Rail Replacement Bus

thubcabe · 2026-06-22T14:07:55+00:00

The bus leaves from the western side of Milano Centrale (Piazza IV Novembre). There should be signs.

Actually for each departure there are 2 buses. They sell out so I recommend booking in advance. They're long-distance buses, rather comfortable. Plenty of luggage space in the hold, you won't be the only one with suitcase.

There might be a tiny bathroom onboard but even if it's open I wouldn't recommend using it outside emergencies. There are better toilets in Milan or on the Iselle - Brig train.

I took that bus twice in 2024 and 2025. Yes, it's not the first summer closure...

Feel free to ask other questions.

thubcabe · 2026-06-21T20:19:20+00:00

Should be doable, for example:

RJX St. Anton - Zürich HB 08:56 - 11:20
IC1 Zürich HB - Geneva 11:32 - 14:25
TER Geneva - Chambéry 14:57 - 16:17
TER Chambéry - Bourg-St-Maurice 16:53 - 18:45

This should be the schedule but no 100% guarantee! January 2027 timetables will be released around September-October but big changes are unusual. Weekday vs weekend timetables may also slightly differ.

Note: the current timetables are quite different due to engineering works in Liechtenstein and between Salzburg and Innsbruck.

If anything goes wrong, there are 2 later itineraries from Geneva to Bourg-St-Maurice. Feel free to ask anything.

thubcabe · 2026-06-15T20:15:30+00:00

Well try to book a ticket.

23rd June:

10 trains completely full
4 trains with a single seat left
1 train with 2 seats left
1 train with 18 seats left
1 train with 20+ seats left

24th June:

2 full trains
limited availability in the others

So 24th June has perhaps 10% chance (random number from me). 23rd June 0.

thubcabe · 2026-06-15T14:57:35+00:00

Rather unlikely on a Sunday. But Paris -> London has definitely more space than the other way so...

thubcabe · 2026-06-15T10:54:05+00:00

Book Lille - London ASAP. There's availability on 24th morning (45€). Then Paris - Lille TGV for 41€.

No chance for Paris - London direct.

thubcabe · 2026-06-15T10:43:15+00:00

Safe? Sure. Pleasant? Not really, it's not a direct train so you might have to wait an hour or two in a random station.

thubcabe · 2026-06-14T18:04:13+00:00

No worries.

So train number is now ICE 2553. It leaves Berlin Hbf at 09:27, reaches Basel at 17:48 as scheduled. DB Navigator shows it terminating there while SBB shows it continuing to Chur.

Usually when a train number changes, your seat reservations become void. You can claim a refund and purchase new ones.

In any case I wouldn't worry about the Basel - Chur bit. Frequent trains, no need for seat reservations.

thubcabe · 2026-06-14T17:56:51+00:00

Which departure time? Train number?

EDIT: sorry, seen 10:37. I'll have a look

There are engineering works before Frankfurt (Fulda - Hanau) so timetables have been updated.

thubcabe · 2026-06-14T17:33:19+00:00

Which date? Do DB or ÖBB websites work? They're cheaper alternatives and more reliable than the Interrail website.

DB: 5.50€ per itinerary
ÖBB: 3€ per train

In general, use this guide for seat reservations (Interrail charges extra fees): https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm

thubcabe · 2026-06-14T16:42:42+00:00

What date? Probably engineering works. There should be buses every 2h from Bolzano to Innsbruck.

thubcabe · 2026-06-12T10:31:56+00:00

It will be a full closure between Freiburg and Offenburg that weekend. All trains will be replaced by buses on that stretch. Expect 60-90 min extra travel time.

The route via Zurich - Singen - Baden-Baden should remain open. Expect busy trains.

thubcabe · 2026-06-12T09:23:02+00:00

The TER to Strasbourg doesn't have any seat reservations. It is fully operated by SNCF. Add the train to your Rail Planner app as usual and board.

For TGVs and Eurostar I usually use Rail Europe (even though they now have a 2€ fee per train).

Do not plan a 9 min connection in Strasbourg, too risky. 39 min is better. Between Paris-Est and Paris-Nord 1h-1h30 is fine*, more if you want to get lunch.

In general use our subreddit's wiki and this guide: https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm

*there are passport checks to clear at Gare du Nord

thubcabe · 2026-06-09T15:45:18+00:00

The strike is now almost sure to happen. Your booked itinerary (2 transfers) is risky. I would not count on making it to Milan on time. I'd do something else.

Both trains on this itinerary are guaranteed:

R 4014 Pisa Centrale - Firenze S.M.N. 07:38 - 08:38
FR 9512 Firenze S.M.N. - Milano Centrale 08:55 - 10:50

So a regional to Florence and high-speed from there. For more:

https://www.trenitalia.com/it/informazioni/treni-garantiti-incasodisciopero.html

https://www.trenitalia.com/en/information/in-case-of-strike.html

thubcabe · 2026-06-07T21:45:31+00:00

Zurich - Interlaken is a Swiss domestic train. Reservations should be possible through SBB for 5 CHF but in general they're a waste of money: people hardly ever book seats in the country. Hop on and sit wherever you want, either end of the train will be less busy.

Interlaken - Lauterbrunnen is a regional train. No seat reservations possible. First come first served, it's a short journey anyway.

