The Continent

Practicalities Getting There Rail The Continent 

Given the cost of petrol and motorway tolls, not to mention the probability of having to make an overnight stop, travel by train can work out a cheaper option than travel by car and considerably faster, particularly to certain French destinations with Marseille for example now just three hours from Paris.

Making life easier, if you have also booked accommodation it should be possible to arrange to be met at the station on arrival.

Though direct services are limited, changing to a TGV in Paris or preferably Lille (two hours from London and just a change of platform), throws open destinations across France (Burgundy, the Rhone Valley, the Riviera, Languedoc, the Atlantic Coast, and the Southwest (Bordeaux/Barritz) the Loire Valley, and Brittany). A dedicated Eurostar service planned from London to Marselle for summer 2002 to take advantage of the new high speed ril link between paris and the south of France.

The combined Eurostar and TGV tickets are sold as Eurostar Plus by Rail Europe at prices which undercut buying the two separately, even with taking into account local SNCF discounts.

The Thalys high speed network, operated by the French, Belgian, Dutch and German railways, links Paris with 16 destinations in Belgium, Holland and Germany including Bruges, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Brussels and The Hague, plus in Germany with sleeper services, changing from Eurostar in Brussels, Hamburg, Berlin, Hanover, Osnabruck, Bielefeld and Bremen.

The Eurostar Plus brochure also covers other destinations such as Switzerland, London to Geneva, reachable in a day (just three and a half hours from Paris after changing station) would be £141 return and other options might be Lausanne and Montreux would also be options.

Further afield Milan and Turin might be reached in a day but Barcelona and Madrid as well as centres further south in Italy would usually involve changing from the Eurostar in Paris to a sleeper or alternatively at Lille followed by a second change in France. Venice could just be reached in a day but a sleeper is recommended.

Austria would involve an overnight, ideally via Brussels where you do not have to change station.

The Euro Domino travel pass offers unlimited, nationwide train travel in any one of 25 European countries. You can opt for anything between three and eight days of travel within a one-month period. Three days in the Czech Republic might be £39, in France £119, in Italy £99.

Children 4-11 travel at half adult prices in all countries and there are also fares for under 26s, for example £99 in France. While eight days of train travel might mean too much moving around with children, the shorter passes might be useful. 2001 prices imminent.

There are also regional passes such as ScanRail and the Swiss Travel Pass.

Booking

Rail Europe
179 Piccadilly, London W1
tel: 08705 848848

A subsidiary of the French railway group SNCF, which merged with the former British Rail International. Can book services through Europe. The Eurostar Plus brochure gives sample fares to principle destinations and journey times. Child rates may be above the standard half of adult fares.

Also run by Rail Europe is tgv.co.uk, covering high-speed, low-cost rail travel in France, and connections throughout Europ, with on-line booking.

As well as the Eurostar Plus programme and Motor Rail [Getting There - Car] Rail Europe sells the Euro Domino passes, new French rail passes and others like ScanRail and the Swiss Travel Pass.

Eurostar
tel: 08705 186186

Pretty well geared up to families. A children's carriage offers more space and fewer businessmen. Alternatively go for somewhere near the buffet car to facilitate little outings. Baby changing rooms on board. As well as purely tickets, arranges packages with accommodation.
In addition to tickets to Eurostar destinations (Paris, Brussels etc) has a link to the French TGV computer network and can sell tickets to destinations throughout provincial France plus any station in Holland or Belgium.

Freedom Rail
tel: 01252 728506

Offers rail tickets to and within mainland Europe plus European hotel accommodation, motorail, Eurotunnel, car rental and travel insurance.

Railchoice
tel: 020 8659 7300

Specialising in rail passes for numerous European countries and others further afield.

Spanish Rail Services
Prestige International UK
tel: 020 8080 0320

In a contract with Spanish Rail, the UK company provides immediate availability checks through RENFE ticketing terminals, with up to 50 percent discount on all RENFE and AVE high-speed trains. The operator also sells Trenhotel, Interail, Eurodomino and Autorail passes. There is a 40% discount for children 4-11 years and 25% for youth card holders.

Ultima Travel
424 Chester Road, Little Sutton, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire CH66 3RB
tel: 0151 339 6171

European and UK rail ticket specialists.

Some Offers for Families

France

SNCF

The main family discount available is Discovery Child Plus, of 25% off French Rail prices for parties of up to four travelling with at least one child of 4-12 years.

