International Rail Routes in Europe: Part 1

When planning an international rail journey in Europe what may not be obvious is that only a tiny percentage of European trains cross borders.
There are also significant variations in the levels of service per route, from comparatively frequent high-speed trains, to night trains, to local trains - and some routes only have one train per day.
Hence the summaries you'll find below.

Every place that the trains call at hasn't been included on the route guides, the intention is to feature the locations which tourists are most likely to head to.
↔ = border crossing

There's usually no need to pay particular attention how the trains cross the borders, many express trains won't even call at the stations in the towns on either side of a border.
Though the scenarios can vary, hence the notes towards the foot of the guide.

The reservation notes are for international journeys, ticket purchasers will have mandatory reservations included with their purchase, but Eurail and InterRail users will need to take steps to reserve these trains.

On the night train routes the included locations have departure times before 00:30 and arrival times after 05:30.

From/To Austria

Express trains with optional reservations (year round):

1. Linz ↔ České Budějovice - Praha/Prague; by EC train every other hour
2. Villach - Klagenfurt - Graz - Wien/Vienna ↔ Breclav - Brno - Pardubice - Praha/Prague; by Railjet trains
3. Graz - Wien/Vienna ↔ Breclav - Brno - Pardubice - Praha/Prague - Decin 1 x Railjet per day
4. Wien/Vienna - Linz - Salzburg ↔ Munchen/Munich by Railjet every other hour
5. Wien/Vienna ↔ Gyor - Budapest; by Railjet every other hour
6. Wien/Vienna ↔ Gyor - Budapest; by IC train every other hour
7. Wien/Vienna ↔ Gyor - Budapest - Debrecen - Chop: 1 x IC train per day
8. Graz - Seltzhal - Radstadt - Zell-am-See - Worgl - Innsbruck - Feldkirch ↔ Bregenz / Buchs - Sargans - Zurich; 1 x EC train per day, the 'Transalpin' service
9. Graz ↔ Szentgotthárd - Szombathely - Györ - Budapest: 2 x EC trains per day
10. Wien/Vienna - Linz - Salzburg - Kufstein - Innsbruck - Feldkirch ↔ Bregenz / Buchs - Sargans - Zurich; by Railjet every other hour
11. Bratislava / Budapest - Gyor ↔ Wien/Vienna - Linz - Salzburg - Kufstein - Innsbruck - Feldkirch; 1 x Railjet per day
12. Bregenz ↔ St Margrethen - St Gallen - Zurich; by ECE train every other hour

Express trains with optional reservations Sept to May; mandatory reservations June to August:

1. Wien/Vienna - Linz ↔ Passau - Regensburg - Nurnberg; by ICE (or IC) every other hour; fewer trains from February 7th 2026 until December 12th 2026
2. Wien/Vienna - Linz ↔ Passau - Regensburg - Nurnberg - Wurzburg - Frankfurt (Main); 5 x ICE trains per day; fewer trains from February 7th 2026 until December 12th 2026
3. Wien/Vienna - Linz ↔ Passau - Regensburg - Nurnberg - Wurzburg - Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Airport - Mainz - Koblenz - Bonn - Koln/Cologne - Dusseldorf - Essen - Dortmund; 3 x ICE trains per day
4. Wien/Vienna - Linz ↔ Passau - Regensburg - Nurnberg - Wurzburg - Kassel - Hannover - Hamburg; 1 x ICE train per day; not available February 7th 2026 until December 12th 2026
5. Wien/Vienna ↔ Linz - Passau - Regensburg - Nurnberg - Erfurt - Berlin- Hamburg; 1 x ICE train per day; not available February 7th 2026 until December 12th 2026
6. Graz - Klagenfurt - Villach - Bad Gastein - Salzburg ↔ Munchen/Munich - Augsburg - Ulm - Stuttgart - Heidelberg - Frankfurt (Main); 2 x ICE trains per day NEW
7. Klagenfurt - Villach - Bad Gastein - Salzburg ↔ Munchen/Munich - Augsburg - Ulm - Stuttgart - Mannheim - Frankfurt Airport - Koln-Messe/Deutz - Dusseldorf - Munster; 1 x ICE train per day; NEW
8. Wien/Vienna - Graz - Klagenfurt - Villach - Bad Gastein - Salzburg ↔ Munchen/Munich; 2 x Railjet trains per day; NEW
9. Innsbruck - Feldkirch - Bregenz ↔ Lindau - Friedrichshafen - Ulm - Stuttgart - Mannheim - Frankfurt Airport - Koln-Messe/Deutz - Dusseldorf - Essen - Dortmund; 1 x ICE train per day

Express trains with mandatory reservations year round:

