Back in 2018, Trenitalia began an experiment called “Mercitalia Fast” – using a converted ETR-500 300km/h high speed train to convey light freight at high speed. You can read more about the project here. Now Trenitalia has announced a new overnight service, likewise using a ETR-500, connecting Milano and Reggia […]
Read MoreFor years I have made pretty much every long distance trip I can by train. Conference in Iași? Sure, train via Ukraine to get there. Teaching in Geneva? Night train back to Berlin. Holiday in the Balkans? I’m the one who will take the Bar-Belgrade train (the pic above is […]
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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 […]
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The European Parliament is currently debating an own-initiative report about a Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy for the EU – the whole legislative dossier is here, and German S&D MEP Ismail Ertug is the Rapporteur. MEPs – perhaps all of them stuck at home and suffering from the same wanderlust […]
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The Council of the European Union today adopted Council Conclusions on railways, entitled “Rail at the forefront of smart and sustainable mobility” – you can read the press story about this, quoting Portugal’s transport minister here. The full conclusions are here (PDF). As I see it these are the two […]
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A night train? In the Netherlands? Not the news we had expected to read. But here is the boss of Arriva Netherlands Anne Hettinga arguing for exactly that in an interview with NRC Handelsblad. The story was likewise covered by Railway Gazette International. As you might imagine this is not […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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