permanent attribute of the romance of trains) and a spoon are required to be given to you free of charge, for this it is not necessary to buy tea, as if the conductor had not convinced otherwise.
Also, the conductor has some medications, board games - they should also be provided for you for free. Although ... now everyone is driving with gadgets.
A separate quest is charging phones in the car. According to the rules, the conductor must charge for free (in fact it does not always work out), and for charging in the outlet at the toilet, he has no right to demand money.
You learned how vast our homeland was in childhood, at a geography lesson. And then it struck you to drive it all on the train for 6 days. The beginning is good, the journey will be informative. But here is the situation in the train you are sitting in, of course, Spartan: no bathtub or even a seedy shower, strange food at obviously overpriced prices in a restaurant car, dangerous neighbors and many other little things. Now we will tell you how to get through this with minimal loss.
Don't stink
From the moment you stepped in the car door, you will have to forget about the usual water procedures. To keep your human appearance, put dry shampoo in your bag. This contraption is extremely simple: you spray it onto your hair from an arm's length, wait a couple of minutes until the absorbent (than dry shampoo is) sucks particles of dirt, grease and dust from your hair, and comb it thoroughly. Your head will not become as clean as after an ordinary shampoo, but this is a worthy compromise for the duration of the trip. And do not use it every day, it will not benefit the scalp. The second point is wet wipes to wipe away particularly odorous places on your body. Collect those that say "for intimate hygiene", they will dry your skin less than others.
Do not get lost
Always carry your ticket, passport, compulsory health insurance policy and cash. Firstly, they steal on trains. Secondly, in any emergency this particular set will help you cope with the situation. For example, you gape on the platform somewhere in Ulan-Ude and the train left without you. Go straight to the station duty officer, present your passport and ticket. If the train left earlier than it should (this happens if the train does not fit into the schedule), you must be transferred to the next one. And if you missed the departure yourself - well, at least they will return part of the cost of the ticket to you. And the sooner you report a situation, the closer you go to get your luggage: things will be left to the personnel of the nearest station.
Where are we going?
If you are planning to ride this train, it will not hurt to find out something about him. Here are some facts to show off in front of a pretty fellow traveler:
1. The branded train "Russia" No. 2/1 (that’s the name of the train running from Moscow to Vladivostok and back) went on its first flight on September 30, 1966.
2. The train passes 9259 km, and it is the longest railway route on the planet. Travel time is 6 days plus or minus an hour.
3. The composition passes through 14 regions, 90 cities and 8 time zones.
4. On the way, the train passes 65 stops. The shortest - only 1 minute, for example Bogotol and Achinsk. The longest - for half an hour (you can go out to stretch your legs, say, in Khabarovsk and Belogorsk).
5. In addition to the branded "Russia", the route also runs an unnamed nameless fast train at number 100E. Tickets for it are cheaper, which affects the quality of the finish and, probably, the courtesy of the conductors. And he goes 19 hours longer and makes as many as 126 stops.
Do not stick anywhere
The frequency in the outlet that you will find in your compartment (if you are not traveling on a reserved seat, of course) is 200 Hz, it is designed for electric shavers. Put your phone or laptop into it - and don’t complain about the fact that they have broken. For portable equipment in each car, a common outlet is installed - next to it you need to stand shamefully and guard your device if it is charging.
Stock up on food
In order for the food you took with you to remain edible for a long time without a refrigerator, you must observe two conditions: a minimum of contact with air and moisture. It is clear that the product itself should not be perishable, so forget about the cottage cheese. But with another important source of protein - meat, everything is already better.
Option one - bake, for example, pork with spices. Here is the recipe from the cook and host of cooking programs on NTV Konstantin Zhuk:
1. Take a pork tenderloin (700 grams), rinse with cold water and cut off all the visible fat from it;
2. Make holes in the tenderloin and cram 10 cloves of garlic into them (if the prongs are large, cut them along and cram anyway);
3. Sprinkle the meat with olive oil, thickly add salt and pepper (take a tablespoon of both, these are natural preservatives; you can add any aromatic herbs to your taste), then tightly wrap in foil;
4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, bake for 1.5-2 hours. Done! Such a dish will last two days even in warmth.
