Train Guide Europe

Joan McGrath is a Toronto Board of Education library consultant.

Train Guide Europe makes a convincing argument for the train as “the only civilized way to travel.” Once the discomforts and inconveniences of other forms of travel are taken into account, train travel becomes increasingly attractive, especially if one is provided with a guide such as this one.

It is divided into three major parts: “Travelcraft” (do’s and don’ts, information sources, etc.); “The Great Routes”; and “Travel Manual” (for each European country covered, including a map, floor plans of major stations, etc.). This compact paperback is a compendium of excellent advice on travel in general, and on travel by train in particular. It provides information on what services may be expected, and where self-sufficiency will be necessary; where to save money (e.g., by not travelling first class by air) and where not to do so (places where travelling second or third class can be downright seamy). Pandi includes travel vocabularies of essential words in several languages, as well as explanations of international standard pictograms. The “Travel Manual” section leads the reader country by country from Austria to Switzerland, with details of major stations and the peculiarities of each. A fill-it-in currency conversion table is provided. It is recommended that the guide be used as a handbook, and that the traveller add his/her own notes en route. Indexed.