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Going abroad

Eurostar

Eurostar links London and the South East to Lille, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam on a daily basis, plus seasonal services to Disneyland Paris, Lyon, Avignon and Marseille, and ski resorts in the French Alps. Interchange at Lille for many French destinations, Brussels Midi stations for destinations in Germany and Benelux, or by changing stations in Paris for many French cities and selected destinations in Switzerland, Italy and Spain (please allow sufficient time when changing trains and/or stations).

Booking early can save you money - Eurostar tickets are usually released 180 days before travel. For the cheapest fares, book off-peak tickets online as soon as they go on sale; the lowest fares from St Pancras are most likely to be available for departures from noon on Monday until the last service on Thursday, and for Saturday services from noon onwards. If you can't book that far in advance, check the very earliest and latest trains – with the limited number of onward connections, they tend to be less in demand. Middle-of-the-day services are also cheaper. Alternatively, if you are flexible of the time of travelling, book in advance with Eurostar Snap, identify the day you want to travel and whether morning or afternoon, and you will be notified of your train time 48 hours before travel.

An Interrail pass covering the country at one or other end of your Eurostar journey will entitle you to a discounted Eurostar fare.

Eurostar and some British train operators offer Eurostar tickets with through travel from 130 major stations in the UK. These are covered by 'Convention Internationale pour le transport des Voyageurs' (CIV) international railway conditions of carriage throughout, so if your UK connection is delayed you can take the next available Eurostar train - see The Man in Seat 61.

Example of a Euro High-Saver ticket that includes the CIV guarantee of a connection onto Eurostar without additional payment if a train on Britain's rail network is delayed or cancelled resulting in the passenger missing their Eurostar train. Example of Cambridge to London If you buy the connecting journey in the UK separately, make sure the ticket from your home station is to 'London St Pancras International (CIV)', 'London International' or 'London Eurostar' (not 'London St Pancras International').  The ‘CIV’ ticket guarantees you a seat on the next available Eurostar train if your UK train is delayed.  Without a CIV ticket, unless your Eurostar ticket is flexible, you would have to buy a new Eurostar ticket. The CIV ticket allows travel to London St Pancras, including the tube if necessary. On some routes the CIV ticket is cheaper than a normal anytime ticket but has no time restrictions; on other routes both anytime (without time restrictions) and 'high saver' (cheaper but with time restrictions) tickets are available. The 'London St Pancras International (CIV)' and 'London International' versions can be bought with a railcard; the 'London Eurostar' version cannot, but is cheaper than the others.  For more details see CIV tickets or The Man in Seat 61, where you can also buy tickets. CIV tickets can also be bought from Trainsplit, and can be bought at your station booking office (either on the day or before) if you show your Eurostar ticket or confirmation. They can not be bought from the normal rail ticket websites, ticket vending machines or by phone.

However some operators offer separate discounted fares to St Pancras labelled 'International Excursion Ticket' (ITX) - we advise against buying these because they do not offer protection against delay, and may be more expensive than CIV tickets.

Please View or Download our Eurostar Travel Survey report. The survey gave us a full picture of who uses Eurostar and why, how they book their ticket and their experience of travel on board and onward connections, so that we can campaign for improved services.

Airports

Railfuture completed a survey of public transport links to airports in 2012 – view or download the Airlinks report. (612Bb)
Heathrow
Heathrow Express (with a premium fare) and Heathrow Connect (part of TfL Rail since May 2018) offer services to Paddington.  Railcard discounts are allowed, but (aside from the Disabled Persons Railcard) only if bought from the ticket office, for travel today or up to 2 days ahead, and not on carnet tickets.  Tickets on Heathrow Express can be bought on the train, but at extra cost.  The Piccadilly line provides a cheaper but slower route to central London. 

RailAir coach services connect with Great Western Railway and South Western Railway services at Reading and Woking respectively – for the Reading service, it is cheaper to book rail and coach tickets separately in advance, and railcard discounts are available; for Woking, coach tickets must be booked separately and there are no railcard discounts.
Gatwick
Gatwick Express offers a frequent non-stop service to and from London Victoria, but is more expensive and very little faster than the regular Southern services to London and Thameslink services to Bedford, Peterborough and Cambridge calling at principal stations enroute. 

