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You can take your bike on most trains. But conditions vary from one rail company to another:

Eurostar

• between Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands
  
  Folding bikes and bikes in a cover measuring a max. of 135 x 85 x 30 cm (both wheels unclipped) can be taken on the train free of charge, provided they are placed in the space reserved for luggage. This space can be found at the end of the carriages. Due to limited space, bikes which are not folded up or have not had their wheels unclipped are not allowed on board Eurostar.
  
  Please notice that in France, all luggage (including bikes) that you place in luggage compartments must carry a label with your name and seat number. Labels are available free of charge at your station of departure.
  
  
• to/from London
  
  Folding bikes can be taken free of charge as luggage if they are no more than 85 cm in length when folded. They must be placed in a protective cover covering the bike fully.

  On the Paris-London route, normal bicycles can be transported through Eurostar's baggage check-in service if they are unclipped and packed, and if booked in advance via travelservices@eurostar.com. Until further notice, this service is not available in Brussels and Lille.

TGV INOUI

Folding bikes and bikes in a cover measuring a max. of 130 x 90 cm (front wheel unclipped) can be taken on the train free of charge, provided they are placed in the space reserved for luggage. This space can be found at the end of the carriages. Due to limited space, bikes which are not folded up or have not had their front wheel unclipped are not allowed on board TGV.

All luggage (including bikes) that you place in luggage compartments must carry a label with your name and seat number. Labels are available free of charge at your station of departure.

ICE

Folding bikes can be taken free of charge as luggage on all ICE trains.

On ICE trains with a bicycle compartment (including the ICE 3neo trains operating the Brussels-Cologne-Frankfurt route), you can take a normal bike (or tandem, tricycle or bicycle with a trailer) if you purchase a special bike ticket, available online, at our Contact Centre or at ticket offices of stations with international ticket sales. The price of this ticket depends on the distance, but may also vary from one train to another depending on the expected occupation.

Buy your bike ticket

EuroCity

On the EuroCity (Brussels-Rotterdam) trains, you can take your bike (or tandem, tricycle or bicycle with a trailer) if you purchase a special bike ticket, available online, at our Contact Centre or at ticket offices of stations with international ticket sales.

Loading and unloading bikes are the passenger's responsibility.

The price for your bike ticket depends on the distance of your journey and the time of departure (peak or off-peak* and weekends). A few examples (price each way) :

*off-peak times: departure from Belgium (or, if coming from our neighbouring countries, departure from the first Belgian station after the border) from Monday to Friday before 6:01, from 9:00 to 16:00 and after 18:00.

Buy your bike ticket 

Eurocity Direct

On the Eurocity Direct (Brussels-Amsterdam) trains, you can take your bike (or tandem, tricycle or bicycle with a trailer) if you purchase a special bike ticket, available online, at our Contact Centre or at ticket offices of stations with international ticket sales.

As the number of spaces is limited, we recommend you travel at off-peak times. Loading and unloading bikes are the passenger's responsibility.

The price for your bike ticket depends on the distance of your journey. A few examples (price each way) :

• Brussels-Rotterdam : € 12,80
• Antwerp-Rotterdam : € 9,90
• Antwerp-Amsterdam : € 13,20

Buy your bike ticket

Regional cross-border trains

Like on our domestic trains in Belgium, you can take your bike (or tandem, tricycle or bicycle with a trailer) on our cross-border regional trains if you purchase a special bike ticket, available online, at our Contact Centre or at ticket offices of stations with international ticket sales.

As the number of spaces is limited, we recommend you travel at off-peak times. Loading and unloading bikes are the passenger's responsibility.

Buy your bike ticket

Nightjet

Taking your bicycle on Nightjet is only allowed on the trains equipped with a dedicated carriage for luggage and bicycles, with a compulsory reservation for a fixed price of €12 per bicycle each way. Such a carriage is available on the following connections:

• NJ 490 - Wien Hbf - Hamburg Hbf
• NJ 491 - Hamburg Hbf - Wien Hbf
• NJ 40420 - Innsbrück Hbf - Hamburg Hbf
• NJ 40491 - Hamburg Hbf - Innsbruck Hbf
• NJ 466 - Wien Hbf - Zürich Hb
• NJ 467 - Zürich Hbf - Wien Hbf

Taking your bicycle on the direct Brussels-Vienna connection is not allowed.

