Luggage on trains in europe

Lis, that shouldn't be a problem at all. I've seen people travelling with a lot more than that. If the suitcase is a reasonable size, it will probably fit in the overseat racks. If it's larger there's usually a luggage rack at the end of the car.

I normally travel with a Backpack and a smaller Daypack, and always use the overseat rack. The Daypack stays close-at-hand though.

It's a good idea to remember the "pack light" philosophy, as most often you'll be the one hauling the bags on and off the trains.

Cheers!

My husband gets on/off the train first so i can pass the suitcases to him as the steps are high. We place our suitcase overhead opposite us so we can watch them better and I dangled a red ribbon off it. However I have never felt anyone was ready to steal them. You want the suitcase small enough to go in the overhead bins instead of at the back.

Before you decide, you should know that many of the train stations in Europe do not have elevators, and getting to various tracks often requires going up and down stairs and walking in the tunnels under the tracks. I would suggest that you pack the two bags each that you want to take, and go to the nearest building with more stairs rising more than 3 floors...walk up and down a couple of times carrying your bags...if this is not a problem, then you should have no problem with the luggage in Europe.

You'll be just fine with that amount of luggage on the trains. Bill is correct about the train stations with multiple platforms and the need to go down 25-30 stairs, walk through tunnels and then up another 25-30 stairs. Most stations outside of the major city stations do not have elevators. My wife and I are seniors and had 22" roller bags with carryon. We did the stairs thing several times and didn't miss any trains.

We had our luggage tagged and tried to be careful as possible on all our train transfers. However, on our last train, our one larger bag that we had placed on a luggage rack at the back of the coach was stolen. We were among the first to board the train and then went on to our reserved seats. The coach was packed, so our bag would have been on the back or the bottom of the piles of other bags that were there also. So we suspect it was stolen long BEFORE the final destination. We took our eye off the ball, and bam, it was gone. We searched and ran ahead to see if we could find, but it was no accident, just plain and simple theft. Thank goodness, we had nothing in it but clothes and souvenirs. All important papers and must haves were on our persons or in our other 3 small bags that were with us at all times. So never let your guard down, not for a second. From this day forward, ALL our bags will find a spot right near us. We simply got complacent. Never do that.

Try to bring a bag that is any color but black. Theft is an unfortunate problem while on trains. Theives usually take black bags because if they get caught, they claim that they just picked up the wrong bag. Bold patterns and colors work best.

We traveled from Rome to Assisi to Florence by Trenitalia with one carry on and one small suitcase on wheels (followed Rick's packing light suggestions). Other than having to heave yourself and your luggage up a big step to get onto the train (and then down again), it was a breeze. There are luggage racks above the seats that are sturdy and keep your luggage within eyesight. Traveling by train gave us a two hour rest break and spectactular views of the passing landscapes.

After traveling for 3 wks with a backpack and a rolling suitcase, my advise is to pack the suitcase with what you think you need, and then REMOVE HALF OF IT!!!!!
I forgot about how many stairs there are in and out of train stations, metros, etc. Hauling a bunch of luggage is a pain!!!!!

Take as little as possible. We each had one carry on bag and we were so glad that's all we had after all the stairs and hauling them up into the trains, buses, etc.

If you have to have a 2nd bag make it a back pack. I really felt sorry for people with more than one piece of luggage to deal with.

You won't have any problem with the train not allowing your luggage. Depending on how much you have, it could create a headache getting around and boarding and exiting your trains.

Anything that is hard to hand carry presents a lot of problems. If there is a possibility of reducing to one carryon bag for your trip, you would appreciate it in the long run.

Carrying extra stuff is not only a headache but potentially sets you up for theft. Luggage and hand bags are a lot like kids, one is easier to keep track of than two, two are easier than three, etc. Thieves look for people who are overburdened, they are already distracted which is half the thieve's job.