Great Western Railway operates an hourly service from Reading which is convenient for connections from the West of England, South Wales and the Midlands. GWR also offers a Gatwick Flyaway ticket from GWR served stations on routes not via London at a fixed price for a group of 2, 3 or 4 adults and up to 4 children.
Stansted
Stansted Express offers low-cost advance and group fares between Stansted and London. CrossCountry Trains operate an hourly direct service from Birmingham, via Leicester and Peterborough, taking 3 hours, but fares can be rather expensive - it can be cheaper and sometimes faster via London.
UK Regional Airports
Many other UK airports are easily accessible by rail, for example Birmingham, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London City, Manchester, Southampton.

Ferries

It is sometimes difficult for rail passengers to gain access to ferries, so Railfuture lobbies operators of ferries, trains and buses to co-ordinate their operations to make it easier for passengers.  In 2013 Railfuture completed a survey of ferry passengers to gather information about how easy or difficult it is, and to provide objective evidence to support our case – view or download the Ferrylinks report. (465kB)

If you can provide information about other ferries useful to rail passengers, please email editor at railwatch.org.uk.

Ireland

  • Stena Line, Irish Ferries and Transport for Wales offer Sailrail combined rail and ferry tickets to Ireland via Holyhead, Fishguard and Pembroke Dock routes, available online, or from any TfW station booking office or by telephone 0333 321 1202.
  • Virgin Trains offers Rail & Sail combined rail and ferry tickets to Ireland via the Holyhead route, available online, from Virgin station booking offices or by telephone 08719 774 222.
  • ScotRail offers Rail & Sail combined rail and ferry tickets via the Ayr and Cairnryan route to Belfast or Larne, available online, from Scotrail station booking offices, or by telephone 08457 550 033. However this involves a 75 minute bus journey between Ayr and Cairnryan, whereas by travelling via Stranraer only a 10 minute bus journey and a short walk from the town is required (there is also one bus per day directly between Stranraer station and Cairnryan). From Belfast rail services (for which a separate ticket is required) operate to Dublin.
Holyhead-Dublin
The train takes rail passengers direct to the ferry terminal at Holyhead (North Wales) where check-in is easy. Irish Ferries provides a bus from the ferry terminal at Holyhead to the ferry berth. Stena Line, based in Holyhead, also operate on this route. At Dublin Port:
  • a special bus takes foot passengers from the ferry terminal to the city centre. You need to pay the exact fare, which is low.
  • Dublin Bus number 53 (one an hour) also calls at the ferry port and takes passengers to Connolly station in the city centre, much more cheaply than by taxi.
Fishguard-Rosslare
Stena Line operates the route.  ATW operates the Cardiff-Fishguard Harbour rail service.  Irish Rail operates the Rosslare to Dublin rail service.
Pembroke Dock-Rosslare
Irish Ferries operates the route.
ATW operates the Cardiff-Rembroke Dock rail service. Irish Rail operates the Rosslare to Dublin rail service.

Isle of Man

Steam Packet operates services from Belfast, Birkenhead, Dublin, Heysham and Liverpool to Douglas.

France

Brittany Ferries operates the following services:

Holland

Stena Line operates a service from Harwich to Hoek van Holland. There are two sailings a day. The day sailings have through train connections to/from London to Harwich International with connections via Manningtree nationally.

The night sailing has through train connections to and from London via Colchester and to and from Cambridge via Newmarket, Bury St. Edmunds and Ipswich direct to Harwich International. The night fares include a very comfortable cabin.

The transfer is direct from train to ship and vice versa. These ferries are amongst the largest in the world and very comfortable.

Stena Line offers Dutch Flyer combined rail and ferry tickets from any Abellio Greater Anglia station to any station in Holland. Available online, from London Liverpool Street station booking office or telephone 08445 762762.

Foreign rail travel

Europe
You can travel to continental Europe by Eurostar train direct or by train and ferry.  Once there, rail is a good way to enjoy your visit in comfort.

A new printed European Rail Timetable was launched in March 2014 to replace the version produced for 140 years by Thomas Cook. It is being produced by the same team that worked for Thomas Cook, led by John Potter. You can buy either paper or digital versions from http://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu

Loco2 have published The Great Train Comparison of how well European train companies meet the requirements of different types of traveller.

