Where can you go in Europe by train in 8h? • Hacker News Board

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

#51

Post by jorams » Sat, Dec 28, 2024, 3:01 PM UTC

Svip wrote: post #3

Title shared on HN left me somewhat disappointed. The actual time appears to be "Where can you go by train in 8h?", though that's somewhat less clear. It only seems to include central stations of larger cities, though I was hoping for a list of shortest travel times between stations in Europe, as more of a thought/data experiment. Or put another way; which two train stations in Europe have the least distance between…

> I was hoping for a list of shortest travel times between stations in Europe, as more of a thought/data experiment. Or put another way; which two train stations in Europe have the least distance between them?

That would not be very interesting. I live close to a train station that's less than 5 minutes (by train) away from the nearest other train station. The other train station is the city hub with many connections to other cities. There is nothing interesting about this connection, it simply replaces a 20 minute bike or bus ride. There are many such connections.

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

#52

Post by leobg » Sat, Dec 28, 2024, 3:01 PM UTC

lionkor wrote: post #15

withinboredom wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My one and only sleeper train experience involved being woken up at 3am by police with guns to check passports. Never again.

My one and only 6 hour sleeper train was in Russia. It was cozy, amazing views at night, and they wake you when your destination is coming up. I think when you share anecdotes like yours, its good to share anecdotes like mine, to balance it out :)

Which route? Does it still exist?

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

#53

Post by pjmlp » Sat, Dec 28, 2024, 3:03 PM UTC

chmod775 wrote: post #47

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…

I always just arrive 5 minutes prior to departure. If I miss a train, not a big deal. I'll just take the next one sometime later. Most train tickets are flexible and merely specify the day you're going to take a particular connection. You might miss out on your seat reservation though. Also I might just be unlucky that it takes me >1h just to get from my apartment to the airport in Berlin, but generally trains beat a…

Good luck doing that in Iberian Penisula trains.

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

#54

Post by helpfulContrib » Sat, Dec 28, 2024, 3:04 PM UTC

ctenb wrote: post #29

The geographical information is not 100% accurate. E.g. it labels "Enschede" as being in Germany, but it's in the netherlands. Cool app though.

Enschede is serviced by German rail operators though, so that might be a reason. In fact a lot of trains in this region of the world are operated by neighboring countries ..

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

#55

Post by CalRobert » Sat, Dec 28, 2024, 3:04 PM UTC

withinboredom wrote: post #4

Svip wrote: post #3

Title shared on HN left me somewhat disappointed. The actual time appears to be "Where can you go by train in 8h?", though that's somewhat less clear. It only seems to include central stations of larger cities, though I was hoping for a list of shortest travel times between stations in Europe, as more of a thought/data experiment. Or put another way; which two train stations in Europe have the least distance between…

My one and only sleeper train experience involved being woken up at 3am by police with guns to check passports. Never again.

To counter that, the best sleeper train I ever took was from Beijing to Shanghai, and it felt like I'd travelled to the future (this was in 2008).

Second best might be Portland, OR to Sacramento, though I might have liked it if had been more like travelling to the past (I miss proper dining cars).

European ones have been cheap, cheerful, and uncomfortable, but this was 15 years ago for trips like Florence to Prague, IIRC.

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

#56

Post by sloowm » Sat, Dec 28, 2024, 3:06 PM UTC

jillesvangurp wrote: post #35

portaouflop wrote: post #28

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

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…

There are things that can be done about people jumping in front of trains. Making sure the rails are not accessible with fences around them. Putting camera's at spots where people can get past the fences. In high risk stations you can put walls and gates in that only open when a train can be boarded.

It's all just a lack of investment. If the budget for rail and other infrastructure matched the budget for car infrastructure rail would be way better than cars.

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

#57

Post by yoavm » Sat, Dec 28, 2024, 3:07 PM UTC

hagbard_c wrote: post #31

A rather incomplete list, at least for those starting from Sweden which only seems to allow access to neighbouring Scandinavian countries according to it. Well, no, I regularly - about once a month - take a train from there to the Netherlands, via Denmark and Germany. Given the presence of a Book through Deutsche Bahn button for all trips I'd expect that option to be available but alas, it's Denmark or bust.

You take a train from Sweden to the Netherlands in 8 hours? From where in Sweden? I've done the Stockholm - Amsterdam route a couple of times, and it's usually closer to 16 hours.

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

#58

Post by macintux » Sat, Dec 28, 2024, 3:08 PM UTC

FartyMcFarter wrote: post #50

louthy wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If there’s a train every 30 mins then sure it’s worth optimising, missing a train isn’t like missing a flight most of the time.

That is only true in the simplest scenario of taking a train on a flexible ticket and without any transfers. As soon as you have transfers in the mix (as you often would if travelling longer distances) or stricter tickets, not making it to the train is usually a really bad option.

Can we at least agree that for better or worse, train stations are typically smaller, faster to navigate, and missing significant security bottlenecks that cause significant delays in accessing airplanes?

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

#59

Post by CalRobert » Sat, Dec 28, 2024, 3:08 PM UTC

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…

Train stations tend to be in the middle of the city, or close to it, while airports are a ways out. I also don't deal with bag check, security lines, etc. on the train.

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

#60

Post by TypingOutBugs » Sat, Dec 28, 2024, 3:08 PM UTC

CalRobert wrote: post #55

withinboredom wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My one and only sleeper train experience involved being woken up at 3am by police with guns to check passports. Never again.

To counter that, the best sleeper train I ever took was from Beijing to Shanghai, and it felt like I'd travelled to the future (this was in 2008). Second best might be Portland, OR to Sacramento, though I might have liked it if had been more like travelling to the past (I miss proper dining cars). European ones have been cheap, cheerful, and uncomfortable, but this was 15 years ago for trips like Florence to Prague,…

The Zephyr route from San Francisco to Chicago still has a proper dining cart, viewing cart, and is 52 hours long. Surprisingly comfortable and the only way you can access the Ruby Canyon in Colorado outside of a kayak.