The Anonymous Widower

Uber Partners With Gemini For Channel Tunnel Train Plan

The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.

These two introductory paragraphs give more details.

Ridesharing app company Uber has announced a co-branding partnership with Gemini Trains, which is developing plans to launch open access passenger services through the Channel Tunnel.

Gemini plans to purchase 10-newly designed trains to offer ‘comfortable high-quality and frequent’ services with competitive fares, running from London Stratford International station – which has never been used for international services – to Paris Nord and Brussels Midi. All trains would call at Ebbsfleet International, which Eurostar no longer serves. Gemini also plans to expand services to ‘further exciting European destinations’, suggesting that Paris and Brussels are ‘just the start’.

It looks like Gemini Trains will run the trains and Uber will help with marketing, publicity and ticket sales.

May 21, 2025 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Eurostar Cancels All Today’s Trains After Tunnel Floods

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

Eurostar has cancelled all of Saturday’s services to and from London St Pancras due to flooding in a tunnel under the River Thames, throwing new year travel into chaos.

These are the first two paragraphs.

This morning, Eurostar said it hoped later services could run but it has now cancelled all 41 trains.

All Southeastern’s high-speed services to Ebbsfleet, which use the same line, have also been cancelled.

I know the tunnel shouldn’t flood, but Eurostar don’t seem to have an adequate emergency plan to keep things moving, when it does.

The plan would obvious depend on where and what the problem was, but if something goes wrong at the London end of High Speed One, then surely the remaining infrastructure should be used to run an emergency service.

With flooding in the tunnel between Stratford International and Ebbsfleet International, trains could only run as far as Ebbsfleet, but surely an hourly shuttle could be run between Ebbsfleet and both Brussels and Paris.

The problem would surely be getting travellers between St. Pancras and Ebbsfleet International.

  • There can be no trains between Central London and Ebbsfleet International, as the tunnel is flooded and can’t be used.
  • Rail replacement buses would be difficult to organise at such short notice.
  • I doubt rail replacement buses could be run from St. Pancras station, as traffic is generally solid in the area of the station at all times.

The nearest station to Ebbsfleet International is Northfleet station, which has four trains per hour (tph) to and from London; two each to St. Pancras and Charing Cross.

I have walked between Ebbsfleet International and Northfleet stations, but in times of disruption, I’m sure buses operating a shuttle would be better.

The Wikipedia entry for Northfleet station, explains, why the pedestrian link has not been built, in this paragraph.

The station is very close to Ebbsfleet International station (the NNE entrance is only 334 yards (305 m) from Northfleet’s station), but passengers (using public transport) will find it far easier to access Ebbsfleet International from Gravesend or Greenhithe, as these stations are more accessible and offer easy access to Fastrack bus services. The walking route between the two stations is 0.6 miles (1 km) or 0.8 miles (1.3 km) and a suitable pedestrian link has not been built because of funding issues and objections from Land Securities.

Perhaps after the pantomime this Christmas, the connection will be improved.

So4’s Law will probably mean, that if it is built, it will only be used by travellers and those working at Ebbsfleet International station for whom it is more convenient.

 

December 30, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Could A Mega-Station Be Built For The Channel Tunnel?

This article on Railway Gazette International, is entitled Start-Up Announces Amsterdam To London And Paris High Speed Train Ambitions.

It talks about how Dutch start-up; Heuro wants to run fifteen trains per day (tpg) between London and Amsterdam.

The article then has this paragraph, which details other operators, who are wanting to run services between London and the near Continent.

Heuro’s announcement comes after Spanish start-up Evolyn announced plans in October for a Paris – London service, while on November 11 British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported that Sir Richard Branson and Phil Whittingham, former head of Virgin Trains and Avanti West Coast, were also drawing up plans to compete with Eurostar and had held discussions with infrastructure managers.

This leads me to the conclusion, that there will be a need for more capacity for trains and/or passengers at some time in the future.

  • There are six International platforms at St. Panvcras International station, which can each probably handle four trains per hour (tph), so I suspect the station could handle 24 International tph.
  • As a modern high speed train can carry over 500 passengers, that is 12000 passengers per hour.
  • Visit St. Pancras station in the morning and it is often crammed with travellers coming from and going to Europe.

