Why can't we do this in Britain?

[Lord Bracknell]

Yep got my seat and everything, but i'm going with a couple of mates and we're in different carriages so gonna try and get moved. As to checking in i think that's standard with all Eurostar journeys i've had to do, show passports etc etc.

I understand the point about passport controls.

But even that is questionable. And what happens with Eurostar trains running to and from London is entirely down to the UK's insistence on procedures that don't apply to international train travel elsewhere in Europe, where passport checks are conveniently dealt with on the train, during the course of the journey.

And that is nothing to do with the Schengen agreement - because they were managing to do that long before it was even dreamed of.

 

[The Oldman]

Booked seats on National Express Coach Brighton to Heathrow via t'internet. Have got a barcode thingy on my mobile as ticket. As for the plane will check in at home and print my boarding pass having already chosen my seat as I booked my flight London to Toronto on t'internet. It took me 2 minutes. Easy, innit?

Have also got tickets via t'internet for Seaford to Leeds, chosen my seat for the Kings X to Leeds bit. Just under £40 return

 

[NMH]

When I've taken trains up to the Lake District, I could book my seat and the part of the train it would be in.
Not sure about doing it online though, as I've never tried that.
Here's a list of companies that offer the service;

rail tickets - Google Search

 

[lost in london]

alright LB, riddle me this ...

yesterday i bought on trainline.com (they have it in english too) a return ticket to London for £27, they send me the details via text message - i turn up at the station on the day and use an automated machine that prints my tickets (takes me about 30 seconds). i got to choose if i wanted a table and which way i would be facing.

that's roughly a 400 mile round trip.

so in fact, yes, we do do that in this country.

Even better than that, they will post the tickets to you if you want, you don't have to wait for the machine at the station, and you don't have to use your printer to print off the ticket. It's like it's magic.

But why would anyone care where they sat on a train? I don't think I've ever wanted to pick my seat.

 

[NMH]

Even better than that, they will post the tickets to you if you want, you don't have to wait for the machine at the station, and you don't have to use your printer to print off the ticket. It's like it's magic.

But why would anyone care where they sat on a train? I don't think I've ever wanted to pick my seat.

Er....you mean 'in advance' of course. When you walk down the carriage looking for a seat, and the option is a heaving munter with a smoker's cough or 2 chav kids, you will be wanting to pick another seat!

That's a bit of a risk if you book in advance, you might get stuck with crap neighbours.

 

[perseus]

I just want to turn up at the station and catch the train. Or turn up at the stadium and buy a ticket with ready cash.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I am always amazed at how cheap and easy it is to buy train tickets abroad. Even information is easier to come by. The German DB website has train times for the whole of europe. Type in Hove to Berlin and it will provide the train times. Timetables not only have the time but the platform in Germany.

Having a single entity run the railways clearly helps make things easier and simpler.

The price in Berlin is shockingly cheaper as well. The various London airport express trains in this country cost about £15. The Berlin airport express is the price of a single fare on their public transport system i.e. 2.10 euros. This ticket is valid for 2 hours in one direction so you can still use it to transfer to bus, tram or tube to your final destination once in the centre of the city.

The tube station at Olympiastadion is incredible as well. At end of game the 10 platforms are full with trains. They all go like clockwork at 5 minute intervals after final whistle. Puts our shitty bus thing to shame.

As you can gather this is a real bug-bear with me. I am embarrassed by our public transport. A german friend recently discovered that London tubes dont run all night...he was totally puzzled by this 'but why? how do people get home? If any city was to have 24 hour transport surely London? Seems silly to me'

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Er....you mean 'in advance' of course. When you walk down the carriage looking for a seat, and the option is a heaving munter with a smoker's cough or 2 chav kids, you will be wanting to pick another seat!

That's a bit of a risk if you book in advance, you might get stuck with crap neighbours.

This is another benefit of train travel abroad. Due to high probability your 'neighbours' wont be British they will be well-behaved and respectful.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Went to Coimbra during Euro 04 and a lovely place it was. Foreign train travel rocks LB, the best way to go imo.

Totally agree.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I've just been reminded of another little story. I once had to cancel a train ticket from Chamonix to Geneva due avalanche risk. I was told I had to get my refund when back in Swiss territory as that is where I bought it. Fair (or fare?) enough. Got to the airport....told them my story. Chap apologized (hardly his fault though) and asked whether I'd prefer Swiss francs or UK Stirling. As I was on my way back home I took the stirling option.

