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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?

#221

Post by throw__away7391 »

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’d arrive in a new city each morning feeling refreshed because of the train’s sleeping accommodations.

Oh man this has definitely not been my experience! Last I tried this I booked a "VIP" sleeper car with a private bathroom/shower, and it was anything but. The constant shaking of the train side to side coupled with a bunch of young American girls running up and down the halls screaming to each other all night meant I didn't get any sleep at all. To make things worse, the same girls making noise all night used up all the water, leaving me covered in soap with no way to rinse it off, and still 8+ hours until my hotel check-in. I can usually sleep anywhere regardless of noise or light or mattress quality, but sleeping a train is a new category of difficulty.

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

#222

Post by kortilla »

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…

Sleeper cars in the US cost more than a hotel for a night. Saving the cost of a hotel is not really a selling point

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

#223

Post by bpye »

throw5959 wrote: post #155
sebtron wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Since we're citing European trains, let's also cite European airports - I can arrive to the airport for an EU flight 20 minutes before take off and still have plenty of time to get everything sorted out. And I'm out of the airport within 15 minutes after landing - usually stepping right into a subway or something. I don't think it's such a huge margin if you fix your airports, which is going to be many orders of magn…

> I can arrive to the airport for an EU flight 20 minutes before take off and still have plenty of time to get everything sorted out.

Maybe you can but none will recommend that you do, for example Paris recommends at least 2 hours [0]. And if you need to check luggage you have no chance if you're only 20 minutes early, on a train you just carry it onto the carriage.

[0] - https://www.parisaeroport.fr/en/passengers/flight-preparatio...

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

#224

Post by thatcat »

likeabatterycar wrote: post #211
thatcat wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh yes, the common US route of Auckland to NYC. Not having to stop when you make that flight must save a bit of time for 10s if not 100s of people.

Your sarcasm is offset by your lack of knowledge and ignorance of facts.

Your airplane facts are offset by your lack of train culture and ignorance of fundamental infrastructure efficiencies that are offered by high speed trains and not airplanes.

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

#225

Post by bpye »

gherkinnn wrote: post #14
bitschubser_ wrote: post #2

If you now could just book a train between these cities on a common european platform (or local transportation provider...)... one could dream... just booking a train and getting a quote crossing multiple borders (without interrail) is just a nightmare :(

Trainline works well enough including refunds, seat selection, etc. It can't book the Eurostar as part of a larger trip and there might be similar limitations.

Of course - they add their own fees, though I guess there's nothing wrong with using them to find a route.

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

#226

Post by bpye »

awiesenhofer wrote: post #213
magicalhippo wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's gotten quite a lot worse in the past few years. In 2023 one quarter of all trains were delayed or cancelled. The gov't hasn't allocated enough for maintenance for several decades, and we're paying the price now. The National Audit Office recently released[1] a scalding report about it. [1]: https://www.riksrevisjonen.no/rapporter-mappe/no-2023-2024/s...

> The gov't hasn't allocated enough for maintenance for several decades, and we're paying the price now. Ah yes, the german approach.

It does amuse me somewhat that every country believes they have the worst train network, the UK is no different.

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

#227

Post by bpye »

tills13 wrote: post #207
betaby wrote: post #75

Meanwhile in Canada https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/via-rain-passengers-...

I think in our defense there is simply not enough people and towns to support a rail network like this. A shame, really, 'cause a WestJet flight from Victoria to Calgary is way more expensive than it needs to be and don't even get me started about cross-country flights. I would accept if Via rail was cheaper. I have been looking at those cross-country trips and it's literally $4k CAD per person. I get that it's accom…

Nearly two thirds of Canada's population live within the Windsor-Quebec City corridor - some 40 million people. Similarly Vancouver, BC - Portland, OR has relatively high population density. Population is not the reason for rail failing here.

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

#229

Post by starbugs »

ulrischa wrote: post #181

In Germany: Nowhere because the Deutsche Bahn is late again: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-a-third-of-long-distance-train... https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/14/its-the-sam...

Well, nowhere wouldn't be that bad actually. At least, you wouldn't be that far from home. In practice, you go somewhere. But you usually end up in some place in the middle of nowhere in between your departure point and your destination. Also, it's freezing and the next train (which of course doesn't arrive on time) will be overloaded - that is, if you're lucky. Most of the time, there won't even be a train but a "replacement bus service" which commonly is a single small bus that about 200 people try to board simultaneously after they waited for about an hour and a half.

The whole torture is accompanied by awkward excuses like "unexpected staff shortage", "technical disruption", "signal repairs", or "delay due to earlier journey" which you can look at in an app that tends to not work while you wait and freeze.

Bonus: If all else fails, you can play "Bahn Bingo" while you reflect on the experience of your trip: https://www.bahnbingo.de/

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

#230

Post by wishinghand »

pembrook wrote: post #152
yndoendo wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

This is a false conspiracy narrative that belongs on Reddit in the r/fuckcars filter bubble. Sure, the automotive industry stood to benefit from the decline of rail travel in the US. But they didn’t really need to do anything for that to happen on its own. Reality is far less interesting than that. Turns out when you have tons of fertile land, even pre-industrialization your population tends to spread out a bit (the…

I’d take this comment more seriously if there weren’t car companies that bought up rail networks and shut them down.
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