The second option is to dry the meat to the state of chips. This, of course, is not a full dinner, as is the case with baked tenderloin, but such food does not spoil for a week, or even longer:
1. Cut a piece of pork or beef into 600 grams into strips - as thin as you can (you can chop off the pieces so that they become even thinner);
2. Knead the marinade: 5 tbsp. l sugar, 4 crushed cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp. l Uksu-sa, 5 tbsp. l soy sauce and 1 tbsp. l ground coriander. Put the meat in the marinade and send it to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or better - for 8;
3. Put baking paper on a baking sheet, lay the pieces of meat on top and bake in the oven at 100 degrees for about 45 minutes, so that all moisture leaves the chips.
Limited to these two recipes is not necessary. You can fry or bake any meat or poultry, the main thing is that there is a minimum of moisture in the product (and do not forget to generously salt and pepper, but so that the dish is still edible). Pack food tightly in foil or a food container and do not use cling film - without a refrigerator, bacteria will multiply very quickly in it.
What is when baked pork ends? You can help canned beans: beans, chickpeas, beans themselves, etc. Look for ready-to-eat and eat right out of the can. Legumes are full of slow carbohydrates - your body will digest them for half a day, and you will not get hungry anymore. Ignore the stew, and it’s better to take several cans of baby puree from fish and meat with you. The taste, of course, is disgusting, but it is the most dietary food, without preservatives and flavor enhancers.
If you are in trouble
1. A police outfit rides on the train throughout the route. So if you have missed your things - go to them. It’s not that they were any different from all the other police officers that you saw earlier, but at least these guys have the right to walk on cars and compartments and check passengers - if any of them are wearing the same jacket that is for you James Hetfield personally signed.
2. Report the health condition to the conductor - he will take action. You will be taken to the first station, where an ambulance will be handed over, at which you will go to the nearest hospital. Seeing your passport and the MHI policy (you carry them with you, how did you agree?), People in white coats will be obliged to save you. The good news: as you come to your senses, they will transfer you for free to the next train, next to Vladivostok. But for this, it will be necessary to demonstrate to the cashier at the station not only your ticket and passport, but also the certificate from the hospital that you really had them.
Since the title is about fuel for trains, and this term, according to the explanatory dictionary of Vladimir Dahl, originally included horse-drawn carts and following each other, in particular at the wedding ceremony, representing a single “wedding train”. The meaning of the last word comes from the Russian word trip. In this case, oats served as fuel for the horses.
With the development of new technology, the same V. Dahl appeared and new definitions of the word "train". Now, under this definition, all the cars that were linked together and already represented a single train led by a steam locomotive fell. Efron and Brockhaus, who were: the first Russian, and the second of German descent, publishers, went further. They stipulated one more condition for the word “train” - this is the quantitative and qualitative composition of the traction units in such a composition. So all the same cars appeared, interlocked with each other, which the locomotive put in the head of such a “caravan” had to drive.
When horse-drawn transport lost its significance as a long-distance transport and remained only as a transport unit in the city, people began to apply the meaning of the word "train" only to the railway.
In the future, the meaning of the word was repeatedly changed and supplemented with new technical terms, including the definition of identification and light signals, listing technical means, stipulating conditions that could fall under this value.
Subsequently, exceptions appeared that could not be considered and called a “train”, starting with road transport.
The advent of the locomotive era came to us in the nineteenth century and reigned supreme on the world's railways until the mid-twentieth century, until the first diesel locomotives and then electric locomotives appeared on a massive scale.
