So this is the first attempt at blogging whilst I’m away on holiday. It provides a more detailed insight into my experiences that 140 characters on Twitter cannot provide!

I’ll keep the bit in Britain brief: we (Jamie and I) travelled on the 09:30 Birmingham New Street to London Euston service, operated by Virgin. A brief delay set the train back 13 minutes from New Street due to fire alarms sounding at the station, but a good run meant we were only 3 minutes late into the capital. A stint on a new Victoria Line train and we arrived at Tottenham Hale. Having dealt with the discourteous staff there, we had a short wait for a “Stansted Express” train to the Airport.

Flying to Austria, from most places in the UK, is a bit of a chore. This, unless you are flying from London Heathrow of course! Not wanting to return by plane, we opted for Germanwings. A good value fare, with extras included, but with a change of planes at Cologne/Bonn airport. No major delays, friendly service, comfortable planes…

So we arrive in Vienna. Schwechat airport is not far from Vienna Mitte, and offers various opportunities to get into the city centre. The best value is that offered by the Vienna S-Bahn. For €3.60 single, you can travel on the S Bahn to Vienna Mitte station, and if required, through on the Vienna Underground (U Bahn). This was of use to us as we had to change at Mitte for the Westbahnhof, reached on the U3.

The CAT train is the quickest, reaching Vienna Mitte in 16 minutes. However, it is pricy. It doesn’t include through travel on the Underground either, so another ticket needs to be bought.

Another option, should you not want to travel by train (bit pointless if you are reading this blog then!) is the direct bus between Vienna Airport and Vienna Westbahnhof. It costs €6 and takes around 40 minutes.

Having got to our hotel, had a brief regroup and freshen up, a brief stroll to find some food was required. A nice slice of Pepperoni pizza from a Imbiss by the Westbahnhof set us back €2.80 for a quarter of a 12” pizza. Lecker!

So now, it’s Wednesday and we’re leaving Vienna. It’s a shame as we’ve not spent a lot of time in the city. The weather is glorious, with blue skies and temperatures into the low 20’s. The “Indian Summer” has reached Europe finally! After a lovely breakfast in the Cafe Westend, close to the Westbahnhof, we head for Platform 7 where Railjet 60 to Munich Central Station awaits departure at 1020, formed of 2 Railjet sets.

Railjet is a premium train, without (for the First and ‘Economy’ classes at least) a premium fare. Why? Well, it requires no supplement, it’s the same ticket you would buy for a normal Intercity train, for example.

They run between Budapest Keleti, Munich and Zurich and Vienna. They run mainly every 2 hours, but on certain stretches of line, this then increases to hourly. The composition of the train is of a Siemens Taurus locomotive at one end, followed by several coaches of “Economy”, a Bistro car (with First Class seats & disabled persons area), 1 full First Class coach and the driving van trailer (Steuerwagen) ends the train. The Steuerwagen includes half a coach of First Class and a “Premium” section. Premium differs slightly from First in the sense that the seating is arranged in compartments of 3 or 4 seats, includes meals, drinks, hot towels and newspapers. First Class customers don’t get the meals or drinks included in the €25 supplement on top of the First Class fare. 

The first section of the journey is quite slow. This isn’t an entirely bad thing, as it can be quite scenic. The train, on occasion, gets upto 130 kilometres per hour, but does usually between 60 and 100. Soon, this won’t be a problem But beyond St Pölten Hbf, the train does reach 200km/h in places. This, despite the train’s physical speed limit of 230km/h.

We left the train at Salzburg Hbf, which continued into Germany. Like in Vienna Westbahnhof, Salzburg Hauptbahnhof is being rebuilt. The 6 year process will make the station more presentable, user friendly and a paradise for shoppers. Until then, getting around the station is a bit of a challenge, but it’s still straightforward. Having had some time in the lovely city of Salzburg, we left on the 15:10 RegionalExpress toward Wörgl Hbf.

