Pages tagged: timetables

European Rail News
News
published on 11 October 2021
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Each year in early autumn, rail operators across Europe unveil details of new services, and then release tickets for beyond the date of the timetable change in mid-December. We take a look at ticket release dates for train services from mid-December 2021 on into early 2022.
News
published on 10 October 2021
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Bookings open on 13 October for early 2022 train travel in Germany. Here's a sneak preview of what to expect in the new Deutsche Bahn rail timetable that will come into effect on Sunday 12 December 2021. The accent in the 2022 rail schedules for Germany is on speed, connectivity and comfort.
Practical Info
published on 18 May 2021
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Milan, Budapest and Berlin are spots where hapless travellers are prone to make for the wrong station, but of course it can happen in any city with multiple stations, and particularly where visitors are perhaps not familiar with the local geography and the various station names. And a last-minute change of departure station can and does happen.
Notes
published on 1 May 2021
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
We count it as a great privilege to have been allowed to publish each monthly Newslines column from the European Rail Timetable (ERT) on this website. It was ten years ago today that we received that permission from the then publishers of the timetable. We take a moment to delve back into ERT history.
News
published on 25 September 2020
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
On 31 October Berlin's new airport - dubbed BER - will open to passengers. We take a look at train services to the new airport and changes that are afoot at the former Schönefeld Airport that will secure a new identity as BER Terminal 5.
News
published on 22 September 2020
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
The opening in 2016 of the Gotthard Base Tunnel led to big time savings on the Zürich to Milan route, and now there are further improvements in the offing. Earlier this month, the Ceneri Base Tunnel was officially opened. It is a new link offering much faster journeys through Switzerland’s southernmost canton of Ticino, used by all fast trains that follow the Gotthard route south into Italy.
Journeys
published on 15 April 2020
by Paul Scraton
Paul Scraton recalls his first European rail adventure back in 1999. Armed with an Interrail pass and the Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable and accompanied by two friends, Paul travelled from Zürich to Prague by train. It was the first long rail leg in a European tour.
Opinion
published on 29 March 2020
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Perhaps a future generation of travellers will look back at the international rail timetables for early April 2020, barely able to believe that Europe could have become so fragmented. But will they even be able to find out what the timetables were? In this digital age, we do just wonder whether scholars a century hence will be able to find copies of the railway timetables which were applicable in this difficult period.
History
published on 23 March 2020
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Looking through our bookshelves recently, we stumbled upon our copy of the Great Western Railway (GWR) timetable for the early months of 1902. Being largely confined to indoor activities these days, we took the opportunity to touch base with railway services of yesteryear.
Notes
published on 17 January 2020
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Brendan Fox’s contribution to the European Rail Timetable extends over four decades. He was appointed Assistant Editor in 1982, moving up to Editor in 1985. He has now retired - for the second time in fact. Here's our tribute to Brendan.
News
published on 4 October 2019
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
High-speed trains between France and Switzerland are these days run entirely by Lyria. The operator introduces new timetables from Sunday 15 December 2019. Not everyone is happy with the proposed changes. We summarise the most important changes.
News
published on 30 November 2018
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Here’s a summary of a few of the changes to train services in the United Kingdom and Ireland which will be introduced with the timetable changes in December 2018.
News
published on 11 November 2017
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
A new timetable comes into effect on 20 November that changes the frequency of Thello Eurocity services on the route from Marseille via Nice to Milan. Read on for further details.
Practical Info
published on 4 November 2017
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Next month sees new railway timetables starting in many European countries. We review what Berliners can expect when those new 2018 schedules come into effect on Sunday 10 December 2017. The highlight is a new fast link from Berlin to Munich, knocking two hours off the current journey time.
Opinion
published on 16 May 2017
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
The surveys of passenger numbers which underpinned Richard Beeching’s 1963 report on the future of Britain’s railways were conducted in the last week of April 1961. So it is interesting to look at the pattern of train services which prevailed at that time.
News
published on 4 December 2016
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
New rail timetables debut across Europe on 11 December 2016. Dozens of commentators have remarked on how the new schedules affect train services in western and central Europe. But hardly anything has appeared in English on what the new timetables herald for Russia.
News
published on 2 December 2016
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Much has been made in mainstream media of the decision by Deutsche Bahn (DB) to withdraw from the premium end of the night train market. Yet it's important to remember that the great majority of Europe's night trains are unaffected by DB's decision to axe its entire CNL division.
News
published on 12 December 2015
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
This weekend sees substantial changes to regional train services in Berlin and more widely across eastern Germany. Here’s a run-down of the principal changes to train services which come into effect on Sunday 13 December 2016.
Practical Info
published on 1 June 2015
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Want to find out about what’s new in Europe’s summer rail schedules? Then just head for the June issue of the European Rail Timetable which is published this week. And for those who want some additional material, the summer 2015 seasonal edition is published this week too.
News
published on 8 May 2015
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Revised rail timetables come into effect in Britain later this month with many train operators launching their summer schedules on Sunday 17 May 2015. Here’s a run-down of some the main features of the new timetables in north-west England.
Journeys
published on 14 November 2014
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Each issue of the new European Rail Timetable contains a Route of the Month. These are texts, which highlight the particular appeal of one selected European rail route.
published on 13 October 2014
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
With new European rail schedules coming into effect on Sunday 14 December, here’s a summary of some key changes in the new timetables.
News
published on 16 March 2014
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Here in Berlin there is a real sense of spring in the air, and we are well aware that travellers’ thoughts are turning to summer journeys. It’ll be no surprise that we tend to favour the train for most of our trips across Europe. So, for those of our readers who have not spent the long winter nights tracking changes in train timetables, here’s a run-down on headline changes over recent months.
News
published on 10 March 2014
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
The direct rail service from Paris to Moscow is run by Russian Railways (RZD) using their sleek modern sleeping cars. It is, we think, one of Europe’s most interesting trains — and, for those who want to splash out on the top-of-the-range luxury sleepers, one of the most comfortable train journeys in Europe.
published on 1 November 2013
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
It was four months ago today that we published a press release from Thomas Cook announcing the demise of the company’s publishing division — a blow to travel publishing and particularly to travellers who valued the company’s European Rail Timetable. So it is with a big smile that we can today formally announce that a new company has been created to continue publishing the timetable. Read the full text of the press release in European Rail News.
published on 1 July 2013
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Following intense speculation on social media late last week, Thomas Cook have today made a statement about their publishing arm, which is set to close this summer. Read the full text of the press release in European Rail News.
published on 28 February 2013
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Thomas Cook Publishing this week marks 140 years of the European Rail Timetable. It was in March 1873 that the company launched the first such timetable. Titles and designs have changed over the years, as indeed do train times, but the simple concept enshrined in the book has remained essentially the same over 140 years of publishing history.
published on 13 January 2012
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
We ensure that each annual edition of Europe by Rail is bang up-to-date and correct at the moment it is sent off to the printers. But train schedules change and sometimes we are caught out. And that is what has just happened with Route 9 in the book. This route is a fabulous transect across the Iberian peninsula from Barcelona to Lisbon. At the border between Portugal and Spain you will now need to cross by bus.