Reservations not required Austria ↔ Czechia; or Austria ↔ Germany

1. Wien/Vienna ↔ Breclav - Brno - Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Katowice - Warszawa; 2 x EC trains per day
2. Wien/Vienna ↔ Breclav - Brno - Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Katowice; 1 x EC train per day
3. Graz - Wien/Vienna ↔ Breclav - Brno - Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Krakow - Rzeszow - Przemysl; 1 x EC train per day
4. Wien/Vienna ↔ Breclav - Brno - Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Krakow / Wroclaw; 2 x EC trains per day
5. Wien/Vienna - Graz ↔ Maribor ↔ Zagreb; 1 x EC train per day
6. Villach ↔ Jesenice - Lesce-Bled - Ljubljana - Zidnani Most - Dobova ↔ Zagreb; 3 x EC trains per day
7. Wien/Vienna - Graz ↔ Maribor ↔ Ljubljana; 1 x EC train per day
8. Salzburg - Bad Gastein - Villach ↔ Lesce Bled - Ljubljana - Zagreb; 1 x EC train per day
9. Wien/Vienna - Linz - Salzburg - Kufstein - Innsbruck ↔ Brennero - Bolzano; 1 x Railjet train per day
10. Munchen/Munich ↔ Kufstein - Innsbruck ↔ Brennero - Bolzano - Trento - Verona; 5 x Railjet trains per day: 2 or 3 x trains per day continue to/from Bologna; 1 or 2 x trains per day continue to/from - Vicenza - Padova/Padua - Venezia/Venice
11. Wien/Vienna - Graz - Klagenfurt - Villach ↔ Udine - Venezia/Venice; 2 x Railjet trains per day
12. Wien/Vienna - Graz - Klagenfurt - Villach ↔ Udine - Trieste; 1 x Railjet train per day; NEW
13. Budapest - Gyor ↔ Wien/Vienna ↔ Breclav - Brno - Pardubice - Praha/Prague; 3 x Regiojet trains per day
14. Munchen/Munich ↔ Salzburg - Linz - Wien/Vienna West; 5 x Westbahn trains per day

Night trains:

1. Salzburg - Linz - Wien/Vienna ↔- Warszawa; 1 x Euronight train per night named 'the Chopin'
2. Salzburg - Linz - Wien/Vienna ↔- Krakow - Przemysl; 1 x Euronight train per night named 'the Carpatiato' NEW
3. Wien/Vienna ↔ Alba lula - Sigisoira - Brasov - Buccuresti/Bucharest and Wien/Vienna ↔ Cluj Napoca; 1 x Euronight train per night named 'The Dacia'
4. Wien/Vienna - Linz ↔ Udine - Venezia/Venice; 1 x Nightjet train per night
5. Wien/Vienna - Klagenfurt ↔ Bologna - Firenze/Florence - Roma/Rome; 1 x Nightjet New Generation train per night
6. Wien/Vienna - Linz ↔ Buchs - Sarganz - Zurich; 1 x Nightjet train and 1 x Euronight per night
7. Wien/Vienna - Linz - Salzburg ↔ Koblenz - Bonn - Koln/Cologne - Aachen - Liege - Bruxelles; by Nightjet; 3 x trains per week
8. Wien/Vienna ↔ Munchen-Ost - Augsburg - Ulm - Stuttgart; 1 x Euronight train per night named 'Kalaman Imre'
9. Wien/Vienna - Linz ↔ Deventer - Amersfoort - Amsterdam; 1 x Nightjet New Generation train per night
10. Wien/Vienna - Linz ↔ Kassel - Hannover - Hamburg; 1 x Nightjet New Generation train per night
11. Wien/Vienna ↔ Dresden - Berlin; 1 x Nightjet train per night
12. Innsbruck - Kufstein ↔ Deventer - Amersfoort - Amsterdam; 1 x Nightjet New Generation train per night
13. Innsbruck - Kufstein - Linz ↔ Kassel - Hannover - Hamburg; 1 x Nightjet New Generation train per night
14. Feldkirch - St Anton - Landeck-Zams ↔ Lesce-Bled - Ljubljana ↔ Zagreb; 1 x Euronight train per night

Local/Regional trains with connections:

1. Wien/Vienna ↔ Breclav; hourly
2. Wien/Vienna ↔ Bratislava; 2 x trains per hour (different routes)
3. Wien/Vienna ↔ Sopron; hourly
4. Wiener Neustadt ↔ Sopron; hourly
5. Graz ↔ Szentgotthard; 1 x train in most hours
6. Graz ↔ Maribor; every other hour; Newly improved
7. (Klagenfurt) - Bleiburg ↔ Maribor; 2 x trains per day on Mon-Fri only
8. Villach ↔ Jesenice - Lesce-Bled - Ljubljana; every other hour; Newly improved
9. Villach ↔ Udine 2 x trains per day
10. Villach ↔ Udine - Trieste 1 x train per day
11. Lienz ↔ San Candido - Fortezza - Bressanone; hourly
12. Innsbruck ↔ Brennero; 2 x trains per hour
13. Feldkirch ↔ Buchs; 11 x trains per day on Mon-Fri only
14. Bregenz ↔ St Margrethen; 1 x train in most hours
15. Bludenz - Feldkirch - Bregenz ↔ Lindau; 1 x train in most hours
16. Innsbruck - Seefeld-im-Tirol - Mittenwald ↔ Garmish Partenkirchen; 1 x train every other hour; Most trains continue to/from Munchen, but are shown as separate Garmish Partenkirchen ↔ Munchen/Munich services on timetables
17. Salzburg ↔ Munchen/Munich; 1 x train per hour
18. Wien Franz Josef Bahnhof - Gmund ↔ Ceske Velenice - Tabor - Praha/Prague; 2 x trains per day
19. Wien Franz Josef Bahnhof - Gmund ↔ Ceske Velenice; 1 x train every other hour

From/To Belgium

Express trains on which reservations are not available:

1. Bruxelles-Midi - Antwerpen ↔ Rotterdam - Amsterdam Zuid; by ECD train hourly
2. Bruxelles-Midi - Bruxelles-Central - Bruxelles-Nord - Bruxelles Airport - Mechelen - Antwerpen ↔ Breda - Rotterdam; by EC train hourly
3. Bruxelles-Midi - Bruxelles-Central - Bruxelles-Nord - Bruxelles-Schuman - Namur - Arlon ↔ Luxembourg; by IC train hourly

Express trains with optional reservations Sept to May; mandatory reservations June to August:

1. Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Airport - Koln/Cologne - Aachen ↔ Liege - Bruxelles-Nord - Bruxells-Midi; by ICE train every other hour