This is where I made a mistake. I looked into where we should change trains, and decided on Schwarzach-St Veit. Which is not exactly a hub of activity, or a place with a great deal to look at. Either way, we changed there. Had I gone further up the line, and changed at Zell am See, we’d have had the lake to look at, somewhere to drink and eat… Hindsight is a great thing. Either way, the line between Salzburg Hbf and Wörgl is fantastically scenic. Even on a train which stops everywhere, it’s worth doing. The issue is that if you are catching a train between Salzburg and Innsbruck, it will take the faster route into Germany via Rosenheim. so you miss out.

Either way, having had a seat in a busy RegionalExpress from Salzburg to Schwarzach-St Veit, we enjoyed a quieter Intercity compartment to Innsbruck Hbf. And that’s where I find myself finishing this blog post off! A nice tea of pizza in a local restaurant and some photos taken with the tripod in Innsbruck Hbf, it’s nearly time for bed. Till next time… Err, tomorrow then! Gute nacht aus Innsbruck.    

Always a source of useful information, tips and recommendations for travel by train across Europe and the world! Anyone ever thinking about using a train beyond the UK really should start here. It’s essential reading.

I’ve been across Europe by train quite a lot, and to book tickets these days is exceptionally easy. So I’m sharing the experience.

We’re off to Innotrans in Berlin at the end of September, and as a result, we’re turning our visit into a longer trip taking in Austria and parts of Southern Germany. I am lucky enough to have an allowance of free travel in both countries, but my friend is using an Interrail pass. This seems to have been a painless experience when purchasing, and was with him in next to no time. He booked it through RailEurope (www.raileurope.co.uk).

Up until recently, I’ve always booked journeys seperately. This is partly to do with my rail staff discount, plus the fact that I’ve never really thought it possible. Investigations were made for discounted fares. My friend is travelling with his pass, so would be eligible for a Passholder fare on Eurostar. However, we’ve gone a bit crazy for this trip, and the blame for this solely lies with Deutsche Bahn! ;)

The Deutsche Bahn’s journey planner is second to none. With some possible minor exceptions outside of their control. Enquiries for midweek journeys I find are reliable, but when it comes to enquiries for journeys at the weekend, they aren’t and it’s not DB’s fault. We can blame the constant strive to improve the network of lines in the UK.

Either way, the DB Journey Planner suggests a journey from Berlin Hbf to London St Pancras International at 09:48 ICE952 to Cologne Hbf, arrival is 14:15. You connect onto ICE14, leaving Cologne at 14:43 and arriving at Brussels Midi at 16:35. This allows ample time to check in and be on the 17:59 Brussels Midi to London. Further probing of the booking system will give you “Sparangebote” (Discount offers) & “Normalpreis” (full price) fares, under normal circumstances. When booking this journey, a Normalpreis ticket isn’t available. But the Sparangebote option is, and by clicking on the red button, you get fare availability for travel in both First and Second Class.

Having worked out the cost of upgrading my passes, buying new tickets, etc, it worked out cheaper to book a through First Class fare. For this journey, you’d expect the fare to be astronomical. But at €159, it’s reasonable. Especially for a 10:15 journey! OK, so you don’t get a complimentary at-seat service like you do in the UK, and it’s an advance purchase “you have to use these trains”, but you do get the DB lounge access, Eurostar’s lovely First Class service and if your journey is fixed for connections, you’d be daft not to take up the opportunity!

The tickets were booked, and the DB offers options for tickets. You can print them off yourself, or have them sent by post for an extra charge. DB takes ticket fraud very seriously, and you have to have some form of ID to prove it was you who bought the ticket, or paid for them. Either way, the reservation options came up and various choices were available. You put in your details, pay, the system thinks about it for a moment and then presents you with a confirmation page (also sent via email) and you print your ticket. Efficiency of the highest order!

Needless to say, the fares are there, and you need to be extra quick to book the cheapest ones. But there are bargains still to be had. I’m rather looking forward to the end of September now!

A very useful site for a couple of reasons. The links on the left hand side provide direct access to the PDF files of the National Rail Timetable, Live Departures and Station Information. Jewel in the crown is the Booking Horizon page, which shows when reservations are open and available for booking. This only applies to those Train Operating Companies who issue reservations. 

I hoard. I’m a devil for it. And one thing I hoard more than anything is old timetables and train tickets. So I’m going to discuss and show some on here. I hope that it gives an insight into how the railway used to run!