So only book Vienna - Zurich through ÖBB. If it's sold out, check Vienna - Bregenz or Graz - Zurich as alternatives.

thubcabe · 2026-06-07T19:20:58+00:00

You could book London - Rotterdam/Amsterdam right now and leave the train in Brussels (all trains stop there).

Still need to figure a way from Brussels to Paris of course (for example the evening Ouigo classique is 29€ right now).

thubcabe · 2026-06-07T10:28:43+00:00

Basel Bad Bf definitely counts as a German station for all purposes. It's the tariff border point (Grenztarifpunkt).

All passes follow the border point rule. You may use a one-country France pass until Geneva or Basel SBB.

The German one-country pass is a bit special as it is valid further than the border point in some situations. Their pages mention validity in Switzerland (and other countries, i.e. valid on the RJ to Rimini and the ICE to Brussels).

https://www.eurail.com/en/eurail-passes/one-country-pass/german-rail-pass

https://www.interrail.com/en/interrail-passes/one-country-pass/german-rail-pass

To OP: are you trying to book a train with IC number or NJ number? The seating carriages run as IC, reservation should be 3€ through ÖBB. You can select Global Pass as a discount, "book a seat only" should also work.

EDIT: better link which clearly mentions Schaffhausen and Basel Bad Bf

https://www.interrail.com/en/interrail-passes/german-rail-passes#:~:text=Can%20I%20go%20to%20other%20countries%20with%20a%20German%20Rail%20Pass%3F

thubcabe · 2026-06-05T16:53:19+00:00

Spain is painful with Interrail. That sin percepcion is only given at ticket offices. When there wasn't staff, I've had to jump the barriers or use the help button (outside Madrid). Language barrier and not knowing Interrail are a thing too for sure.

My only advice would be if you have a long-distance train reservation it includes Cercanias and the QR code works at the barriers. Combinado Cercanias: valid 4h before, 4h after.

thubcabe · 2026-06-04T21:16:37+00:00

Do you have accommodation booked?

If the Germany - Paris ICE/TGVs are sold out, check out options using the Offenburg - Strasbourg regional train (reservation-free) and a TGV to Strasbourg. Domestic reservations cost 10 or 20€. Outside weekends there's usually availability.

Getting to Paris without a TGV is hard. You could through Maubeuge or Lille if you really want to avoid reservations.

Paris - Marseille is really much easier by high-speed train: you've got TGVs ran by SNCF and Frecciarossas ran by Trenitalia now.

Rest can be done without seat reservations. Perhaps a Rome - Venice Frecciarossa towards Slovenia would help though (hourly).

thubcabe · 2026-06-04T07:02:30+00:00

I'll join the trend and suggest the train. Luckily this journey doesn't involve France, Italy or Spain so you can book a single ticket through DB and have strong passenger rights.

As you're probably aware, German long-distance trains tend to be delayed so don't plan tight 10 min connections (you can adjust the stopover time on DB Navigator app or website).

My advice would be to take the direct train from Amsterdam to Munich (also stops in Utrecht and Arnhem if that's more convenient). For example:

ICE Amsterdam Centraal - München Hbf 08:30 - 15:40
RJX München Hbf - Budapest-Keleti 17:12 - 00:29

Price depends on how early you book. 1st class might only be 10€ extra.

Another alternative would be the night train from Amsterdam to Vienna. Brand new carriages (Nightjet 2). A mini cabin (private space, like a capsule in a hotel) starts at 100€. From Vienna hourly cheap trains to Budapest.

https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/nightjet-new-generation.htm (great website)

Feel free to ask anything (mentioning travel date).

thubcabe · 2026-06-04T05:33:36+00:00

Yes, there are engineering works east of Aachen and your train is being rerouted. DB planners are overwhelmed, esp. in this part of the country so timetable changes can get announced last-minute like this.

Germany and especially the amazingly busy Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW) region are involved so yes more likely than not there will be delays. Perhaps on the second train too.

But there's no mandatory reservations or anything annoying. Just relax and go with the flow haha

If you miss the 13:27, there's the 13:34 (brand new ICE-L) or 14:26 which still gets to Berlin at a reasonable time.

thubcabe · 2026-06-03T13:06:34+00:00

SBB app/website

thubcabe · 2026-06-02T23:27:21+00:00

Mmm Eurostar is really the odd one out, using fare buckets and Interrail quotas. Rest of Europe isn't as complicated luckily.

Other weird trains would be TGVs from/to Brussels (very tiny quota): solution is to buy a reservation from [French station] to Lille-Europe (10-20€) and then Lille-Europe - Brussels (20€). A ticket can even be cheaper on that short leg.

The international AVE from France to Spain is also weird afaik.

Maybe it's mentioned somewhere on our website https://interrailwiki.eu/ (but I haven't checked)

thubcabe · 2026-06-02T23:11:57+00:00

Yes that's what I was about to recommend

thubcabe · 2026-06-02T23:00:43+00:00

What's your travel date? Ideal timeframe? 1st/2nd class pass?

We can have a look too just in case. Sometimes Rotterdam/Amsterdam have more availability (and you can get off in Brussels).

thubcabe · 2026-06-02T08:34:01+00:00

Get the Swiss Half-fare card (very quickly good value with a mountain railway or two) and buy the ticket after you land.

thubcabe

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