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Tickets on sale now for Christmas Travel and into 2026
A summary of what journeys can be already be booked on the new timetable, which comes into effect on December 14th
Simon HarperShare
At this time of year in mid-Autumn, how far ahead of travel that tickets for European rail journeys can be booked varies from the norm, because they cannot be placed on sale until the new timetables for travel into the next year are confirmed.
This year the new annual rail timetables in virtually all European countries commence on Sunday December 14th, but tickets for travel after this date can already be booked on many routes - see the list below.
The idea is that this info will be updated at least weekly between now and mid-November, as tickets for Christmas and New Year travel on all routes should be available by then.
On sale now for travel after Dec 14th
Below is a summary of the most popular rail routes which are already on sale for travel over the Christmas and New Year Holidays and into 2026 - though what hasn't been factored into this list is whether specific journeys will be impacted by future maintenance work.
Note that definitive dates for the final dates of the booking periods in 2026 have been deliberately omitted, as many booking periods are managed as blocks of 4 months ahead or 6 months ahead etc, therefore the the cut off date can change daily.
Austria
Tickets can be booked on OBB for long-distance national and international journeys for travel up until mid-April.
Tickets for the international Nightjet trains can also be booked for travel up until mid-April.
The general guide to Austrian rail tickets.
Belgium
Tickets for international journeys can be booked on B-Europe:
- by Eurostar to Germany, London, Paris and The Netherlands for travel up until mid-May
- by ICE to Germany for travel up until late June
- by Eurocity Direct to The Netherlands for travel until the end of February
- by EuroCity to The Netherlands for travel until this time next year
- by Nightjet train to Austria for travel up until mid-April.
The European Sleeper train can be booked for travel until the end of June.
The general guide to Belgian rail tickets.
France
Tickets can be booked on SNCF Connect:
- for national journeys by TGV InOui and Intercités trains for travel until early January
- for jouneys by TGV trains to Bruxelles for travel until early January
- for national journeys by by Ouigo trains until late June
- by Eurostar to Belgium, Germany, London and The Netherlands for travel up until mid-May
- by Lyria to Switzerland until late March
- by ICE and TGV to Germany until mid-April
- by TGV to Spain and Italy until late March.
The general guide to French rail tickets.
Germany
Tickets can be booked with DB:
- for national journeys by ICE and IC trains until this time next year*
- for international journeys by ICE trains to Belgium, Switzerland and The Netherlands until this time next year*
- for international journeys to Austria, Czechia, Denmark, France and Poland until mid April
- for international night trains until mid April.
*= this is a huge new extension to the previous boking period!
The general guide to German rail tickets.
Great Britain
As per, tickets for Great Britain are an exception as the definitive cut off date, as correct on this publishing date, have been used below. The reason being is that tickets for long-distance travel can be available beyond these dates with some operators, but these date are the current cut-off point for the booking of cheaper Advance tickets.
- for journeys by trains operated by Avanti West Coast, Chiltern and EMR until Jan 7th.
- for journeys by trains operated by Greater Anglia, Scotrail and TransPennine Express until Jan 8th.
- for journeys by trains operated by LNER until Jan 12th.
- for journeys by trains operated by Southeastern until Jan 15th.
- for weekend journeys on trains operated by CrossCountry until Jan 24th.
- for journeys by trains operated by GWR and Mon to Friday journeys by CrossCountry trains until Jan 30th.
The general guide to rail tickets for journeys in Great Britain.
Italy
Tickets can be booked with Trenitalia:
- for journeys by Frecce trains until mid-April
- for journeys by InterCity trains until late February
- for journeys by EC trains to Switzerland until late February
- for journeys by Railjet trains to Austria and Germany until mid-April
Tickets for the italo trains can be booked for travel until late April.
The general guide to rail tickets for journeys in Italy.
The Netherlands
Tickets for international journeys can be booked on NS Internationa:
- by Eurostar to Belgium, London and Paris for travel up until mid-May
- by ICE to Germany for travel up until this time next year*
- by Eurocity Direct to The Netherlands for travel up until this time next year*
- by EuroCity to The Netherlands for travel up until mid-April.
- by Nightjet train to Austria for travel up until mid-April.
*= this is a huge new extension to the previous boking period!
The European Sleeper train can be booked for travel until the end of June.
The general guide to rail tickets for journeys from The Netherlands.
Norway
Tickets can be booked with Entur for journeys by express trains until early May.
The general guide to rail tickets for journeys in Norway.
Spain
Tickets can be booked with Renfe for national and international journeys by AVE trains until late February.
Tickets for journeys by the iryo trains can be booked for travel until this time next year.
The general guide to rail tickets for journeys in Spain.
Sweden
Tickets can be booked with SJ for travel for journeys by express trains until this time next year.
This is a huge new extension to the previous boking period!
The general guide to rail tickets for journeys in Sweden.
Switzerland
Tickets can be booked with SBB:
- for national journeys, mainline and mountain railways, until mid-April
- by ICE trains to Germany, for travel until this time next year*
- by Lyria train to France, for travel until early July
- by EC train to Italy, for travel until late February
- by Railjet train to Austria, for travel until mid-April.
*= this is a huge new extension to the previous boking period!
The general guide to rail tickets for journeys in Switzerland.
Notes:
Note that on some international routes the booking period can be inconsistent across the national ticket agents.
Hence using the multi-national, pan-European tickets agents listed below can avoid some confusion.
Not yet on sale for travel after Dec 14th
As of the time of publishing this article, some routes still can't be book for travel during Christmas and into 2026.
These routes / journeys include national rail journeys in Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Portugal and Poland.
Eurail and Interrail reservations
If will be travelling with a Eurail or InterRail pass after December 14th, the booking periods for mandatory and optional seat reservations will match the dates on which tickets are now available for booking.
Simon Harper
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