Railjet - Austria and beyond

• Q. Can I choose a specific seat on a train when making my reservation?

  A. At this time, it’s not possible to choose a specific seat on our website when booking a reservation.

• Q. Will the train cars be air conditioned/heated?

  A. All European trains are fully heated and many are air-conditioned, as well.

  Some regional trains servicing local villages for short distances may not have air-conditioning. In these situations, travellers are permitted to open the train windows.

• Q. What's the difference between a rail pass and a train ticket?

  A. A rail pass and a train ticket are two completely different types of travel documents.

  A train ticket is valid for a single journey between two cities. Many tickets also include a reservation, which mean that they are valid only for a specific train, on a specific date and at a given time. To learn more about tickets, read our article: tickets explained.

  A rail pass, on the other hand, is good for travel in an entire geographical area (1 country, 2 countries or more). With it you can take as many train trips as you want within that geographical area, for as many travel days as you purchased, within a set period of time (the pass validity period).

• Q. Does taking an overnight train mean using 2 travel days on my rail pass?

  A. If you travel on a direct overnight train departing after 7:00pm and arriving after 4:00am, it’s only necessary to enter the date of arrival in the travel calendar, thereby using only one travel day. If you travel on an overnight train that departs after 7:00pm but has a change of trains or arrives before 4:00am, you will be required to enter both the date of departure and arrival in the travel calendar, using two travel days of your rail pass.

• Q. Is it possible to have travellers of different genders in the same sleeping compartment?

  A. For gender specific compartments, men and women must be in separate sleeping compartments. However, if you reserve all beds within a compartment, you may mix genders.

  Gender-specific compartments include private, double, triple, deluxe double, deluxe triple, and quad sleeping compartments. If your traveling party doesn’t fill the compartment, you will be divided by gender.

• Q. Can a reservation date on an overnight train be changed?

  A. This is possible in some cases, but with the limited availability of overnight trains, please do it as soon as you can and at least 24-hours before the train’s departure. New reservations will be required when you reschedule. Make sure to check the fare rules for the reservation you’ve purchased so you’re aware of the exchange policies. If you’re already traveling in Europe and need to make a change, you may be subject to local service fees and/or upgrade charges.

• Q. Can I bring my bike on board?

  A. In general, bicycles can be taken with you as carry-on luggage, free of charge on just about any national or international train- if you put it in a bike bag. In the bike bag, the wheels, pedals and handlebars must be removed.

  In addition, many European trains allow bikes in a special bike compartment for free or a small fee. If there is a fee, it’s typically about 5-15 Euros per journey. Bikes are typically permitted on local & regional trains in most countries, at least outside peak travel hours.

  Many inter-city trains also allow bikes, however not in Spain. And in France only a few French TGVs allow bikes that aren’t in a bike bag. Some TGV-Lyria trains between Paris & Switzerland also allow bikes. Paris-Madrid & Paris-Barcelona night trains only allow bikes if they’re in a bike bag and if you & your fellow travellers occupy the entire sleeper compartment. Overnight Thello sleeper trains & daytime TGV trains between Paris & Italy only allow bikes in a bike bag. Thalys trains between Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam & Cologne only allow bikes in bike bags. Long-distance trains into Eastern Europe such as Cologne-Moscow, Bucharest-Istanbul or Budapest-Sofia only allow bikes in bike bags, primarily because these trains don’t have luggage compartments.

  Lastly, some trains, primarily in the UK, will require advance reservations for bicycles. These reservations will need to be made locally at the station.

• Q. Should I buy my seat reservations prior to arriving in Europe, or can I just get them at the station locally?

  A. We recommend that you purchase your reservations as soon as possible, once you’ve determined which train journeys you’d like to take and what dates you’ll need them.

  In most cases, rail carriers set aside a limited number of seats for stand-alone reservations. Once those seats have sold out, only regular full-fare tickets can be bought for the train. Because of the limited reservation-only inventory, these seats do in fact sell out, especially during peak travel seasons such as the holidays or summer. The cost difference between a stand-alone reservation and a full-priced ticket can amount to a hundred dollars or more. There’s nothing more frustrating than being unable to use your rail pass and having to buy a full priced ticket at significant cost. Therefore, we highly encourage you to lock down your reservation and make the most of your travel budget as soon as possible.

  Also keep in mind that reservations can be purchased online from Rail Europe’s website and iPhone App. Many rail carriers do not sell stand-alone reservations through their website and in most cases, you will have to go in person to the rail station to buy your reservation when in Europe.

• Q. If my train tickets have been lost or stolen, how do I request reimbursement through the Rail Protection Plan™?

  A. Here’s what you need to do if your train ticket, rail pass, reservation, city pass or tour was lost or stolen and you plan to request receive a reimbursement through the Rail Protection Plan™.

  You must file a police report within 24 hours of the incident.
  You may purchase a replacement rail pass, train ticket, reservation, city pass or tour in order to continue with your travel plans.

  Upon return home, you must submit the traveller request form to Rail Europe within 30 days, along with a copy of the police report, replacement rail pass, train ticket, reservation, city pass, or tour purchased abroad, and your roundtrip airline tickets from home to Europe. A brief explanation of the situation is also necessary to better evaluate the traveller request form.

  If you purchased the Rail Protection Plan™ when you booked your train ticket/rail pass/reservation/city pass/tour, you received full documentation on what to do in the event of loss or theft. Please refer to this information for full details.

• Q. Do rail passes cover commuter trains or airport shuttle trains?

  A. Yes. Certain rail passes do, but not all.

  It’s best to view the product page of the rail pass you are interested in to learn about all the benefits it offers travellers.

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