reyjusuf
Traveller
0 comments
Posted 13 years ago
Hi everyone! I have some questions regarding booking/buying train tickets:
1) If you buy train tickets online (from various websites), do they send the actual tickets to you or just a booking confirmation? Because I need a Schengen Visa and I'm afraid I need to show the actual tickets instead of reservations.
2) How early can you buy train tickets? I heard 2 months or 6 months. I also saw some websites do not sell beyond December 12 because every year, the timetables are updated during that time. If I want to travel at the end of December, it wouldnt be possible because there's not enough time to book a train ticket and apply for a visa.
3) What's the likelihood that the route i have booked got erased after the December 12 annual update?
Thanks ^^
Robert_Antonio
Traveller
53 comments
1. Most of railway companies send you an e-ticket with same validity as normal ticket. Some other (for example Ukrainian and Russian railways or Czech railways at some relations) send you only a booking confirmation that you change at station for a real ticket. The confirmation looks very similar to real ticket, so for visa bureaucrat it should be enough.
2. European railways in default allow you to buy a ticket 60 days in advance. At Russian and former CIS railways it's only 45 days in advance. This is a standard for international tickets, for domestic tickets there can be some local variations.
3. Well, nobody knows what would get cancelled in future :| ...Generally, if you reserve a seat or berth (so the reservation is bound to a specific train), the reservation system doesn't allow you to book a train that will be cancelled. Thus the possibility to book a train in advance can be limited before 12th December.
If you send me your exact planned journey, I can try to estimate it.
Peter
Traveller
9337 comments
Hi.
Robert already gave you all information ... just concerning the InterRail Pass:
it is usually no problem to get a Schengen visa having an InterRail pass in your hands and show up at an embassy.
Sometimes one embassy is slow or it is hard to get a Schengen visa from them - just try an other embassy of an other country. It only has to be one of the Schengen countries. It doesn't matters if it is for example the Netherlands, French or Spanish one.
Peter :)