Express trains with mandatory reservations year round:

1. Amsterdam Centraal - Schiphol Airport - Rotterdam ↔ Antwerpen - Bruxelles-Mid; by Eurostar; up to 16 x trains per day
2. (Dortmund - Essen - Dusseldorf -) Koln/Cologne - Aachen ↔ Liege - Bruxells-Midi; by Eurostar; 5 x trains per day
3. Paris (Nord) ↔ Bruxelles-Midi; by Eurostar; 1 or 2 x trains per hour
4. London ↔ Lille ↔ Bruxelles-Mid; by Eurostar; 8 x trains per day
5. Marseille - Avignon (or Montpellier - Nimes) - Lyon - Aeroport CDG - Lille ↔ Brussels; by TGV InOui*; up to 8 x trains per day
6. Paris (Nord) ↔ Bruxelles-Midi; by Ouigo Classique; 4 x trains per day

Night trains:

1. Bruxelles - Liege ↔ Berlin; by Nightjet; 3 x trains per week
2. Bruxelles - Antwerp ↔ Berlin - Dresden - Decin - Praha/Prague; by European Sleeper train; 3 x trains per week
3. Bruxelles - Liege ↔ Linz - Wien/Vienna; by Nightjet; 3 x trains per week

Local/Regional trains with connections:

1. Antwerpen ↔ Roosendaal; hourly
2. Liege ↔ Maastricht; hourly
3. Liege - Verviers ↔ Aachen; hourly
4. Liege ↔ Luxembourg; hourly on Mon to Friday; every other hour on Sat/Sun
5. Maubeuge ↔ Charleroi; typically 1 x train every other hour
6. Lille ↔ Tournai (connect for Mons and Namur); up to 1 x train per hour
7. Lille ↔ Mouscron - Gent - Antwerpen; up to 1 x train per hour

From/To Croatia

All of the usual train services between Croatia and Serbia are currently suspended due to construction work on the Serbian rail network.

Express trains with mandatory reservations:

1. Budapest (Deli) - Siofok - Fonyod ↔ Zagreb; 1 x EC train per day
2. Wien/Vienna - Graz ↔ Maribor ↔ Zagreb; 1 x EC train per day
3. Villach ↔ Jesenice - Lesce-Bled - Ljubljana - Zidnani Most - Dobova ↔ Zagreb; 3 x EC trains per day
4. Munich - Salzburg - Bad Gastein - Villach ↔ Jesenice - Lesce-Bled - Ljubljana - Zidnani Most - Dobova ↔ Zagreb; 1 x EC train per day

Night trains:

1. Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen Ost ↔ Zagreb; 1 x Euronight train per night
2. Zurich - Sargans - Buchs ↔ Feldkirch - St Anton - Landeck-Zams ↔ Zagreb; 1 x Euronight train per night

Local/Regional trains with connections:

No services

From/to Czechia / Czech Republic

Express trains on which reservations are not available:

1. Munchen/Munich - Regensburg ↔ Plzen - Praha/Prague; by ALX train every other hour
2. Linz ↔ České Budějovice - Praha/Prague; by EC train every other hour

Express trains with optional reservations (year round):

1. Budapest - Vac ↔ Bratislava ↔ Breclav - Brno - Pardubice - Praha/Prague; by EC / Comfort Jet train every other hour
2. Villach - Klagenfurt - Graz - Wien/Vienna ↔ Breclav - Brno - Pardubice - Praha/Prague; 2 x Railjet trains per day; NEW
3. Praha/Prague - Pardubice - Olomuc ↔ Puchkov; 5 x EC trains per day
4. Praha/Prague - Pardubice - Olomuc - Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Zilina; 3 x EC trains per day

Express trains with optional reservations Sept to May; mandatory reservations June to August:

1. Breclav - Brno - Pardubice - Praha/Prague - Decin ↔ Bad Schandau - Dresden - Berlin - Hamburg; 1 x Comfort Jet train per day
2. Praha/Prague - Decin ↔ Bad Schandau - Dresden - Berlin - Hamburg; 3 x Comfort Jet trains per day
3. Praha/Prague - Decin ↔ Bad Schandau - Dresden - Berlin; 2 x Comfort Jet/EC trains per day; until April 30th 2026
4. Praha/Prague - Decin ↔ Bad Schandau - Dresden - Berlin - Hamburg - Kolding - Odense - Copenhagen; 2 x Comfort Jet trains from May 1st 2026
5. Praha/Prague - Decin ↔ Bad Schandau - Dresden; 1 x Comfort Jet train per day

Express trains with mandatory reservations year round:

1. Praha/Prague - Pardubice - Olomuc - Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Katowice - Warszawa; 3 x EC trains per day
2. Breclav - Brno - Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Katowice - Warszawa; 2 x EC trains per day
3. Praha/Prague - Pardubice - Ololmuc- Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Krakow; 2 x EC trains per day
4. Praha/Prague - Pardubice - Olomuc - Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Krakow; by LEO Express; 2 x trains per day on Friday and Sunday; 1 x train per day on Weds / Thurs / Sat
5. Praha/Prague - Pardubice ↔ Wroclaw - Poznan - Bydgoszcz - Gdansk - Gydnia; 4 x Baltic Express (EC) trains per day
6. Breclav - Brno - Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Krakow - Rzeszow - Przemysl; 1 x EC train per day
7. Breclav - Brno - Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Krakow / Wroclaw; 1 x EC train per day
8. Breclav - Brno - Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Katowice; 1 x EC train per day
9. Praha/Prague - Pardubice - Olomuc - Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Zilina - Kosice; 2 x Regiojet trains per day; 1 x Supercity train per day; 1 x LeoExpress train per day
10. Bratislava ↔ Breclav - Brno - Pardubice - Praha/Prague; by 4 x Regiojet trains per day
11. Budapest - Gyor - Wien - Breclav - Brno - Pardubice - Praha/Prague; by 3 x Regiojet trains per day

