A rather incomplete list, at least for those starting from Sweden which only seems to allow access to neighbouring Scandinavian countries according to it. Well, no, I regularly - about once a month - take a train from there to the Netherlands, via Denmark and Germany. Given the presence of a Book through Deutsche Bahn button for all trips I'd expect that option to be available but alas, it's Denmark or bust.
Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?
31–40 of 428 posts
Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?
#32Since train fans always like to point this out when it comes to flying: this is how far you can get in 8 hours on the train . It doesn’t include the time to get to the station, the buffer time you need (if your train leaves at 0700 you can’t plan to get there at 06:59), and the time to travel from the destination station to your actual destination. Actual travel time for an 8 hour train ride is probably at least clos…
> if your train leaves at 0700 you can’t plan to get there at 06:59 True, but 6:50 is plenty early enough depending on if you know the station and the size. Getting to and from the stations are a wash because it's not like the airport drops you at the door either. Though, many EU cities have the train station near the city center which makes it easier for people to get to than the airport.
> True, but 6:50 is plenty early enough
I don't think so. That gives you a 10 minute margin, which can get uncomfortable quickly if there are any delays in getting there.
If I can walk to a station and I know the route, 10 minutes margin is plenty enough. But if I have to drive+park or take public transport, I won't trust a 10 minute margin.
Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?
#33If you now could just book a train between these cities on a common european platform (or local transportation provider...)... one could dream... just booking a train and getting a quote crossing multiple borders (without interrail) is just a nightmare :(
Trainline works well enough including refunds, seat selection, etc. It can't book the Eurostar as part of a larger trip and there might be similar limitations.
Wow thanks for the hint, I did not know trainline it even shows the connections I’m searching for where trainitalia, sbb and DB failed :)
Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?
#34Since train fans always like to point this out when it comes to flying: this is how far you can get in 8 hours on the train . It doesn’t include the time to get to the station, the buffer time you need (if your train leaves at 0700 you can’t plan to get there at 06:59), and the time to travel from the destination station to your actual destination. Actual travel time for an 8 hour train ride is probably at least clos…
> if your train leaves at 0700 you can’t plan to get there at 06:59
Millions of train commuters in the UK optimise for just this sort of thing. Not one minute before, because the doors typically close 30s to a minute before departure, but 06:55 for sure.
I am not a commuter, but later in the day I don’t leave the house much earlier than twelve minutes before the train I want to get will leave the station, which is a third of a mile away on foot, and I will have time to get a ticket from the machine.
Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?
#35In Germany not so far because the train will be 2+ hours late
Literally happened to me yesterday on the way back to Berlin. I arrived 2 hours late. In fairness there was what was labelled "a personal accident" on the track, which is a euphemism for somebody jumping in front of a train. Which unfortunately happens and needs to be dealt with properly and is not really something anybody can do much about.
But delays are fairly common on that particular route (Berlin-Amsterdam). They use really old trains and they break down once in a while. Or the track is down for maintenance. Or whatever. Most of my journeys in the last three years there's always something. Before that it was more reliable.
Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?
#36Since train fans always like to point this out when it comes to flying: this is how far you can get in 8 hours on the train . It doesn’t include the time to get to the station, the buffer time you need (if your train leaves at 0700 you can’t plan to get there at 06:59), and the time to travel from the destination station to your actual destination. Actual travel time for an 8 hour train ride is probably at least clos…
> if your train leaves at 0700 you can’t plan to get there at 06:59 True, but 6:50 is plenty early enough depending on if you know the station and the size. Getting to and from the stations are a wash because it's not like the airport drops you at the door either. Though, many EU cities have the train station near the city center which makes it easier for people to get to than the airport.
Unless you don't happen to live within the city center. Train stations frequently have zero long term parking, while airport frequently have cheap or even free long term parking. If you need to take the train where I live, then you're better of driving to the airport and park there. Then take a train or bus to the city center and the train station.
I did like to take the train more often, but travel times are just to slow. I'd need to set aside one day to just leave the country, then maybe I can get another train somewhere in Germany and then I can get pretty much anywhere in Northern Europe in a reasonable time. It's just that train travel in Denmark absolutely suck and is fairly pointless and you almost never travel more than 80-90kph.
Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?
#37Since train fans always like to point this out when it comes to flying: this is how far you can get in 8 hours on the train . It doesn’t include the time to get to the station, the buffer time you need (if your train leaves at 0700 you can’t plan to get there at 06:59), and the time to travel from the destination station to your actual destination. Actual travel time for an 8 hour train ride is probably at least clos…
And if you need to catch some connecting trains, forgot about connections that are less than 15 minutes apart.
Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?
#38Applying some leeway to the numbers would make this a nicer experience. There are some destinations which are e.g. 3 hours 2 minutes away — they only appear when 4 hours are selected, but it would make more sense to show them in the 3h bucket.
Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
> if your train leaves at 0700 you can’t plan to get there at 06:59 True, but 6:50 is plenty early enough depending on if you know the station and the size. Getting to and from the stations are a wash because it's not like the airport drops you at the door either. Though, many EU cities have the train station near the city center which makes it easier for people to get to than the airport.
Unless you don't happen to live within the city center. Train stations frequently have zero long term parking, while airport frequently have cheap or even free long term parking. If you need to take the train where I live, then you're better of driving to the airport and park there. Then take a train or bus to the city center and the train station. I did like to take the train more often, but travel times are just to…
Most transit systems tend to optimize getting to the city center. Getting to the airport is usually harder.
Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?
#40I don't understand how it works. First time clicking on Poland, it showed a kind of a heat map around some city. Then I click on another location and nothing happens. OK, there's a "back" button, I go back, click on the map again in a different place and... nothing happens. No heat map. At some point in frustration I accidentally move the mouse while clicking and the map rotates upside down. Don't know, is it me, my…
Select a start city/station. The heat map is destinations within the selected duration.
If you pick Paris, most major cities in Western Europe are within 8 hours.
Pick Madrid, far fewer destinations are marked.