However, you can take a foldable bike with you as free hand luggage if it's folded and packed in a format that makes it possible to store it above your seat or in the luggage racks of couchette or seater compartments.

For security reasons, it is not allowed to remove the pedals and/or turn the steering rod, nor to leave your bicycle in the corridor or near the entrance doors of the train.

On most trains, you can take your pet with you. But rules vary from one rail carrier to another:

"conventional" daytime trains (e.g. Intercity or regional trains) to/from Belgium

• Cats, small dogs and other small pets in a cage, basket or crate of max. 30 x 30 x 55 cm travel free and don't need a ticket;
• Dogs wearing a muzzle, on a leash or on a lap require a specific flat-rate ticket (€6 per trip to / from the Netherlands, €7 from / to the North of France and €3 from / to the Luxembourg or Aachen). This ticket must be issued in the same travel class as that of the accompanying traveller (1st or 2nd class) and is sold online and at our stations selling international tickets;
• Guide dog accompanying a blind passenger: free and not having to wear a muzzle;

ICE and other trains operated by Deutsche Bahn

• Cats, small dogs and other small pets in a cage, basket or crate of max. 30 x 30 x 55 cm travel free and don't need a ticket. They must be carried on the traveller's lap or as hand luggage;
• Dogs wearing a muzzle, on a leash or on a lap require a ticket at 50% of the price of the accompanying traveller, in the same travel class (1st or 2nd class) as the latter. This ticket can be purchased online and at our stations selling international tickets;
• Guide dog accompanying a blind passenger: free and not having to wear a muzzle;

Eurostar between Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands

• Cats and small dogs (less than 6 kg) in a cage or basket (max. 45 x 30 x 25 cm): free of charge and without a ticket
• Dogs wearing a muzzle, on a leash or on a lap: ticket at fixed price of €30 for any journey (in Comfort 1 and in Comfort 2), available on board from your Eurostar train manager.
• Guide dog accompanying a blind passenger: free (muzzle compulsory).

Exception: animals are not allowed on board Eurostar Snow and Eurostar Sun.

Eurostar to/from London

Animals are not allowed on board Eurostar trains to/from the United Kingdom. Only guide dogs accompanying a blind passenger are authorised under strict conditions. They must have:

• an electronic chip
• a Certificate of Entry to the United Kingdom (available from the Ministry of Small Firms, Traders and Agriculture)
• a certificate of treatment against ectoparasites and endoparasites (available from the Ministry of Small Firms, Traders and Agriculture)
• a declaration to be filled out by the person taking the animal to the United Kingdom (this document can also be filled in on arrival in London)

A special free ticket is issued for the transportation of a guide dog accompanying a blind passenger.

TGV INOUI

• Cats and small pets (including small dogs) in a cage or basket (max. 45 x 30 x 25 cm): special ticket at a fixed price of €7 (valid in 1^st and 2^nd class);
• Dogs wearing a muzzle, on a leash or on a lap: special ticket for dogs at a fixed price of €20 (valid in 1^st or 2^nd class);
• Guide dog accompanying a blind passenger: free and not having to wear a muzzle
• Max. 2 pets per traveller allowed
• Purchase of the TGV INOUI ticket for your pet:
  • For travel until 09/01/2024: tickets for dogs and small pets are available from the SNCB International Contact Center or at our stations selling international tickets;
  • For travel as from 10/01/2024: buy your own ticket and the ticket for your pet together from another retailer of TGV INOUI products, or go to your TGV INOUI train attendant before boarding on presentation of this document (PDF). Your train attendant will then issue a ticket for your pet for a fixed price of €20.

Overnight trains

• Cats and small dogs in a cage or basket: free
• Dogs wearing a muzzle, on a lead or on a lap: a 2^nd class ticket, priced at 50% off the adult fare, sold at our stations selling international tickets.
• Guide dog accompanying a blind passenger: free and not having to wear a muzzle
• Note: animals are only allowed in sleeping cars if you have booked a whole compartment yourself.