Night trains:

1. Zurich - Basel ↔ Freiburg (am Breisgau) - Offenburg - Kalrsruhe - Mannheim ↔ Decin - Praha/Prague; 1 x Euronight train per night
2. Bruxelles - Antwerp ↔ Rotterdam - Den Haag HS - Amsterdam Amersfoort ↔ Decin - Praha/Prague; by European Sleeper train; 3 x trains per week
3. Praha/Prague - Pardubice ↔ Krakow - Warszawa; 1 x Euronight train per night
4. Praha/Prague - Pardubice ↔ Bratislava - Vac - Budapest; 1 x Euronight train per night

Local/Regional trains with connections:

1. Bad Schandau ↔ Decin; 1 x train every other hour
2. Hof ↔ Františkovy Lázně - Cheb - Marktredwitz; 1 x train every other hour
3. Zwickau ↔ Františkovy Lázně - Cheb; 1 x train every other hour
4. Zwickau - Johanngeorgenstadt ↔ Karlovy Vary/Carlsbad; 6 connections per day
5. Nurnberg/Nuremburg - Hof ↔ Marktredwitz - Cheb; 1 x train every other hour
6. Usti nad Orlici - Lichkov ↔ Klodskow - Wroclaw; 5 x connections per day
7. Ostrava - Bohumin ↔ Zilina; 5 x trains per day
8. Wien/Vienna ↔ Breclav; hourly
9. Wien Franz Josef Bahnhof - Gmund ↔ Ceske Velenice - Tabor - Praha/Prague; 2 x trains per day
10. Wien Franz Josef Bahnhof - Gmund ↔ Ceske Velenice; 1 x train every other hour

From/to Denmark

Express trains on which reservations are not available:

Fredericia - Kolding - Padborg ↔  Flensburg; by Danish IC train every other hour.

Express trains with optional reservations Sept to May; mandatory reservations June to August:

1. København/Copenhagen - Odense - Kolding - Padborg ↔ Flensburg - Hamburg; 5 to 8 x IC/EC trains per day; will be new ECE trains from January 15th 2026
2. København/Copenhagen - Odense - Kolding - Padborg ↔ Flensburg - Hamburg - Berlin - Dresden - Bad Schandau - Decin - Prague; 2 x Comfort Jet trains; from May 1st 2026

Express trains with mandatory reservations year round:

København/Copenhagen ↔ Malmo - Lund - Linköping - Norrköping - Stockholm; 1 x Snalltaget train per day

Night trains:

1. Orestad (connection with Copenhagen Metro) ↔ Hamburg - Berlin; by Berlin Night Express, 6 x nights per week, but not on most dates between mid October and mid-April
2. Copenhagen Airport - Hoeje Taastrup - Odense - Kolding - Padborg ↔ Flensburg - Karlsruhe Hbf - Freiburg (Breisgau) Hbf - Basel-SBB; by EuroNight train, 3x nights per week; from April 16th 2025

Regional trains with connections:

1. København/Copenhagen - Copenhagen Airport ↔ Malmo - Lund - Helsingborg - Halmstad - Goteborg/Gothenburg; 1 x train per hour
2. København/Copenhagen - Copenhagen Airport ↔ Malmo - Lund - Helsingborg; 1 x train per hour
3. København/Copenhagen - Copenhagen Airport ↔ Malmo - Hasselholm - Kristianstad - Karlshamn - Karlsrona; 1 x train per hour
4. København/Copenhagen - Copenhagen Airport ↔ Malmo - Hasselholm - Vaxjo - Kalmar; 1 x train per hour

From/to France

Express trains with mandatory reservations:

1. Lille ↔ London; by Eurostar; 8 x trains per day
2. Paris ↔ London; by Eurostar; 14 to 17 x trains per day
3. Paris Nord ↔ Bruxelles - Antwerp ↔ Rotterdam - Amsterdam; by Eurostar; up to 13 x trains per day; Plus additional trains, which only operate Paris Nord ↔ Bruxelles
4. Paris ↔ Bruxelles - Liege ↔ Aachen - Koln/Cologne (some trains continue to/from Dusseldorf - Essen - Dortmund); by Eurostar; 4 to 5 x trains per day
5. Paris (Nord) ↔ Bruxelles-Midi; by Ouigo Classique; 4 x trains per day
6. Paris ↔ Luxembourg; by TGV InOui; 5 to 6 x trains per day
7. Paris - Saarbrucken - Kaiserlautern - Mannheim - Frankfurt (Main); by TGV InOui* and ICE; 4 x trains per day
8. Paris - Strasbourg ↔ Karlsruhe - Mannheim - Frankfurt (Main); by TGV InOui* and ICE; 3 x trains per day
9. Paris - Strasbourg ↔ Karlsruhe - Frankfurt (Main) Sud - Berlin; by ICE; 1 x train per day
10. Paris - Strasbourg ↔ Karlsruhe - Stuttgart; by TGV InOui* and ICE; up to 4 x trains per day
11. Paris - Strasbourg ↔ Karlsruhe - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen/Munich; by TGV InOui; 1 x train per day
12. Paris - Strasbourg ↔ Offenburg - Ringsheim/Europa-Park - Freiburg (Breisgau); by TGV InOui; 1 x train per day
13. Paris - Dijon - Mulhouse ↔ Basel - Zurich; by TGV Lyria; 6 x trains per day
14. Paris - Dijon - Frasne ↔ Vallorbe - Lausanne; by TGV Lyria; 3 x trains per day
15. Paris - Bourg-en-Bresse - Bellegarde ↔ Geneve ( some trains to Lausanne); by TGV Lyria; 7 to 8 x trains per day
16. Paris - Chambery - Modane ↔ Torino/Turin - Milano; by TGV InOui*; 3 x trains per day
17. Paris - Lyon - Chambery - Modane ↔ Torino/Turin - Milano; by Frecce 2 x trains per day
18. Paris - Nimes - Montpellier - Narbonne - Perpignan ↔ Figueres - Girona - Barcelona; by TGV InOui*; 2 x trains per day
19. Lyon - Nimes - Montpellier - Narbonne - Perpignan ↔ Figueres - Girona - Barcelona; by AVE; 1 x train per day
20. Marseille - Avignon - Nimes- Montpellier - Narbonne - Perpignan ↔ Figueres - Girona - Barcelona - Zaragoza - Madrid; by AVE; 1 x train per day
21. Marseille - Avignon - Lyon - Mulhouse - Strasbourg ↔ Karlsruhe - Mannheim - Frankfurt (Main); by TGV InOui*; 1 x train per day
22. Marseille - Avignon - Lyon - Mulhouse - Strasbourg ↔ Luxembourg; by TGV InOui; 1 x train per day
23. Marseille - Avignon - Lyon ↔ Geneve - Lausanne; by TGV Lyria; up 1 x train per day mid April to mid October
24. Marseille - Avignon (or Montpellier - Nimes) - Lyon - Aeroport CDG - Lille ↔ Brussels; by TGV InOui*; up to 8 x trains per da