Based on the name of the first steam locomotive machines on the railway, steam provided their engine, and fuel was needed for its production, and it was famous coal. A little later, in areas where oil was being extracted, heavy fuel oil was used for locomotive locomotives. But still, on the scale of our Russia, on the territory of European countries and on the American continent, only coal was originally used as the fuel for the engine. In the dashing year of the revolutionary days, as well as during the Civil War, wood or peat was burned in locomotive furnaces, sometimes dried fish was used as an absolutely exotic fuel. On a locomotive locomotive, a tender served as the storage of coal fuel. In such a car, water supplies were also stored. On locomotives that did not have such a tender, all their coal fuel and water were stored on the engine itself. For this reason, this modification of the locomotive was called the “locomotive tank”.
Solid fuel burned in the boiler furnace. To ensure its combustion, a grate was used. Waste as slag and ash was collected in the so-called ash pan, after passing through a sieve of a special grate.
With the help of a large number of flame tubes and smoke tubes, heat was exchanged and water was heated in the boiler, forming the same steam that was sent directly to the steam engine, which ensured the movement of the locomotive, activating the crank mechanism, which eventually transformed into rotational movement of the locomotive wheels.
It should be noted that the engineers who created the steam miracle went a very complicated way, inventing their car. Initially, they relied more on their intuition than on specific calculations.
Technique, which was improved, could serve people for a long time. In this case, the engineers were on the right track, being in a constant creative and technical search, including new types of fuel. For these purposes, enthusiasts suggested learning how to properly burn coal dust, which could significantly increase the useful fuel coefficient of the charcoal used. At the same time, the furnace volumes could not increase. But all these suggestions were only theoretical calculations, without solid practical ground under them. As a result, coal dust did not serve as fuel, since the inventors did not achieve operational reliability of pulverized coal units of locomotive locomotives. It was not possible to fully curb the process of burning coal mass, including coal dust, at high temperatures. Therefore, this kind of fuel was abandoned.
After that, the era of the search and creation of additional equipment to increase the efficiency of the used coal fuel began. So the first Duplexes stockers appeared, which provided a two-way supply of solid fuel to the furnace vent. In the Soviet Socialist Republic, a similar one was found on the locomotive modifications "IS" and "FD".
The American inventors offered the engines to the so-called mechanical devices: “pushers”, which successfully loosened the frozen coal directly in the tender. As a result, the already loosened fuel by means of a conveyor was supplied directly to the stocker.
In the twentieth century, transport units appeared in the form of diesel locomotives, on which diesel fuel was already used for power plants. It could be directly a diesel engine or a gas turbine was installed. True, the train train of cars continued to be heated for a long time with coal.
Then came the first electric locomotives, which were originally consumed as fuel
DC electrical energy. Subsequently, gradually began to switch to the use of already alternating current. This kind of transport units has established itself as an environmentally friendly transport. Emission of harmful substances has been significantly reduced.
Preparation of the train begins directly with the inspection and immediately after its arrival from the previous flight. Inspectors for external and internal equipment determine which cars can go on the road and which need to be uncoupled. The composition is disbanded and staffed again. A service team is allocated to its service. Some trains have about a day or a little more to go to the next “rest” train, others should be ready in five hours.
Preparatory work at the depot
Technical inspection (TO-2) is carried out by the brigade of the electric shop, the repair of the chassis and internal equipment, and the workshop for the repair of restaurant cars.
The equipment team works according to a predefined schedule. Everything necessary for restoration is in stock. Train managers and guides constantly exchange documentation with the inventory storekeeper. Information on the remaining unused sets of bed linen, tablecloths and other train supplies is entered into the database. Thus, the new needs of the car and the train as a whole are formed.
Before departure, the train is filled with water. The conductor carefully checks, in addition to its availability and serviceability of the crane, also the fuel level, contents of the first-aid kit, serviceability of handrails, locks, entrance and transition areas, the presence of seals on stop cranes and emergency exit drive handles, the presence and serviceability of fire and other internal equipment.