The book I’m looking at this time round was issued by Southern Region’s South Eastern Division for the timetable period 18th April 1966 to the 11th June 1967. At this time, the Divisional Manager was based in Queen Street, EC4 and could be contacted by phone! (WATerloo 5151) As was the case until Rail Enquiries was “centralised” (in a sense) with the number we know now, there were local enquiries offices. In this timetable, these were based in Waterloo, Canterbury, “Medway”, Dover, Hastings and Tonbridge.

An array of maps are provided for information. It’s worth noting some of these. One is the Pullman Services Network. At this time, the provision of such services was quite considerable. Direct services operated London to the following destinations:

• Dover
• Brighton
• Bournemouth via Southampton
• Bristol via Bath Spa
• Swansea via Cardiff General
• Wolverhampton via Leamington Spa & Birmingham Snow Hill
• Liverpool
• Manchester via Wilmslow
• Sheffield via Grantham and Retford
• Harrogate & Bradford via Leeds
• Hull Paragon via Doncaster
• Newcastle via York

There was also a Sleeper Services Network, with the criss cross of sleeper trains. At that point, Bletchley was a stop for such trains. Crosscountry sleeper trains were commonplace, with trains through Birminghamto the North East, North West and Scotland. To say some places were more unusual for sleeper trains to go to/from or via is probably wrong. But to modern travellers, these seem strange:

• Milford Haven
• Birkenhead
• Barrow-in-Furness
• Stockton
• West Hartlepool
• Sunderland
• Several stations on the Waverley route in Southern Scotland

Anyway, I digress. Also in the timetable is the Car-Carrying Services Network. It shows 2 stations which, again, may surprise people. Sutton Coldfield and Newton-le-Willows. Both were Motorail stations in the 60s.

The Items of Interest starts with “Out of Steam”, with information about the Bournemouth electrification scheme. A new timetable is due, cheap fares introduced and more continuous welded rail is being laid for “a smoother and quieter ride”.

The next segment shows more detailed information about services. It includes fares, which seems odd, but at this point was a logical thing as there weren’t many hundreds of ticket types or restrictions. There were ordinary tickets, Runabout tickets, Rovers, etc. Season tickets are mentioned, of which 2 were available to the public - Ordinary or Road/Rail; an early example of a “travelcard” scheme for certain towns/cities.

Reservations were issued at a cost of 3/- (15p); trains where reservations were available were listed later on in the book. Supplements for Pullman trains were also published. To travel to Brighton in First was 4/- (20p) and 2/6- (12.5p) in Second, Southampton Central 6/6- (32.5p) & 4/- (20p) and Bournemouth Central 8/- (40p) & 6/- (30p). 

If you wanted to holiday in a “desirable summer home with de luxe facilities”, you could take up residence in a Pullman Holiday Coach. Applications for such vehicles had to be made to an office in Waterloo station. Or if you weren’t planning on stopping in the Uk, the timetable goes into huge detail about all manner of shipping options across the Channel to France (11 pages in total!).

5 pages then detail “Ordinary, Cheap Off-Peak Return Fares and Weekly Season tickets”. Of interest regarding Ordinary fares is the structure. Distances up to 200 miles were priced on mileage rates of approximately 3¼d (1.354p) per mile. Over this it was “slightly lower”. In the London area, it was “generally” 3d (1.25p) a mile. 1st class was 50% more, with return prices being, again, “generally” double the single fare. A couple of example 2nd Class single fares:

• Brighton 14/-
• Dover (not via Folkestone or on Boat Expresses) 21/3
• Margate 20/3
• Southampton Central 21/9
• Woking 6/3

Then listed is seasons to London termini, with the cheap fares. Simple restriction on cheap tickets: Leave after 0930, don’t leave London between 1630 and 1830, travel anytime at weekends. Should anyone be interested, I shall quote fares by request!

Through bookings to Europe are included, with Paris and Brussels featured. One way to Paris, First Class, routed via Dover and Calais would set you back £7 15/- one way or £15 10/- return.