*= more expensive Eurail/InterRail reservation fees than the usual TGV InOui price

Express trains with optional reservations:

no services

Local/Regional trains with connections:

1. Lille ↔ Mouscron - Gent - Antwerpen; up to 1 x train per hour
2. Lille ↔ Tournai (connect for Mons and Namur); up to 1 x train per hour
3. Maubeuge ↔ Charleroi; typically 1 x train every other hour
4. Nancy - Metz ↔ Luxembourg; hourly
5. Metz ↔ Saarbrucken; up to 1 x train per hour
6. Strasbourg ↔ Offenburg; 1 or 2 x trains per hour
7. Strasbourg - Colmar - Mulhouse ↔ Basel; 0 to 2 x trains per hour
8. Lyon - Bellgarde ↔ Geneve; up to 10 x trains per day
9. Bellgarde ↔ Geneve; up to 8 x trains per day
10. Valence - Grenoble - Chambery - Aix-les-Bains - Bellegarde ↔ Geneve; 3 x trains per day
11. Grenoble - Chambery - Aix-les-Bains - Bellegarde ↔ Geneve; 2 x trains per day
12. Annecy - Annemasse ↔ Geneve; 1 x train in most hours
13. Annemasse ↔ Geneve - Lausanne - Montreux and beyond; 2 x trains per hour
14. Chamonix - Vallorbe ↔ Martigny; 1 x Mont Blanc Express train per hour
15. (Grasse) - Cannes - Antibes - Nice - Monaco-MonteCarlo - Menton ↔ Ventimiglia; 1 or 2 x trains per hour
16. (Avignon - Nimes - Montpellier) - Narbonne - Perpignan ↔ Port Bou; 1 x train in most hours hours
17. La tour De Carol ↔ Puigcerda - Barcelona; 3 or 4 x trains per day
18. Hendaye ↔ San Sebastian; 2 x trains per hour rail passes not valid

From Germany

The services on the summaries are broadly listed north to south:

Express trains on which reservations are not available:

1. Flensburg ↔ Padborg - Kolding - Fredericia; by Danish IC train every other hour.
2. Munchen/Munich - Regensburg ↔ Plzen - Praha/Prague; by ALX train every other hour

Express trains with optional reservations (year round):

1. Munchen/Munich ↔ Salzburg - Linz - Wien/Vienna ↔ Gyor - Budapest; by Railjet every other hour
2. Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Freiburg-am-Breisgau ↔ Basel; 1 x ICE or Giruno train per day
3. Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Freiburg-am-Breisgau ↔ Basel - Zurich - Bellinzona - Lugano; 1 x EC train per day
4. Berlin - Kassel - Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Freiburg-am-Breisgau ↔ Basel - (most trains continue to/from - Bern - Thun - Interlaken / Brig); by ICE train every other hour
5. Hamburg - Bremen - Dortmund - Koln/Cologne - Frankfurt Airport - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Freiburg-am-Breisgau ↔ Basel - Zurich by ICE train every other hour (4 x trains per travel between Zurich- Landquart - Chur)
6. Stuttgart - Horb - Singen ↔ Schaffhausen - Zurich; by IC train every other hour
7. Munchen/Munich - Augsburg - Ulm - Stuttgart - Karlsruhe - Freiburg-am-Breisgau ↔ Basel; 1 x ICE train per day
8. Munchen/Munich - Lindau ↔ Bregenz ↔ St Margrethen - St Gallen - Zurich; by ECE train every other hour
9. Munchen/Munich ↔ Kufstein - Innsbruck; 6 x Railjet / EC trains per day

Express trains with optional reservations Sept to May; mandatory reservations June to August:

