šāļø Why is it still so hard to choose a train over a plane?
On many long-distance routes in Europe, choosing the train can feel like a borderline heroic decision. Itās often more expensive, takes longer, and can be less reliable when connections are tight.
This week we spoke to cross-border rail advocate @jon about what Europe would need to change to make rail the obvious choice, not a moral gesture.
Hereās his recipe. THREAD:
1. Better, more interconnected timetables.
One early morning train from Berlin to Paris is not a serious offer on a continent of this size. Sparse frequencies and poorly aligned connections make cross-border travel stressful. If you cannot arrive in Berlin at a reasonable hour and reliably continue to Paris the same day, rail loses to aviation by default. Frequency and coordination matter as much as speed.
2. More night trains.
In the short term, night services are the only practical way to cover very long distances without losing an entire day to travel.
3. Long-term: faster lines.
The comparison is sobering. A train from Beijing to Shanghai, roughly 1200 km, takes around 4 hours 40 minutes. A train from Warsaw to Berlin, just 571 km, takes around 6 hours 30 minutes. Who wouldnāt take an Amsterdam to Vienna train if it took 5h? Or Copenhagen Brussels in under 4h?
@europeanspodcast Especially the speed and the convenience would help do it for me.
I was in Brussels recently from Copenhagen by plane. I passed close by Copenhagen Central station, and I think I all in all took 3.5 hours from passing Copenhagen Central to being at Brussel Central. And I had at least 6 different departure times from Copenhagen airport to take from.
I did look at trains, but I got tired just by looking at it.
The Europeans
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