An overview to the high-speed trains connecting European countries and cities
- National Geographic regards the railway network in France the most extensive and functional in Europe, but the most extensive high-speed train network is in its neighbor country Spain. A number of good tips for train routes to try out included in the article as well.
- A Europe-wide train ticket system has been promoted by the EU and other organizations for years, but concrete results have been scarce until now. Deutsche Bahn (DB), the German railway company, has developed a ticketing system that can issue tickets for trips in a number of European countries. This is excellent news, although critics point out that this is only a technical achievement, not a full commercial system that would cover issues beyond trip reservations. Keep in mind also that independent online businesses focused on train tickets (such as Railfinder, Omio, Raileurope) can also provide tickets for long multi-country journeys.
Train stations with remarkable restaurants
- Remember the scene in the Mr Bean movie where he is trying to enjoy seafood in a nice restaurant in France? He was in Paris waiting for a train to the French Riviera, but the restaurant really exists at the Gare de Lyon train station. This and many other train station restaurants reviewed in Hungary, Italy, Spain, and other countries in Europe.
Competition welcomed to the Paris – London tunnel railway
- Richard Branson’s Virgin has signed a deal to order 12 high-speed trains to compete with the Eurostar trains on the route London – Paris. Virgin has submitted an application to the Office of Rail and Road for starting journeys by 2030. In addition to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam are planned destinations. Virgin is not the first company that has plans to start regular train connection between continental Europe and England in the next few years. For instance, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and Gemini Trains have published plans to compete with Eurostar.
Why can’t trains from one European country usually cross the border to a neighbor country?
- If you thought that creating a Europe-wide train ticketing system would solve all the challenges for train travel on the continent, there is another issue to be solved as well: national railway standards. This video explains what actually is going on in safety control systems when a locomotive pulls a train along tracks. There are 30 different control systems in Europe, which is why trains usually can’t cross borders. Fortunately, EU has initiated a program European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) that aims at standardizing the systems. The video explains the key facts in the first five minutes, and the rest of the documentary dives deeper into technologies.
Download a map that guides you to the Europe’s railway network
- Eurail, a provider of train travel passes for European railways, has put together railroad maps that you can download and view on a tablet or phone even when you don’t have internet connection. As you might imagine, a single map displaying all possible train routes can be quite a mishmash, but you can really get a good overall picture of a route especially if you are planning a long trip.
Off the beaten path train routes recommended by a travel journalist
- If you want to travel to beautiful cities along railway lines that are somewhat like hidden destinations, you might want to check out five routes recommended by an experienced train traveler.
High-speed trains and Wi-fi is technically a challenging combination
- If you have traveled on a high-speed train, you may have noticed problems with getting reliable internet connection. Usually, the problem is not the Wi-fi connection, but 3G, 4G or 5G mobile network connection that carries the bits from a hotspot in the train to the internet. The high speed of a train and sturdy metal carriages are the key problems for getting mobile network signals inside trains.
