Hello everyone,
I am hoping somoeone can help me out, I would greatly appreciate it. I have looked at all of the websites that list the timetables, etc., and I am confused. I bought a railpass and a separate seat reservation (has reserved seat numbers and everything) for a train, but when I checked the online schedules, I saw that it is not a train, but an Expressbus from Nurenberg to Prague?
I have aread a few posts here, but am still confused, b/c according to my ticket, I have a recerved 1st class seat on a train--but now I come to find out the train muber is now a bus #? Will my seats still be valid? How does this bus thing work?
Thanks in advance for any and all help--I was told and see on my ticket a seat on a train, not a bus.
PS would it be better to get a train seat from the Dresden-Prague route than go Nurenberg-Prague? Do the buses run quickly, or are they slower than the train?
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This is the problem with buying a pass, especially a first class one - which you don%26#39;t need, and I presume you did it through Rail Europe, which is a big scam. It only costs €26 through Czech Railways for anybody else wishing to do this journey (cheaper if you get the train, but that takes a lot longer)
The express bus is basically treated as a train. There is a direct rail link, but the route is tortuous and slow, whereas they have recently completed a direct highway between Prague and Nuremburg which takes hours off your journey. It is not an ordinary bus, though - it is a fancy double-decker http://www.zelpage.cz/news_n/scbus01.jpg with %26#39;first class%26#39; downstairs http://www.zelpage.cz/news_n/scbus005.jpg and second-class upstairs http://www.zelpage.cz/news_n/scbus004.jpg - the only real difference is leather seats and a view of the highway surface and overtaking cars downstairs and a proper view of the scenery upstairs.
There is more information about it here www.cd.cz/index.php?action=article%26id=83423 and here http://www.zelpage.cz/zpravy/7031 - I presume you don%26#39;t speak Czech, so put it through google translate http://translate.google.com/# and it will give you a sort of translation :)
On the train the difference between the classes is almost negligible (especially on that train as they put older stock on because not many people use it), apart from the difference in price - €23 if you buy it here https:/… (you can also book the bus here as well)
On the trains there is no need to make a reservation - it is not compulsory and it will be almost empty, so you can take your pick of seats. It is therefore an unnecessary extra cost, and will have gone into Raileurope%26#39;s already-bulging pockets.
This is the website that you should be using for your times www.idos.cz (English button bottom right) - what are the details of the %26#39;train%26#39; that you have booked? Then we can have a better idea as to how to advise you.
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Hello and thank you for giving such good info. Yes, my pass and reservation were bought through rail europe. What I am wondering are 2 things:
1. If my seat number says, for exapmple #37, is this the same seat as on the bus? Or do I now have to by express bus tickets? (In other words, are the rail ticket seat reservations I am holding--which has the same # as the Bus # I just discovered--the same as a bust ticket/reservation?)
2. Does the bus run on time/fairly on schedule? As opposed ot the train?
Thank you ver ymuch in advance for any and all help--I just had no idea that it would be a bus, instead of a train from Nurenberg-Prague. I do not mind, but I just want to make sure I do not have to buy a separate bus ticket.
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Sorry for all of my typos! I apologize..my keyboard is a bit %26quot;sticky%26quot; today, LOL
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Sorry, one last question about the bus: can I take luggage on the bus/can it be stowed? Thanks again for your help :)
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What is the time given on your ticket - it might still be for a train (I don%26#39;t think you can book the bus through rail europe)
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Sure, here is my info :
I bought a Czech rep/Germany Saverpass (I can travel for 5 days in a 2 month period from stamped date @ train staiton).
1. Leave Frankfurt Flug FE @ 5:35 am (train #521)
2. Depart Nurenberg @ 8:45 am, arrive in Prague at 12:30 PM (train # 1051)
I was assigned %26quot;train%26quot; seating as well...don%26#39;t want to give out the numbers on a public forum...
But clearly the train # is the same as the expressbus number, hence all of my confusion. I am wondering the same thing--could my %26quot;reservation%26quot; ticket be for a train that does not exist, except it is really a bus that goes from Nurenberg to Prague? I am even more confused now.
I did go to those sites you mentioned, thanks very much, and before I posted I did go to the all of the DB and Czech train schedule sites, that si whow I found out about the expressbus in the first place.
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Yes - that is indeed for the bus, and you just sit in the allocated seat number. For all intents and purposes it is a train (but disguised as a bus :) ), so therefore it departs from in front of the rail station in Nuremburg and arrives in front of the main rail station in Prague. Don%26#39;t worry - the road is almost always clear and smoothly running, so 3hrs 45 minutes is really the time that it takes, give or take some possible local traffic hold-ups.
It is a pity you didn%26#39;t ask on this forum before about buying a pass, as the advice would have been to save your money, but anyway - next time you will know to buy point-to-point tickets, which are very good value in this part of the world :)
Some good information here europetrainsguide.com/Advice/Rail-Passes/Rai…
Just so you know, when in the Czech Republic you do not need to make reservations on trains as they cannot sell out except maybe, for example, on the expensive %26#39;pendolino%26#39; to Vienna, but there are several other direct trains to Vienna that cost €19, including reservation.
Enjoy your stay!
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BTW - you just store your luggage in the hold of the bus. They are large vehicles, and there is plenty of space.
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You have been extremely kind and helpful--I truly appreciate all of your help, you have no idea. I thank you kindly (and for enduring my awful typos!)
So, in other words, my picket for the %26quot;Train%26quot; (really the bus) is valid, then? I just worry it is not, and I will have to buy an additional ticket (I am unsure how many seats are allocated for the 1st class--so I thought my seat number was %26quot;too high%26quot; of a number to be an actual seat on the bus, and therefore invalid).
Yes, I just got to reading about Rail Europe--I had a good experience with them ordering, etc...so hopefully it all goes well.
My fianl question (for now!) if you could kindly asnwer is : can I bring some luggage on teh bus? Is there a place to stow it all?
Thank you so much!
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ahhh..ok, saw your post after you posted re: luggage, thanks so much....another question if I may (sorry for so many of them!)--are my Rail Europe Czech Rep-Germany Saverpasses valid, then? I just want to be sure the pases/tickets I am holding will be accepted....am getitng a bit worried now reading about Rail Europe.
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