1. Hamburg - Flensburg - Padborg ↔ Kolding - Odense - København/Copenhagen; 5 to 10 x IC/EC trains per day; will be ECE trains from Jan 15th; will be ECE or Comfort Jet trains from May 1st
2. Bad Schandau - Dresden - Berlin - Hamburg - Flensburg - Padborg ↔ Kolding - Odense - København/Copenhagen; 2 x Comfort Jet trains per day; from May 1st 2026
3. Berlin - Hannover - Osnabruck - Rheine ↔ Hengelo - Deventer - Amersfoort - Amsterdam; by ICE every other hour
4. Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Airport - Koln/Cologne - Dusseldorf ↔ Arnhem - Utrecht - Amsterdam; by ICE train every other hour
5. Munchen/Munich - Augsburg - Ulm - Stuttgart - Mannheim - Frankfurt Airport - Koln/Cologne - Dusseldorf ↔ Arnhem - Utrecht - Amsterdam; 1 x ICE train per day
6. Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Airport - Koln/Cologne - Aachen ↔ Liege - Bruxelles; by ICE train every other hour
7. Budapest - Vac ↔ Bratislava ↔ Breclav - Brno - Pardubice - Praha/Prague - Decin ↔ Bad Schandau - Dresden - Berlin - Hamburg; 1 x Comfort Jet train per day
8. Praha/Prague - Decin ↔ Bad Schandau - Dresden Berlin - Hamburg; 3 x Comfort Jet trains per day
9. Praha/Prague - Decin ↔ Bad Schandau - Dresden - Berlin; 2 x Comfort Jet trains per day
10. Praha/Prague - Decin ↔ Bad Schandau - Dresden; 1 x Comfort Jet train per day
11. Wien/Vienna - Linz↔ Passau - Regensburg - Nurnberg; by ICE train every other hour; fewer trains from February 7th 2026 until December 12th 2026
12. Wien/Vienna - Linz ↔ Passau - Regensburg - Nurnberg - Wurzburg - Frankfurt (Main); 5 x ICE trains per day; fewer trains from February 7th 2026 until December 12th 2026
13. Wien/Vienna - Linz ↔ Passau - Regensburg - Nurnberg - Wurzburg - Frankfurt (Main) - Frankfurt Airport - Mainz - Koblenz - Bonn - Koln/Cologne - Dusseldorf - Essen - Dortmund; 3 x ICE trains per day
14. Wien/Vienna - Linz ↔ Passau - Regensburg - Nurnberg - Wurzburg - Kassel - Hannover - Hamburg; 1 x ICE train per day; not available from February 7th 2026 until December 12th 2026
15. Wien/Vienna ↔ Linz - Passau - Regensburg - Nurnberg - Erfurt - Berlin- Hamburg; 1 x ICE train per day; not available from February 7th 2026 until December 12th 2026
16. Graz - Klagenfurt - Villach - Bad Gastein - Salzburg ↔ Munchen/Munich - Augsburg - Ulm - Stuttgart - Heidelberg - Frankfurt (Main); 2 x ICE trains per day; NEW
17. Graz - Klagenfurt - Villach - Bad Gastein - Salzburg ↔ Munchen/Munich - Augsburg - Ulm - Stuttgart - Mannheim - Koln-Messe/Deutz - Dusseldorf - Munster; 1 x ICE train per day; NEW
18. Wien/Vienna - Graz - Klagenfurt - Villach - Bad Gastein - Salzburg ↔ Munchen/Munich; 2 x Railjet trains per day; NEW
19. Innsbruck - Feldkirch - Bregenz ↔ Lindau - Friedrichshafen - Ulm - Stuttgart - Mannheim - Koln-Messe/Deutz - Dusseldorf - Essen - Dortmund; 1 x ICE train per day

Express trains with mandatory reservations year round:

1. Berlin - Frankfurt (Oder) ↔ Poznan - Warszawa; 6 or 7 x EC trains per day
2. Berlin ↔ Wroclaw - Katowice - Krakow (two trains continue to/from Rzeszow - Przemysl); 3 x EC trains per day
3. Berlin - Frankfurt (Oder) ↔ Gdasnsk - Sopron - Gydnia; 1 x EC train per day
4. Paris ↔ Bruxelles - Liege ↔ Aachen - Koln/Cologne (some trains continue to/from Dusseldorf - Essen - Dortmund); by Eurostar; 4 to 5 x trains per day
5. Paris - Saarbrucken - Kaiserlautern - Mannheim - Frankfurt (Main); by TGV InOui* and ICE; 4 x trains per day
6. Paris - Strasbourg ↔ Karlsruhe - Mannheim - Frankfurt (Main); by TGV InOui* and ICE; 3 x trains per day
7. Paris - Strasbourg ↔ Karlsruhe - Frankfurt (Main) - Erfurt - Berlin; by ICE; 1 x train per day
8. Paris - Strasbourg ↔ Karlsruhe - Stuttgart; by TGV InOui* and ICE; up to 4 x trains per day
9. Paris - Strasbourg ↔ Karlsruhe - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen/Munich; by TGV InOui; 1 x train per day
10. Paris - Strasbourg ↔ Offenburg - Ringsheim/Europa-Park - Freiburg (Breisgau); by TGV InOui; 1 x train per day
11. Munchen/Munich ↔ Kufstein - Innsbruck ↔ Brennero - Bolzano - Trento - Verona; 5 x Railjet (or EC) trains per day: 2 or 3 x trains per day continue to/from Bologna; 1 or 2 x trains per day continue to/from - Vicenza - Padova/Padua - Venezia/Venice Reservations required when travelling to/from Italy
12. Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Freiburg-am-Breisgau ↔ Basel - Zurich - Bellinzona - Lugano ↔ Como - Milano; 1 x EC train per day Reservations required when travelling to/from Italy

Night trains:

