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Eurail and InterRail: A guide to reservations

A one page guide to the trains on which Eurail and InterRail Pass users do and don't have to pay additional fees, plus the prices of making the reservations

By Simon Harper Simon Harper
| over 1 year ago
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If you have opted to use a Eurail or InterRail pass, we thought at an a glance guide to the trains which DO and DON'T require reservation fees to be purchased before boarding would be useful.

Train services which DON'T have mandatory reservations:

These trains and train services fall into two categories.

1. Services on which reservations aren't available:

Seat reservations aren't available on these trains

On these services because seat reservations aren't available to any traveller, rail pass users inevitably don't have to reserve either.

Virtually all local and regional trains across Europe are in this category, including these train services, that are most often encountered by rail pass users;

Some of the independent railway lines in Switzerland, also come into this category, including the four largest:

Seat reservations aren't available when travelling in Great Britain on trains operated by these companies:

Seat reservations also aren't available on express trains in the Benelux countries, so rail pass users don't have to reserve on these train services:

2. Services on which reservations are optional:

Train services on which seat reservations are optional

On these train services if you don't pay the optional seat reservation fees, finding seats on these trains is NOT guaranteed.

EuroCity (EC) trains:

IC trains:

Other express trains:

  • ICE trains (Germany and International)
  • Lyn (Denmark)
  • Railjets
  • (both within Austria and journeys between Austria and Czechia, Germany, Hungary and Slovakia,
  • but NOT between Austria and Italy)
  • Regiontog (Norway) (free for 1st class pass users only and reservations required on the Oslo - Bergen route.
  • Regiojet trains (Czechia/Austria/Hungary)
  • SJ Intercity (Sweden)
  • SJ Regional (Sweden)
  • Turkish express trains including the YHT trains.

Long-distance British trains:

on trains in Great Britain operated by:

Services on which reservations ARE mandatory:

Trains on which Eurail and InterRail Pass Users Must Reserve Prior to Boarding

When available, click the train services below to find out the price of the reservations and how you can book them.
Reservation fees are normally charged in local currency; so the € symbol can be a guide:
If you would rather avoid the most expensive rail pass reservation fees charged on the direct trains, take a look at these alternative journey options.

Fees when using 1st class passes on day trains:

If you will be using 1st class Eurail or InterRail passes you will need to book reservations in First class, but users of 2nd class passes cannot book seats in First class or its equivalents.
*= The prices users of First Class passes will pay if booked at stations (usually) or on the national rail operator's websites, so this price guide does not include booking fees.

Under €5 per seat:
Alfa Pendular (Portugal)
Avant (Spain)
EC trains between Austria/Germany ↔ Slovenia/Croatia
EC trains Germany ↔ Poland
EC trains Poland ↔ Austria
EC trains Poland ↔ Czechia/Hungary/Slovakia
EC trains Hungary ↔ Croatia/Slovenia/Serbia
EC trains - within Hungary
Ekspressen (Bulgaria)
Media Distancia (Spain)
IC (Hungary); IC (Portugal); IC (Slovakia); IC (Romania); IC (Poland)
ICS (Slovenia)
IR (Romania)
Regional (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
EIC (Poland)
TLK (Poland)
The reservations on these Polish services are free of charge if booked at a ticket office at a Polish station.

€5 - €10 per seat:

  • EC Germany ↔ Denmark* between 12 June and 4 September
  • EIP (Poland)
  • Frecce (Italy)
  • Intercités (France) certain routes only, price is €20 when the £10 reservations are sold out
  • SuperCity (Czechia)
  • IC (Spain)
  • TGV (inOui) (France) price is €20 when the £10 reservations are sold out.

€11 - €20 per seat:
EC trains Switzerland ↔ Italy

Railjet Austria ↔ Italy
Pendolino* (Finland)
Snabbtåg (Sweden)

€21 - €30 per seat:

  • Altaria (Spain)
  • Alvia (Spain)
  • AVE (Spain)
  • DB-SNCF (France <>Germany)
  • EC trains (Austria/Germany ↔ Italy via Brennero)
  • Euromed (Spain)
  • Lyria - (Switzerland <> French cities OTHER than Paris)
  • RENFE-SNCF (France <>Spain) price depends on distance. Lyon/Marseille <> Barcelona is under €30
  • [(TGV France ↔ Belgium)
  • Thalys Paris and Brussels <> Germany/The Netherlands

more than €30 per seat:

Limited numbers of reservations are available to rail pass users on the Eurostar, Thalys and DB-SNCF services, so booking as soon as possible for these trains is highly recommended, the most popular Eurostar and Thalys departures in particular, can sell out more than a week in advance.