In my grand league of foreign transport I think the Swiss just edge the Germans.

 

[shingle]

Just back from Italy where I did the same thing and booked 2 seats online with trenitalia, Verona to Bari, and Bari to Milan, printed tickets and travelled.

I don't understand what point you're trying to make LB as I have always done the same thing here in the UK. I've booked train tickets several times from Lewes to Inverness return with the old GNER and even sorted seat configuration online. I've booked other train journeys online too.

 

[house your seagull]

The tube station at Olympiastadion is incredible as well. At end of game the 10 platforms are full with trains. They all go like clockwork at 5 minute intervals after final whistle. Puts our shitty bus thing to shame.

true the u-bahn is shit hot but the olympiastadion station used to be gash before th world cup, there was 2 platforms, absolutely rammed, and you had to walk down a muddy bank when you got out of the ground. not fun getting back up it in the middle of a german winter.

the reason TFL don't do 24 hour tubes is because of the bus service, which is pretty good compared to in Manchester where there is 1 24hr bus route.

even the last tubes have people puking and fighting on them, can't imagine that all night.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Just back from Italy where I did the same thing and booked 2 seats online with trenitalia, Verona to Bari, and Bari to Milan, printed tickets and travelled.

I don't understand what point you're trying to make LB as I have always done the same thing here in the UK. I've booked train tickets several times from Lewes to Inverness return with the old GNER and even sorted seat configuration online. I've booked other train journeys online too.

It's not the booking online thing ... of course we can do that here.

It's the elimination of the "wait for the postman" stage or the "pick up your ticket at a railway station" option that impresses me.

Wouldn't it be good if we could print off our Manchester City tickets at home? Hopefully that will happen when we get to Falmer.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

We are quite tame when the Rail Network does not function as it should. Unlike Argentina....

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Angry commuters torch train

 

[Dave the OAP]

I've just bought two first-class train tickets from Lisbon to Coimbra off the Portuguese Railways (English language) website. You get to choose which train you want, the carriage you want to sit in and the exact seats that you want. And the transaction is completed by being able to print out the bar-coded tickets at home. There's now nothing more to do than get on the train.

The price? €30 each for a journey of 196km. Or in old money, about £25 for 122.5 miles. Second class is about two-thirds of the price of first class.

You also have the option of receiving the tickets as a text message.

OOOH look its a vieled " look at me I am going on holiday" thread.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Wouldn't it be good if we could print off our Manchester City tickets at home? Hopefully that will happen when we get to Falmer.

There is more chance in harty being a racist than that happening!!!

 

[withdeanwombat]

I'm up for some of this.

When's the Albion game in Coimbra?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

OOOH look its a vieled " look at me I am going on holiday" thread.

At least I won't end up claiming to be a supporter of FC Porto.




4 September 1260 - a date never to be forgotten.

 

[Gully]

The best rail network I have been on is in the Netherlands, trains are cheap, clean and frequent. They are integrated into the bus system, none of this waiting at a station for an hour in the vain hope that a bus will arrive, if the train is late it will wait. There is also a traintaxi system where you phone up and a taxi will collect you from home (or anywhere else) and take you to the station, it will also take you back again if you pre-book and pay...it is far cheaper than a normal taxi.

Have travelled a small amount on German railways, and round Berlin, can back up the comments made by Herr T...the DB really is a good network.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

The best rail network I have been on is in the Netherlands, trains are cheap, clean and frequent. They are integrated into the bus system, none of this waiting at a station for an hour in the vain hope that a bus will arrive, if the train is late it will wait. There is also a traintaxi system where you phone up and a taxi will collect you from home (or anywhere else) and take you to the station, it will also take you back again if you pre-book and pay...it is far cheaper than a normal taxi.

Have travelled a small amount on German railways, and round Berlin, can back up the comments made by Herr T...the DB really is a good network.

Someone I used to know in the transport industry told me that Amsterdam is used as a gold-standard model of how to do run an integrated transport system. They told me that there is some figure about how long you spend waiting when you use the 'dam public transport......it was rediculously low when we had this conversation BUT they were trying to make it even lower. You have to admire them.