1. Stockholm - Malmo ↔ Hamburg - Berlin; by SJ Night train, 4 x nights per week
2. Stockholm - Malmo - Orestad (near Copenhagen) ↔ Hamburg - Berlin; by Berlin Night Express, 6 x nights per week, but not on most dates between mid October and mid-April
3. Wien/Vienna ↔ Dresden - Berlin; 1 x Nightjet train per night
4. Berlin - Frankfurt (Oder) ↔ Poznan - Warszawal; by 1 x IC train per night
5. Bruxelles - Liege ↔ Berlin; by Nightjet; 3 x trains per week
6. Bruxelles - Antwerp - Rotterdam - Den Haag HS - Amsterdam ↔ Berlin - Dresden; by European Sleeper train; 3 x trains per week
7. Zurich - Basel ↔ Hannover - Hamburg; 1 x Nightjet New Generation train per night
8. Zurich - Basel ↔ Halle - Berlin; 1 x Nightjet train per night
9. Zurich - Basel ↔ Koln/Cologne; 1 x Nightjet New Generation train per night
10. Freiburg (am Breisgau) - Offenburg - Kalrsruhe - Mannheim ↔ Decin - Praha/Prague; 1 x Euronight train per night
11. Freiburg (am Breisgau) ↔ Utrecht - Amsterdam; 1 x Nightjet New Generation train per night
12. Freiburg (am Breisgau) - Kalrsruhe - Mannheim ↔ Padborg - Kolding - Odense - Hoeje Taastrup for central Copenhagen - Copenhagen Airport ↔ Malmo; by Euronight train; 3 x nights per week from April 15th 2026
13. Wien/Vienna - Linz - Salzburg ↔ Koblenz - Bonn - Koln/Cologne; 1 x Nightjet train per night
14. Wien/Vienna - Linz ↔ Kassel - Hannover - Hamburg; 1 x Nightjet New Generation train per night
15. Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen Ost ↔ Udine - Venezia/Venice; 1 x Euronight train per night
16. Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen Ost ↔ Lesce-Bled - Ljubljana ↔ Zagreb; 1 x Euronight train per night
17. Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen Ost ↔ Wien/Vienna ↔ Budapest; 1 x Euronight train per night
18. Munchen Hbf/Munich ↔ Warszawa; 1 x Euronight train per night named 'The Chopin'
19. Munchen Hbf/Munich ↔- Krakow - Przemysl; 1 x Euronight train per night named 'the Carpatiato' NEW
20. Munchen Hbf/Munich ↔ Bologna - Firenze/Florence - Roma/Rome; 1 x Nightjet New Generation train per night

Local/Regional trains with connections:

1. Leer ↔ Groningen; buses replace trains; rail tickets and passes are valid
2. Bielefeld - Osnabruck - Rheine ↔ Hengelo; hourly
3. Dusseldorf - Duisburg - Emmerich ↔ Arnhem; hourly
4. Hamm - Wuppertal - Dusseldorf - Monchengladbach ↔ Venlo; hourly
5. Aachen ↔ Verviers - Liege; hourly
6. Koblenz - Trier ↔ Luxembourg; hourly
7. Dusseldorf - Koln/Cologne - Bonn - Koblenz - Trier ↔ Luxembourg; 1 x train per day
8. Saarbrucken ↔ Metz; up to 1 x train per hour
9. Dresden ↔ Zgorzelec (connect for Wroclaw); 6 x trains per day
10. Bad Schandau ↔ Decin; 1 x train every other hour
11. Hof ↔ Františkovy Lázně - Cheb - Marktredwitz; 1 x train every other hour
12. Zwickau ↔ Františkovy Lázně - Cheb; 1 x train every other hour
13. Zwickau - Johanngeorgenstadt ↔ Karlovy Vary/Carlsbad; 6 connections per day
14. Nurnberg/Nuremburg - Hof ↔ Marktredwitz - Cheb; 1 x train every other hour
15. Offenburg ↔ Strasbourg; 1 or 2 x trains per hour
16. Munchen/Munich ↔ Salzburg; 1 x train per hour
17. Garmish Partenkirchen ↔ Mittenwald - Seefeld-im-Tirol - Innsbruck; 1 x train every other hour; Most trains continue from/to Munchen, but are shown as separate Munchen/Munich ↔ Garmish Partenkirchen services on the timetable
18. Lindau ↔ Bregenz - Feldkirch - Bludenz; 1 x train in most hours
19. Friedrichshafen - Singen ↔ Schaffhausen ↔ Waldshutt ↔ Basel bad bf; 1 x direct train every other
20. Singen ↔ Schaffhausen ↔ Zurich; hourly
21. Offenburg - Freiburg (am Breisgau) ↔ Basel bad bf; hourly; 7 x trains per day operate Karlsruhe - Baden-Baden - Offenburg - Freiburg (am Breisgau) ↔ Basel bad bf

Changes to the usual schedules

The above summaries are taken from the intended timetable, which is in place annually between the second Sundays in December - as that is the time when the European Rail Timetable has its annual revision.

However, due to the comparative long length of their journeys, international services are particularly susceptible to having their published schedules altered due to maintenance and construction work on the rail routes.
Some of these works can be long lasting with the usual service diverted or cancelled completely for months at a time.
These major alterations can be looked up here - the guide also has links to the more detailed service rail alterations published by each train operator.

