European Rail Timetable Revived

[aeolium]

Perhaps of interest to few here (though appropriate on a Platform 3 board), I was glad to see this news item about the resuscitation of the European Rail Timetable which Thomas Cook had stopped publishing recently:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26489897

I have used one in the past for a longish train journey through various parts of Europe, and though the internet is very good now for booking European rail travel (not least thanks to Mark Smith's seat61 website) the paper timetable is very useful for planning trips and also if you want to go off the beaten track enroute.

All credit to the man who took a gamble on reviving this great enterprise, and everyone else who has made it happen

[french frank]

Incroyablement magnifiquement sensationnel! I'm not sure that I'll ever again be able to use it 'properly' while travelling. But I may get a copy now and again just for, um ... study purposes

[Add: "Rumour has it there are quite a few armchair travellers who like nothing better than using the guide to plan exotic rail journeys they may never undertake." Yes!]

[[Add again: And if you want to order it, it's here.]]

[[[And again: Copy ordered.]]] More

[aeolium]

The BBC news report said that the Thomas Cook timetable had been published continuously for 140 years until last year with an interruption only for the 2nd world war. What about the first world war? Wouldn't there have been a problem trying to take a rail trip through Belgium and Germany to the Balkans then?! Perhaps they just carried on publishing it in magnificent disregard of international events...

I think I'll be ordering a new copy, keeping my old one as a memento of the Thomas Cook tradition.

[french frank]

My new copy - March 2014 has arrived and the layout is the same as the old TC edition. The main difference is that it's printed on 'papier bible' which makes it almost half the thickness - no bad thing for travelling - but it has just about the same number of pages, and announces similar regular features, e.g. the May edition will have a feature on the available rail passes. A new feature that I didn't remember from the TC is 'Beyond Europe' where each month will have biannual coverage of India; SE Asia, Australia & New Zealand; China; Japan; North America; Africa & the Middle East (March & September is China). Russia and Turkey are covered each month anyway.

The only drawback I can see is price: it's £15.99 plus p&p. The last TC one I have (2005, I think) was £11 but it probably did go up before it was discontinued. I'd be interested to know how much the last one cost - maybe it wasn't that much cheaper.

Amusingly (this was mentioned on their new website), among the errors that were left in was the fact that it could be obtained via the Thomas Cook website - which, of course, it can't. Old habits ... since it's been compiled by the same team.

[Beef Oven!]

My new copy - March 2014 has arrived and the layout is the same as the old TC edition. The main difference is that it's printed on 'papier bible' which makes it almost half the thickness - no bad thing for travelling - but it has just about the same number of pages, and announces similar regular features, e.g. the May edition will have a feature on the available rail passes. A new feature that I didn't remember from the TC is 'Beyond Europe' where each month will have biannual coverage of India; SE Asia, Australia & New Zealand; China; Japan; North America; Africa & the Middle East (March & September is China). Russia and Turkey are covered each month anyway.

The only drawback I can see is price: it's £15.99 plus p&p. The last TC one I have (2005, I think) was £11 but it probably did go up before it was discontinued. I'd be interested to know how much the last one cost - maybe it wasn't that much cheaper.

Amusingly (this was mentioned on their new website), among the errors that were left in was the fact that it could be obtained via the Thomas Cook website - which, of course, it can't. Old habits ... since it's been compiled by the same team.

I travelled Europe on trains a fair bit in the late 1970s & 1980s, including using inter-rail. Good value.

A few years ago I looked into travelling about Europe a bit on trains and I thought it was quite expensive.

Has it got dear these days? Can it be done on the cheap?

[french frank]

By the way - re WW1: I seem to remember they kept printing the Balkan timetables during the latest war, but with a note that it was theoretical, since attempting to travel through the warzone was not recommended. Or it may be that they just said services were suspended. I did have the edition but threw away a whole load of them just before TC announced they were discontinuing publication.

Wikipedia:

"World War I did not interrupt publication, but emphasis during the war was shifted more to shipping services, the result of disruption of rail service in several countries. During World War II, however, the timetable's publication was suspended, the last prewar issue being that of August 1939. Publication resumed in 1946."

[french frank]

Has it got dear these days? Can it be done on the cheap?

It's not cheap, but it helps to use overnight services which are cheaper than booking a hotel or hostel.

There are various sorts of rail passes, but sometimes you have to be careful that the pass isn't costing more than the individual trips in countries where rail travel is cheap.

If you want to do really long trips within Europe, you'll almost certainly save with a pass. Say you go to Venice, the journey from the French Channel port to Venice and the return would cost a fair chunk of the monthly Interrail pass. Travelling for a month won't be cheap, but it will be a heck of a lot cheaper if you have the 'global' Interrail pass, especially if you keep on the move.

A package tour, staying for a month in a four star hotel in Torremolinos will probably be cheaper, though

[aeolium]

It's possible to get a one-way ticket from London to any city in Germany for £59 (a Spezial) though these are the cheapest tickets and can sell out quickly. Also you can get to Milan for £64 (Eurostar & TGV) with another £20-25 for other cities in Italy. The seat61 website is invaluable as a guide to booking train travel in Europe. With all the add-on charges for flights these days, train travel can be reasonable value and a lot more pleasant.

[Beef Oven!]

It's not cheap, but it helps to use overnight services which are cheaper than booking a hotel or hostel.

There are various sorts of rail passes, but sometimes you have to be careful that the pass isn't costing more than the individual trips in countries where rail travel is cheap.

If you want to do really long trips within Europe, you'll almost certainly save with a pass. Say you go to Venice, the journey from the French Channel port to Venice and the return would cost a fair chunk of the monthly Interrail pass. Travelling for a month won't be cheap, but it will be a heck of a lot cheaper if you have the 'global' Interrail pass, especially if you keep on the move.

A package tour, staying for a month in a four star hotel in Torremolinos will probably be cheaper, though

Shame, I love trains. I'll end up hiring a car as usual, or maybe take my own car this time.

Paris, Venice, Ljubljana Budapest, Bucharset, Sofia & Istanbul.

I have never been to Torremolinos, I hear it's nice, this time of year.

[teamsaint]

Shame, I love trains. I'll end up hiring a car as usual, or maybe take my own car this time.

Paris, Venice, Ljubljana Budapest, Bucharset, Sofia & Istanbul.

I have never been to Torremolinos, I hear it's nice, this time of year.

or indeed any time of year.

long old run out to Asia minor on the puffing billy...........

always fancied doing the trans siberian.............

[Beef Oven!]

or indeed any time of year.

long old run out to Asia minor on the puffing billy...........

always fancied doing the trans siberian.............

You like a drop of Watney's Red Barrel?