Checking the operation of the brake system and chassis is carried out, which, together with an assistant, monitors the work of technical specialists. All deficiencies found are eliminated at their first request.
Each composition is assigned a commission, which ultimately checks the readiness for shipment. It consists of representatives of the depot, the sanitary-epidemiological service, the apparatus of auditors for traffic safety.
Before the movement starts, all employees involved in its provision must undergo training.
Departure of the flight
The dispatcher, having taken the readings of the control devices on the central office, making sure that the switch sections are free (when changing the route - driving), sets the departure route, and then carries out the actual transfer of the arrows and the opening of the output traffic light.
With a permissive signal, the driver and assistant perform the “Minute of Ready" regulation. It takes place in the form of a dialogue, during which the assistant reports on:
- The presence of travel documents and a warning form;
- Turning on safety devices and radio stations;
- Release the hand brake;
- Existence of certificates on brakes and a tail car;
- Indications of a locomotive traffic light;
- Pressure in the brake and pressure lines;
- Indications of the output (route) traffic light;
- The established speed following the route;
- About the end of the parking time and the absence of stop signals on the way.
In fact, job descriptions for preparing for a flight include a huge number of different operations, and those that are named are just a fraction of the huge work that Russian Railways employees are doing so that passengers arrive at their destination on time and without problems.
Transport, methods of its use, are very similar to our Russian realities, but only more convenient and understandable. Each country has one or even several carrier companies, for example, DB (Deutsche Bahn in Germany,? Bb in Austria, etc.). Each company has a website with timetables and tickets and, most likely, there are automatic terminals where you can buy tickets that are at stations. In small settlements, there may be no cashier with a person, so you will have to buy a ticket yourself in the machine.
In general terms, we can say that the trains are local (local transport) and international express trains ICE, IC (Inter City Express) from Deutsche Bahn or similar, but other transport companies.
ICEIC more comfortable, drive fast, make stops in large towns, trains have bistro cars and restaurants. Tickets can be bought online: as a rule, they are not cheap, but there may be discounts when buying in advance.
Train in Norway:
Train to Czech Republic in the local direction:
For trains (especially IC and ICE), there are wagon layouts on platforms
Sometimes there is such a thing with trains: the main part of the way the train travels in one direction, but at one station part of the cars disconnects and travels in the other direction. That is, the train is divided into two parts: part travels in one direction, part travels in the other. We once hit such a chip when driving to Bavaria. The train is divided into 2 parts quietly and quickly. It can help to see the movement pattern of cars and the movement pattern of the train itself. True, such trains are not frequent, mostly ordinary trains.
It looks like a dividing train on the scheme
See the movement diagram in the train itself
Alternatively, if you need several trips every day, it’s easier to buy ticketInterrailPass for the required number of days and not think about the price of a ticket for ICE, IC (when traveling to France, I had to additionally buy a reservation for a train, but basically there are no surcharges on the Interrail Pass, and you can travel almost all over Europe, including ferries) .
There may be special tickets for local trains. Actively distributed in Germany: this is the so-called land tickets, for example, North Rhine-Westphalia Ticket and others. In Germany, such a ticket is valid all day and applies to all local types of public transport (trains, trains, subways, buses, trams and, possibly, individual ferries, lifts, etc.). Traveling with such tickets in Germany is convenient and profitable, especially if a group of several people is traveling.
Local trains make more stops and are not as comfortable as international express trains, although they are quite acceptable and much better than domestic trains.
As a rule, there are elevators at train stations and subways, so if you have a lot of things, do not rush to carry them up and down - feel free to go to the elevator and use it (as in Russia elevators are not locked and do not need to to call somewhere so that a person comes and opens the elevator). Perhaps there are escalators or travelators for baggage upstairs (a moving belt next to the stairs on which you put the baggage, and it rises along the belt).
Are there toilets on European trains?