One thing (which is somewhat of a curiosity nowerdays) is the route indications page, which lists all the route codes. In the age before destination blinds were used, the Southern used 2 digit codes to distinguish where trains went. I’ll list a couple of examples:

• 4: Charing Cross and Margate, route Orpington and Dover Priory
• 20: Ashford and Hastings
• 31: Tonbridge and Eastbourne
• 34: Holborn or Blackfriars and Ramsgate, route Herne Hill and Chatham
• 55: Reading General to Tonbridge

These route indications take up 2 whole pages! I’m intrigued to see if any are still true, as you do occasionally see them on some trains. By this point, you get into the timetable and there’s hundreds of pages. So I’ll leave that. Needless to say at least one route closed during the currency of the timetable (Appledore to New Romney), on the orders of the then Minister for Transport, Barbara Castle. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this delve. There may be more, if people are interested.

Not sure if anyone has ever used this service, but an offshoot of megabus is megatrain. Now, as Virgin Trains is part-owned (in franchise terms) by Stagecoach, some trains offer exceptionally cheap “Advance” tickets. The 3 trains are in the middle of the day leaving Birmingham New Street, departing at 11:30, 11:50 and 12:50. In addition, tickets can be purchased for these trains, if starting your journey at Birmingham International.

Megatrain also do fares on South West Trains (franchise operated by Stagecoach Group). They do fares on some trains from £1. Other Megatrain tickets are also available on services operated by East Midlands Trains. 

Worth popping past www.megabus.com and having a look!

Well, I find myself travelling on a Crosscountry Turbostar from my “homeland” of the East Midlands back to Birmingham. Luckily at this time of night, one of these trains calls at the station closest to my father (Attenborough), which is normally served solely by East Midlands Trains.

They are good workhorses, and the use on a line such as Nottingham to Cardiff Central lets them use their 100mph top speed in quite a few places. They clock up a fair few miles in a day, with very few stops in quick succession. A mixture of 2 car and 3 car units make up the fleet, and their usage varies. No one Crosscountry route, over which Turbostar’s operate, sees sole operation of 2 or 3 car units. 

Following the moving of the Turbostar units from their last operator, Central Trains, they were to be refurbished and given a standard look. Central ordered Turbostar’s for operation on it’s long distance routes (towards the end of the franchise, commonly known as “Citylink”) and some of it’s inter-urban services to places such as Shrewsbury and Hereford. These were, again, a mix of 2 and 3 car units with blue and green interior and bold green, yellow and blue exterior. As well as these 170/5 (2 car) and /6 (3 car) sets, Central inherited ex Midland Mainline units (170/1). Apart from livery differences, the fundamental difference was the inclusion of a “First Class” section (and buffet counter) in the middle of the 3 car trains and at each end on 2 car train.

Refurbishment meant a refreshed interior, with more seats and new seat covers. All ex Midland Mainline seats would gain more seats than (if any gain were made) the Central units would. This being due to no provision of First Class seating in Central sets. Additional seats (at least 10) were gained as there was no longer a buffet counter. 

However, it seems as if the refurbishment has had unexpected consequences. Some of which seem rather strange. Take rubbish bins, for example. A useful thing for, err, putting your rubbish in. The refurbished sets lost quite a few of these, leading to the unpleasant sight of rubbish strewn everywhere. And by the end of the day, some of these trains are more akin to mobile rubbish trucks. 

Coathooks seems to also present a challenge in other vehicles. In the section of the middle coach I’m in, there are coathooks along one side, but not the other. Bit odd that something like this is overlooked. On the other hand, are coat hooks really that important these days?

The trains do not feature WiFi. This isn’t too much of an issue for me, as I don’t think that it works as well as I’d like it to on other trains. Mobile phone boosters I would suggest are more preferrable. Plug sockets at tables (and possibly at airline seats) would be an added plus in Standard, though plug sockets do feature as part of the fittings in First.

If you did put plug sockets into Standard Class, would it actually be worth putting in a First Class section? Apart from a sealed off saloon, 2 + 1 (and slightly more comfortable) seating and a table lamp, would people pay the premium? I’m sceptical.

Either way, a hard working unit which has been working hard for many years and will continue to do so. At some point as a rubbish truck, as well as a train too. 

Well I’m new(ish) to Tumblr. Hope this is the start of something good :)