Fees when using 2nd class passes on day trains:

*The prices users of 2nd class passes will pay if booked at stations (usually) or on the national rail operator's websites, so this price guide does not include booking fees.

Under €5 per seat on these EC services:

  • EC Germany](/travel-on/train/79-ic-ec-dennmarkgermany/) ↔ Denmark* between 12 June and 4 September
  • EC trains between Austria/Germany ↔ Slovenia/Croatia
  • EC trains Germany ↔ Poland
  • EC trains Poland ↔ Austria
  • EC trains Poland ↔ Czechia/Hungary/Slovakia
  • EC trains Hungary ↔ Croatia/Slovenia/Serbia
  • EC trains - within Hungary

Under €5 per seat on these other train services:

  • Alfa Pendular (Portugal)
  • Avant (Spain)
  • Ekspressen (Bulgaria)
  • Media Distancia (Spain
  • IC (Ireland) (free with a 1st class pass)
  • IC (Hungary); IC (Portugal); IC (Slovakia); IC (Romania) and IC (Poland)
  • ICS (Slovenia)
  • IR (Romania)
  • Regional (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  • EIC (Poland)
  • TLK (Poland)
  • The reservations on these Polish services are free of charge if booked at a ticket office at a Polish station.

€5 - €10 per seat:

€11 - €20 per seat:

€21 - €30 per seat:

more than €30 per seat:

Limited numbers of reservations are available to rail pass users on the Eurostar, Thalys and DB-SNCF services, so booking as soon as possible for these trains is highly recommended, the most popular Eurostar and Thalys departures in particular, can sell out more than a week in advance.

Using Eurail or InterRail on night trains:

Rail Pass reservation fees on night trains

Using a rail pass on a European night train is a different experience to using a Eurail or InterRail pass on a daytime train, so we have produced some bespoke info that you can find here.
Though the key thing to be aware of is that reservations fees for couchettes and sleeping cabins are comparatively expensive.
When ticket prices are set for the night trains, the fees for the journey element can be only around 20% of the total amount and this journey fee, is the only 'cost' covered by the Eurail and InterRail passes.

The details of the type of accommodation you can choose from, and the reservation fees for each of them is included on these guides to specific types of overnight trains;

AND on these EuroNight train routes:

Though if you want to book your night train reservation in advance of setting off on your trip, the three key things to be aware of are:

1: Booking services, which allow seats on daytime trains to be booked online, usually don't allow rail pass users to make reservations for night trains, particularly in the sleeping accommodation such as the couchettes and the beds in sleeping cabins.

The main exceptions to this 'rule' are:
- OBB, the Austrian national rail operator and provider of the Nightjet network, now enables rail pass users to book reservations online for any journey by Nightjet PLUS any other night train to/from Austria - how to do this is explained here.

- The Czech national rail operator CD, also enables rail pass users to book reservations online for night trains from and to The Czech Republic - here are the instructions.

- Rail pass reservations can be booked by phone for the Caledonian Sleeper services, between London and Scotland.

2: The German national rail operator DB has recently withdrawn its online facility for the booking of night train reservations.

3: If you will be travelling on a service/route on which the operator doesn't offer the facility for rail pass users to book specific night train rail pass reservations online, the only option for booking in advance of your trip, is to use the Eurail reservation service or the InterRail reservation service - though you will be charged a €2 booking fee per reservation, per person.

Services which should be booked in advance:

ShowMeTheJourney's advice, based on our own travel experiences, is to avoid booking both optional and mandatory reservations at the last minute, on these services in particular:

Reservations by country:

These lists of DAYTIME train services; also include the international train services to/from each country.

Austria:

NO Reservation Required:

Reservation Required:

You can book these optional and compulsory reservations online on the OBB, Austrian national railways, website before arriving in Austria.
You can usually book reservations for journeys within Austria and for journeys to Germany up to 6 months ahead and on most other international trains up to 3 months ahead.

How to book day train reservations follow the step-by-step instructions
And there are also step-by-step instructions for booking the reservations on the night trains.

Belgium:

NO Reservation Required:

Reservation Required:

Avoid booking reservations at stations in Belgium, you will have to pay booking fees.