I suspect that the number of trains may not be a problem, but the number of passengers will.

We could always join Shengen, but then that would be an open door to all the would-be migrants to the UK.

This Google Map shows Stratford International station.

Stratford International station is in a soulless concrete cavern, that lies across the middle of the map.

In Platforms 1 And 4 At Stratford International Station,  there are a lot of pictures of the station.

I think it would be extremely difficult to add extra platforms and passenger facilities to the station.

This Google Map shows Ebbsfleet International station.

Note.

  1. Ebbsfleet International station, with its two International and four domestic platforms is in the middle of the map.
  2. The station is surrounded by car parks with a total of 5,000 spaces.
  3. Northfleet station is in the North-East corner of the map.

There is a lot of land, without any buildings on it.

These are my thoughts.

Enough Extra Bay Platforms To Handle The Additional Trains

There would appear to be space for perhaps two bay platforms to terminate trains.

But would passengers we happy being dumped outside Central London?

Would An Elizabeth Line Extension To Ebbsfleet Be Needed?

There are various plans to link the Elizabeth Line tp Ebbsfleet International.

In Elizabeth Line To Ebbsfleet Extension Could Cost £3.2 Billion, I showed this map from the Abbeywood2Ebbsfleet consultation.

There doesn’t appear to be too much new infrastructure, except for a proper connection between Northfleet and Ebbsfleet stations. References on the Internet, say that the similar-sized Luton DART connection at Luton Airport, cost around £225 million.

The Elizabeth Line connects to the following.

  • Bond Street
  • Canary Wharf
  • City of London
  • Farringdon for Thameslink
  • Heathrow Airport
  • Old Oak Common for High Speed Two
  • Liverpool Street station
  • Oxford Street
  • Paddington station
  • Slough for Windsor
  • Tottenham Court Road for the British Museum, Oxford Street, Soho, Theatreland and the Underground.
  • West End of London
  • Whitechapel for the Overground and Underground

For many people like me, the Elizabeth Line at Ebbsfleet will provide one of the quickest ways to get to and from European trains.

Ebbsfleet Has Space For A Bus Station

A bus station with comprehensive routes could be built at Ebbsfleet station, which I don’t think will be possible at St. Pancras.

It would also be possible to provide an easy route to Gatwick Airport along the M25.

Hotel Accommodation

This is surely necessary.

It would make an ideal base for tourists and business people, who wanted to visit several of the large cities connected to Ebbsfleet.

A Very Large Car Park

Consider.

  • Heathrow Airport is looking at providing upwards of 50,000 car parking spaces.
  • Some travellers are seriously allergic to public transport and will always use their car.
  • Many travellers these days want to take a severely outside case with them, when they’re only having a weekend in Paris.

I feel that a mega-station for Europe will need upwards of 10,000 car parking spaces. All of them with vehicle-to-grid chargers.

A Very Large Storage Battery

According to this page on the E-on web site, the average size of the battery in an electric vehicle is 40 kWh.

If 5,000 car parking spaces were to be fitted with vehicle-to-grid charging (V2G), that would be 2 MWh of energy storage, that could be used by National Grid, to store surplus electricity.

Get V2G right and it could make a serious contribution to your parking costs.

Pictures Of Ebbsfleet Station

These are some pictures I took at Ebbsfleet station today.

Note.

  1. The station is a fairly boring concrete, glass and steel construction.
  2. The SouthEastern HighSpeed services also go to St. Pancras, so they don’t offer any different connectivity towards the capital.

In addition, the SouthEastern HighSpeed Class 395 trains aren’t step-free at the platforms, as these pictures shows.

As I came back into St. Pancras International station, staff were struggling to load a wheelchair onto a train using a ramp.

Would A Two-Station Solution Increase Capacity?

High Speed Rail lines have  high capacity trains and there are examples of more than one station at the end of a route.

