The Train Traveller

• Carry enough cash for your rail journey, as there are no places to get cash on trains.
  
  
• The food and water available at train cafeterias tends to run out. In any case, fresh snacks are rarely available and it is a good idea to carry your own food and drinks. This will come in handy if there are delays.
  
  
• Some railways travel through spectacular countryside - but at night! As far as possible choose day trains that give you a chance to enjoy the scenery.
  
  
• When on a budget holiday, you can save a lot of money on hotels by travelling on trains at night.
  
  
• Carrying a pillow on train journeys is a good idea, especially if you are used to sleeping with your own pillow. You may find their pillows lumpy or too high or too hard; yours will be just right.
• When travelling by train at night, secure your luggage by looping a long chain through the handle of your suitcase/bag/rucksack and padlocking it to a convenient surface. You could lock the chains together too, making it difficult for someone to walk away with your luggage while you are sleeping.
  
  
• Avoid the agony of waking up on a train to find that your shoes have been stolen. Stuff them into the seat pockets or place them in your bag while you sleep.
• Find out in advance how long your train stops at the station and on which side the platform will appear. If you have several pieces of luggage, start moving to the door well in advance so that it is easier to disembark without making too many trips back and forth.
• Carry your own paper towels, soap and toilet paper rather than being stranded on a long train journey.
• Don't lose sight of the train you are travelling in when it stops at a station. You wouldn't want to be left behind at the platform browsing through a station bookshop while your train pulls out.