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What is Raileurope all about?

http://www.raileurope.com/us/index.htm

Can you tell me what RailEurope all about?
My daughter booked a number of tickests from them. They seem very expensive.
I finally got the hang to the French rail site thanks to all the good folks on the fourm. And in comparison the French rail site is much cheaper than raileurope.
Thanks

Posted by
495 posts

Rail Europe is a ticket agency that sells train tickets in North America, that's pretty much it. They're actually owned by the French and Swiss railways.

Their service is tailored to Americans; English language website, 1-800 number, simplified timetables, FAQs etc. but you do pay a premium for all those "conveniences."

Posted by
19052 posts

Not only does RE charge a higher price for the same train ($151 for the Intercity Express Train between Frankfurt and Munich, vs. $128 (€87) for the same train w/ a reserved seat from German Rail), they also ignore less expensive albeit slower Intercity connections for $101 (€69, w/ reserv.) that are available on the Bahn website. In addition, they usually ignore advance purchase tickets, like the $48 (€31, w/ reserv.) Dauer-Spezial in Germany or the PREMS fare in France.

Posted by
19 posts

Since I travelled to 9 countries in Europe in 3 weeks, buying a Global Eurail Pass was justified, barely. If not for the pass, I wouldn't have done any business with RailEurope. They seem to buy up all the "special" tickets for passholders and then jack up the prices on these on their website. Even buying a ticket from any one of the many machines at any rail station will be far cheaper in the long run. For limited travelling by train, avoid RailEurope altogether.