  • The London end of High Speed Two will have stations at Old Oak Common and Euston.
  • The Manchester end of High Speed Two will have stations at Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.
  • The Edinburgh end of the East Coast Main Line has stations at Waverley and Haymarket.
  • The Amsterdam end of Eurostar and Thalys has stations at Rotterdam, Schipol Airport and Amsterdam.

A selection of stations gives choice and convenience for travellers.

Conclusion

I believe that selective development of Ebbsfleet International station could be used to take the pressure away from St. Pancras International station.

These developments could include.

  1. A comprehensive bus station
  2. Elizabeth Line to Northfleet
  3. Hotel Accommodation
  4. Lots Of Car Parking

 

 

 

November 21, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Europe’s Next High-Speed Train Operator

I was alerted to Heuro Train, by this article in Railway Gazette International, which has this opening paragraph.

A proposal to launch high speed train services from Amsterdam to London and from Groningen to Paris has been announced by Dutch start-up Heuro, while Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson is also reported to be looking at competing with Eurostar on cross-Channel routes.

The Heuro Train web site was easily found and the title of this post, was part of their mission statement on the home page.

I have read the web site and have a few initial thoughts.

Technology-Driven Excellence

This is their first sub heading and this is the text.

In a world where technology defines possibilities, Heuro develops the latest innovations into every aspect of our service. From advanced train systems to intuitive in-seat features that cater to your needs, our technology is the driving force behind a seamless, state-of-the-art travel experience.

We’ve all written things like that in the past.

Meeting The Human Need

This is their second sub heading and this is the text.

Heuro emerged from human desires, informed by analyses from Marveltest.

There’s been a 32% annual increase in online interest for train travel over five years. High-Speed Trains are 98% full at peak times. Over half of Europeans prefer train travel under 2 hours as a greener option. Introducing High-Speed Operators in train monopolies boosts demand by 45%.

They appear to have done their research and those are interesting figures.

Lightning Speed Connectivity

This is their third sub heading and this is the text.

In our digital age, both work and leisure have found a substantial home on the internet for urban humans. Whether sealing a business deal, streaming a favorite show, or connecting with loved ones, online interactions have become integral to our daily lives. At Heuro, we don’t just commit—we guarantee the best internet experience.

This is actually irrelevant these days, as there will be a high standard of Internet experience on all modes of transport in a few years, although some will get it earlier than others.

Planned Routes

This is their sixth sub heading and this is the text.

We will connect Amsterdam with Brussels, Paris, and London with intermediate stops at Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam Central, Antwerp Central & complimentary services to Groningen, Assen, Zwolle and Almere (continuing to Paris, 2 times per day)

This route map is shown.

Note.

  1. It is not a large network.
  2. It makes a lot of use of the Dutch high speed line; HSL-Zuid, that runs between Amsterdam and the Belgian border.
  3. I suspect it has been designed to be extended.

The Railway Gazette Article has these two paragraphs, which give more information on services and Heuro’s thinking.

On November 15 Heuro told Railway Gazette International that it aims to launch in 2028, offering 16 Amsterdam – Paris and 15 Amsterdam – London trains each day with intermediate stops at Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam Centraal, Antwerpen Centraal and Brussels. Two of the Paris trains would run to and from Groningen via Assen, Zwolle and Almere. 

The company said ‘every day, 55 planes fly from Amsterdam to London, while only four trains make this journey. Heuro intends to change that, aiming for more trains to depart from Amsterdam than flights’.

With other train companies wanting to serve London, will St. Pancras International be able to incorporate another fifteen trains per day from Amsterdam?

Web Site Language

Everything is in English! It also appears to be English English.

Les français ne seront pas amusés.

Extensions From London

Much of Central and Eastern England, and Eastern Scotland can be reached from St. Pancras International station, by a hundred metre walk to change platforms.

There is even a signed walking route between St. Pancras International and Euston stations, that isn’t the most arduous of walks.

The St. Pancras International and Euston stations connection could also be handled by a frequent electric shuttle bus.

Extensions From Amsterdam

Heuro are already indicating their intention to extend to Almere, Zwolle, Assen and Groningen.

I have taken that route and extended it via Leer, Oldenburg and Bremen to Hamburg.

Could this be in Heuro’s long term thinking?

Extensions From Paris

The French probably have ideas.

