European Rail Timetable
One of the best travel resources any serious train enthusiast can buy is the European Rail Timetable – a comprehensive printed timetable covering all major train services in Europe and an invaluable tool for planning journeys.
You can now get an exclusive 15% discount on the European Rail Timetable courtesy of Discover By Rail by using the promo code DBR15 at checkout. Simply visit the official European Rail Timetable website and click on “I have a gift voucher or promo code” at checkout. In the box that now appears, you can enter the code, which will then be automatically applied to your order.
The same discount code is also valid for the Rail Map of Europe – another handy travel resource that you can buy from the same website.
reasons to buy the EUROPEAN RAIL TIMETABLE
Whether you use the European Rail Timetable for armchair reading, to plan future journeys or as a reference while travelling by train across Europe, this book is a great investment. I can certainly spend an evening in my armchair browsing through the timetable and looking up all kinds of different train routes.
Moreover, this printed timetable has proved invaluable during my rail travels, especially when you suddenly have to find your way around unexpected disruptions and cancellations, or want to change your train journey on the spur of the moment, such as when Interrailing across Europe.
In a long-read on my personal Substack page, titled Old but Gold: Why Railway Maps and Printed Timetables Are Still Unmissable, I explain in detail why I believe printed timetables still matter, even in an age when easy-to-use online journey planners make it simple to look up routes and departures.
Printed timetable or online timetable?
The way I see it, online journey planners and printed timetables or railway maps serve fundamentally different purposes. Online journey planners mainly serve existing demand: you already know where you want to go, and they help you find the fastest or cheapest way of getting there.
Printed timetables and railway maps, on the other hand, can create demand. By browsing through them, you can discover routes, trains and destinations you never knew existed, which can spark ideas for future journeys and encourage a more spontaneous way of travelling.
Online timetables are therefore mostly aimed at people who simply want to get from A to B as efficiently as possible. Printed timetables are for those who want to explore the railway network itself, discover different routes and find trains they might otherwise never have come across. They are also instrumental in broadening your knowledge of how the railway network fits together.
The way I see it, printed timetables complement online journey planners. It is the combination of the two that is really a must for every rail enthusiast or avid train traveller.
Of course, printed timetables such as the European Rail Timetable are also useful for people who, for whatever reason, are less comfortable using computers and looking up information online across different railway websites, as well as those who simply prefer to travel without relying on a smartphone.