Train time! 🛤️ a day long thread 🧵
Traveling from Leipzig to Frankfurt to Brussels to London to Edinburgh.
Most times I did this journey by bus, and it is pretty unpleasant: 30 hours, jerky inner city driving, no table space of any description 😔 I have also flown a couple of times, which is fast and cheap but carbony 😓
Let's see how this goes! 🤞
Traveling from Leipzig to Frankfurt to Brussels to London to Edinburgh.
Most times I did this journey by bus, and it is pretty unpleasant: 30 hours, jerky inner city driving, no table space of any description 😔 I have also flown a couple of times, which is fast and cheap but carbony 😓
Let's see how this goes! 🤞
Doug Webb •
Start: Leipzig, 06:48
End: Frankfurt (Main,) 09:44
After getting up rather early for me, I got the tram to Leipzig Hbf with enough time to lazily get to my platform.
ICE (Inter City Express, the fastest type) arrived on time. I get on the first coach, and have to walk through 3/4 coaches of first class?! Never seen so much first class, but it was mostly filled so I guess DB did their maths.
No reservation, yet found a luxurious table spot, hurrah
Doug Webb •
Start: Frankfurt (Main,) 10:26
End: Bruxeles-Midi, 13:35
Another ICE, another unreserved table! So far so good.
I'll use this journey to talk about some of the not so good parts of this journey, hopefully which are now behind me...
Doug Webb •
Taking the train is significantly more expensive than taking bus or flying, 1.5 - 3 times more in my experience 🙃
The cheapest option I could find for this journey (5 weeks ago) was a 4-days-in-1-month interrail ticket (246€) + 2 compulsory eurostar reservations (2 * 32€ = 64€). A grand total of 310€, 155€ each way. This was cheaper than booking two direct journeys, more flexible, and I get two extra days of free train-travel.
Not sure if I'll be able to afford again
Doug Webb •
The interrail thing is cool: 1 ticket, any connection. It gets trickier if you take a route which requires seat reservations.
Reservations cost between 0€ and 32€, although they are mostly on the cheaper end of the spectrum. It was not completely clear which leg required one. I needed two, which I had to book from two different providers, because the interrail platform couldn't do it 🫠
Perhaps with intercontinental trips it's fine? Just Eurotunnel and UK being annoying?
Brecht Savelkoul •
Guy James •
Doug Webb •
Start: Bruxelles-Midi, 15:56
End: London St Pancreas (Intl.) 16:57
After a nice break, allowing me to walk 500m from the station and half the price of hot food, it's under the sea to London.
First reservation of the trip. No more masks.
BrigitteK •
Doug Webb •
Start: London King's Cross, 18:00
End: Edinburgh, 22:19
Last leg! Long day. But certainly way better than the bus. Another compulsory reservation, once again usable table!
BrigitteK •
Doug Webb •
And the security & border control was way more humane and quick than flying or bus.
Doug Webb •
Theft of signal cabling near Doncaster means first train was canceled, fortunately further travel not affected 🤡
I used the 2 other days for a quick trip to Aviemore and a quick trek up Cairn Gorm - something I wouldn't have done without the ticket.
#train #choochoo #interrail
Doug Webb •
Indra Kupferschmid 💙💛 •
jums •
Doug Webb •