Tess

Sixty dollars for four hours of buffer and a night in your own bed at the far end is one of the better deals in travel.

There is a transit stop and I had not thought about that at all.

Applied this morning. The point about desk staff applying the strictest reading is what tipped it, I do not want to argue rules at 5am.

This catches people constantly on scenic routes. The pass gets you on the network, not onto a specific popular train.

Before anything else, check the operator's own website rather than the reseller you have been using. Third party sites frequently see only part of the inventory, and reseller sold out very often means available on the national operator's site at the same price.

After that, in rough order of how often they work for me:

• split the journey, book A to B and B to C separately, which uses different quotas and often finds seats when the through booking will not
• look at the slower regional trains, which usually do not require a reservation at all and cost less
• check departures from a nearby station on the same line, one stop earlier is often wide open
• check back 48 hours before, when unpaid holds and business bookings get released
• night train if the route has one, which also saves a hotel night

Mild disagreement. Two hours apart is genuinely close, and if the trains are frequent and cheap the three night version is not stressful, especially if you travel mid morning rather than first thing. Three nights is my personal minimum anywhere, and below it a place never stops feeling like a transit lounge.

And tell your bank your travel dates or at least know their number, because a frozen card at 9pm in a country where you do not speak the language is genuinely stressful.