Information for the trains

Hub cities with multiple international rail routes

Some stations have particularly high numbers of direct trains to international destinations and they are:

*= only by night train

Amsterdam to/from: Basel*, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt (Main), Hannover, Innsbruck*, Linz*, London, Munchen, Paris, Wien*, Zurich*

Basel to/from: Amsterdam*, Berlin, Copenhagen*(from April 15th 2026) Dijon, Dresden*, Frankfurt (Main), Hamburg, Hannover, Koln, Malmo (from April 15th 2026) Milano, Munchen, Paris, Praha*, Stresa, Strasbourg

Berlin to/from: Basel, Bern, Budapest, Bratislava, Gdasnk, Graz, Innsbruck, Interlaken, Krakow, Linz, Paris, Praha, Stockholm*, Warszawa, Wien, Wroclaw, Zurich

Bruxelles to/from: Amsterdam, Avignon, Berlin*, Frankfurt (Main), Lille, Linz*, London, Luxembourg, Lyon, Koln, Marseille, Montpellier, Nimes, Paris, Praha* Rotterdam, Strasbourg, Wien*

Budapest to/from: Bratislava, Berlin, Bucharest, ClujNapoca, Dresden, Graz, Hamburg, Innsbruck, Kiev, Linz, Ljubljana, Munchen, Praha, Salzburg, Warszawa, Wien, Zagreb, Zurich

Frankfurt (Main) to/from: Amsterdam, Basel, Bern, Brig, Bruxelles, Graz, Interlaken, Klagenfurt, Linz, Lyon, Milano, Paris, Salzburg, Strasbourg, Wien, Zurich

Hamburg to/from; Basel, Budapest, Bratislava, Chur, Innsbruck*, Kobenhavn, Linz, Praha, Stockholm*, Wien, Zurich

Koln / Cologne to/from: Amsterdam, Basel, Bern, Bruxelles, Chur, Graz, Innsbruck, Interlaken, Klagenfurt, Linz, Paris, Salzburg, Wien, Zurich

Milano to/from: Basel, Bern, Geneve, Frankfurt (Main), Lausanne, Lyon, Lugano, Luzern, Munchen*, Paris, Wien*, Zurich

Munchen / Munich to/from: Amsterdam*, Bologna, Budapest, Firenze*, Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Krakow* Ljubljana, Linz, Paris, Praha, Roma*, Salzburg, Verona, Venezia, Warszawa, Wien, Zagreb, Zurich

Paris to/from: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Basel, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt (Main), Koln, Lausanne, Liege,, London, Luxembourg, Milano, Munchen, Rotterdam, Stuttgart, Torino, Zurich

Praha / Prague to/from: Berlin, Bratislava, Budapest, Copenhagen (from May 12st 2026) Dresden, Gdansk, Graz, Hamburg, Klagenfurt, Kosice, Krakow, Linz, Munchen, Poznan, Wroclaw, Wien, Warszawa

Stuttgart to/from: Budapest*, Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Ljubljana*, Linz, Paris, Salzburg, Strasbourg, Venezia*, Wien, Zagreb*, Zurich

Venezia / Venice to/from: Geneve, Innsbruck, Lausanne, Lugano, Munchen, Stuttgart, Wien, Zurich

Warszawa to/from: Berlin, Budapest, Bratislava, Kiev, Munchen*, Praha, Salzburg*, Wien

Wien/Vienna to/from: Amsterdam*, Bratislava, Berlin, Bucharest*, Budapest, Bruxelles*, Cluj Napoca, Dresden, Firenze*, Frankfurt (Main),  Hamburg, Hannover, Koln, Krakow, Ljubljana, Munchen, Nurnberg, Praha, Roma*, Trieste, Venezia, Warszawa, Zagreb, Zurich

Zurich to/from: Amsterdam*, Berlin, Bratislava, Bologna, Budapest, Dijon, Dresden*, Frankfurt (Main), Firenze, Genova (Apr to Oct), Graz, Hannover, Hamburg, Innsbruck, Koln, Linz, Milano, Munchen, Paris, Praha*, Salzburg, Stuttgart, Venezia, Verona, Wien, Zagreb*

When trains cross borders

There can be variations in how trains travel across borders, which seems to have little to do with whether countries have signed up to the Schengen agreement.

Crossing borders on day trains:

When making an international train journey in Europe you will encounter one of these five scenarios.

(1) The journey will in fact be little different to a domestic journey, no announcements will be made on the train when a border crossing occurs; and you won’t be aware of any immigration or customs staff on the train.
You won’t be asked to show your passport either prior to boarding, or during the journey.

(2) Border staff will carry out checks while the train is in transit.
In this scenario you MAY be randomly singled out for additional checks and questioning to do with your travel plans and the amount of currency you have with you etc.

(3) Checks will be carried out at the border station(s)

The train will stop at the last station before a border and/or the first station after a border.
Border control staff will then board and pass through the train, before it leaves the station.
In this scenario, most, or all passengers, will have to show their passports and answer questions about their journey; and some of the border staff may have dogs.

(4) If you leave or join train at a station on either side of a border, you may have to pass through passport and customs controls at the station.

(5) All passengers leaving the train to pass through border control.
When it is happening announcements will be made on board, alerting travellers to the fact that you need to leave the train and take all your belongings.
You may need to board a bus, which will convey you across a border, and take you to the first station on the other side.

Crossing borders on night trains:

If you will be travelling in a sleeping cabin on an international night train, the usual scenario is that you hand your tickets and passports to the attendant who manages the sleeping cars, when you board the train.

Meaning that when/if border checks are carried out in the middle of the night, the sleeping car attendant will deal with the border staff on your behalf; leaving you to sleep on in your bed.

If you’re travelling in a couchette, you may retain your passport and tickets, you definitely will if you will be travelling in a seat.
When you retain your ticket and passport, you can be woken in the middle of the night, in order to speak to the border control staff.

And on some borders in eastern Europe all passengers have to leave and then re-board the train in order to pass trough passport control and customs, no matter at what time of night the train arrives at the custom check point.

All images taken by Simon Harper