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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?

#251

Post by aziaziazi »

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 don’t understand the density argument: HST aren’t supposed to connect every places, that’s totally ineffective.

Instead you build rails between major hubs (those that got the biggest airports usually) and add stops on some medium cities that happen to be on the way. It serves those living close enough of the connected cities that want to go close enough to another connected city. _close enough_ depends on the local connection options like regional trains, bus, bikes, trams… and if there’s nothing you just grab a cab or rental car. The city of departure can be reached with your own personal car which is usually a bit cheaper and faster (therefore more range). Most travels destination are big cities or close enough (business, tourism…).

Rail planing is a Pareto game.

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

#253

Post by blackmoon42 »

GuB-42 wrote: post #193
Beijinger wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. It was called Interrail. You had to have an EU Passport to buy this ticket. And be below 26 years of age. I think it still exits.

It still exists: https://www.interrail.eu/ You don't have to be younger than 26 to buy one, not anymore, but it is cheaper if you are. If you are a EU citizen, it gets you free, unlimited travel by train in most European countries. If you are not a EU citizen, there is the Eurail pass that is similar. But that's the theory. In practice there are important limitations: - You can't use it in your home country, except f…

And if you have your 18th birthday, you might apply to discover EU. An EU lottery to give interrail passes to young adults for free.

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

#254

Post by epolanski »

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

I disagree here, privatization is good as there's more competition.

It's really good we have Italo in Italy.

Prices are down, service quality is up.

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

#255

Post by aziaziazi »

For those that think it’s impossible for the USA because of the density or geography or oil economy, please have a look at that map:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Russia

edit: traveled with the transiberian as a tourist, it was full of workers, business man, students, whatever, hopping on and of in different places for connections or destinations. Best human experience ever in all three classes.

Edit2: definitely not high speed. I think that’s a better way of life.

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

#256

Post by ascorbic »

yumraj wrote: post #179

Question: many of these could be day trips, if train schedule permits, if one is trying to cover many cities during a single trip. I know it’s not an ideal way to visit Europe, but just humor me please. What’s a good city to make the base, which has good connectivity with as many different cities in different countries as possible, and is a good destination in itself?

Paris is probably your best bet by those criteria.

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

#257

Post by metabagel »

lagadu wrote: post #169
caseyy wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought the same as I was reading the comment you're responding to. Arriving rested after public transport? Get a load of that guy :) Not sure how anyone does that, but of course it would be nice to learn this dark magic.

These are trains with sleeping cabins and actual beds you sleep in. It's better than many hostels.

I rode in a sleeper car in December 1999 in Australia, between Melbourne and Sydney, and it was an unpleasant experience. It was a jerky, bumpy, noisy ride, somebody kept going between the cars for smoke breaks and the smell wafted into our cabin, and there was a baby crying in the cabin next door.

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

#258

Post by gcanyon »

aziaziazi wrote: post #255

For those that think it’s impossible for the USA because of the density or geography or oil economy, please have a look at that map: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Russia edit: traveled with the transiberian as a tourist, it was full of workers, business man, students, whatever, hopping on and of in different places for connections or destinations. Best human experience ever in all three classes. E…

I'm curious what you intend by your comparison to the Russian train system -- Russia has more distance to cover/is more spread out, but the U.S. has over twice as many miles of track. I'm pretty confident that that comparison doesn't hold if we compare passenger rail miles, but I think the point is that the track is there in the U.S., it's just that few people here find passenger rail compelling as an alternative to car/plane transportation.

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

#259

Post by chgs »

caseyy wrote: post #158
Beijinger wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I’d arrive in a new city each morning feeling refreshed because of the train’s sleeping accommodations." Aeh, where were you travelling? Many countries did not have sleeper trains. Don't get me wrong. I did the same, travelling at night in trains, and it saved me a night in a hotel. But I did not arrive well rested, I arrived train wrecked.

I thought the same as I was reading the comment you're responding to. Arriving rested after public transport? Get a load of that guy :) Not sure how anyone does that, but of course it would be nice to learn this dark magic.

I took a train from New York to Miami a few months ago, very restful, very civilised, and that was in a roomette, not even a full sleeper.

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

#260

Post by chgs »

VBprogrammer wrote: post #175
bialpio wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"sleeper train" is the key here. Another keyword to search for is "couchette", I think that's how it's called in some places. See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couchette_car and the map.

I've used the Caledonian Sleeper a couple of times. The first time it worked reasonably well, I got a reasonable amount of sleep. The second time not so much, not really any fault of the train, I just didn't relax enough to get a reasonable amount of sleep. Both times I'd say well rested would be a stretch. The first time felt a bit like a magic carpet in that I got somewhere while using up no useful hours but it sti…

The lowland sleeper London-Glasgow/Edinburgh isn’t long enough for a good nights sleep in my view.
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