Rail Travel Archives - Page 3 of 5

Torn between a retro past and an uncertain future: is the sun setting on Romanian rail?

The two guards on the EN472 “Ister” between Bucuresti Nord and Budapest Keleti pu. set aside their fading hats with the silver trim and the CFR logos and tuck into the dinner they have brought from home in the bar carriage. They crunch what look like home grown, gnarled gherkins,[Read More…]

08.07.2013 0 comments

The future of channel tunnel long distance passenger railway services

A small step forward step in the prospect of long distance high-speed train services using the channel tunnel was taken this week, with Deutsche Bahn granted a ‘Certificate B’ to operate trains through the tunnel. This has been a long time coming – in 2010 DB was talking of running[Read More…]

15.06.2013 0 comments

Analysis

Five types of railway market in Europe

I travel a lot by train. On all kinds of services, all over Europe. As Europe’s rail market supposedly opens up to competition with the 4th railway package, what can I conclude about where competition does and does not work? 1) The profitable long distance route This is the ideal[Read More…]

13.06.2013 0 comments

Analysis

Are reservation fees and private railways killing the allure of Interrail?

Knowing how much I travel by train some friends have rather flippantly said I would be better booking Interrail tickets for my trips than the individual tickets separately. So with a trip København – St Malo, and then Par – Trieste – Brussels – København, and a week later København[Read More…]

28.04.2013 8 comments

The Lille Loophole – stop London checks on all except 3 trains

What is the Lille Loophole? It is a means by which people without the correct identification papers necessary to enter the UK can do so thanks to a loophole in the Schengen rules, as applied at Gare du Midi in Brussels, and to the Eurostar rail service. News about the[Read More…]

23.04.2013 33 comments

A little Brussels-London security paranoia case study – this coming Friday

I have not taken Eurostar recently, but judging by comments posted on my previous blog posts about the service, it seems that the security paranoia that afflicts the route has not diminished. Anyway, for the first time in months, I am going to be on Eurostar on Friday this week,[Read More…]

16.04.2013 0 comments

Analysis

Non-Schengen compliant border control at Puttgarden, 21st January 2013, 1244

Today I’m at least as angry at myself as a blogger (who was not adequately prepared) as I am about yet another breach of EU law and Schengen. My ICE train had just left the ferry, heading into Germany at Puttgarden at 1244, and was stationary at the station when[Read More…]

21.01.2013 4 comments

Analysis

How to organise a rail replacement bus service (Schienenersatzverkehr)

ICE36 train, departing 0944 from København H to Hamburg Hbf will not be able to run any further than Rødby on the Danish side of the Fehmarn Belt, and all passengers will have to board the ferry on foot instead of in the train, and take a replacement bus on[Read More…]

14.12.2012 0 comments

Analysis

More from that little Nordic rail trip… Liberalisation doesn’t work

The theory of liberalisation of European railways is all very well. At one level the cross border service between København and Malmo, the Øresundstog, is a good example of it – a rail service running every 10 minutes across the bridge between Denmark and Sweden, and run by neither Swedish[Read More…]

09.12.2012 0 comments

Analysis

Goodbye Benelux train, the service that gave me my best-ever rail story (to date)

Tomorrow is the last day of operation of the Benelux Train, an hourly Intercity service that has been connecting Brussels, Antwerp, Rosendaal, Rotterdam, Den Haag and Amsterdam since the 1950s. Philip Richards documents his three eras using it here, here and here, and Alex van Herwijnen will be on the[Read More…]

07.12.2012 4 comments