train

Switzerland is anticipating ever-increasing use of the railways for future travel. It is therefore embarking on a gigantic infrastructure modernisation project along the arc of Lake Geneva, the largest project to date in French-speaking Switzerland. This investment will primarily concern the Geneva-Lausanne axis. Passenger numbers are expected to...

The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) want to attract more passengers with more attractive rail fares. However, faced with a sharp rise in traffic, ÖBB also wants to better manage the flow of bookings. Hence the incentive for future customers to book earlier. The new rule, which will apply from 1 July, is...

Bringing together a large proportion of the world's rail services in a single technological solution was already one of Trainline's strong points. Via its website and mobile app, this independent platform brings together the offerings of 270 rail and bus operators in 45 countries. That's millions of routes, fares and times...

Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) will be making a number of improvements to its network for the 2022 timetable, in order to meet the growing demand for rail services. The new timetable will come into force on 12 December 2021. The network will incorporate cross-border lines to a greater extent. On the regional network, for example,...

The Flixmobility group, known throughout Europe for its "Flixbus" bus routes, is reopening its FlixTrain network in Germany with a new offer on five routes, including one night train. The group had already launched its low-cost trains in 2018 on the Cologne-Hamburg, Cologne-Berlin and Stuttgart-Berlin routes. These routes, which the company...

Germany's federal railways, Deutsche Bahn, want to promote the use of digital tickets. This means suspending the sale of paper tickets on trains. Paper tickets will be phased out by 2022. Since the end of April, passengers using Deutsche Bahn trains have no longer been able to buy their...

After reducing its offer during the last lockdown, SNCF is increasing it again with the lifting of the ban on journeys of more than 10 km on 3 May. From four TGVs out of ten in recent weeks, the Inoui and Ouigo high-speed offer will gradually increase to reach eight TGVs out of ten in...

The Occitanie region and Toulouse Métropole can celebrate after four years of battle over a highly political project. On 27 April, a letter from Prime Minister Jean Castex confirmed that the French government was committing €4.1 billion to funding the Bordeaux-Toulouse high-speed line. By 2030, the project will have...

Brightline in Florida is the first private rail operator in the United States in 40 years. The young rail company's ambition is to extend its network, which currently comprises a line linking Miami to West Palm Beach via Fort Lauderdale. On this 105 km long line, 17 trains run every day for a total...

The study published by Trainline on 19 April comes at a relatively sensitive time. For several years now, air travel has been criticised for its impact on the environment, and the trend has accelerated with the phenomenon of "flygskam", or the "shame of flying". Now, with the economic crisis, government subsidies to airlines...

Germany and Austria are in the midst of a debate on the compulsory wearing of FFP2 masks on trains and other public transport. At the end of the week, both countries made up their minds. No in Germany (except in Bavaria) and yes in Austria. The debate raged after the Austrian state of Bavaria introduced the...

Bertrand Gosselin, CEO of Thalys, posted a strong and unequivocal message on his Twitter account on Wednesday: "Thalys is going through the biggest crisis in its history. [We] have reduced our offer to a minimum with regret but with responsibility. When better times return, we will need you, our customers,...

Like most of its European counterparts, Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) will launch its 2021 timetable on 13 December. And these timetables contain a series of new features presented by the company's Managing Director Andreas Matthä at a press conference in Vienna at the end of October. "We are, of course,...

Like the airlines, for whom the famous passenger experience is based on an ergonomic, content-rich entertainment system - particularly on the long-haul network - trains are also taking the connected travel route. The latest partnership between Ouigo and Moment is a case in point. The rail company has chosen...

Are customers returning to Thalys? Bertrand Gosselin - Thalys has been hard hit by this crisis, as have the tourism and transport sectors. We had two and a half months with virtually no sales before traffic gradually picked up again in mid-June. All our on-board services have been...

With teleworking on the rise and companies limiting staff travel because of Covid-19, train companies are struggling to get business travellers back on their trains. Thalys is no exception to the rule, and is launching a Corporate offer to attract companies back. Until 31 October, its Thalys Corporate programme...

Jean-Pierre Farandou arrived at the head of the rail company almost a year ago and wants to make the SNCF's fare structure clearer. At issue is the random pricing system, which since the 90s has no longer been calculated on a per-kilometre basis, but follows the rules of air fares. In other words, fares are based on...

The United Kingdom's sudden decision to re-introduce compulsory quarantine for travellers to several European Union countries within a matter of hours has further dampened hopes of a return to normal traffic flows. The decision was justified by the upsurge in cases of coronavirus in certain parts of these countries. The UK's Department for...

Ecological awareness and the Covid-19 crisis have had at least one positive effect on Europe's railways: the return of night trains. A fine revenge for a mode of transport that seemed doomed 20 years ago. The SNCF in France, the FS in Italy...

Lufthansa's Airport Express service has been around for decades. As far back as the 1980s, Lufthansa innovated by running Deutsche Bundesbahn trains from Düsseldorf, Cologne and the former federal capital Bonn, as well as from Stuttgart, to the mainline station at Frankfurt airport. The trains were painted in Lufthansa colours...