All trains (which I saw) are equipped with a toilet, which, as a rule, has water, paper, soap, and paper towels.
At the stations, toilets are often paid, cost about 0.5 euros. You can pay in cash or by card at the entrance to the automatic turnstile. As far as I remember, the machine gives change and you can pay, for example, as 0.1 + 0.2 + 0.2 euros.
If you want to save money, wait for your train and use the toilet for free.
Hint. Often the toilet at a large station gives a check, which can be presented in a cafe at the stations as a voucher to set off these 0.5 euros for payment of the purchase. So, for example, if you buy for 5 euros minus 0.5 euros for a toilet, you need to pay 4.5 euros for food. Detailed information about this offer is located directly in the toilet itself - on the door. Perhaps somewhere there is some kind of stand or booklet on where the discount is valid.
How to ride a train with a child?
Separate trains have special areas for children, where children can freely play, crawl, run and not interfere with other passengers.
How to ride a train with a dog? Or, conversely, without animals?
As a rule, in trains you can transport pets near you. When buying a ticket in Norway, one could additionally indicate whether a wagon with animals is needed or not. I chose cars with animals. As a result, she rode in a carriage with several dogs.
How to transport bicycles?
In Europe, not only on trains, but even on buses, it is possible to transport bicycles. It is necessary to clarify this possibility when choosing a flight and additionally pay for the transportation of a bicycle (bicycle).
What is first or second grade?
Trains (cars, zones in them) have a comfort class: first class and second class. The second class is quite acceptable for movement, it is used by almost all passengers. The first class in local trains is almost like the second. There may be less people, noise, stand tables, etc.
The class of the wagon or zone in the wagon is marked with a number.
Do I need to show tickets?
Unlike Russia, the entrance to any platform and any train is unobstructed; no documents or tickets are required at the entrance. As a rule, ordinary tickets are sold without a seat - this means that the passenger can take any free seat on the train at his discretion. The main thing is to enter the zone of the car of your class (if you bought a ticket for class 2, then go in second class).
Tickets without indicating the place in the car (can be of different formats, including those printed on the printer)
The ticket in which the place is indicated (ticket + reservation)
For cyclists, places are usually near the entrance to the carriage. There may be special mounts for bicycles.
There are also places for people with disabilities not far from the entrance, it is advisable not to occupy these places, but to sit in free ordinary places.
While the train is moving, the controller (or maybe not) approaches the passengers in turn and ask them to show their tickets. On tickets, he will make a mark with the date and time of verification. It may happen that different controllers put a few marks, for example, if you crossed the state border, if you traveled on different trains and in other cases.
Ticket with several marks of controllers (vertically) (marks were set by both Czechs and Germans)
It may be necessary to present the bank card with which the ticket was purchased (if it was bought with a card), the card must belong to one of the passengers. In this regard, it is best to make sure in advance whether you need to present a card when buying a ticket and buy tickets from your personal card or for cash.
The conductors track who entered the car and after each stop they can go through the train and check the tickets for newly-entered passengers. That is, it is not necessary to twitch at each entry of the controller into the car, if he needs to, he will do it himself. But all tickets and cards can be prepared in advance, especially if you are not friends with a foreign language.
How to get in and out of a train?
In Europe, the train (both the metro and the tram) does not open all the doors at each station, you need to press a button or turn the knob to open the door. At the station, when the train stopped, the train unlocks the doors, you can click on the button (it will turn green) and the doors will open. If the button gives a red signal, perhaps the doors are not yet unlocked, you need to press later. Buttons in wagons both inside and out.
There are old models of trains, there are various handles that need to be turned to open the door. As a rule, in popular directions, trains are new, that is, with buttons.
Do I need to compost a ticket?
Separate tickets - yes, you need to compost. They usually get into the composter and they have arrows and corresponding text. Whenever possible, I prefer to buy tickets for the whole day, you do not need to compost them (if the date is already on the ticket), you can enter and exit trains in the direction, change trains, choose any train from the schedule.
