Главная » The Danube Cycleway Volume 2. From Budapest to the Black Sea читать онлайн | страница 26

Читать книгу The Danube Cycleway Volume 2. From Budapest to the Black Sea онлайн

26 страница из 45

If travelling by rail from the UK, you can take your cycle on Eurostar from London St Pancras (not Ebbsfleet nor Ashford) to Paris Gare du Nord or Brussels Midi. Cycles booked in advance travel in dedicated cycle spaces in the baggage compartment of the same train as you. Bookings, which cost £30 single, can be made through Eurostar baggage (0344 822 5822). Cycles must be checked-in at St Pancras Eurostar luggage office (beside the bus drop-off point) at least 40mins before departure. Numbers are limited and if no spaces are available your cycle can be sent as registered baggage (£25). In this case it will travel on the next available train and is guaranteed to arrive within 24hrs. In practice, 80 per cent of the time it will travel on the same train as you. Currently there is no requirement to box your cycle, though this may change. For latest information, go to www.eurostar.com.

When you reach the continent, you and your bicycle are faced with a problem. Many of the most convenient long-distance services across Europe are operated by high speed trains that have either limited provision for cycles (French TGV) or no space at all (Thalys service from Paris and Brussels to Köln, and German ICE services). Trains from Paris to Strasbourg depart from Gare de l’Est, a short ride from Gare du Nord. Services on this route are operated by TGV or ICE high speed trains, but there are some trains with reserveable space for cycles. To find out which departures these are, look on the SNCF (French Railways) website www.voyages-sncf.com. This is in French, but less complete information is available in English at www.bikes.sncf.com. You can book French trains through this same French website or via Rail Europe www.raileurope.co.uk. From Brussels, conventional EuroCity services with cycle space run three times daily to Strasbourg via Luxembourg. In Strasbourg a local service connects across the Rhine with DB (German Railways) for connections across Germany to Munich and on through Austria to Vienna.

Правообладателям