European train timetable changes
Every year, in December and June, the European train timetables are amended. There are seldom major changes to important routes, but the change allows for alterations to international services and for seasonal variation. Currently the dates for the European train timetable changes are the second Sunday in June and the second Sunday in December. In the months leading up to the changeover date booking will be disrupted as rail operators are late loading in the new data.
The timetable changes affect most international trips in Europe and many train operators (usually with the exception of Eurostar). Domestic timetables (i.e. those not including international services) can change at any point during the year and won't cause any noticeable problems.
While the new timetable is revised and compiled, the booking window (how far in advance you can check timetables and buy tickets) is reduced. Most European trains are usually available to book 90 days in advance, but in the month leading up to the timetable change this will be much shorter. If you search for trains 90 days in advance during the changeover, you may find few or no services available. These dates will come on sale after the changeover is complete.
2012 dates:
The winter timetable change in 2012 is due to come into effect on 11th October. This means that currently, booking beyond December the 8th 2012 isn't possible for many journeys.
On the 11th of October the new timetable, which includes services from 8th December until 11th Jan, will be made public and you will be able to research and book trains on those dates.
It is still possible to purchase Eurostar journeys up to 4 months in advance as they have not been affected by the timetable change.
2013 dates
In summer 2013, the date for the European train timetable change is the second Sunday of June (that's June 9th). So if you are searching 3 months ahead for dates in June e.g. searching in Mid March for dates in June, you may find that some services are missing. We'll update this post as soon as we have information about the switch.
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Hi Kate, I just wanted to say thanks for this very useful information. I'm sure many others have accessed it too, without finding the time to post a comment. Cheers, Shaun 7 months, 1 week ago
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Hi there, we have had a nightmare experience in attempting to purchase 5 tickets Paris to Geneva for 22.12.2012. Others may find our experience and your advice helpful! Aware of the timetable changeover, we waited until after the 11th and for the fares to appear. In attempting to book on both voyages.sncf and tgv-europe the system kept looping back to the price selection page, stating that the cheaper options were no longer available. As we selected increasingly more expensive options, without success, mild panic began to set in. We tried all kinds of entry points to the booking systems and 3 different web browsers. On 2 occasions we got to the point of payment when the process fell over again (not due to our end). Eventually the messages indicated technical faults and to try again later. Our fear was that, due to the booking delay and presumed high demand due to christmas and ski traffic, we could miss out entirely. It was a relief to find your website and the helpful advice, however the situation is still unclear and we are a bit nervous... In your experience, how quickly do the trains book out at that time of year? Was it just a glitch or due to heavy demand? Will further fares be loaded in the coming days? When will your site be able to offer fares for that journey, and roughly at what price? Did we jump too soon? Thanks for the good work. Andrew. 7 months, 1 week ago
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Hi Andrew, The reason you've experienced this weird behaviour is because not all services operated by TGV have been loaded into the system yet. A lot of the winter timetable and fares started to appear on 11th October (as you correctly discovered), but these are mostly limited to French domestic services i.e. those within France. So while you may be able to find some international services departing France after 8th December by searching online now, the full timetable for international TGVs is not expected to be loaded until the 16th October. In our experience, trains are unlikely to sell out very quickly. Certainly the cheapest tickets will get snapped up when they are released, but for most services it's usually possible to buy tickets for most trains, weeks and sometimes even days, in advance. My advice would be check back on the 16th. I'll update this post when we start seeing the international TGVs fares appearing in our system. But I'd recommend that you do your own research as well on the day in case I'm not quick enough off the mark for you. We'll offer fares as soon as they are loaded by SNCF into the booking system we're integrated with. The best possible price, indicated by the fare sheets we have access to, is £23 one-way for a high-speed train between Paris and Geneva. Obviously this is only a guide price and that ticket is limited in its availability, but you should be able to find some good cheap train tickets. 7 months, 1 week ago
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That's very kind Shaun, thanks. :-) 7 months, 1 week ago
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Update SNCF, the French booking system, has released its winter timetable today (11th October 2012). This includes domestic TGV services which are part of the winter sale of train fares. International TGVs will be loaded over the next week. There are some tickets already on sale, e.g. Paris to Milan, but these are more expensive than usual as they are just a some of the timetables and fares that will be put into the system. Deutsche Bahn, the German train operator, usually releases their tickets and timetables slightly later. This year we anticipate that they will open services for booking on Tuesday 16th October. From that date onward you should be able to find tickets up to 90 days in advance i.e. for travel in January. Thello The night train service between Paris and Italy will open for sale at the end of October. Trenitalia and Renfe We have been informed that a technical issue has prevented all timetables and fares from being successfully loaded for the Italian and Spanish train booking systems. We'll update as soon as we have more information. 7 months, 1 week ago
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Update SNCF International TGV services have now been added to the system so you will be able to find the cheap advertised fares, e.g. Paris to Milan £23, and I've just found Paris to Geneva for £22.50 departing in January, on Loco2. Deutsche Bahn Opened for sale today (16-10-12) for travel up to 15th January 2013 (90 days in advance). I've found the elusive Europa Spezial fares from London to Berlin for €49 on bahn.de. Loco2 hasn't got these tickets in its system yet. City Night line trains from Paris to Berlin or Munich won't be open for sale until 26th Oct. Trenitalia Have released tickets for sale today (16-10-12) for travel up to 15th Feb 2013 (120 days in advance). These will be loaded into Loco2 over the next few days. Thello Night train not open for sale yet Renfe Trains in Spain not open for sale yet 7 months ago
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