That is, whether it is necessary to compost the ticket, it is advisable to clarify when buying, reading the information on a specific ticket. Most likely, intercity transport and S-Bahn and similar trains need to be composted, and regional trains (in the Russian sense, also electric trains) do not need to be composted, because there are day tickets.
Composter (you just need to put a ticket in it)
Tickets may have arrows and text calling for composting tickets
But you can buy a ticket that is valid for a day (you do not need to compost it)
Composters on the railway stand down to the ascent to the platform or on the platform. In buses, trams and so on. - in the transport itself. If the composter does not work, then enter the date and time of entry into the train with a pen.
At all major stations there are areas or rooms with information for tourists. Even so: there are consultants in the center of the station + a room where you can buy, exchange tickets and also ask questions. Consultants, as a rule, answer some simple questions such as: where are the platforms, how to get to trains, etc., and in offices you can buy tickets and get a schedule.
In the Czech Republic, I was printed out a train schedule in the direction between cities, and in France and Austria they gave me mini-booklets with a timetable in the direction. Such booklets can be in the public area and you can come to the station and take them.
To clarify the movement of trains at the moment, as in Russia, you can watch the scoreboard. In Germany, platforms are known in advance, but can sometimes change. In other countries, I had trains, exits to the platforms to which I had to wait, as in Russia, on the scoreboard. Only, unlike Russia, at the station by speakerphone neither the platform, nor the beginning of the landing, nor the completion of the landing are announced. Everyone needs to watch this independently.
As a rule, one large display is located in the center of the station + monitors can be hung up at stations, located in large stores, cafes, etc.
Advice! If you are afraid to lose the train, it is better to come to the station in advance and see in advance where which platforms are located. When you recognize your platform, go straight to it.
What is reservation of a place and whether it is necessary to do it?
When you buy a ticket for a regular train in Europe, you are buying the opportunity to ride the train anywhere in your class. As a rule, all trains are half-empty and there are no problems with seats at all, however, there are directions or dates when trains are packed to the eyeballs and it is difficult to find a place. In this case, it is worth buying a reservation on the train. It is usually inexpensive.
When to buy a seat reservation?
- Friday night, weekend, as locals love local tourism and sometimes it seems that they go on vacation whole cities.
- In particularly popular destinations during the high season, say, etc.
- When you need to travel far, for example, 5 hours and do not want to twitch, changing from place to place.
- When you have a lot of things or you are traveling with a company or with children and want to go all together, and not for 1 person in a car, in different places.
- When there is a preference for a place by the window or not, at a table, with a dog, with a bicycle, with a child, etc.
You can reserve a place with the purchase of a ticket - on the website, or in the machine, or at the station. Sometimes you can buy a reservation separately - you need to check on the railway website in advance. In Germany, this is definitely possible.
Where to leave luggage on the train?
Luggage can be left at the beginning, end or middle of the car on luggage racks (which I always do, but you need to arrive early on the train so that there are empty seats) or on the upper shelf (above the seats). If there are few people in the train, then you can put things next to you, at the next chair or directly on it.
Do controllers speak English?
Generally yes. You can ask them whether to go for a long time or how many stops, whether to go to such a station now, etc.
What is the penalty for stowaways?
I did not specify this question in figures, but everyone says that the amount is very substantial. I don’t want to check. But there are areas in which I have never been checked a ticket.
Can I go from wagon to wagon?
Yes, before the train starts to move and during its movement, you can safely walk from wagon to wagon. Doors open either automatically (at the top of the presence sensor), or click on the button, or pull the handle to the right - there are several modifications of the cars. One thing is clear - moving between cars is easy. For example, in search of free space, in search of a guide (ask a question), in the toilet of a neighboring car, in a restaurant car, in a bistro, if there are any on the train.
Do you have any other questions? Want to complete an article? Write in the comments.
