Trains name and train stations

Fundamental tool for train travel: www.seat61.com

If you are looking up trains in the main national rail websites (for example, the best of all: www.bahn.de ), you don't have to know the station names, just put in the name of the city, and it will find the best station. If you get the wrong one, you can easily tell, as it will show a short leg via city transport from the correct station to the one you chose.

Trains do not have names (except for certain special ones), I do not understand what you mean here.

For the places you listed, the stations are:

• Paris to Geneva is Paris Gare de Lyon (other stations for other destinations from Paris)
• Geneva is just Genève, the name of the city French, but Geneva also works.
• Lucerne is Luzern, the name in German, but Lucerne also works.
• Zermatt is Zermatt.
• St Moritz is St Moritz
• Venice is Venezia Santa Lucia. It has another station, called Venezia Mestre, which is on the mainland and not the one you want.

Simple!

John,

Chris has given you very detailed information above.

I just want to add that you can also check this website for all your transportation options: http://www.rome2rio.com

Thnx Chris F for ur help.
Train names, I meant which train do I need to catch from Paris to gevneva like is TGV, euro star or another one??
Hope this makes sense.. And same from another stations like is there any names for trains like they have for glacier train and all??

Thank you Priscilla.
I tried tht site and they do show the timings but dnt how will this work whn traveling from one country to another??
And they do show number of change overs at different stops and Thts where I got stucked...

John,

Check the rome2rio website above & you will get all the info you need in terms of traveling from point A to point B

Click on the transport icon (train, bus, plane, etc) & you will see the route (with a map) & you will also see what agency
is responsible for such transport & thus you can see schedules & even book your tickets.

"which train do I need to catch from Paris to Geneva" - answer: any train that goes to the right place at the right time. TGV, Eurostar, Thalys or whatever are just brand names. Just lookup trains from A to B at the desired date and time and it will give you the train and it's train number.
The trains from Paris to Geneva are branded TGV Lyria (click here for their website), but you don't need to know that.
The national train websites (as listed on the man in seat 66 website) will do the bookings, regardless of the brandname.

The Glacier Express is just one particular train on the route from Zermatt to St Moritz. There are plenty of other regular trains that cover that route.

"but don't how will this work when traveling from one country to another" - Taking a train from one country to another is no different than taking a train inside a country.
"And they do show number of change overs at different stops and That is where I got stuck." - I don't quite understand what you got stuck on. It is showing you which trains you need to catch, what more do you want to know?

Appreciate ur help Chis F and Priscilla. Thnx a lot guys

John,

Use the bahn.de website as Chris recommended above.

I just did a search for March 17, 2015 & there is a TGV (high speed train) departing at 9:09 from Paris Gare de Lyon and it arrives in Geneva at 12:16.

Post more questions if you need to :-)

I will be traveling on October Priscilla. And thnx for the offer, I will ask if anything needed. Thank you

For your itinerary, using DB has one little problem, it does not show trains operated by Trenord, a private railway in Italy, and a key link to get from St Moritz to Venice. www.sbb.ch will show it however. The trip from St Moritz to Tirano Italy is quite scenic if the weather cooperates. Don't bother with a named train on this route unless you find it convenient. You have to change stations in Tirano, but they are across the street from each other.

Thnx Sam, I will try this website n ll let u know if I need any other information.

Just another thing come to mind is.. What shd I book first, I mean train tickets or accommodation ??

I go in this order: Flights, hotels, trains. Most trains cannot be booked until 120 days out (30 days in Switzerland, where advance booking is not necessary). Really, for your trip, only Paris-Geneva, and St Moritz -Venice need advance booking.

Hi guys, m trying this www.bahn.de to get estimate fares where m going, But I can't go further Thn selection. I dnt know Wht the problem is??
Now I need to select the option to go ahead but it doesn't give me any option to select one?? Can anyone help me plz how to enter in to ticket options?? Please
And it also saying tht it is international rate.. I dnt know what tht means...

And it also says tht Not available for purchase on the Internet.. I did enter all the information I need to put and still can't get the results..

Johny,
www.bahn.de is the German Railways site. They will show you trains in other countries, but they only sell tickets within, to or from Germany. None of your journeys are in Germany, and none of them can be purchased on this site. That is what they mean by "international rate" and "Not available for purchase on the Internet".