Reservations for the Eurostar; Thalys and now the the TGV Bruxelles/France trains can be booked on B-Europe - Eurostar reservations can normally be booked up to 6 months ahead and Thalys reservations can usually be booked up 4 months ahead, with 3 months ahead being the usual advance period for the international TGV services.

Bulgaria:

Reservation Required:

  • Ekspressen
  • EC trains

Czechia:

NO Reservation Required:

Reservation Required:

These mandatory and optional reservations can be booked online from 2 months ahead, with no booking fees, on the CD website - how to do this (it's the same process as adding a reservation when booking tickets).
CD also enables rail pass users to book reservations online for night trains from and to The Czech Republic - here are the instructions.

More info about using rail passes to travel both within and to/from Czechia by day trains.

Denmark:

NO Reservation Required:

If you dowant to reserve on a national rail service then book the reservations at the station; ideally when you first arrive at a location.
Rail pass reservations can't be booked on the DSB (Danish national railways) website.

Reservation Required:

Book the reservations for the Snabbtåg trains to Sweden* on the SJ (Swedish Railways) website up to 3 months in advance (*You have to take the Øresundståg trains on journeys to Malmo).

Between 12 June and 4 September you must reserve on the EC trains to Germany: 1st class = €5.30; 2nd class = €4.
Reservations on these trains, including for journeys FROM Denmark, can be booked up to 4 months ahead on the DB (German Railways) website - the booking process is explained here.

More info about using rail passes to travel in and to/from Denmark by day trains is available HERE

France:

NO Reservation Required:

Reservation Required:

Reservations for journeys within France and on the TGV France-Italy services can be booked online up to 3 months ahead of the travel date.
You can book reservations online by using the Eurail reservation service or the InterRail reservation service - though you will be charged a €2 booking fee per reservation, per person.

However, this €2 fee can now be avoided if you have valid Eurail or InterRail passes by booking reservations for journeys by TGV trains within France on B-Europe, the international online booking service provided by Belgium's national rail company.
Though on B-Europe reservations cannot be booked for the Intercités routes which also have mandatory reservations.
Also for journey options which involves two TGV trains, the fee will need to be paid per train.

It's pretty much straightforward to use, except for the one quirky feature illustrated below.
Booking TGV reservations for Eurail and InterRail with BEurope
This may be to do with SMTJ's settings on the PC, but we had to enter the county of residency manually, B-Europe initially pre-populated it, but it wouldn't stick.

However, the ability to book reservations on the OuiSNCF and RailEurope websites has been removed, though hopefully it's only a temporary measure.

Reservations for the Eurostar; Thalys and TGV Bruxelles/France trains can also be booked on B-Europe - Eurostar reservations can normally be booked up to 6 months ahead and Thalys reservations can usually be booked up 4 months ahead, with 3 months ahead being the usual advance period for the international TGV services.

More info about using rail passes to travel in and to/from France by day trains is available HERE

Germany:

NO Reservation Required:

Reservation Required:

You can usually purchase optional and mandatory seat reservations for the daytime trains on the DB (German national railways) website - the main exceptions are the Thalys trains and DB-SNCF high speed services.
The booking process is explained here (ticket holders can take the same steps to add a reservation).

The major stations in Germany, the hauptbahnhofs, house Reisezentrum travel desks at which rail pass reservations can be booked for the majority of all European train services, with no booking fees applied.
More info about using rail passes to travel in and to/from Germany by day trains is available HERE

Great Britain:

NO Reservation Required:

Rail pass reservations aren't mandatory on any British train service, but if you will be travelling on train services operated by...

...reservations are available, but optional (* = long-distance journeys only)

There is no charge for booking them, but they must be arranged a minimum of four hours prior to departure; and can be booked from 10 - 12 weeks ahead of travel.
They can often be booked by messaging the train operator's social media channels - here's a guide to which company operates the services on the most popular routes.
Or they can be booked at staffed ticket counter, or at an Advance Travel office, if a station has this facility.
If you'll be making multiple journeys, it can be a good idea to book all the reservations you require on the one visit to a ticket/travel desk.

