 A seat numbering plan shows how to seats are laid out. Seat & berth numbers are often not consecutive, for example 21 & 25 are an upper & lower bed in the same 2-bed sleeper. |
To find a seat plan for your train...
Seat Guru for trains? Maybe not quite yet! But on this page you'll find links to train seating plans, showing the layout and numbering of seats & sleeping berths in specific types of train and carriage for the key countries in Europe. Keeping all the links working is difficult, so please report any dead links, or any new train seat plans.
Click the country where your train starts...
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Train formations & car numbering...
You'll often find train formation plans posted in glass cases on station platforms so that you know where on the platform to stand to board your particular car. These show the train make-up with carriage sequence and carriage numbering for specific train departures, listed by train number. Unfortunately, train operators don't usually provide this information online, but there are a couple of useful private sites that show this information, often with photos of what the cars look like:
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For Germany, showing both domestic and international trains by train number, see www.grahnert.de/start421.htm. If you don't know the train number you want, use the journey planner at www.bahn.de to look it up, clicking on the service you want in the search results to see details including the train number.
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For domestic and international trains in Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, much of eastern Europe and the Balkans, see www.vagonweb.cz - Change cs to English upper left, then click Train formations. It can help to know that EN stands for EuroNight sleeper train, EC for EuroCity quality daytime train, IC for InterCity quality daytime train, and so on.
Can I book a specific seat?
When booking online, a few operators allow you to book a specific seat from a graphic numbered seating plan if you book directly on their own website - such operators include Eurostar at www.eurostar.com (only after payment, using the 'manage a booking' link), German Railways at www.bahn.de (but only for German domestic journeys on German IC or ICE trains), Swedish Railways at www.sj.se, Spanish railways at www.renfe.com (but only for Spanish domestic journeys and only if you buy a Promo+ fare or higher) and a few others. But these tend to be the exceptions, it's only for their own trains in their own country, and if you buy from a third party site you won't get that functionality, it's only if you book with the operator directly at their own site. Most other booking sites only let you choose 'aisle' or 'window'. If you want to book a specific seat on any other train, you'll need to book by phone, preferably with an agency that uses the relevant country's own reservation system. For example, if you call SNCF or (in the USA or Canada) Rail Europe, these use the French Railways reservation & ticketing system and can easily book a specific seat on a French TGV. But they can usually only select basic options such as 'aisle' or 'window' when booking a German or Italian or Spanish train. Conversely, German Railways obviously uses the German reservation and ticketing system, they can easily book you a specific seat or type of seat on a German ICE, but can only access basic options such as 'aisle' or 'window' on Eurostar or on a French or Italian train. There's a list of UK booking agencies here, if you really want to book a specific seat then try calling an agency with the most relevant reservation system.
Are we booked in the same sleeper compartment?
Berth numbering in sleepers and couchettes often causes confusion. People with berth numbers 21 & 25 wonder if they're really together in the same 2-bed sleeper, when yes they are! Look at the 'generic' sleeping-car numbering plan below, or search for the specific sleeper train you're booked on in the list below, based on the country in which your journey starts. Adjacent compartments may have a communicating door when people travelling together occupy both compartments, for example 11/13/15 will often have a door through to 12/14/16, 21/23/25 will have a door to 22/24/26 and so on.
Typical sleeper numbering plan. When used as a 2-berth, only the top & bottom berth numbers are used, for example 21 & 25.
Typical couchette numbering plan. When used as 4-berth, only the top & bottom berth numbers are usually used, for example 21, 22, 25 & 26.
Saloon or compartment seating?
Some trains have seats in open-plan saloons, indeed most modern trains have this sort of seating. Some trains, often older ones and often in eastern Europe, have seats in traditional 6-seater compartments with a side corridor running the length of the car. There are sliding (but non-lockable) doors to each compartment. Very occasionally you'll find both sorts of seating on one train, and some booking systems (such as the German Railways site bahn.de or Austrian site oebb.at) will ask you which you prefer. Unless you're in a group of 5 or 6 people, most travellers prefer open-plan saloon seating, which also gives you a better view out as you can view diagonally forwards and backwards through all the coach windows, not just directly sideways through your own window.
