5 ms·

My (now out of date) experience is that high speed trains are significantly more expensive than direct flights in Europe. I did a quick search and it looks lik

by ojbyrne 12y ago

My (now out of date) experience is that high speed trains are significantly more expensive than direct flights in Europe. I did a quick search and it looks like FRA to AMS return is about $400 by train, $164 by plane.

_delirium 12y ago
Cross-border yes. The European railway network isn't very integrated yet (though the EU has some initiatives underway), so cross-border ticketing is generally bad: inconvenient and expensive. Only Deutsche Bahn's bahn.de even has a semblance of an international online ticketing system, and it's far from complete. International tickets also have a habit of ending up charging you full fare, which (like with full-fare plane tickets) is way too high. Within individual countries is where rail has the most market-share in Europe, and advance-ticket purchases are priced like planes, with steep discounts from full-fare prices, varying with demand. People take high-speed trains on routes like Barcelona–Madrid and Lyon-Paris, and without the German ICE network. And many people do prefer the train on those routes: the Barcelona–Madrid air shuttle lost half of its passengers after the AVE line to Barcelona opened.
skriticos2 12y ago
I just checked, you can get a ticket from FRA to AMS and back for about 108 EUR (~ 150 USD) if you buy them a few days early and choose a favorable time-slot (full price, second class). I even did that trip some time in the last three years and the price is about right. Train rides in western Europe are not that expensive and certainly not worth the hassle with airplanes over such short distances. Also, you can buy 25% and 50% discount cards for all tickets for a year for only a few EUR's. (25% for a year = 62 EUR, 50% for 515 EUR for inland travel in Germany).
- smackfu 12y ago
  Yes, the old experience of, "just show up at the train station and buy a ticket for today at the window" has just become a good way to overpay.

by ojbyrne 12y ago

_delirium 12y ago

Cross-border yes. The European railway network isn't very integrated yet (though the EU has some initiatives underway), so cross-border ticketing is generally bad: inconvenient and expensive. Only Deutsche Bahn's bahn.de even has a semblance of an international online ticketing system, and it's far from complete. International tickets also have a habit of ending up charging you full fare, which (like with full-fare plane tickets) is way too high. Within individual countries is where rail has the most market-share in Europe, and advance-ticket purchases are priced like planes, with steep discounts from full-fare prices, varying with demand. People take high-speed trains on routes like Barcelona–Madrid and Lyon-Paris, and without the German ICE network. And many people do prefer the train on those routes: the Barcelona–Madrid air shuttle lost half of its passengers after the AVE line to Barcelona opened.

skriticos2 12y ago

I just checked, you can get a ticket from FRA to AMS and back for about 108 EUR (~ 150 USD) if you buy them a few days early and choose a favorable time-slot (full price, second class). I even did that trip some time in the last three years and the price is about right. Train rides in western Europe are not that expensive and certainly not worth the hassle with airplanes over such short distances. Also, you can buy 25% and 50% discount cards for all tickets for a year for only a few EUR's. (25% for a year = 62 EUR, 50% for 515 EUR for inland travel in Germany).

smackfu 12y ago
Yes, the old experience of, "just show up at the train station and buy a ticket for today at the window" has just become a good way to overpay.