Quick Takes

Now we’re going to get a Bruxelles and Amsterdam to Milano night train. Or are we?

After yesterday’s news that Basel-Malmö will not happen, today there’s news that a new night train route will open up – European Sleeper is proposing to run from Bruxelles and Amsterdam to Switzerland and Milano from June 2026. Their press release about it is here (PDF). A few of relevant […]

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Trains for Europe gets a mention on France24 television debate about night trains

France24 English’s “Talking Europe” show discussed night trains in Europe this week, with Catherine Nicholson moderating a discussion with MEPs Jakop Dalunde (Greens-EFA, Sweden) and Marian-Jean Marinescu (EPP, Romania). Given that Jakop is one of the MEPs who already supports Trains for Europe, his comments are very much in line […]

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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 […]

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BaWü Transport Minister Hermann is right – “rail isn’t always a viable alternative” – not yet anyway

How Germany makes the transition to a carbon neutral economy is becoming a major topic in the election campaign for September’s Bundestag election. The extent to which banning or stopping certain behaviours is legitimate, or whether persuading people to change their behaviour is a better route, is a central issue. […]

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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. […]

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