Thread by @jonworth

A client in Belgrade 🇷🇸 is pushing me to actually attend their event in person at the end of June...

I'll write about the whole effort to book this at some point, but just one part is so ridiculous it deserves a 🧵 of its own

Why railways can't fix this is 🤯

The part of the trip here uniquely concerns the Kraków Główny 🇵🇱 - Budapest Keleti 🇭🇺 night train - EN 407 / 477

(Tangent: yes, I know this isn't the most logical train to take, but I have to, as other viable services aren't running)

Here's the connection from DB's website

Does it have a sleeping car?

At the moment, due to COVID, where DB lists sleeping cars as running is not always accurate, but Vagonweb thinks it does

vagonweb.cz/razeni/vlak.ph…

So who can sell me a ticket for this train?

DB lists 4 operators of the train
PKP Intercity 🇵🇱
České dráhy 🇨🇿
ÖBB 🇦🇹 (even though I don't even enter Austria!)
MÁV 🇭🇺

It transits Slovakia, so let's add ZSSK 🇸🇰 too

PKP Intercity 🇵🇱

No prices listed

Proposed solution: go to a ticket counter

Handy! I don't live in Poland

České dráhy 🇨🇿

No prices listed

Proposed solution: Email us (I have done so, no reply yet)

This one *might* work out, and ČD also confirms there are sleeping cars on the route

ÖBB 🇦🇹

No prices listed

Even proposes I change in Breclav in the middle of the night. No...

MÁV 🇭🇺

Can't find anything

Proposed solution (when you dig further): Email us (I have done so, no reply yet)

ZSSK 🇸🇰

Maybe I am too dim for this one, but I can't get it to even find any train, let alone prices

So what about international rail ticket portals?

DB International Bahn 🇩🇪
Finds the train, says to call them (10+ min waiting time on the phone, will try again later)

NS International 🇳🇱
Finds the train, but warns even 📞 bookings do not work

Trainline, Omio and RailEurope can find the start and end stations but cannot find the train

Koleo and All Aboard cannot find even one or other station

Dedicated travel agency Polrail 🇵🇱 cannot find the night train on it's site, so I have emailed them (I have done so, no reply yet)

So I have tried
1️⃣2️⃣ websites

Have sent
3️⃣ emails

Made
1️⃣ call

And I *STILL* have no price for a ticket for the train, and no idea how/if I can get the ticket to me in Berlin

Is there some trick I am missing here @seatsixtyone @hiddenEurope @ayranundspeck @vorortanleiter @Koelschlenny @simonschre?

Or am I going to have to find a friend in Poland who can go visit a ticket office for me?

It makes me so annoyed that the complex thing - making the train run - works, while what ought to be much simpler - finding out information about it, and how to buy a ticket online - fails completely

#EUYearOfRail eh? More like #EUYearOfFail

/ends