An updated 18th edition of Europe by Rail: The Definitive Guide will be published on 24 October 2024. We shall provide more detailed information on this 18th edition about a fortnight prior to publication. Meanwhile, some of what you read here still relates to the 17th edition. That was first published in 2022 and most recently reprinted (with minor updates) in February 2024.
It is perfectly possible to explore Europe in a sustainable way which does not wreck the planet. Just take the train. Travelling by rail is a chance to see Europe’s varied landscapes and make the most of the journey. You’ll meet interesting people along the way and overall your journey will be more eco-friendly than if you fly. On your first trip, you’ll most likely try and go too far and too fast. Slow down and enjoy those serendipitous discoveries which come with exploring Europe by rail on an unhurried itinerary.
For over 30 years, successive editions of Europe by Rail have shaped travellers’ plans, encouraging readers to travel slowly, tread lightly and treasure that sense of adventure which comes from making a real journey. Long before slow travel became so fashionable, early editions of this book were highlighting the merits of making time for fine journeys.
With tips on ticketing, fares, rail passes and accommodation, Europe by Rail has become the definitive guide to exploring the continent by train. This 18th edition of the book - published in October 2024 - highlights the rich and intriguing possibilities that are there for the taking, be it for a handful of short trips or for a more extended tour.
This 18th edition is published at a time of great uncertainty. We’ve endured a terrible pandemic, closely followed by war in eastern Europe. These events, set against a backdrop of resurgent nationalism, have dimmed the affirming flame of pan-European collaboration. Some may be tempted to stay at home, but it is at times like this that we should venture out. Travelling by train is convivial in a way that is rarely encountered on planes and has never been a feature of car travel. We have swapped stories with passengers on trains in Spain and Bulgaria, we have been on trains marooned in deep midwinter snow in Scandinavia and we have shared snacks and life stories with strangers on night trains that slipped in the dark past silent factories in unnamed towns. We love that sense of community and solidarity which underpins rail travel. The train is a great unifier, linking people and places divided by frontiers.
Over the years, we have criss-crossed Europe by train, making fast journeys on sleek expresses and slow meanderings on remote branch lines. We have taken slow trains through Belarus and even slower trains through Bohemia. For this 18th edition of the book, we have improved our coverage of France and Poland. And we have removed routes in the western Balkans where cross-border rail connections are currently so woeful.
Despite these cutbacks, there has never been a better time to explore Europe by rail. Trains are back in fashion and the great rail renaissance is introducing new possibilities. Long abandoned lines are being reopened, and there’s now huge demand for overnight journeys in comfortable sleeping cars. Is it not a matter of wonder that one can board a night train in Salzburg and alight next morning in Warsaw, Paris or on Italy’s Cinque Terre coast? Or travel from Zagreb directly to Zurich? This really is just like teleportation.
Back in 2022, Europe marked a special anniversary: 50 years of Interrail. The Interrail pass has since 1972 been a potent force in fostering mutual understanding between Europeans. We know that many readers of this book, be they young or old, will be using Interrail passes (either traditional paper passes or the excellent new mobile pass). Interrail (along with a sister scheme called Eurail – for those not resident in Europe) remains in our view the best ticketing option for those intent on following some of the longer journeys in this book. Exploring Europe by train with an Interrail pass is an intergenerational cultural practice which has shaped many Europeans’ understanding of their home continent.
With the development of Europe’s first railways, people were suddenly on the move, with the restless English often leading the way. The guidebook market blossomed as early rail travellers packed a Baedeker guidebook before embarking on a new journey. In travelling by train around Europe, it is still possible to rediscover the sheer joy of the journey itself.
So in Europe by Rail we put the journey at the centre. We present 50 rail routes that between them cover the full gamut of European rail travel. There are routes where trains speed across great plains, routes where slow trains dawdle from one village to another and there are routes where trains traverse harsh tundra and great mountain ranges. In addition to our 50 routes, we offer 26 mini-features (called Sidetracks); these are bite-size teasers which invite you to reflect on rail-related themes or venture into regions not covered by our 50 routes.
Travel by train across Europe and you will inevitably be struck by the sheer variety of our continent. Our 50 routes reflect that mix. We include some high-speed hops, where you can cover a lot of ground fast. But we also highlight slow trains that follow less-frequented rail routes. It is on such journeys that the texture and detail of European life is most easily appreciated, whether it be in the changing landscapes beyond the carriage window, the architecture of villages you pass through along the way or in the faces and accents of fellow travellers with whom you share a railway carriage. If you have a choice of fast or slow services, always opt for the slow train.
Try an overnight journey too. Few experiences compare with opening the blinds of the night sleeper in the morning to find a fragile blanket of morning mist over a foreign landscape. You can read more about night trains in a dedicated section of the book.
Classic destinations like the Rhine, Switzerland and the northern shores of the Mediterranean no longer command attention to the exclusion of other parts of Europe. The routes in this book will take you far beyond the Arctic Circle and on mountain railways across the Pyrenees and the Alps. We shall lead you from eastern Europe to the Irish hills, from Balkan byways to the Baltic and the Bay of Biscay.
Some readers might try and undertake a dozen or more of these routes within a month. We would just sound a note of caution. That way madness lies. Better to focus a little, and take time to stop off here and there along the way. Don’t travel every day. Enjoy the change of pace by making two-night stops rather than moving on each morning to somewhere new. Branch out from main rail routes and choose slower trains on at least some parts of your journey to discover the joys of slow travel. You can get some inspiration by reading our Manifesto for Slow Travel at www.slowtraveleurope.eu.
Rethinking our relationship with travel is no mere luxury. It’s now an absolute necessity to save our home planet. Across much of Europe, people are switching from air to rail. Train travel is often modestly priced, generally very comfortable and appeals to the pieties of a new generation of environmentally aware travellers. The train comes with green credentials.
Travel light if you possibly can. Heavy luggage and trains do not make good companions. Think about what apps you’ll need for your smart phone (see our thoughts on this on p), bearing in mind that access to good maps and timetable information will smooth your journey. Try Eurail’s Rail Planner app for starters. It’s incredibly useful and hugely compelling. You may want to consult the European Rail Timetable (ERT), a regularly updated compendium which is a masterpiece of compression (see www.europeanrailtimetable.eu). ERT also publish a useful rail map of Europe, but for more detail look to Mike Ball’s wonderful European Railway Atlas series (www.europeanrailwayatlas.com). This guidebook, good maps and reliable timetable data are three great assets in the rail traveller’s armamentarium.
The best way to get started is to read the “How to use this book” section (pp14-15). You will find useful maps on the inside front cover and inside back cover showing the routes in this volume (numbered 1 to 50). And you may like to know that we have a website to accompany this book at www.europebyrail.eu. There you’ll find more detailed maps of our 50 routes.
Enjoy the ride.
Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Berlin Wannsee, Germany (September 2024)