Train seating plans, by country...
| UK | |||
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Train: |
Routes operated: |
Seat plan: |
More information: |
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Eurostar |
London to Paris London to Brussels |
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Avanti West Coast (formerly Virgin Trains) |
Pendolino trains: London to Birmingham, Crewe, Liverpool, Manchester, Carlisle, Glasgow The 1st class cars on Pendolinos are normally at the London/southern end of the train. Voyager trains operate London to Chester & Holyhead (for Dublin) |
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LNER (ex-Virgin Trains East Coast) |
London - Leeds - York - Newcastle - Edinburgh - Dundee - Aberdeen, Inverness. The 1st class cars on IC225 & IC125 trains are normally at the London/southern end of the train Anything going north of Edinburgh must be diesel. |
New Azuma trains: IC225 electric trains: IC125 (HST) diesel trains |
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Great Western Railway (GWR) |
London-Bath-Bristol London-Cardiff-Swansea, London-Exeter-Plymouth-Truro-Penzance. The 1st class cars on GWR long-distance trains are normally at the London/eastern end of the train |
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East Midlands Trains |
London-Derby/Nottingham-Sheffield |
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Cross Country |
Plymouth-Bristol-Birmingham-Leeds-Newcastle, Bournemouth-Birmingham-Manchester etc. |
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Transport for Wales |
Crewe-Chester-Holyhead & others. |
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Hull Trains |
London-Hull |
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Trans-Pennine Express |
Liverpool-Manchester-Leeds-Newcastle. |
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Grand Central |
London - York - Sunderland |
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Caledonian Sleeper |
London - Scotland |
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Other trains |
All other routes |
none available |
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| France | |||
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Domestic trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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TGV Réseau |
Lille to Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Montpelier (some services now use TGV Duplex) |
(= same as TGV-Est) |
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TGV Med |
Paris-Lyon-Marseille-Nice (although most services are now TGV Duplex) |
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TGV Duplex |
Many routes including: Paris-Lyon-Marseille-Nice (a few are still TGV Med) A few Lille-Lyon-Marseille TGVs are Duplex. Many Paris-Bordeaux/Lourdes/Spanish border are now TGV Duplex Océane. |
1st & 2nd generation Duplex: 3rd generation EuroDuplex: TGV Duplex with Océane interior: No plan yet found. |
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TGV Atlantique |
Some Paris-Nantes, Rennes, Bordeaux, Biarritz, Lourdes, Hendaye, Irun TGVs (many trains on this route are now TGV Duplex Océane) |
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TGV Est |
Paris-Reims, Nancy, Metz, Strasbourg TGVs |
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Intercités de jour (Téoz) |
Paris-Limoges-Toulouse, Bordeaux-Toulouse-Marseille-Nice |
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Intercités de Nuit (formerly Lunéa) |
French domestic overnight trains |
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Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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Eurostar |
Paris to London |
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Thalys |
Paris to Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne |
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ICE 3 |
Paris to Frankfurt (most) |
Most services on this route are now worked by the new class 407 ICE3, click for seat plan. |
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TGV |
Paris to Luxembourg (Lacroix) |
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TGV-Lyria |
Paris to Geneva, Lausanne, Bern, Basel, Zurich |
TGV Duplex: |
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TGV Duplex |
Paris to Barcelona |
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TGV Duplex |
Paris to Stuttgart &Munich (all), Paris to Frankfurt (some) |
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TGV Paris-Milan |
Paris to Turin & Milan |
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AVE S100 (TGV) |
Lyon/Toulouse/Marseille - Barcelona Sometimes shown as TGV, in fact a Spanish AVE S100 |
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All French trains are now non-smoking, even though older seat plans may refer to 'smoking' cars.
Car number greater than 10? When two TGV units run coupled together, cars in the first set are numbered 1-8, the second 11-18. So car 18 is the same as car 8 on the seating plan.
| Belgium | |||
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Domestic trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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No seating plans available. All Belgian domestic trains are of the hop on and find a free seat variety, seat reservation not necessary or possible. |
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International trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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Eurostar |
Brussels to London |
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Thalys |
Brussels to Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne |
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ICE 3 |
Brussels to Cologne & Frankfurt |
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| Netherlands | |||
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Domestic trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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No seat numbering plans available. All Dutch domestic trains are of the hop on and find a free seat variety, seat reservation not necessary or possible. |
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International trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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Thalys |
Amsterdam to Brussels & Paris |
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ICE 3 |
Amsterdam to Cologne & Frankfurt |
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German InterCity (IC) trains |
Amsterdam to Osnabruck, Hannover & Berlin |
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| Switzerland | |||
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Domestic trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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No seating plans available for general Swiss train. Most Swiss domestic trains are of the hop on and find a free seat variety, seat reservation not necessary or possible. |
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Glacier Express |
Zermatt - Brig - Chur - St Moritz |