Conclusion

I like Heuro’s philosophy and starter kit.

 

November 20, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

These New Sleeper Trains Are Basically Luxury Hotels On Wheels

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Time Out.

French startup; Midnight Trains, aims to update sleeper trains for the twenty-first century.

What Routes Are Being Offered?

The Time Out article says this.

Centred around Paris’s Gare du Nord train station, routes will stretch as far as 800km in a star shape across Europe, encompassing major destinations such as Madrid, Lisbon, Porto, Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen and even Edinburgh.

A map on the Midnight Trains web site, shows these individual routes.

  • Paris and Barcelona
  • Paris and Edinburgh
  • Paris and Madrid
  • Paris and Porto
  • Paris, Brussels, Hamburg and Copenhagen
  • Paris, Brussels, Hamburg and Berlin
  • Paris, Milan and Venice
  • Paris, Florence and Rome

I’m sure this list will grow.

Some Detailed Looks At Routes

I shall give a few notes about some of the proposed routes.

Paris And Barcelona

Crows would fly 831 kilometres or 516 miles.

I have gone by train between Barcelona and Paris twice. One trip is described in From Barcelona To Paris.

It looks like it takes 06:40 in a TGV without a change.

The service leaves from Barcelona Sants and arrives at Paris Lyon.

Time Out says journeys are centred on Gare Nord, so could the train access that terminal from the South?

An eight or nine hour sleeper journey would probably be convenient for train operators and passengers.

But I suspect that this route may need trains that can take advantage of the high speed nature of much of the route.

Paris And Edinburgh

Crows would fly 873 kilometres or 543 miles.

  • I have gone by train between London and Edinburgh many times and four-and-a half hours would not be an unreasonable time.
  • I have also used  Eurostar between London and Paris many times and two-and-a-quarter-hours would not be an unreasonable time.

An eight or nine hour sleeper journey would probably be convenient for train operators and passengers.

The most efficient way could be for the Paris and Edinburgh service to operate would be with a reverse at St. Pancras.

  • It could be at between one and three in the morning, as sleeper trains run slower than high speed services.
  • It would take about ten-fifteen minutes for the driver to change ends.

Would they be allowed to pick up passengers on the way through London?

  • I doubt they would be able to do this universally, but there must be a market for passengers needing to get to Edinburgh or Paris early in the morning from London.
  • During the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, on one day, I used the Caledonian Sleeper to return to London. It was packed and a sleeper train leaving for Paris and Edinburgh might pick up a substantial number of passengers after sporting or cultural events or business that finished late in the evening.
  • Timings could be arranged, so that both the Edinburgh and Paris legs were sufficient for say four or five hours sleep.

Caledonian Sleeper would probably object. But competition of this nature is often mutually beneficial.

There is also an alternative fully-electrified route that avoids the reverse at St. Pancras.

It winds its way through East London between Barking and Holloway using the North London Line.

It is feasible, but wouldn’t have the commercial advantages of a reverse in St. Pancras.

Would the Paris and Edinburgh services call at other stations?

The Lowland Caledonian Sleeper to Edinburgh and Glasgow calls at the following other stations.

  • Watford Junction – Pick up Northbound – Set down Southbound
  • Carlisle – Pick up Southbound – Set down Northbound
  • Carstairs – Pick up Southbound – Set down Northbound
  • Motherwell – Pick up Southbound – Set down Northbound

Would the Midnight Trains do something similar. Perhaps they would call at the following stations.

  • Stevenage – Pick up Northbound – Set down Southbound
  • York – Pick up Southbound – Set down Northbound
  • Newcastle – Pick up Southbound – Set down Northbound

This would create three extra sleeper services.

  • Paris and Newcastle
  • Paris and York
  • Stevenage and Edinburgh

Commercially this must be attractive, as it would require no extra rolling stock.

I also suspect providing Customs and Immigration for outgoing passengers at York and Newcastle would not be an expense, that made the stops unviable.

Paris And Madrid

Crows would fly 1057 kilometres or 657 miles.

In 2014, I used trains from Madrid to Paris and on to London, which I wrote about in From Madrid To London.