The following links may help:
  • Loco2 Makes booking tickets for combined UK and European rail journeys simple
  • DeutscheBahn Plan journeys anywhere in Europe, and buy tickets for journeys in Germany
  • GoEuro Plan and book combined rail and air journeys in UK and Europe
  • Rome2Rio Plan and book multi-modal journeys combining rail and air travel
  • International Rail Book rail tickets worldwide
  • Switzerland Travel Centre Flights, hotels and Swiss rail tickets
  • Russian Railways Rail timetable information for Russia and other CIS states can be found in English
  • Real Russia Book rail tickets across Europe, into and across Russia
  • Irish Rail Plan journeys in Ireland and buy tickets
  • Ferrysavers may offer cheaper tickets than the ferry company websites, but does not offer the combined rail and ferry tickets which are available for some routes from the rail companies.
  • InterRail The InterRail Global Pass allows five days of rail travel, within a 15-day period, across 33 countries - and a reduction in Eurostar travel and sometimes in ferry travel. Passes are also available for shorter and longer periods and for individual countries. There are restrictions, which vary between countries, on the use of this ticket on High Speed and Intercity trains, and in most cases reservations are needed for these trains. You can also use it in Great Britain to travel to and from the port or Eurostar terminal, but each way may take up a day of validity of the pass which may not be cost-effective. Refer to the Interrail website for details and prices.
  • TGV.co.uk Book travel on high speed trains in France, with connections throughout Europe
  • The Man in Seat 61 Independent advice on travel by train worldwide, including advice on sleeper trains and on where and how to book to get the best deal
  • Trainline (previously Captain Train) sells rail tickets for 22 countries across Europe.
  • Railteam links you to high speed operators in at least 8 countries and contains a helpful journey planner linking stations in Britain with station in those countries.
  • Europe by Rail The Thomas Cook guide features route planners and city maps, as well as tips for budget accommodation and eating places.
  • RailTourGuide sells international rail tickets. Based in Newcastle, it can be contacted by email at sales at railtourguide.com or by phone at 0191 246 0708.
  • Sketch map of high-speed rail connections in Britain and Europe (235kB).
  • Railways through Europe Information and maps for rail enthusiasts about European cross-border lines
  • Shift to Rail How the European Commission is trying to promote European rail integration
  • Rail World More international rail websites
Any EU citizen over 65 years old can travel FREE anywhere on the Hungarian Railways domestic network. Yes, unlimited free travel in Hungary! You still need to go to the ticket office and get a free ticket to your chosen destination, and you must still pay any fast train supplement. Or you can book online at www.mavcsoport.hu/en, looking for the 'Full fare' drop-down menu and selecting 'Person over 65'. If you want 1st class you must pay the difference between 1st and 2nd class fares before boarding. Trams and buses are also free if you're over 65.
America
Fares vary hugely in America but an economical option is a USA Rail Pass from Amtrak for 30 days, during which you can take 12 “segments” or point-to-point journeys. You pay extra for anything more than a seat and you need to make reservations. You are restricted to four stops on any one line. A 15-day pass for eight segments is cheaper.

Travel agents

Travel agents who can deal with rail trips in foreign countries include:
  • Ffestiniog Travel Sells rail tickets throughout the world and scored top in the mystery shopper exercise in our previous Eurostar survey. Tel: 01766 512400
  • Deutsche Bahn  UK Booking Centre. Tel: 08718 80 80 66 (8p per minute).
  • OUI.sncf Book tickets online or phone 0033 9 70 60 99 70
  • Trainseurope Book tickets or InterRail and USA rail passes. Tel: 0871 700 7722 or call at 4 Station Approach, March, Cambs PE15 8SJ
  • Rail Canterbury Continental rail specialists, 39 Palace Street, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2DZ. Tel: 01227 450088. Email: rail at rail-canterbury.co.uk
  • The Association of European Rail Agents is a group of 11 travel agents who specialise in international rail travel.

European Passenger Rights

Passengers travelling by plane, ferry, train and coach have certain rights in the event of travel disruption. For further details see www.ec.europa.eu/passengerrights. There is also a European Passenger Charter agreed by UITP, the international association of public transport operators and authorities in the European Union, and the European Passenger Federation, an association of passenger organisations to which Railfuture is affiliated. However your rights as a passenger may change after the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019.

Disclaimer

Changes to the details above can happen quickly so please check conditions and prices with your chosen travel provider before booking.


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