I am using Rail Europe to book train travel. I notice many time the train schedule will show for example Milan (any station) as an option, then it will list all the other stations. If I select the first one Milan (any station) can I go any station?
I have never purchased tickets by train in Europe before (tour company always did).
Please share with how to read and understand. I will be in Italy and France,
Looking forward to your advice,
Thanks,
Posted by
Wengen
2938 posts
No, Milan {any station) just means that the planner will consider all stations, but in the end will pick one station for you. This is to help you, as you are not expected to know what the name of the main station in each city is.
So if you book Milan (any station) to Rome (any station) you will in most cases get a ticket from Milano Centrale to Roma Termini. And this you will have to go to Milano Centrale to get on your train, as for obvious reasons trains do not call at all stations in a city...
This is very useful for eg. Paris where there are 6 main terminal stations, and by selecting Paris (any station) you do not have to figure out for yourself what the correct station is for your destination.
Two suggestions if you are new to booking train travel in Europe:
- Head over to the excellent site at www.seat61.com and start learning about train travel.
- Consider just booking directly from the train company in stead of using a travel agent.
Posted by
Paris
10691 posts
Another good resource in addition to The Man in Seat 61 is the information provided by the host of this website:
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6891 posts
I strongly suggest purchasing tickets from the Italian train company, Trenitalia. They have an easy to use website or the ticket machines are quite easy to use if you do not need to purchase in advance. If you still have difficulty with Trenitalia, and need to use a 3rd party, I'd use Trainline. Its been a few years now since I've been to France and needed to purchase train tickets, but for France, I've always used the SNCF website.
To learn about trains and purchasing tickets, I recommend using the Seat61 website. The site can feel can overwhelming, just take it slowly. And come back here with more questions. There are many people on the forum that are experts on the train systems.
Posted by
Freedonia
17067 posts
Rail Europe is not the best place to purchase train tickets. It is a third party reseller and doesn't always offer all trains. Or the best prices.
You are better off booking directly with the train operators either Trenitalia or Italo in Italy and SNCF in France.
I also recommend getting train and travel information from the Man in Seat 61
When booking always make sure the train you want actually stops at the station you want. Not just any station in the city you are going to.
Posted by
2731 posts
I suggest you also have a play around with this site for your journeys:>https://www.thetrainline.com
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19409 posts
The train from Malpensa airport to Milan is operated by Trenord, which uses Milan Nord Cadorna train station. To get from Codorna to Centrale, for most mainline trains, the fastest way takes 18 minutes, a 9 minute walk to the M2 Metro station, then another 9 minuts on the M2.
Unlike Germany, where trains coming from different directions might stop first at different smaller stations on the way¹ in, but ultimately go to the Hbf, in cities like London, Paris, Milan, individual stations were built to service separate lines going to other city and there isn't one main station servicing all trains, and except for local service, like the Metros or the Tube, there is no connection between the stations.
- For example, FRA, Süd, or Hanau in Frankfurt, or Pasing, Freising, or Ostbahnhof in Munich.
Posted by
Green Bay
22085 posts
The Malpensa Express trains also go to Milano Centrale station alternating with trains going to Cadorna.
If you were to pick "Milan any station", you might end up with a train to Milano Rogredo station, outside of the city. Milano Centrale is the main station with most of the inter city trains.
Posted by
Wengen
2938 posts
One issue when booking tickets is that many try to book far to early. And if you book Milan - Somewhere for a date to far in the future you might end up with an odd schedule, because not all trains may yet bet loaded.
So my suggestion is always to first pretend you are travelling this week. Pick a weekday in next week that is the same as the day of week you intend to travel. That will show you what the normal expected schedule is. Then pick the same weekday a month from now. That will show you what discounts you can expect (if any) if you book in advance. If you see no price differences you are looking at a local train with fixed prices, and you can let it rest till you are here.
Then look at your actual travel date. If you see similar schedules and trip times, and you are ready to commit, then book. If you see vastly different schedules, weird routings, and or no, or only high prices than you are just to early.