That was a trip that I planned on the move, so it could have been done faster.

Looking at the timetables, I find the following.

  • Paris and Barcelona – 6:41
  • Barcelona and Madrid – 2:45

Note

  1. All times are given in hours:minutes.
  2. A direct service without a change at Barcelona must be possible.
  3. Would this service pick up and set down at Girona, Barcelona, Camp de Tarragona and Zaragoza?

A ten or eleven hour sleeper journey would probably be feasible and convenient for train operators and passengers.

But when I look at the route map on the Midnight Trains web site, their route between Paris and Madrid appears to go further to the West.

I have a strong feeling that they are proposing to use the currently closed route via the iconic Canfranc station.

But then Wikipedia says this about plans for the future of the route and the station.

The government of Aragon has long held various ambitions for the rehabilitation of the station. Plans have been mooted to redevelop the main station building into a hotel, which would involve the construction of a new station beside it to replace it. There have been explorations of options to reopen the through line as the “western trans-Pyrenean line”; this initiative would reportedly involve the assistance of the government of Aquitaine, the adjacent French region. In February 2020, it was announced that funding from the European Union had been made available for the purpose of reopening the through line and relaunching international services.

Note.

  1. A regular rail service between Pau in France and Zaragoza in Spain would tick a lot of boxes.
  2. On the French side the Pau-Canfranc railway is a fifty-eight mile electrified single-track, standard-gauge railway.
  3. On the Spanish side, the railway is Iberian gauge.
  4. It would probably be a useful freight route.
  5. If it could take a TGV, it would enable faster TGV links between France and the Iberian nations.

It looks to me, that if it was properly rebuilt, it could be a useful standard gauge line between the high speed networks of France and Spain.

Looking at the timetables, I find the following.

  • Paris and Pau – 4:24
  • Zaragoza and Madrid – 1:35

If Pau and Zaragoza could be achieved in three hours, times would be as good or better, than the Barcelona route.

Paris And Porto

Crows would fly 1213 kilometres or 753 miles.

This is a challenging one to find the route, but I did find a current time of just over fourteen hours with lots of changes.

But from Zaragoza, there does appear to be a route via Burgos and Vigo.

It could be up to sixteen hours, so would probably be the better part of a day.

Could the Madrid and Porto services, provide a service to and from Canfranc?

Consider.

  • Canfranc station is a spectacular station in the Pyrenees.
  • It has been blessed by St. Michael.
  • I suspect many people would like to visit.
  • The station might be converted into a hotel.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see innovative arrangements in the Madrid and Porto services, so that passengers could have a visit to Canfranc.

Paris, Brussels, Hamburg And Copenhagen

Crows would fly 1027 kilometres or 638 miles.

Looking at the timetables, I find the following.

  • Paris and Brussels – 1:32
  • Brussels and Hamburg- 6:49
  • Hamburg and Copenhagen- 5:06

Note

  1. All times are given in hours:minutes.
  2. When I went between Hamburg and Copenhagen by train, I used the Bird Flight Line which involved a train ferry, where passengers had to get on the ship for the crossing. I described that trip in From Copenhagen To Hamburg By Train.
  3. The ferry is being replaced by a tunnel by 2028.
  4. It looks like it might be possible to go between Hamburg and Copenhagen by a longer route further to the North.

An eleven or twelve hour sleeper journey would probably be feasible and convenient for train operators and passengers.

I was initially surprised that the service didn’t call at Amsterdam.

  • But then there are a lot of big cities between Brussels and Amsterdam; Antwerp, Rotterdam, Schipol Airport and The Hague.
  • There is generally one train per hour (tph) between Brussels and Amsterdam.
  • Paris and Amsterdam are only 3:20 apart by Thalys, so perhaps there wouldn’t be many takers for a sleeper train.
  • It would appear that the best route between Paris and Hamburg is via Brussels and Cologne.

From friends in the area, I also get the impression, that it would take forever for the Belgians and the Dutch to decide on the calling pattern.

Paris, Brussels, Hamburg And Berlin

Crows would fly 876 kilometres or 545 miles.

Looking at the timetables, I find the following.