A Child Plus card costs FFr350, valid for a year, enabling the child and the accompanying adults to benefit from up to 50% reduction on an unlimited number of journeys. Sometimes the discount is less depending on the train and availability.

An under four travels free but does not have a right to a seat. 4-11 years inclusive child fares are half the adult rate, 12+ is adult rate.

A France Railpass, available from March 2001, is similar to the Euro Domino. The basic will gives unlimited rail travel on any three to nine days during a month. There is also a saver pass with the same benefits but for two to eight people travelling together and costing less so ideal for a family. Prices are not yet available but there will be a standard child rate, not a saver pass.

Italy

The Italian State Railways (FS)
UK Office
tel: 020 7724 0011
or Wasteels Travel, adjacent platform 2, Victoria Station, London SW1V 1JT
tel: 020 7834 7066.

Under fours travel free (but have no right to a seat) and under 12 travel half price on the basic fare but pay any supplements for say express services, in full. Low season there are small group tickets offering discounts of around 30% per family which must consist of two adults and at least one child under 16.

The Italy Railcard entitles holders to eight, 15, 21 or 30 days unlimited plus unlimited travel on Intercity or Eurocity and 'Eurostar Italia' trains for a small supplement. Passports are required for ticket bookings. Prices start at £128 for eight days second class.

An Italy Flexicard is valid for either four, eight or 12 days within a period of one month. Conditions as for the Italy Railcard Prices start at £88 for four days second class.

A Kilometric Card is valid for five people travelling together as a group or individually over a maximum 3000km or on 20 separate journeys, whichever comes first. Under fours travel free and children 4-14, are charged half the actual kilometres travelled. The pass is valid for 2 months from the date of the first journey. The price in second class is £88, £150 in first.

Germany

Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn UK Booking Centre, PO Box 687A, Surbiton, Surrey, KT6 6UB
tel: 08702 435363

Under fives travel free unless they require a separate seat. Children six to 11 years pay 50% of standard fare.

Family tickets include a family BahnCard which costs £22 for the first three people's cards and £4 for each additional card and entitles users to discounts of up to 50% for one year. Cards can be issued to parents and children up to 17 living in the same household and can be used for one parent travelling with at least one child or a child travelling on its own.

A Family Saver ticket costs £100 for one adult with children or £133 for two adults with children as a fixed price for any return second class journey. This can be used by one or both parents or one or both grandparents travelling with at least one child or grandchild.

Family Saver tickets are also available for journey's into eight neighbouring countries.

A number of long distance services have designated parent and child compartments for those with children under eight and/or a baby changing table.

Overnight services make convenient connections with Eurostar in Brussels and at some times of year joint offers are available.

Netherlands

NV Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Holland Rail
Gilbert Street, Ropley, Hampshire SO2 40BY
tel: 01962 773646
e-mail: hollandrail@ukconsultants.com

Children under 4 travel free. Child's Railrunner tickets are available for children aged 4-11 years travelling with a fare-paying adult (19 years or older), and include up to three children travelling with any one adult.

Switzerland

Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB)
Switzerland Tourism
Swiss Centre, Swiss Court, London W1V 8EE
tel: 020 7851 1700

There are also independent railways in certain areas including mountain railways, often the best access to winter resorts and sometimes attractions in their own right.

Children to 16 years travelling with parents on a family ticket, go free.

The Swiss Pass offers unlimited travel on rail services, services of other major regional operators, lake steamers and the network of post buses. It also entitles holders to discounts on other mountain railways. There are also regional passes - details from Switzerland Tourism.

The SBB has introduced specialised cars for those in wheelchairs including a lift for these, an adapted WC and radios adapted for people with hearing difficulties.

Scandinavia

A ScanRail pass covers all of Scandinavia for any five days in 15, 10 days in one month, or 21 consecutive days. Prices for the five-day option would be around £139 for an adult, £70 for a child of 4-11 years, £105 for under 26s.

Information

The Thomas Cook European / Rail Timetable

The bible for those doing much rail travel on the Continent, with two or three editions per year, this includes rail timings for more than 50,000 individual rail connections plus ferry and hydrofoil services and airport-city centre links.

The summer edition also includes information on languages, currency, passports and visas, useful addresses, accommodation, rail travel and rail passes. There are no details of say the family carriages which operate on some routes in some countries though the editor does plan to include general information of use to families next year and for the moment there is information for example on which types of train offer wheelchair (and therefore easy buggy) access. There is also a helpline for up-to-date information.

You can buy the Thomas Cook guide online.