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International trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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TGV-Lyria to Paris |
Geneva, Lausanne, Bern, Basel, Zurich to Paris |
TGV Duplex |
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ICE 1 to Germany |
Switzerland to Germany |
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ICE 2 to Germany |
Switzerland to Germany |
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ICE 3 to Germany |
Switzerland to Germany |
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Nightjet sleeper train |
Zurich to Berlin |
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Nightjet sleeper trains |
Zurich to Vienna Zurich to Hamburg |
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EuroNight sleeper train |
Zurich to Prague |
Comfortline sleeping car - this is a Czech CD-owned one. |
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Switzerland - Milan EuroCity trains (Astoro & Giruno) |
Zurich, Basel, Geneva & Lausanne to Milan |
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Swiss-Austria-Hungary railjet |
Zurich-Innsbruck-Salzburg-Vienna-Budapest |
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| Italy | |||
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Domestic trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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Frecciarossa 1000 (ETR400) |
Turin-Milan-Florence-Rome-Naples 186mph+ high-speed trains. Trains with 4 classes, Standard, Premium, Business & Executive. |
none available |
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Frecciarossa 500 (ETR500) |
Turin-Milan-Florence-Rome-Naples 175mph high-speed trains. Trains with 4 classes, Standard, Premium, Business & Executive. |
More info about Frecciarossa 500 The grey bars between seats are tables... |
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Frecciargento (ETR485, ETR610) |
Various including Venice-Florence-Rome, Rome-Bari. 125mph tilting trains. |
Some trains use ETR485, some ETR610, some ETR600. The grey bars between seats are tables... |
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Frecciabianca |
Various including Milan-Verona-Venice, Milan-Bologna-Bari-Brindisi, Rome-Pisa-Genoa. 125mph trains. |
none available |
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InterCity trains |
Various including Rome-Sicily, Milan-Genoa |
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InterCity Notte |
Various including Rome-Sicily, Milan-Naples, Milan-Sicily. |
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Italo trains |
Milan-Florence-Rome-Naples Venice-Florence-Rome |
No seat plan available for EVO trains. |
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International trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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TGV Milan-Turin-Paris |
Milan-Turin-Paris (Lacroix interior) |
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Milan-Switzerland EuroCity trains (Astoro & Giruno) |
Zurich, Basel, Geneva & Lausanne to Milan |
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DB-ÖBB EuroCity to Munich |
Venice & Verona - Innsbruck - Munich |
Go to www.vagonweb.cz/razeni. Change cs to English top left, then click EC against Austria, then select your train & look for the seat plan icon underneath the relevant carriage. |
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Railjet |
Venice - Villach - Vienna |
Go to www.vagonweb.cz/razeni. Change cs to English top left, then click Railjet against Austria, then select your train & look for the seat plan icon underneath the relevant carriage. |
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Nightjet sleeper trains |
Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan to Salzburg, Munich, Vienna |
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| Spain | |||
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Domestic trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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AVE (S100) |
Madrid-Cordoba-Seville high-speed trains |
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AVE (S102/S112 Talgo) |
Some Madrid-Malaga high-speed trains (usually S102) Barcelona - Malaga/Seville (S112) |
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AVE (S103 Siemens) |
Madrid-Barcelona, some Madrid-Malaga trains |
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Alvia S120 |
Madrid-Logrono, Bilbao, Irun/Hendaye and others |
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Alvia S130 |
Madrid-Bilbao, Irun, Alicante and others |
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Intercity (formerly Altaria) |
Madrid-Granada, Algeciras and others |
none available |
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You can find seat numbering plans for Spanish trains at the Spanish Railways website, www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/nuestros_trenes/index.html. |
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International trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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TGV Duplex |
Barcelona to Paris |
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AVE S100 (TGV) |
Barcelona to Lyon/Avignon/Marseille Sometimes shown as TGV, in fact a Spanish AVE S100 |
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| Germany | |||
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Domestic trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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ICE 1 |
Various |
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ICE 2 |
Various, including Cologne - Hanover - Berlin |
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ICE 3 |
Various |
Click for seating plan - class 403 (ICE3) |
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ICE 4 |
Various |
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ICE-T |
Various |
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InterCity (IC) trains |
Various |
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Nightjet sleeper trains |
Dusseldorf & Cologne - Munich Hamburg - Munich |
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International trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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Thalys |
Cologne - Brussels - Paris |
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ICE 3 to Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam |
Frankfurt - Mannheim - Paris Frankfurt - Cologne - Brussels Frankfurt - Cologne - Amsterdam |
Click for seating plan - class 406 (ICE3M) Services on the Frankfurt-Mannheim-Paris route are now worked by the new class 407 ICE3, click for seat plan. |
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ICE-T to Vienna |
Frankfurt-Nuremberg-Vienna (7 car) Berlin - Vienna (7-car) |
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IC3 to Copenhagen (shown as IC) |
Copenhagen - Hamburg |
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InterCity (IC) to Amsterdam |
Berlin - Hanover - Amsterdam |
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TGV Duplex to Paris |
Munich - Stuttgart - Paris |