  • Paris and Brussels – 1:32
  • Brussels and Hamburg- 6:49
  • Hamburg and Berlin – 1:36

Note that all times are given in hours:minutes.

A ten or eleven hour sleeper journey would probably be feasible and convenient for train operators and passengers.

I was initially surprised that the service didn’t call at Cologne.

  • Thalys runs a high speed service between Paris and Cologne.
  • DB runs a high speed service between Cologne and Hamburg.
  • NightJet runs a sleeper service from Brussels and Cologne to Austria.

It could be that the demand isn’t thought to be there.

Paris, Milan And Venice

Crows would fly 845 kilometres or 525 miles.

I have done much of this route before and wrote about it in From Novara To Paris.

Looking at the timetables, I find the following.

  • Paris and Milan – 7:22
  • Milan and Venice – 2:29

Note

  1. All times are given in hours:minutes.
  2. Would this service pick up and set down at Turin and Verona?

A ten or eleven hour sleeper journey would probably be feasible and convenient for train operators and passengers.

Paris, Florence And Rome

Crows would fly 1106 kilometres or 687 miles.

Looking at the timetables, I find the following.

  • Paris and Turin – 5:42
  • Turin and Florence – 3:00
  • Florence and Rome – 1:36

Note

  1. All times are given in hours:minutes.
  2. Would this service pick up and set down at Turin and Verona?

A ten or eleven hour sleeper journey would probably be feasible and convenient for train operators and passengers.

What Rolling Stock Will Be Used?

In recent years sleeper train sets have been ordered as follows.

  • Austrian Railways from Siemens.
  • Caledonian Sleepers from CAF of Spain.

But as Midnight Trains is a French Company, I suspect the train order could go to Alstom.

On the other hand because of European procurement rules and quality, the order could go to CAF.

The CAF Mark 5 Coaches are capable of running at 100 mph and there are pictures in On The Caledonian Sleeper To Glasgow.

I do wonder, though if we’ll see a radical design, which is different to current locomotive-hauled sleeper trains.

  • Electrical multiple unit rather than locomotive hauled.
  • 125 mph capability, which could be useful on some routes.
  • A fleet of identical train sets.
  • Ability to use all the voltages on the routes.
  • Ability to work in pairs or singly dependent on the needs of the route.
  • Ability to split and join automatically in a station.
  • Ability to use the signalling on all routes, including high speed ones.
  • The trains would be built to be suitable for all loading gauges on the routes served.

Note.

  1. Given that French-designed Class 373 trains used by Eurostar, could trundle all over South London into Waterloo, I don’t think it will be difficult to design a train, that fitted the Edinburgh service.
  2. Get the design right and there could be other customers.

They would be true Pan-European trains.

When Will The Trains Start Running?

2024 is the date given by Time Out and the Midnight Trains web site.

Conclusion

I like the proposed service.

These are reasons why.

The Proposed Level Of Service

When travelling for between eight and twelve hours, you need a quality train.

Over the years, I must have used sleeper trains run by Caledonian Sleeper at least twenty times,

When they have been good, they have been very good.

The new trains from CAF don’t need for anything more.

If Midnight Trains can match Caledonian Sleeper for quality on trains, service and food, they’ll attract passengers.

The Service Is Easy To Expand And Extend

Consider, these extra services could surely be added to the  proposed network.

  • Paris and Munich
  • Paris and Switzerland.
  • Paris, Nice and Genoa

If some of the plans to connect the UK and Irish railways come to fruition, there could even be a Paris and Dublin service in the distant future.

Consider, these extensions to the proposed services.

  • Edinburgh and Glasgow 1:12
  • Rome and Naples – 1:10
  • Barcelona and Valencia – 2:40

Note that all times are given in hours:minutes.

The Service Is Very UK-Friendly

Because of Eurostar, with its two-and-a-quarter hour journey between two of Europe’s largest cities, London and Paris can almost be considered twin cities with respect to long-distance transport.

Suppose a resident of Paris wants to go for a weeks holiday birdwatching in the North of Scotland, a late afternoon Eurostar to London and the Caledonian sleeper to Inverness is a very-feasible way to travel.

