Booking Train Ticket on-line

“A far cry from America’s overpriced train travel, Europe is best navigated from the rail. The trains are typically frequent, fast, and on time. When choosing between air and rail, keep this in mind. Budget intra-European airlines may beat out trains in price, but be sure to factor in the cost of travel to the airport, taxes, and fees. Trains are roomier, giving travelers the opportunity to move around. On shorter routes, they’re competitive (in terms of time) with airplanes. Also, train travelers are spared the trek to the often out-of-the-way airports used by budget airlines and the need for hours-early arrival at check-in “

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/resources/st_eurotrains0710/trains.html

Our experience

Forget about buying train ticket on-line unless you have a credit card issued on a Europe address.  Wife’s credit card issued on our Ireland address was not accepted on UK train websites.