6 Unwritten Rules of European Train Travel

From taking someone's reserved seat to brining stinky food onto a train. Here are our six unwritten rules of European train travel.
1. Do not talk loud.
2. Do not take someone's reserved seat and pretend you don't know what they are talking about
3. Only bring luggage that you can carry yourself
4. Don't bring stinky food onto the train
5. Let people off the train before you try to board the train
6. Using the automatic ticket machines are always faster than waiting in line at the ticket counter.

Filmed in Luebeck, Germany
Copyright Mark Wolters 2015

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[aaronmaybe]

Not taking someone's reserved seat is actually not an unwritten rule. It's literally a RULE :)

[LordBhorak]

So basically these rules can be reduced down to this: "Don't be an ass". There.

[StickNate]

1. Make sure you're wearing deodorant.
2. If you're wearing perfume/cologne, don't use the whole bottle.

[YukiNoYume]

two more unwritten rules:
1. offer your seat to elderly people (if there are no free seats left)
2. don't leave your trash in the train; there are always trash cans at the train stations

[PetraYT]

One more unwritten rule: For heaven's sake, set the key sounds of your mobile and/or camera to MUTE. No-one wants to hear all these chirps or beeps whenever you take a photo or write a text message.

[TheStrangerend]

Do not put your feet on the seats;
Give up your seat if somebody less able to stand needs it (elderly, disabled, unwell, pregnant etc);
Do not watch a movie or listen to music without using headphones.

[johnlabus]

Don't sit in more than one seat. Don't sprawl across two or more seats just because you don't want someone sitting next to you.

[tomfrench]

This is the flip side of #5. When your stop is coming up, get ready to hop off the train before people begin coming on. We made the mistake of not being ready when our train arrived at Orvieto, Italy. By the time we grabbed our bags, there was a flood of people coming on and the train took off before we could leave. The conductor was nice and informed us that we could get off at the next station and come back in 45 minutes for free. The conductor on that train allowed us to do just that. Lesson learned.

[jgroenveld]

When in Rome, do what the Romans do.

I cringe at the sight of fellow tourists who think "everything here is weird and why don't they do things like we do back home". With an attitude like that - just stay home.

[skyserf]

There should be a rule to not travel by train unless you’ve bathed in the previous 12-24 hours.

[mariapapka]

Last time I traveled from Warsaw to Cracow, there was a silent zone in the train. You could book a seat in a silent zone. I was surprised how everyone was respecting it, passengers were reading or sleeping... I loved it!

[firehog]

As a train host instructor on the commuter trains of Stockholm, Sweden, I must write: Don't arrive late. 1. Try to find an official clock that has the right time. I've got in an argument several times with people, stating that their wrist watch tells the right time. No it doesn't. Most mobile phones sync with a nearby cell tower once a day. Please use that function. 2. be polite M!ost staff will help you solve your problem provided they have time to do it, or point you where you can get help. 3 take your trash from the train out to the nearby trashcan. It's a fire hazard to leave trash and it helps us a lot. there are plenty of trashcans everywhere. 4, have patience. Most of the times, the train service is excellent. Then... chaos. So, that's why my last will be: go to the toilet when you can. Most trains, specially commuter trains, don't have toilets. Do use the restroom even if you are "half-full". It's not fun that panic feel when you desperately must go and you can't exit the train. Have a nice journey and a pleasant arrival at your destination.

[calxtra]

For gods sake dont whistle to your self on the train

[butterflyworld]

When you're in a full train: don't take up four seats, if you are only with one or two persons. Don't put your begage on the seats but let people sit there

[solidsnake]

You should add one more rule...if you have reservation for one seat...DO NOT put the luggage or anything to other seats.

[LNER]

For the multi-unit trains, make sure you are in the unit that stops at your station.

[ec]

living in Japan. These rules are too normal for me.

so basic concept is "Don't act like Americans and Chinese". correct?

[kougasonlygirl]

Another unwritten rule is to have a window seat for easy viewing of the gorgeous scenery outside :)

[stevo]

I was in Seville, Spain and at 11:00 I bought a train ticket from the machine to get me up to the airport for my flight. It was the fast train but it left at 12:15 and my flight was at 12:30. I had just assumed the train left in time for my flight. So I got a refund at the ticket desk and caught a taxi from the train station. Never assume train times.

[djvartan]

You should have talked about validating tickets. So many Americans dont know about it and get fined. Happens a lot in Milan.