Travel Advice/Travel Tips - Time and European trains

Trains in Europe generally run on time. Unless the station is an end destination or an origin for the train’s route, the total stop will usually be less than three minutes. If you are chronically late, you will miss your train connections in Europe.

Arrive at the station with time to spare, especially if you have to purchase a ticket.

Major stations in Europe are small towns with restaurants and other amenities: in other words, you can easily kill some time if you are early. In addition, they are a great location to people watch.

All European train schedules are reported based on the 24-hour clock in which the time of day starts at 0 hours and increases to 23.59 hours

• A minute after midnight is 00:01
• Noon is 12:00
• Six p.m. is 18:00
• Be sure to understand how to use the 24-hour clock before you head to a European train station.
• The 24-hour clock does not use  "a.m." or "p.m." to designate the time before or after noon.

If you plan to use trains for most of your travel and cannot get the 24-hour clock straight, buy a cheap digital watch that can be set for the 24-hour clock.

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