Go to the page I posted earlier (from the Man-in-seat 61 website, click here). This explains which websites to use to buy your tickets. Note the second paragraph:
"It would be lovely if there was a single website that sold tickets for any European train journey at the cheapest price, but there isn't. You need to use different websites for different journeys ....". He then lists all the websites and explains which to use.

Thank you very much Chris F for this information. I tried rime2romio after that and it does show the prices but now m confused of those prices were for two adults or for single?? BCz I tried to put both ( 1 and 2 adults ) and price were still the same.
If I double the price tht costs a way too much in those destinations in dollars. Every journey was costing average $150-200 *2. Is this right or m doin something wrong ??
Thnx for ur help again

You don't say which of your train trips you are looking at, and what date.
For example, Paris to Geneva, Monday 11th May, the price varies depending which train you choose:

06:33 departure from Paris Gare de Lyon to Geneva: €35 per person
07:11 departure €45
09:11 departure €55 (this is obviously the train the business travellers prefer).
12:11 departure €35

The above prices are from the French Railways website: www.voyages-sncf.com
www.rome2rio.com may be quoting fares for today, which are more expensive.

To estimate my prices before tickets became available, I looked as close to my date as I could and went through the booking process without actually purchasing the tickets. Seat61.com is a good site. It will be helpful but you I found you really have to dig for information. But look at all the sites and all will start to make sense. I felt overwhelmed at all the info out there. And honestly, I found SBB site horrendous at explaining their information. Bahn was the best but you can't book tickets for any country other than Germany.

sounds like you would benefit from an agent, like Rail Europe.

Also, it IS good to know that the train from Lausanne to Paris (and vice versa) is called the TGV Lyria (or is it Lyrica?) because sometimes that is the only way it's posted on the big station destination boards. And it's a useful confirmation that you're on the right train on the right platform, esp. as the train pulls in and you're reading the signage on the side.

Hi thnx guys for the help.
Chris F, I haven't tried man in seat61 yet.. But the information h gave me is really helpful. I will try tht French website j mentioned above. Is it possible if you can tell me te websites for Swiss n Italy as well, so tht j can get an idea on train fares directlyfrkn their websites rather?? And also because we are travelling few places in Swiss, so I was thinking of getting a Swiss train pass. Will tht be cheaper Thn point to point or not?? BCz in our trip Swiss is the place where we traveling a lot frm one place to another.
Thank you.

Johny,
Swiss Federal Railways is: www.sbb.ch
Italian Railways is: www.trenitalia.com
But it says all this on the Man in seat 61 webpage I keep promoting.

As for whether a Swiss pass or individual tickets are cheaper, that depends on what journeys you are actually taking. The prices for individual tickets, and details of all the passes, are on www.sbb.ch You need to make a list and do the arithmetic yourself.

P.S. As you are asking basic questions, I will give you a beginners tip. All these railway sites are multi-lingual, but you may need to select English. Look for a menu or link at the top with either 'en' (for English), or a British Flag

Really appreciate tht Chris F.
I hope u won't mind if i need any other advice.
It makes a lot easier and helpful with all your advices and tips.
Thanks again guys.

A few other pointers:

Small towns and cities have only one train station. Larger cities can have many. But for most routes, only one train station is used. For instance, from Geneva to Paris, the train arrives only at Paris Gare de Lyon. From Brussels to Paris, the train arrives only at Paris Gare du Nord. In the train schedule and booking websites you have been given, just put in "Paris," and the schedule will show you the correct station for your route.

In your initial post, you say you need to know the station so you can book accommodation nearby. Sometimes this is a good idea, sometimes not. You want to be central and to get good value for money in your accommodation; depending on your sightseeing priorities in a place, this may or may not be near the station you are using. However, stations are not too far from city centers, so you can always take a taxi if it's too far to walk and if you're too heavily laden with bags to take a bus, tram, or subway.

In other words, I wouldn't make being "near the train station" a factor in booking a hotel. Of your listed cities that I'm familiar with, this is particularly true of Venice, where you can find better values elsewhere in the city.

Rick's books always have lots of detail about train stations, getting from the station to hotels, recommended hotels, etc, for each city he covers. He lays it out in an easy-to-follow fashion, so if you haven't already, I'd get his books for your destinations. If you don't want to splurge on lots of books, his Best of Europe seems to cover almost every place you're going.

Than you very much Harold. It helps a lot. And no I haven't booked any hotels yet, m still in search for them.