The booking period differs from one type of train to another. The main international trains at a glance:

• EuroCity, Eurocity Direct and our regional cross-border trains: buying tickets without booking a seat, particularly to the Netherlands, Lille or Luxembourg, is possible 335 days (11 months) before travel.
• AVE, Euromed, Alvia and other long distance trains in Spain operated by Renfe: booking possible 302 days (almost 10 months) in advance.
• Eurostar: booking possible on average from 210 days before travel, i.e. about 7 months in advance (minimum 157 and maximum 277 days in advance, depending on the period of the year).
• TGV Lyria: booking usually possible 8 months before travel.
• ICE and other Deutsche Bahn trains: booking usually possible 180 days (almost 6 months) before travel.
• Nightjet: booking theoretically possible from 180 days in advance. However, due to frequent works on the German rail network, adjusted timetables for Nightjet trains are often announced late, which unfortunately results in late opening of reservations.
• TGV INOUI and Trenitalia trains: booking usually possible 4 months before travel.
• Avant and Spanish Regional Express trains operated by Renfe: booking possible 62 days (2 months) in advance.

Exceptions:

• Eurostar Snow to the French Alps, booking possible from the end of the summer for the whole ski season (date to be specified each year).
• TGV early bird sale for travel in winter periods (Christmas and ski season) and summer periods (July and August). For these periods, the date of the early bird sale is to be specified each year.
• Every year in mid-December, different European rail companies simultaneously amend their train services, with new timetables taking effect more or less throughout Europe. On certain rail networks (particularly in Germany), the new timetables for mid-December are only confirmed and published at some point during October. When this occurs, bookings for rail travel from mid-December onwards can also only be made after a given date in October.
• In special circumstances (e.g. in case of engineering works), carriers may be forced to adapt their transport plan more frequently. For this reason, booking periods may momentarily differ from the above rules.

If you have a Bahncard 100 card or an ICE 1^st class Flexpreis ticket for the same day (or a 1^st class ticket for an InterCity train run by Deutsche Bahn), you can use the DB Lounge at your station of departure or your station of arrival, if they have these lounges.

DB Lounges are pleasant relaxing spaces, offering a Wi-Fi connection, meeting rooms, a self-service bar offering hot and cold drinks, along with a selection of international newspapers and magazines.

You can find DB Lounges at the following stations:

Berlin Hbf, Bremen Hbf, Dresden Hbf, Düsseldorf Hbf, Essen Hbf, Frankfurt/M. Hbf, Frankfurt/M. Flughafen Fernbahnhof (Frankfurt Airport Railway Station), Hamburg Hbf, Hannover Hbf, Köln Hbf (Cologne), Leipzig Hbf, Mannheim Hbf, München Hbf (Munich), Nürnberg Hbf (Nuremberg), Stuttgart Hbf

It depends on the fare paid for the ICE ticket.

If you chose the Flexpreis fare, which is flexible, your ticket is valid on any train on your route during the period of validity stated on the ticket (one day for electronic tickets covering a distance under 100km, two days for electronic tickets with a distance over 100km, and four days for conventional paper tickets issued at railway stations).

If you opted for the Supersparpreis, Supersparpreis Europa or Sparpreis Europa saver fares, your ticket is only valid on board the IC or ICE train(s) selected when the ticket was purchased, the train number of which appears on your ticket. However, if you travel on a regional train for part of your journey, your Sparpreis ticket is valid on any regional train of your choice.

The validity of your ticket (as described above) is completely unaffected, whether or not you decide to reserve a seat on board one or more ICE trains.

Generally speaking and unlike most high-speed trains, InterCity and regional trains in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands do not require a reservation. For these trains, when choosing a Flex/Standard ticket, you get an open ticket, valid on any train (at any time of the day) on the date and route mentioned on your ticket. Great flexibility!

Exceptions:

• if you travel with a cheaper Saver ticket on the EuroCity or Eurocity Direct train between Belgium and the Netherlands, your ticket is only valid at the time and on the specific train selected at the time of your purchase.
• if, as a holder of Train+, you enjoy an off-peak discount on the Belgian part of your journey, make sure you take a train that departs during off-peak* times.
  
  * off-peak hours: departure from Belgium (or, coming from our neighbouring countries, departure from the first Belgian station after the border) from Monday to Friday before 6:01, from 9:00 to 16:00 and after 18:00.

Similarly, on IC and ICE trains run by Deutsche Bahn, seat reservation is optional. Consequently, most tickets for journeys in Germany do not necessarily show the time either. Remember though, that the Supersparpreis, Supersparpreis Europa and Sparpreis Europa economy fares do require you to use the specific train you chose when buying your ticket. In this case, the train number and time of departure are shown on your ticket.