At opposite ends of Germany there are two cross border railways where tickets for the trains are wonderfully simple – from Gronau (Nordrhein-Westfalen) to Enschede (Netherlands), and from Freilassing (Bayern) to Salzburg (Austria). At two other borders – Kehl (Baden-Württemberg) to Strasbourg (France), and Forst Lausitz (Brandenburg) to Żary (Poland) […]
Switzerland
The best #CrossBorderRail lines to visit
#CrossBorderRail is a very political project – to push for better international railway connections between European countries. But one of the things that makes the project so fun is that it has taken me to some wonderful places amongst the 130 borders I have crossed in the past 12 months […]
The next problem for night trains in Netherlands: the locomotives are too heavy (or the track too unstable)
We’ve previously examined the headaches finding rolling stock (i.e. carriages) for the new Zürich – Amsterdam NightJet that will run from December this year, but now another problem has come to light – the locomotives, and specifically that they are too heavy. We’ve been pointed towards this PDF issued by […]
Rolling stock for a new night train: even SBB and ÖBB have plenty of difficulties
As we reported yesterday, Swiss railways SBB are keen to increase their night train offer. But they, like every other player in this market, have the same rolling stock problems to overcome as anyone else. In this post we are going to look at the new NightJet service due to be launched […]
SBB boss Vincent Ducrot talks about the future of night trains to/from Switzerland
Tagesanzeiger Sonntagszeitung features a long interview with boss of Swiss Railways SBB Vincent Ducrot – you can read the whole interview here (free registration required). The headline strikes us as slightly off. “Nachtzüge werden nie profitabel sein” “Night trains will never be profitable” he says. Perhaps he ought to have a […]
Revival of the Trans Europ Express (TEE) – these plans are going to need some new trains
Nostalgia is important in railways. Families and enthusiasts alike visit heritage railways, and railway companies across Europe try to motivate passengers to take trains today using symbolism of the past. And there is no symbolism stronger in cross-border rail in Europe than the Trans Europ Express (TEE), probably because more people alive […]