I have set foot in the Swiss town of Biel/Bienne more often than I care to remember, and for strictly 6 minutes each time. For that is where the Basel SBB-Lausanne InterCity train crosses the Zürich HB-Genève service, and as my trips are always Basel SBB – Genève, that’s where […]
Analysis
Tegel Airport – good riddance
It’s finally happening. Almost 8 years late, Berlin Brandenburg Airport is at last opening this coming Saturday (31 October), and that means Tegel Airport will finally close by 8 November. That has prompted another round of outpourings of emotion about the old Tegel. So einen Flughafen wie Berlin-Tegel wird es nie […]
How could the EU solve the night train conundrum? Procure a massive fleet of night train carriages and lease them to operators
From the doldrums of a few years ago – when Deutsche Bahn left the business of running night trains completely – this mode of transport is back. Or at least in terms of public attention it’s back. Snälltåget has bold plans for Sweden to Germany services in 2021, and the […]
Why is the Berlin-Amsterdam train so slow? And why is it so hard to do anything about it?
This tweet and news story from The Netherlands caught my eye this morning – “Dutch Railways will make trains to Berlin and Brussels much faster: “We want to seduce air passengers”” the title says. Whether prioritising that route – to get people off planes – even makes sense is open […]
Don’t be distracted by ÖBB’s shiny night train to Brussels – the problems of EU-wide rail run far deeper
Hey journalists! I’m glad to see you’re writing about trains! ÖBB running its first NightJet to Brussels seems to have got you into a particular frenzy. It’s amazing what a bit of red carpet at Gare du Midi, and Martin Selmayr on board, can do to generate a bit of […]
How to book Brussels-Amsterdam rail tickets – a further example of the absurdity of cross border rail in the EU
“Jon, did you know?” a friend asked me today. “There’s now Eurostar Brussels to Amsterdam and it’s cheaper than the Thalys!” As a rail nerd I did of course know it exists but I have not had the chance to take it yet. But that gave me the idea for a […]