Deutsche Bahn Archives - Page 2 of 4

Analysis

Long distance rail in Europe – an absence of a discernible strategy

Trains are a good thing. Capable of shipping huge quantities of people and freight over long distances and doing so without most of the downsides of road or air transport. Politicians of pretty much any political colour will be happy to say they are pro-rail. 2021 is even European Year of[Read More…]

17.02.2021 0 comments

Analysis

Europatakt – a vision for EU-wide rail?

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[Read More…]

08.02.2021 2 comments

Analysis

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[Read More…]

16.09.2020 10 comments

Analysis

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[Read More…]

27.08.2020 13 comments

Analysis

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[Read More…]

20.01.2020 0 comments

A rail postcard from Passow (Uckermark)

Dear Violeta, It has been a little while since I last wrote you a postcard from one of my cross-border rail trips. But this week I took a little journey from Berlin to Szczecin / Stettin in West Pomerania in Poland, represented in the European Parliament by Bogusław Liberadzki –[Read More…]

01.06.2018 2 comments

Analysis

The cheapest Deutsche Bahn Sparpreis across central Germany… starts in Czech Republic

I’ve discovered a few tricks to book extra cheap rail tickets in the past – I’ve explained the Eurostar Aachen trick, and how to split tickets in Germany, but now – thanks to a discussion on Twitter with @seatsixtyone and others, there is a new trick – involving Czech Republic[Read More…]

27.02.2017 0 comments

A rail postcard from Brussels

(this is part of my Rail Postcards to the Transport Commissioner series – you can find all the other postcards here) Dear Violeta, I’d hoped to not have to write another one of these postcards to you so soon after my last one. But things go wrong all too regularly[Read More…]

18.02.2017 9 comments

A rail postcard from Aachen

Dear Violeta, Today I am writing to you from Aachen, and I am not here for the Christmas Market. I am here because I am stuck due to the immense incompetence of European railways and the lack of basic collaboration between them in the interests of passengers. This story is going[Read More…]

17.12.2016 5 comments

Taking the train is a strain – Newport to Berlin case

My parents live in Newport in South Wales. I live in Berlin. I am going home for Christmas, and so – on 27th December – I want to return to Berlin. All in one day. By train. If I wanted to do this in a few weeks’ time, it would[Read More…]

09.10.2016 4 comments