In March 2014, the legendary European Rail Timetable has returned and is again available for sale on a monthly basis. After Thomas Cook Publishing decided to withdraw from the travel books sector back in September 2013, a team around editor-in-chief John Potter decided to set up a new company and continue the 140 years' heritage of the European Rail Timetable. This is to the delight of many keen rail travellers around the world, including the team of railcc.

Two indispensable items for rail travellers: The new European Rail Timetable and the Rail Map of Europe.
Two indispensable items for rail travellers: The new European Rail Timetable and the Rail Map of Europe.

The European Rail Timetable (ERT) includes timetables of all major and many secondary railway lines in the whole of Europe with additional coverage of Russia and Turkey as well as ferry and bus connections where no rail service is available. Besides the timetables you will find additional train travel related infos and maps included for every country. The ERT is issued on a monthly basis, with timetable data always kept as up-to-date as possible. In addition to the timetables for Europe, each edition features a certain overseas area twice a year.

I have been using the ERT for many years now on and it proved to be a valuable addition to my luggage on every single trip as well as when planning trips at home. Informations such as train category and number, reservation information are reliable, and as soon as you are used to how the book „works“ you will find more and better connections than a simple online schedule planner will do in much less time. For instance, schedule planners usually list only fastest connections but do not show alternatives that can save you money by avoiding expensive high speed trains (this can be of importance especially for travellers with InterRail/Eurail or another rail pass). Another advantage is that it is much easier to find trains which run on certain dates only, such as the Berlin - Malmö night train or summer season trains in Eastern Europe which you are likely to miss if you use the wrong date for a search on a schedule planner.

The European Rail Timetable is available online via europeanrailtimetable.eu. In the near future there will also be available a new Edition of the Rail Map Europe which we also would like to recommend to all ambitioned rail travellers.
Sample page of the European Rail Timetable: At one glance you can find all available connections for your trip from Milan to Zurich and Lucerne - much quicker and convenient than with any schedule planner.
Sample page of the European Rail Timetable: At one glance you can find all available connections for your trip from Milan to Zurich and Lucerne - much quicker and convenient than with any schedule planner.

👁 14543