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Europe Trains Guide Forum  |  General discussion  |  Train fares and tariffs  |  Check TCV tariffs?
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Author Topic: Check TCV tariffs?  (Read 15801 times)
globenomads
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« on: February 06, 2011, 01:42:19 am »

I am now in Prague. Is there a way to check TCV tariffs online?

Thanks!
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tUt
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« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2011, 01:57:41 am »

Is there a way to check TCV tariffs online?
Yes, most reliable source here is http://jizdenka.idos.cz/IT.aspx?Lang=69 . All the tickets the website shows fare for can be purchased in Prague at any international ticket counter.
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globenomads
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« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2011, 01:52:19 am »

Thanks for your ultra quick reply!

1) Is there a way to input multiple destinations?

2) There are 2 of us and we are planning to travel in this way: Praha -> Berlin -> Amsterdam -> Brugge -> Paris -> Lyon -> Geneva -> Milan ->Venice -> Florence -> Bologna -> Pisa -> Rome. These are the main cities we would like to visit but the itinerary could be changed if there is a more cost effective method. Please kindly advise.

Thanks!
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tUt
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« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2011, 02:42:55 am »

1) Is there a way to input multiple destinations?
In the online version you unfortunately can't  do it, but only change border point to travel through, but at the actual ticket desk you can ask for one through ticket covering multiple destinations.
2) There are 2 of us and we are planning to travel in this way: Praha -> Berlin -> Amsterdam -> Brugge -> Paris -> Lyon -> Geneva -> Milan ->Venice -> Florence -> Bologna -> Pisa -> Rome.
Well, in your case Praha-Berlin might be cheaper to purchase a bit in advance from Czech railways eShop (https://www.cd.cz/eshop). And only when there is no more discounted ticket go with standard full fare. Same story with Berlin-Amsterdam (http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?newrequest=yes&protocol=http:&). Amsterdam-Brugge-Paris would make sense to purchase in Prague, since it will be difficult to find cheaper ticket at the moment. For Paris-Lyon it is better to buy right now online from www.tgv-europe.com, it will be cheaper than TCV. Lyon-Geneve just purchase already on spot, no need to do it in Prague. Geneve-Swiss-Italian border (Brig-Domodossola) buy from Swiss railways some time in advance - https://www.sbb.ch/mct/wi/shop/b2c/adw.do?4004 . While for your Italian route it is almost definitely better to buy in Prague. Easier to purchase two tickets Domodossola-Milan-Venice (will cost 21.6 EUR) and Venice-Bologna-Florence-Rome (32.4 EUR). With such you will be able to travel on regional trains with no supplement at all or buy 10 EUR seat reservation and travel on high-speed EuroStar trains.
So in general as you can see, for long-distance legs it makes sense to avoid TCV, since cheaper discounted option usually available, even on short notice like couple days in advance (you can always compare fare offered on website above and TCV fare from jiizdenka), but on short legs like your Italian itinerary TCV will always win.
« Last Edit: February 15, 2013, 11:09:35 am by tUt » Logged
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globenomads
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« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2011, 01:09:45 pm »

Do you think getting a Railplus card will help me save more? A railplus card bought from Prague seems to cost about 40 euros.
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tUt
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« Reply #5 on: February 07, 2011, 03:37:58 pm »

Do you think getting a Railplus card will help me save more?
RailPlus does make sense when you purchase full fare ticket, since it gives 25% off. But no discount is giving for special tickets, like Europa Spezial Berlin-Amsterdam or "Prems" Paris-Lyon etc. So basically RailPlus will give discount for the fare found on jiizdenka.
So in the option described in our previous most it will give discount only for Amsterdam-Brugge-Paris and Italian itinerary. But you might try another option - buying TCV for your whole itinerary. Probably in Prague they won't sell you one through ticket for all your destinations, but like 3 or 4 separate ones might work (first Praha -> Berlin -> Amsterdam -> Brugge -> Paris -> Lyon ->Bellegarde(last French station before Geneva), second Geneva -> Milan ->Venice and third Venice--> Florence -> Bologna -> Pisa -> Rome). For all such tickets Railplus will give -25%. But in order to understand whether it worth it, you actually need to find out the price of those tickets at any international counter in Prague (we discussed above that jiizdenka can't show such complicated routes), then compare total to the option with discounted fares offered by websites of relative railways for the days you want. 
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globenomads
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« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2011, 10:13:11 pm »

Thanks for all your advice but I am facing problems buying TCV tickets in Praha.

2 hours ago I was in Praha Hlavni Nadrazi international ticket counters and to say the very least the cashier was very unhelpful. When I mention TCV they stare at me blankly and they also refuse to sell tickets that do not depart from Praha.