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Railjet |
Munich - Vienna - Budapest |
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DB-ÖBB EuroCity to Italy |
Munich - Innsbruck - Verona, Bologna & Venice |
Go to www.vagonweb.cz/razeni. Change cs to English top left, then click EC against Austria, then select your train & look for the seat plan icon underneath the relevant carriage. |
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Berlin-Warsaw EuroCity trains |
Berlin - Warsaw |
Go to www.vagonweb.cz, Change cs to English top left, click Train formation, select EIC against Poland & locate your train. Click the plan logo under each car. |
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EuroCity Berlin-Prague |
Hamburg-Berlin-Prague |
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Nightjet sleeper trains |
Hamburg to Zurich |
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Nightjet sleeper trains |
Berlin to Vienna Berlin to Zurich Dusseldorf & Cologne to Innsbruck & Vienna Hamburg to Innsbruck & Vienna |
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| Austria | |||
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Domestic trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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Railjet |
Vienna - Salzburg - Innsbruck Vienna - Graz |
Some Vienna-Graz railjets are Czech, see seating plan for CD railjet |
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InterCity trains |
Vienna - Salzburg - Innsbruck Vienna - Klagenfurt - Graz |
none available |
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International trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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Railjet |
Vienna - Salzburg - Innsbruck - Zurich. Vienna - Salzburg - Munich Vienna - Budapest |
Click for seating plan (original type) |
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Railjet |
Vienna - Venice |
Go to www.vagonweb.cz/razeni. Change cs to English top left, then click Railjet against Austria, then select your train & look for the seat plan icon underneath the relevant carriage. |
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Railjet |
Graz - Vienna - Prague Some departures use Austrian ÖBB red railjets, others Czech CD blue railjets. To check which operates your train, go to www.vagonweb.cz, select UK flag for English, select composition, then select RJ against either Czech Republic or Austria. |
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ICE 1 to Germany |
Vienna - Germany |
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ICE 2 to Germany |
Vienna - Germany |
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ICE 3 to Germany |
Vienna - Germany |
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ICE-T to Germany |
Vienna-Nuremberg-Frankfurt (7-car) Vienna - Berlin (7-car) |
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DB-ÖBB EuroCity to Italy |
Munich - Innsbruck - Verona, Bologna & Venice |
Go to www.vagonweb.cz/razeni. Change cs to English top left, then click EC against Austria, then select your train & look for the seat plan icon underneath the relevant carriage. |
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Nightjet sleeper trains |
Vienna to Zurich |
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Nightjet sleeper trains |
Vienna to Berlin Vienna to Venice Vienna to Florence & Rome Salzburg to Venice, Florence & Rome Vienna & Innsbruck to Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hamburg. |
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You can also find useful information about the composition of international trains to or from Austria at www.vagonweb.cz/razeni. |
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| Denmark | |||
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Domestic trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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IC3 |
Various |
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IC4 |
Various |
n/a |
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International trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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X2000 (sometimes shown as X2) |
Copenhagen-Stockholm |
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IC3 (shown as IC) |
Copenhagen-Hamburg |
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| Sweden | |||
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Domestic trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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X2000 (sometimes shown as X2) |
Stockholm - Gothenburg Stockholm - Malmo |
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SJ3000 (X55 Regina) |
Various, e.g. Stockholm-Sundsvall |
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International trains: |
Routes operated: |
Seating plan: |
More information: |
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X2000 |
Stockholm - Copenhagen Stockholm - Oslo |
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| Czech Republic, Slovakia | |||
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You can check train compositions for domestic and international trains to, from or within the Czech Republic and Slovakia at www.zelpage.cz/razeni (Change cs to English top left). You can search by train number (enter it in the box at the top) or click on a train category (for example, EuroNight or EuroCity) to see a list of trains. When you get to the train formation page, click on a carriage for specific carriage information, including a seat or berth numbering plan if they have one. You can also find information about the composition of international trains to or from Prague or Bratislava at www.vagonweb.cz/razeni.
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EuroCity Prague-Berlin |
Prague-Dresden-Berlin |
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EuroCity Prague-Budapest |
Prague-Bratislava-Budapest |
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Railjet Prague-Vienna |
Prague - Vienna - Graz Some departures use Austrian ÖBB red railjets, others Czech CD blue railjets. To check which operates your train, go to www.vagonweb.cz, Change cs to English top left, select train formation, then select RJ against either Czech Republic or Austria. |
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EuroNight sleeper train |
Prague to Zurich |
Comfortline sleeping car - this is a Czech CD-owned one. |
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EuroNight sleeper train |
Prague to Budapest |
Comfortline sleeping car - this is a Czech CD-owned one. |
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| Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia... |
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You can also find useful information about the composition of trains to or from Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia at www.vagonweb.cz/razeni. Switch it to English by selecting en. Click train formation then select the type of train against the relevant country. When you see the train formation, click on the camera logo under each car for photos. You may also see a seat plan logo, click for the seating plan. |