If we are taking a night train from Florence to Munich, and we have a 4-country flex pass (France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany), can we travel through Austria with that pass? I asked Euro-railways the same question and it seems like we CAN, yet Eurail website states we would need to have Austria on our pass also, or take another route that does not include Austria. Does having a 'night' train ticket allow us to travel through Austria, if our start-finish destinations are both on our pass, without needing Austria on our pass? I am confused by this? Any help is appreciated! Thanks!
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19102 posts
You need to have a ticket that covers the entire route, particularly since the train stops in Innsbruck. You are using the rails in Austria so you need a pass that covers Austria. You can either add Austria to the rail pass or buy a separate point-point ticket. I checked the price once, and it seems it was about €40 per person. RailEurope told me you need to have Austria on the rail pass (but then they sell rail passes). The clerk at the Bahn counter in Munich said you only have to have a ticket. According to the Bahn website, "In addition to booking you need a valid ticket for the entire journey route." It also looks like you have to have either tickets OR a pass covering the entire route in order to book online. On the Bahn website it give you a choice of options with radio buttons. You can't click more than one. In this case, "contact one of the DB travel centres or call the service telephone 01805-141514". But you already have the night train reservations, right. I'd still call one of the numbers and explain the situation. And, BTW, what you have for the night train is not a ticket, it's just a supplement, or Aufpreis that covers using the sleeping accommodations.
Posted by
OP
Portland, OR, USA
13 posts
That's what I figured. I will look into getting Austria added onto the pass. Thank you for your help; very good info!
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32847 posts
Surely adding another country to the pass has got to be more expensive than simply having a p2p ticket for the one underlying trip you are making within Austria. I don't understand why you would add another country to the pass...
Posted by
OP
Portland, OR, USA
13 posts
You are correct; I just looked into that, and it is cheaper to get a ticket, vs adding austria onto our pass. Thanks!
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19102 posts
I tried clicking each of the radio buttons, for standard ticket, Bahncard, and Eurail pass. The difference is the aufpreis shown for tickets and Bahncard are €5 less than for with a rail pass (once again rail pass holders take it in the shorts). So, since you have already paid the most expensive Aufpreis, there shouldn't be a problem using the ticket for Austria. However, I would feel better if you confirmed it. The 14 15 14 number is for City Night Line. I assume they have people who can speak English. I know German Rail (who owns CNL) does. Their general information number is +49 1805 99 66 33. Note: 49 is the country code for Germany. There is a number '0' before the 1805, but that is just the indicator for long distance. Since you are calling in internationally, long distance is assumed. You don't need to dial the '0'. I've also received email answers from the Deutsche Bahn UK Booking Centre at [email protected].