Rolling stock Archives

Analysis

A different solution for night trains – a flexible leasing and operations company?

From the start of my Trains for Europe campaign I have argued that the absence of enough couchette cars and sleeping cars is the main constraint on the expansion of night train services. You cannot run more trains unless you literally have more carriages. I do not deny there are[Read More…]

12.10.2022 5 comments

Night trains, scale and standardisation

I listened in to the Back on Track Belgium conference last week, and the founder of a startup night train company said something interesting. “The reason we are against things like night train rolling stock pools,” he stated, “is that means we cannot configure the trains the way we want[Read More…]

01.04.2022 3 comments

Where we stand with the need to order new night trains: the EU, every government, every operator assessed

When I started Trains for Europe in mid-2021, the demand was that the European Union organises the procurement of a fleet of new night trains. Now – 8 months on – it is time to take stock of what has(n’t) happened in the interim. We started with the assumption that[Read More…]

26.01.2022 0 comments

Midnight Trains – we wish them well, but where are the carriages needed going to come from?

A new night train company has launched today. Paris-based Midnight Trains has launched with a very slick website, and promises a deluxe night train experience – private compartments with showers. The renderings are all soft furnishings and are akin to a smart hotel. RTL news has a report about the[Read More…]

16.06.2021 1 comment

Von der Leyen promises €85bn for sustainable transport – night train rolling stock would be an ideal use for it!

Speaking in the European Parliament earlier this week, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen set out some details of European Union Member States’ post-COVID national recovery and resilience plans, and gave some details of the scale of the budget for transport: Let me give you some figures.[Read More…]

11.06.2021 0 comments

France’s PM Castex takes the re-introduced night train Paris-Nice, but it’s hardly comfortable!

After a three year absence, the Paris-Nice Night Train is back. The first service ran last night with an important passenger on board – French Prime Minister Jean Castex. He even made the welcome on board announcement to passengers: Longue vie au Paris-Nice ! pic.twitter.com/POHhMZ51wB — Jean Castex (@JeanCASTEX) May[Read More…]

21.05.2021 2 comments

Germany’s Transport Ministry makes the case for a European rolling stock pool

On 17 May Germany’s Ministry of for Transport and Digital Infrastructure held its Schienengipfel (Rail Summit) in Berlin. The centre piece of the event was a renewed commitment to speeding up Berlin – Dresden – Prague – Vienna connections, but an eagle-eyed Josh Posaner of Politico spotted an interesting paragraph in[Read More…]

20.05.2021 0 comments

RailPro diagnoses the challenges for new operators trying to enter the long distance rail market

Dutch Publication RailPro has written an interesting piece entitled What are the biggest barriers for new entrants on the international train market? There is also a version of the same post in Dutch here. The piece does not distinguish between daytime and night-time trains, but focuses on the challenges common[Read More…]

20.05.2021 0 comments

EIB electric buses funding model the way forward to finance night train stock?

In January 2021, the European Investment Bank and Banque des Territoires launched a Clean Buses Platform – a mechanism through which public transport operators in France have access to up to €100 million to procure electric buses. A similar mechanism might be the way to allow rolling stock leasing companies[Read More…]

19.05.2021 0 comments

Tough times ahead for German rail supply industry? Procure some night trains!

International Railway Journal reports that the rail industry in Germany is facing tough times. So that makes now surely is an ideal time for new night train rolling stock to be procured! Photos used in this post Richard Matthews Bombardier July 7, 2011 License: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY[Read More…]

11.05.2021 0 comments