Suppose, I wanted to go from London to Berlin, in the future, I will be able to get a Eurostar to Paris and a Midnight Train to Berlin.

A Good Food Offering

I would hope that the food is of a quality nature.

I am coeliac and must have gluten-free food, like probably up to one percent of people.

I have found that the higher the quality of the food, the more likely it is, that the chef knows their allergies.

Before the pandemic, the best train food in Europe on a regular service was Great Western Railway’s Pullman Dining. But because of the restrictions, I’ve not tried it lately.

 

 

June 30, 2021 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

‘Sleeper Trains’ London To Berlin And Prague A New Possibility

The title of this post, is the same as the title of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.

This is the introductory paragraph.

For those who have grown a travel bug during lockdown, the truth is that flying looks like it won’t be a viable option as a global pandemic persists. However, for those who dream to travel again, there might be some hope. With growing new interest, there are ambitious plans to take overnight ‘Sleeper trains’ services through the channel tunnel from London to cities around Europe .

I regularly use sleeper trains to Scotland, as they deliver me North of the Border for an early start or are ideal for coming back ;ate after a busy day.

As I can sleep with no trouble on a train and generally book a few days in advance, it generally works out that the cost of the sleeper one way is good value, as it avoids paying for a hotel.

Certainly, in the UK, if you use sleeper trains properly and have a rail-card, I find them convenient and good value. A couple of times, there’s also been a party in the lounge car.

It appears that the first sleeper trains will start from Brussels.

  • NightJet already run a service between Brussels and Vienna.
  • A route of Brussels and Prague via Amsterdam, Berlin and Dresden is suggested.
  • These routes could be extended to London, at some time in the future.

But if they were timed appropriately, you could take an afternoon or evening Eurostar to Brussels and have supper before you get the sleeper, either on Eurostar or in Brussels.

With sleeper trains popping up in several places in Europe and becoming more fashionable with better rolling stock, I’m sure that this sleeper train would work.

Brussels and Berlin is currently seven hours with a change, so a sleeper train without a change could probably take you to Berlin for eight in the morning, if it left Brussels at about yen at night.

April 19, 2021 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | 8 Comments

Eurostar Confirms Start Date For Amsterdam – London Through Services

The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.

Points made in the article include.

  • A preview service ran on February 4th.
  • Two services a day will run from Amsterdam Centraal to London from April 30th.
  • Journey times will be around four hours.
  • Through journeys from Rotterdam to London will be possible from May 18th.
  • Tickets will be available from February 11th.

I’m fairly sure that after the success of the London to Amsterdam Centraal service, which will be four trains per day (tpd), by the end of this year and five tpd by the end of 2021, that this could be the start of something similar.

  • Five tpd would mean a capacity of 4,500 passengers or about the same as eleven Ryanair 737 Max 8 aircraft.
  • Four hours between city centres.
  • Current prices for a trip this month are under fifty pounds or under ninety for Premium Economy.

As Paris has sixteen tpd and Brussels has seven tpd, I could see that five tpd will be increased.

  • All London to Amsterdam Centraal services stop at Brussels to pick up passengers.
  • I’m sure that a method will be found to allow Amsterdam Centraal to London trains to drop passengers at Brussels.
  • If Rotterdam will get direct services, surely Antwerp and Schipol Airport should as well.
  • Thalys between Paris and Amsterdam Centraal runs at 10 tpd.
  • Thalys and Eurostar are merging and surely Eurostar between London and Amsterdam Centraal and Thalys between Paris and Amsterdam Centraal should be combined between the Belgian and Dutch capitals.

Get the Brussels and Amsterdam Centraal route right, after the merger of Thalys and Eurostar and I can see the following.

  • Two trains per hour (tph) between Amsterdam Centraal and Brussels.
  • One tph starting in London and the other in Paris.
  • Ability to pick up and set down International and domestic passengers at the intermediate stations; Antwerp, Rotterdam and Schipol Airport.

Surely, if a two tph service works between London and Edinburgh is highly successful, two tph between Brussels and Amsterdam Centraal would be the same.