Is there a good place to buy TCV tickets in Praha? I heard of Wasteels but from its Czech website it seems they have ceased operations from 1st Feb.
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tUt
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« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2011, 10:44:15 pm »

... they also refuse to sell tickets that do not depart from Praha.
Well, sorry to hear that. That is really stupid from them to say such things and obviously simply bullshit. Next time just call their authorities and demand the explanation. First of all any international ticket counter is able technically to sell any ticket from jiizdenka website.
Officially "TCV tariff" recently changed the name, now it is called in documents SCIC-NRT, but it doesn't excuse them since it did happen not that long ago and any cashier perfectly knows what is TCV/SCIC-NRT and how to issue ticket with a help of it. Basically it is the only international tariff they can issue international tickets with in European connections, so it unbelievable that they refused.
Is there a good place to buy TCV tickets in Praha? I heard of Wasteels but from its Czech website it seems they have ceased operations from 1st Feb.
Wasteels ticket cashiers usually the most skillful, so hmmm... Maybe you can try Masaryk train station, it is also in the city center. Also you can try printing out screenshot from jizdenka and showing it to cashiers at the main station, so that they get an idea what you want.
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globenomads
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« Reply #8 on: February 10, 2011, 01:33:30 am »

My attempt to buy the TCV tickets continues.  :D I think if I ever successfully buy any of these TCV tickets I will have substantially increased my knowledge on European railways.  :P

I was at Cedok travel agency trying my luck buying the train tickets. Even thought the cashier knew about TCV, she didn't quite know how to actually sell the tickets. She showed us in her system she needed to have the date and time so that she can find the route from point A to B. For example, from Brussels to Paris, all train journeys that showed up in her system needed a reservation but she could sell an open ticket from Amsterdam to Brussels.

I think I will need to work out a possible route myself and present it to them. Is there a resource online that has all the european railway maps with the stations which will correspond to the stations from the jizdenka fare calculator?

From reading other posts, I discovered that you can buy reservations separately. Would it be possible to buy reservations for certain TCV ticket segments so as to "upgrade" them to trains such as Intercity in Italy?

Another question on Trenitalia website. For longer journeys, the system always display the fast trains. Is there a way to find out the timetables for the regional trains?
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tUt
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« Reply #9 on: February 10, 2011, 11:53:52 am »

Is there a resource online that has all the european railway maps with the stations which will correspond to the stations from the jizdenka fare calculator?
Most of the maps can be found here - http://www.bueker.net/trainspotting/maps.php . There you can see crucial border points and most of the cities.
From reading other posts, I discovered that you can buy reservations separately. Would it be possible to buy reservations for certain TCV ticket segments so as to "upgrade" them to trains such as Intercity in Italy?
It is exactly the point: ticket is issued for a specific route (valid for any train), while reservation issued for a specific train and specific seat/sleeper berth. Both parts are fully separate things, so you can buy ticket at one place, while reservation much later at another one. In some countries, like Switzerland or Germany there are almost no trains with compulsory reservation, thus you need only ticket to travel. In other countries high-speed and long distance trains require reservation, thus just having ticket is not enough, that is when you need to purchase reservation. So again, it is a big surprise that cashiers you met doesn't understand that you need only ticket part from them, but not reservation. TCV/SCIC-NRT tickets itself are usually valid for 1 month period, during any day of this validity period you can come to the station, purchase seat reservation for any train (whether TGV in France, EuroStar in Italy etc.) and board those high-speed trains. 
Another question on Trenitalia website. For longer journeys, the system always display the fast trains. Is there a way to find out the timetables for the regional trains?
Yes, there are two simple ways to do it, either input shorter legs and then just "combine" those, so you have minimal connection time (for instance Domodossola-Venice: here you need to check timetable for regional trains on route Domodossola-Milan, then check Milan-Verona and Verona-Venice). Another way is to use DB website (http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?newrequest=yes&protocol=http:&). In column "Means of transport" check "only local transport", lower uncheck "prefer fast connections", afterward it will show the whole route just using regional trains, thus not requiring seat reservation.
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globenomads
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« Reply #10 on: February 13, 2011, 08:41:52 pm »

Thanks for all your good advice!

I was in Masaryk train station and the cashier seem to finally work out how to sell TCV tickets point to point. When I requested to add via points she asked me where I was from and upon hearing that I was not from Europe she refused to sell me such tickets! Save her a lot of work trying to figure out the fare system which she is supposed to be familiar with in the first place!

In the interest of time, I have given up trying to buy such tickets in Prague. I think Prague is no longer a good place to buy such tickets since Wasteels ceased operations. I worked out Italy's regional express tickets prices and they seem to be rather reasonable, albeit a little slower than the IC trains.
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tUt
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« Reply #11 on: February 13, 2011, 11:44:15 pm »

I was in Masaryk train station and the cashier seem to finally work out how to sell TCV tickets point to point. When I requested to add via points she asked me where I was from and upon hearing that I was not from Europe she refused to sell me such tickets! Save her a lot of work trying to figure out the fare system which she is supposed to be familiar with in the first place!
Hmm... incompetence of railway cashiers in Prague surprises us with every message from you, unfortunately. We couldn't even imagine such stupid thing as selling standard international point to point ticket according to citizenship   :o  One thing is when ticket cashier simply doesn't know how to issue certain ticket, but the other is when he/she intentionally or not invents citizenship factor in order to refuse... extremely incompetent. Citizenship factor matters only when purchasing passes (for instance Eurail vs. Interrail), but never with regular tickets.   
Anyway, sorry that we advised you something that, unfortunately, turned out to be difficult to accomplish.
I worked out Italy's regional express tickets prices and they seem to be rather reasonable, albeit a little slower than the IC trains.
Just as a reminder, tickets for regional trains in Italy are valid only for 6 hours since the time of validation (you need to do it before boarding), thus you can't accomplish trick with a stop on the way, unless all together with ride it takes more than 6 hours. For example, you can't purchase one through ticket Venice-Florence and stop in Bologna for a day. In such case you will just need two separate tickets.
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