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Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?

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Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?

#121

Post by ghaff »

ant6n wrote: post #89
tzury wrote: post #80

About 20 years ago, I visited most of Europe’s major cities over the course of a two-month trip, traveling primarily by night train. Each overnight ride saved me the cost of a hostel or guesthouse, and I’d arrive in a new city each morning feeling refreshed because of the train’s sleeping accommodations. There used to be a similar service between Toronto and Montreal (both directions), where the train would pause for…

The state railways have large exited night trains as a form of transport, due to economics, although it’s a much more sustainable form of transportation compared to aviation. Since Europe has a liberalized market in the rail sector, some startups are trying to fill the gap. European sleeper operates a night train on the route Brussel-Amsterdam-Berlin-Prague, using old rented rolling stock. I’m involved with Luna Rail…

I've taken a few night trains. They were mostly a fun experience, but they weren't in general especially time or cost efficient (though you have to factor in saving a night of hotel).

It also helps if you're generally going city center to city center and aren't lugging large suitcases around. (Which you might think would be a better fit for trains but really aren't for the most part.)

Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?

#122

Post by ghaff »

phh wrote: post #48
portaouflop wrote: post #28

In Germany not so far because the train will be 2+ hours late

In France you can go very far (Paris Barcelona, 1000km in 6h47, Lille Barcelona 150km in 8h32), but only in the 30 biggest cities, and going from/to Paris. If you take two random points in the map (or even population), you'll likely not be able to do that route in a reasonable amount of time.

France is known for being very Paris-centric in terms of transportation infrastructure.

Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?

#123

Post by ChumpGPT »

It sounds romantic until they cancel your train or it is hours late, missed transfers, dirty cabins, etc. It's all a crap shoot on whether you get a nice train and everything goes smoothly. I've traveled by train in Germany, Poland, Czechia, Austria, Hungary, Ukraine, etc.

Driving your vehicle is the best way to go if you want to enjoy the sights on the way.

Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?

#124

Post by orwin »

DoneWithAllThat wrote: post #19

Since train fans always like to point this out when it comes to flying: this is how far you can get in 8 hours on the train . It doesn’t include the time to get to the station, the buffer time you need (if your train leaves at 0700 you can’t plan to get there at 06:59), and the time to travel from the destination station to your actual destination. Actual travel time for an 8 hour train ride is probably at least clos…

my wednesday morning train is at 0654 and i arrive by bike between 0650 and 00652.

Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?

#125

Post by likeabatterycar »

tzury wrote: post #80

About 20 years ago, I visited most of Europe’s major cities over the course of a two-month trip, traveling primarily by night train. Each overnight ride saved me the cost of a hostel or guesthouse, and I’d arrive in a new city each morning feeling refreshed because of the train’s sleeping accommodations. There used to be a similar service between Toronto and Montreal (both directions), where the train would pause for…

> There used to be a similar service between Toronto and Montreal (both directions), where the train would pause for several hours midway so passengers would arrive at around 7:30 a.m. well-rested.

That trip is 1h 15m by air with 30 flights a day each way. That train doesn't exist anymore because it's impractical and people's time is valuable. We stopped taking Conestoga wagons from New York to California for the same reason.

Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?

#126

Post by likeabatterycar »

yndoendo wrote: post #113
tzury wrote: post #80

About 20 years ago, I visited most of Europe’s major cities over the course of a two-month trip, traveling primarily by night train. Each overnight ride saved me the cost of a hostel or guesthouse, and I’d arrive in a new city each morning feeling refreshed because of the train’s sleeping accommodations. There used to be a similar service between Toronto and Montreal (both directions), where the train would pause for…

I would travel more around the USA if we had a decedent high-speed rail system. Spent too much time flying, red-eyes, and driving for work, 7-12+ hours one way, and hate those modes of transportation. They may get you from point A to B but your time is wasted along with the enjoyment of the trip. Unfortunately the Oil industry won over the politicians in the USA with donations, legal bribes, and they prevent the buil…

Can you provide sources for the Big Oil conspiracy you cite? Because nationwide high speed rail isn't as easy - or practical - as you think. California hadn't been able to build a train a fraction of that distance without delays and squandering massive amounts of money.

The PNW has been unable to build it from Portland to Vancouver.

The US is many times larger than any European country or Japan. There are US states similar in size to EU countries with comparable rail networks.

The US literally invented air travel, which made traveling long distances by train largely obsolete.

Aircraft aren't limited to where they can go by rails.

So please explain with all these concrete examples of failure how it's a corporate conspiracy and not general purpose government ineptitude?

Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?

#128

Post by panick21_ »

portaouflop wrote: post #41
jillesvangurp wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Literally happened to me yesterday on the way back to Berlin. I arrived 2 hours late. In fairness there was what was labelled "a personal accident" on the track, which is a euphemism for somebody jumping in front of a train. Which unfortunately happens and needs to be dealt with properly and is not really something anybody can do much about. But delays are fairly common on that particular route (Berlin-Amsterdam). Th…

Privatisation was a mistake - it’s only gone downhill since they are able to make profit and cut costs. We need to get essential services such as public transport back under state control or the quality will continue to deteriorate

Privatization has little to do with it in German. 'Die Bahn' is 100% public.

We should actually identify the actual technical problems and focus on spending the money to fix them.

Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?

#129

Post by sebtron »

likeabatterycar wrote: post #125
tzury wrote: post #80

About 20 years ago, I visited most of Europe’s major cities over the course of a two-month trip, traveling primarily by night train. Each overnight ride saved me the cost of a hostel or guesthouse, and I’d arrive in a new city each morning feeling refreshed because of the train’s sleeping accommodations. There used to be a similar service between Toronto and Montreal (both directions), where the train would pause for…

> There used to be a similar service between Toronto and Montreal (both directions), where the train would pause for several hours midway so passengers would arrive at around 7:30 a.m. well-rested. That trip is 1h 15m by air with 30 flights a day each way. That train doesn't exist anymore because it's impractical and people's time is valuable. We stopped taking Conestoga wagons from New York to California for the sam…

That was an example of a train going slower on purpose to let people sleep a full night. A regular high-spees train could do that trip in 2-3 hours, beating a 1:15 flight in convenience by a huge margin.

Re: Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h?

#130

Post by lotsoweiners »

yndoendo wrote: post #113
tzury wrote: post #80

About 20 years ago, I visited most of Europe’s major cities over the course of a two-month trip, traveling primarily by night train. Each overnight ride saved me the cost of a hostel or guesthouse, and I’d arrive in a new city each morning feeling refreshed because of the train’s sleeping accommodations. There used to be a similar service between Toronto and Montreal (both directions), where the train would pause for…

I would travel more around the USA if we had a decedent high-speed rail system. Spent too much time flying, red-eyes, and driving for work, 7-12+ hours one way, and hate those modes of transportation. They may get you from point A to B but your time is wasted along with the enjoyment of the trip. Unfortunately the Oil industry won over the politicians in the USA with donations, legal bribes, and they prevent the buil…

I’m not sure about that. I’d imagine that trains are going to have the worst of both worlds. They will take a long time (closer to amount of time to drive to destination). They also will have costs approaching that of a flight. To me a train trip makes sense if you enjoy trains and feel that the travel itself is part of the reward.
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