The same philosophy could then be applied to the London/Paris routes via Brussels to Cologne/Frankfurt.

  • Eurostar has stated it wants to serve the two German cities.
  • Thalys runs services between Paris and Dortmund via Brussels, Liege, Cologne and Essen.
  • The Thalys frequency between Paris and Cologne is five tpd.

The London and Paris services could combine to run a joint service into Germany.

  • Destinations could be Cologne, Dortmund and Frankfurt with stops at Liege and Aachen.
  • London and Germany could probably sustain the currently proposed Amsterdam frequency of five tpd.

I’m looking forward to taking a direct train from London to Cologne.

 

February 5, 2020 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 8 Comments

Lying Not Flying, As Nightjet Sleeper Train Reaches Brussels

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.

This is the first sentence.

Under the slogan ‘lying not flying’, Austrian Federal Railways launched its twice-weekly Wien – Brussels Nightjet overnight train on January 19.

These are some of the details of the service.

Two trains per week in both directions.

  • Brussels to Vienna on Mondays and Thursdays, leaving at 18:04 and arriving at 08:27
  • Vienna to Brussels on Sundays and Wednesdays, leaving at 20:38 and arriving at 10:55
  • The timings are such that you could leave London on the 12:58 Eurostar and have nearly two hours to get the sleeper.
  • Coming back, you would probably arrive in London at 14:05

I shall have to try this service.

January 20, 2020 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | 14 Comments

NightJet Expands To Amsterdam And Brussels

The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the Railway Gazette.

The Amsterdam Service

This is said about the NightJet service to Amsterdam.

  • It will run daily.
  • It will run between Amsterdam and Vienna via Munich.
  • Service will start in December 2020.
  • Journey time will be fourteen hours.
  • The Dutch government is supporting the service with €6.7million.

The Dutch Minister for Infrastructure is also quoted as saying that International rail traffic to and from The Netherlands has increased by 13% this summer and that they are targeting intra-European journeys of up to six hours.

Given that it has recently been announced that the Customs and Immigration problems on the Amsterdam to London services will soon be resolved, I can shhe the following happening in the next couple of years.

  • Tourists taking Eurostar from London to Amsterdam and then exploring the City before taking a NightJet to Vienna, after a night or two in Amsterdam.
  • More tourists exploring Europe by rail.
  • Eiurostar needing to run four daily services between London and Amsterdam.

I feel the Dutch Government are backing an obvious winner.

The Brussels Service

This is said about the NightJet service to Brussels.

  • ÖBB will trial a service to Brussels from January 2020
  • It will run between Brussels and Vienna via Dusseldorf and Innsbruck.
  • It will initially run two days per week.

The aim would be to go daily, at the same time as the start of the Amsterdam service.

Everything said about the Amsterdam service would apply to the Brussels service, but would it be used by European politicians going to and from their home countries.

Conclusion

These two services will open up Central Europe to civilised comfortable train travel for passengers starting in the Benelux countries, Northern France and South-East England.

Vienna is a hub for other NightJet services going further East, so after a day or two the options to travel further are many and varied.

Will we ever see a London and Vienna sleeper?

We might!

But consider!

  • The last Eurostar from London to Brussels leaves at 18:04 and arrives at arrives at 21:05
  • The last |Eurostar from London to Paris leaves at 20:01 and arrives at 23:17
  • You can get a good meal in the two top classes; Standard Premier and Business Premier.

It may be a better idea to run a later service from London to Brussels to connect with the NightJet

 

 

October 11, 2019 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 4 Comments

What Do You Do With An Unwanted Eurostar Train?

In Edition 865 of Rail Magazine, there is a short article which is entitled Eurostar ‘373s’ Leased To Thalys.

This is the first paragraph.

Class 373s that were due to be scrapped have instead been leased to Thalys for a year.

Class 373 trains and Thalys rolling stock are very similar, as both were built by GEC-Alsthom around the same time.

So just as ScotRail borrowed a few Class 365 trains to make up for a shortage, Thalys are borrowing a pair of Class 373 trains.

I wonder if passengers between Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, that they are getting a train, that was destined for the scrapyard?

November 7, 2018 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

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