advice needed on train to worgl pls

hi all, having seen the flights from the UK to munich,salzburg and innsbruck for february 2009 half term, i'm considering taking the train. where do i start? i know i'd have to go from london, and i want to get to worgl (for niederau!), but i can't pay over £200 for a rtn flight. someone's having a laff! i'd want to leave london anytime from 6.00pm on friday 13th, returning on the sunday 22nd.
thanks. L.

L.

I made this exact same journey 2 weeks ago and it was fabulous :) The luxury of European trains is in a completely different (and better) class than a budget airline or for that matter, a high end airline when flying economy.

My journey started at St Pancras at 05:25 (check-in @ 05:00) I arrived in Paris @ 08:50 (local time) and then spent a pleasant few hours in Paris shopping and enjoying the pavement cafes ;)

The 13:10 ICE (InterCityExpress) to Stuttgart dropped me at Mannheim ten minutes before my connection to the Frankfurt ICE destined for Innsbruck. I arrived in Wörgl @ 19:43 feeling fresh, relaxed and 10 mins from Niederau. Oh and I had two VERY heavy cases that would have cost £100’s in excess baggage. Other than a cursory glance at my passport and a walk through the arch at St. Pancras there was no check-in stress and comparatively no delay.

Now for the numbers:

London-Paris = £29.50
Paris-Mannheim = €38.50
Mannheim-Wörgl = €18.95

Which = the best part of €95 – and lets say €15 for a waitress service, 3 course meal on route so all in €110,-

I didn’t price the return trip so I can’t say how that would compare. Although assuming the same figures that would give €220,- or about £175.00.

Now the big question is, how much would that journey cost in Feb? I don’t know but a call to D-Bahn would undoubtedly give a good idea.

The other aspect to your question is that you wish to travel at night. This may work in your favour as sleeping berths are available between Paris and Munich and at very low prices. I had a quick look at http://www.bahn.de and I think it may be too early to get a price just yet.

In conclusion I would thoroughly recommend trains as a means of transport if only because they are so much more comfortable and “interesting” than planes …

If I can be of more help, pls PM me :)

Cheers

Jan

Hi L.

Good X Europe info can be seen on http://www.seat61.com/Austria.htm#Innsbruck

There is a service listed as leaving London at 18.00, and arriving in Woergl at 10.46, next day. A range of fares are given.

jan,
thank you. i made this journey back in december 1991, london-oostend-munich-worgl. i think, at the time, the return price was s-thing like £150? i transported a trunk for my season in niederau too, and that arrived b4 me, and was, i think, free. i had an overnight bunk and was v v v excited to wake up in freezing cold southern europe with a few cm of snow underfoot! can recall travelling thro germany and seeing towns and cities i had read about in my university studies of 19th century german history!
however, i rather think things have change since then, hence my post.
i'll email and tel D-Bahn to enquire. being a teacher, i just cannot justify these flight prices. this season, they're crazy. what's happened to the era of cheap flights? has the bubble burst?

am in niederau at new year for a holiday, but i need another week as sustenance in february - -sepp will let me teach the children in ski school. usually, my wages for the week cover handsomely my flights, but that's not going to be the case this year.
the only trouble with taking the train at half term, is that we finish school at 3.00pm on the friday, and i just hope that i can begin my journey then, in order to arrive in niederau s-time on the saturday, to start work on the sunday after a few zipfers on the sat night!
thanks, i'll let you know what D-bahn come up with. L.

thanks, dave. will try your suggestions too. L.

Dave is right about the Seat61 site but I found some of the info rather out of date so be sure to do your own homework ;)

Happy travels

Jan