Do luggage lockers/ left luggage facilities still exist at major train stations etc?
It's four years since I last went backpacking, and this was a facility that I found really useful. Now that we are all more security conscious, especially around public transport, is this service still available?
If not, does anyone have a practical suggestion, on how to sightsee without the cumberence of a huge rucksack. Packing less is not an option.

as far as i am awawre, yes. used the service in both Amsterdam Centraal & koln hbf in february. Your luggage is scanned first, so maybe smaller stations may not have the equipment to verify. the lockers have disappeared from the station in town. i would aim to dump your stuff in larger places.

Yes, there are still left luggage facilities, at least at major stations and airports in Europe - either lockers or attended counters. They're not always easy to find - if in doubt, ask. And sometimes your luggage is security scanned, sometimes not.

However, you can't depend on finding somewhere to leave your luggage at all stations and airports.

Sometimes hotels and hostels will mind your bags for you for a few hours before you check in (or after you check out). They don't always keep them in secure places though - so take your valuables with you.

Large supermarkets often have free luggage lockers - though these are designed to prevent shoplifting, not as a facility for travellers. A hypermarket in Carcassonne, France, took care of two medium-sized suitcases for me last summer after the nearby airport told me they had no left luggage facilities.

Happy travelling!

Pete

Some countries, including Germany as far as I know, still have both automatic lockers and manual left luggage. Some countries have closed lockers, so left luggage is only available at bigger stations at restricted times. Britain and France are the two most difficult. Only a few of the biggest British railway stations have manual left luggage at the outrageous charge of around £5 per item per day, but in some towns bus stations or cafés offer left luggage services. France is the most difficult as the poilice issue bans on leaving luggage: some big stations have scanners, so luggage can be left, but elsewhere, you have to ask nicely in cafés, hotels, etc.