Reservation Required:

Eurostar - can be booked from 6 months ahead

More info about using rail passes to travel in and to/from Great Britain

Hungary:

NO Reservation Required:

Reservation Required:

  • EC trains within Hungary
  • IC (Hungary)
  • Railjets within Hungary
  • EC trains Hungary ↔ Croatia/Slovenia/Serbia

Bookings will be available from 2 months in advance of travel, but for daytime travel the best option is to book at the station
More info about using rail passes to travel in and to/from Hungary by day trains is available HERE

Italy:

NO Reservation Required:

Reservation Required on Italian journeys:

When you have arrived in Italy rail pass reservations can be purchased from:
(1) Trenitalia branded ticket machines, or
(2) Ticket counters
and you won't be charged a booking fee.

Or before arriving in Italy, rail pass reservations can be easily booked on ItaliaRail.com usually from 4 months ahead of the travel date, simply use the 'I have a pass' options on the home page, just beneath the destination boxes - rail pass reservations are no longer sold on the Trenitalia website.
More information is available here.

Reservation Required on international journeys:

  • TGV France-Italy
  • Railjet
  • EC trains Italy ↔ Switzerland*
  • EC trains Italy ↔ Austria/Germany*
    *Also payable on journeys solely within Italy by these trains
    Especially avoid making journeys within Italy by these EC trains, the rail pass fees are more expensive than on the IC and Frecce trains.
    Alternative trains will be available.

The only online option for booking reservations for these international DAY trains before arriving in Italy is by using the Eurail reservation service or the InterRail reservation service but you will be charged a €2 booking fee per reservation - bookings will be available from 2 - 4 months ahead.
These reservations can't be booked on the Trenitalia website, but they can be booked at Trenitalia ticket desks at Italian stations, without paying booking fees.
ItaliaRail doesn't sell rail pass reservations for international journeys from and to Italy.

More info about using rail passes to travel in and to/from Italy by daytime trains is available HERE

Norway

NO Reservation Required:

Regiontog (all routes except Oslo - Bergen)

All other trains

Reservation Required:

Regiontog on the Oslo - Bergen route.
Can be booked from 90 days in advance.
Reservations on the Regiontog trains can arranged by calling the NSB international booking service on +4761051910

On the Oslo <> Stockholm trains: Snabbtåg and IC

Book the reservations for the trains to/from Sweden on the SJ (Swedish Railways) website
More info about using rail passes to travel in and to/from Norway by daytime trains is available HERE

Poland:

Reservation Required:

  • EC trains Poland ↔ Austria/Czechia/Germany/Hungary/Slovakia
  • EIP
  • EIC
  • IC
  • TLK

There is no charge for the EIC, IC and TLK trains, but seats must be reserved prior to boarding; can be booked from 30 days ahead of travel.
More info about using rail passes to travel in and to/from Poland by daytime trains is available HERE

Spain:

NO Reservation Required:

Reservation Required:

Can be booked up to 6 months in advance of travel.
More info about using rail passes to travel in and to/from Spain by daytime trains is available HERE

Sweden:

NO Reservation Required:

Reservation Required:

All rail pass reservations can be booked on the SJ (Swedish Railways) website - up to 3 months ahead of the travel date
More info about using rail passes to travel in and to/from Sweden by daytime trains is available HERE

Switzerland:

NO Reservation Required

Reservation Required

SBB's online seat reservation service does NOT sell reservations for journeys from Switzerland.
If you book reservations in Switzerland at a SBB travel desk, you will have to pay a 11 CHF booking fee, in ADDITION to the reservation fee.

Trenitalia, now no longer sells rail pass reservations for the EC trains between Switzerland and Italy online.
So the only online option for booking reservations before arriving in Switzerland is using the Eurail reservation service or the InterRail reservation service - but you will be charged a €2 booking fee per reservation, but using those services will be cheaper than booking reservations at a Swiss station.

If you will be travelling through Germany before heading to Switzerland, you can avoid all booking fees by arranging reservations on trains from Switzerland at the Reisezentrum travel desks in major German stations - the hauptbahnhofs.
More info about using rail passes to travel in and to/from Switzerland by daytime trains is available HERE

The Netherlands:

NO Reservation Required
IC
IC Berlijn
ICE
Intercity Brussels
Intercity Direct
Sprinter

Reservation Required

Avoid booking reservations at stations in The Netherlands, you will have to pay booking fees.
Resservations for the Thalys can be booked on B-Europe up to 4 months ahead of the travel date, while Eurostar reservations can be booked up to 6 months ahead.
More info about using rail passes to travel in and to/from The Netherlands by daytime trains is available HERE

Author

Simon Harper

I wanted to share my passion for train travel and explain how anyone can take the fantastic journeys I have taken.

ShowMeTheJourney

This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.

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