In search of my “bettplatz”

EN447 composition Amsterdam – Warsaw

Having spent much time trying to work out what sort of train I might be boarding in Amsterdam, and then in Warsaw, I have made a bit of a breakthrough today. There is actually a “specialist” (anorak) site that can tell you the exact make up of most European trains, carriage by carriage. Its called vagonWEB. It actually has a lot more information the the timetables can tell you.

So here goes – my train from Amsterdam is the EN447, popularly called the “Jan Kiepura”. With the new timetable, its a no longer a Russian carriage from Amsterdam – so I was keen to find out what it was going to be. I know my carriage number from the ticket – its wagon 180, with bettplatz 42. So vagonWEB to the rescue:

If it is right then wagon 180 is a Polish carriage and it looks sweet – showers and more facilities than my original Russian carriage had, so the need to change at Warsaw doesn’t seem so bad now..

Then on to my train from Warsaw to Moscow I am on the 405, known as the “Vltava”. This time I’m on wagon 354, bettplatz 11.

405 composition Warsaw – Moscow

So its a switch to a Russian carriage, similar to the one that used to run from Amsterdam. This train has actually come from Prague.

This is a great planning tool, but too late for me to use this trip. Anyway, I’m looking forward to comparing the two trains.