This blog refers to our latest ground study to Great Britain, starting in Vienna and going via Belgium. It was a great experience with many things to learn.
When we planned to go to Great Britain in summer ’24, it was January the same year. More than enough time, one would say. But it turned out that we should have started earlier.
That is because of the prices of accommodation in England. Even when you travel in off- or mid-season, Brexit made everything rise. So the sooner, the better. Because if it's (too) late, you won't get anything seriously good.
In our case, though, there was a reason still to wait. Actually, we didn't know exactly when we can get a night train to Brussels. If at all. Because you couldn't book them only 3 months ahead. And without any exact dates, we weren't able to book accommodations. What a pity!
So when we came to the desk of the @ÖBB at Westbahnhof, they had at least a sleeper for us to Brussels, but no-one left for the return. And when we asked the man behind the desk, why they couldn't say earlier, he would say: European railway politics. The Germans and the Belgians wouldn't tell the ÖBB when the tracks are available.
Come on, this is the 21st century!
At least, we got the ticket TO Brussels. For the way back, we'll have to find other solutions.
And this is where Interrail entered the stage. It would provide us with flexibility and counts on practically all routes.
But for us, without much booking practise and ambitions in hacking or research, this process was the weirdest and most exhausting experience of the whole trip. The websites of EUrail, Eurostar and Great Western Railway turned out to be real hard adversaries when it comes on payment, communication and practicability. Seriously, I wouldn't do this never again. I sacrificed the gods of transportation when I finally held all the tickets, reservations and confirmations in my hand.
Just as short example: you can actually book a reservation for the renowned Riviera Night Sleeper from Penzance to London, and it is also included in the Interrail Pass – if you have a british citizenship, a british bank account and british residency.
What the f…?
And when we asked a friend in London to provide us with all these noble privileges, we had to learn that the reservations would cost us a little fortune.
No, thanks.
Just to plan this small section of our route took me almost a week. In the end, we traveled there on daytime (which was easy, as then even the reservation was for free).
With all the hassle of preparations behind me, I was amused, if not pissed when neither the staff of Eurostar nor of the NightJet wanted to see or check our interrail passes. I could have saved two days of our ticket like this. Which would have been a good refund for the time I spent in front of the computer.
But there were also many good things to learn when we were on the British island. For example, I loved the way ticketing is handled in London public transport. Asking for daily family tickets, I learned that they haven't such a thing, because it's much easier and cheaper to just tap in and out with your bank card. And if you reach the cap (of a virtual day ticket), the system simply stops charging you. THAT is 21st century. And this system is running all over the country, as far I could see.
Of course, this has some privacy concerns. And there are also questions of money rising.
You could hardly see cash over there anyway. And when we came home, we had to realise that with every money transfer via foreign bank card, we've been charged a "service" or "transaction" fee. This is the invisible money which only flows when it's cashless. And it all goes to companies you’ve probably never heard of.
Well.
The systems of the 21st century are more or less based on computers, that is clear. But that doesn't mean they are free of errors. And here, humans are getting in again.
When we arrived at the Eurostar check-in in London to go back to Brussels, the QR-codes of our reservation tickets wouldn't work at the reader. Not being able to cross the gates, a friendly Eurostar staff member asked us what is wrong. She checked the reservations and found out that they've been cancelled, for no matter what reason. Seeing our despair, she bypassed the system and issued four new tickets for us.
Thank you, dear staff member!
When we came home and I put all the bills together, I realised that these reservations have indeed been issued, but payment went back, reservation thus cancelled, and we've not been informed.
As already said: invisible money, going anywhere without your knowing.
But to be positive, the rest of the whole trip went so well. It was only the preparation part that really sucked. And here, we have to change things.
Conclusio
Still, the machines aren't working well together. If we want to push railway traffic, we need a comprehensive, simple and affordable booking system that makes it possible for everyone to travel easily by train. Otherwise, I see no point for families not to take their car or the plane. I wished so many times having done so during my research and booking process. My kids also during the trip. I can teach them to see and emphasize the sustainable profits of train traveling. But I cannot teach them to ignore the obvious errors of its system and rules.
It's on us to make this better.
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