Fantasy Ferroviaire

Trains as they should be…

ADIÓS FLIGHT SHAME

Pre-pandemic, half of Europe’s air passengers were flying on routes of less than 3000km already connected by rail- what needs to improve is the provision of direct night trains, especially over longer distances.

Inspired by the best science fiction, my timetables use real-life constraints (existing infrastructure capacity, rolling stock and locomotives). They are limited to 200kph even on high-speed lines.

The fantasy element is to assume political will to ensure technical interoperability, cooperation, and investment in rolling stock for long-term sustainability rather than the environmentally destructive model of low-cost aviation.

EN6: JOINING THE DOTS…

A final push: new EuroCity services and sleeping car portions bring in the remaining links to cover all combinations of the 6 major capitals & 11 of the most popular air shuttle routes in Europe.

Maximising the benefits, Amsterdam, western Belarus, northern England and Vilnius are brought into the family. Attaching sleeping cars from existing ÖBB NightJets to day train routes adds Roma-Berlin/Warszawa and Malmö-København-Wien/ Budapest.