A New Golden Era

by Phil Cooper

Today I’ve got lots of exciting news about real trains. Don’t worry, I’ve also got more photos from David Styles and some other REAL modellers so come on in. Firstly, some news about future European train trips. A few weeks ago, I suggested that we might be entering a new Golden era of train travel. Read below and you’ll see why I am changing “we might” to “we WILL”. I think it’s fair to say that trains are vital to a lower-carbon future, so all manner of companies across Europe are working on brand-new train routes and services that could make cross-continental rail trips far more appetising. Here are five that could revolutionise European travel over the coming years. Here’s a few

The chic sleeper-train start-up

Tons of sleeper trains used to criss-cross Europe, but in recent times the sector has found itself unable to compete with air travel. That’s all set to change thanks to a French start-up called Midnight Trains, which is re-launching night trains between a dozen or so destinations across the continent. Billed as ‘hotels on rails’ and a modern alternative to the Orient Express, the Midnight routes will be centred on Paris and take passengers as far as Edinburgh, Porto, and Copenhagen. It’ll launch its first route in 2024.

Midnight Trains isn’t the only company looking to make a splash in the night-train market. Centred around Germany and Austria, the Night Jet network is looking to launch five new cross-continental routes between now and 2024, while the German Green party has also floated ideas for a Euro Night Sprinter network for continent-wide sleeper services.

The eco-friendly line linking Poland and Finland

Tucked in Europe’s north-eastern corner, Rail Baltica will link Poland and Finland via Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. And it’s not just any old (admittedly very long) train line. Rail Baltica promises it will be super-eco-friendly: the trains will be entirely electric; the track will avoid nature reserves and there’ll be animal passages to protect wildlife.

The project should be complete by 2026, with the final Tallinn-Helsinki leg being operated by ferries to start with. In the not-too-distant future, an undersea tunnel spanning the Gulf of Finland might eventually connect Helsinki and Tallinn by train, thereby providing one of the EU’s most distant states with a direct link to central Europe.

The ‘hyperloop’ pods that could reach 1,200 kilometres per hour

Europe is very close to having its first ultra-high speed ‘hyperloop’ network. Set to come into service in 2023, the company’s initial route will take passengers between the Polish cities of Krakow and Gdansk in just 35 minutes (that trip takes around six hours by conventional train).

Having a super-speedy line between two Polish cities might not seem that revolutionary to most Europeans. But the Nevomo could have implications for transport systems across the globe. Its ‘pods’ can supposedly operate on existing rail lines (reaching up to 550 kilometres per hour), meaning it could be implemented practically anywhere. The eventual plan is to build dedicated infrastructure that can enable vehicles to travel at up to an astonishing 1,200kph.

The super-scenic route connecting Berlin and Palermo

Stretching an enormous 2,200 kilometres from the heart of central Europe to the tip of Sicily, a new high-speed Berlin-Palermo line will cut through Germany, Austria, and Italy. The project has been in the works for more than 20 years, and will eventually link Munich, Innsbruck, Rome, Naples, and Sicily (making use of existing ferry services that carry trains on to the island).

The route is being completed in phases. One of the chunks currently under construction is the Sicilian leg, which is set for completion in 2023, but another important part of the line won’t be finished until 2032 – when the huge, 55-kilometre-long Brenner Base Tunnel is scheduled to open under the eastern Alps between Austria and Italy.

A bigger, better, snazzier Trans-Europe Express?

Just a few years ago, a revived Trans-Europe Express was but a train enthusiast’s pipe dream. But with a valid alternative to plane travel needed now more than ever, it could be making a comeback. In fact, European leaders have signed a ‘letter of intent’ to create a ‘TEE 2.0’, so plans are certainly afoot.

Like the original, this new network will offer direct, hassle-free travel between most EU member states. And what’s more, the revamped TEE will be far bigger than its predecessor. Now that the EU includes former Eastern Bloc countries like Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, it’ll hopefully be even bigger and better than its predecessor.

This map shows all of Europe’s coolest new sleeper train

The new cross-European night-train routes link Paris to Budapest and Amsterdam to Rome

The concept is deliciously simple: board a train and doze off, cover enormous distances while you kip, then wake up somewhere else entirely. In 2022, after decades out of fashion, sleeper trains are back in a very big way. We’re witnessing a full-blown European sleeper-train renaissance, with new routes (and plans for even more) seeming to pop up on the daily.

On this map, we’ve plotted the five new routes you need to know about so you can get planning your next flight-free adventure. Read more about each of them below. And if you still need convincing, here’s why you should swap flights for sleeper trains on your next European trip.

1. Paris to Vienna, Budapest and Romania

Meet Nightjet: a consortium of train operators from different countries, kind of like the Avengers but with sleeper trains. It’s setting up new routes all over the shop, and one super-romantic one takes travellers all the way across Europe – from the boulevards and nightclubs of Paris to the Transylvanian castles and student buzz of Cluj-Napoca in Romania. The full adventure involves not one but two overnight trains, passing through Strasbourg, Munich, Salzburg and Budapest – plus a one-day stopover in Vienna, so you can mainline a load of baroque architecture.

2. Amsterdam to Cologne and Zurich

This nifty new A-to-Z route winds its way south from the ’Dam, through the cities of Arnhem, Düsseldorf, Cologne and Frankfurt before heading south towards Basel and Zurich. What’s more, an entire single compartment – each featuring its own bathroom and free breakfast – costs just €90 (£77). Crazy stuff.

Illustration: Eynon Jones

3. Brussels to Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague

Then there’s the European Sleeper, a new company running trains from Brussels to Prague via Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin and Dresden. With lie-flat beds and free breakfast for all, European Sleeper aims to connect several of the continent’s liveliest cities in luxurious – and surprisingly cheap – fashion.

4. Hamburg to Stockholm

The existing EuroNight network is getting a boost with a new sleeper route between Stockholm and Hamburg – and it will be entirely powered by renewable energy. This one is run by Swedish company SJ and stops off at Scandi metropolises and culture hubs Copenhagen, Odense, Malmö and Gothenburg along the way.

5. Zurich to Milan and Rome 

Later this year, a new night train between Zurich and Rome is scheduled to get up and running. This is another nifty Nightjet number. While exact details are still being ironed out, the eight-and-a-half-hour ride is expected to include a stop in Milan. Link it up with the Amsterdam-to-Zurich route, and you could be sipping espresso in the Eternal City the day after tomorrow. Truly excellent.

Did you see that a new sleeper train route will soon link up Amsterdam and the south of France?

Plus: you can travel all over this European country for just €9 this summer.

The German government is slashing transport costs to help people cope with rising fuel prices (and wean the country off Russian oil and gas)

You can travel all over Germany for just €9 this summer

It’s looking like a great summer to be German. From June, the vast majority of public transport in Germany will cost just €9 (£7.60, $9.55) per month. That’s right: local and regional trains, metros, trams and buses – all for under a tenner. Pretty bloomin’ sweet, huh? 

So, what’s prompted the German government to get so generous? Well, the aim is to persuade people to ditch their cars, thereby cutting energy use and reducing the country’s reliance on Russian oil and gas. Despite a huge wave of sanctions against Putin’s Russia, Germany (like many countries

On top of that, the policy is being touted as climate-friendly, and it’ll also help lower-income citizens with rising fuel prices. For Germans who usually travel by car, the hope is that once they’ve tried public transport, they’ll be more likely to use it more regularly. The scheme will be available for three months from June and is expected to cost the German government €2.5 billion (£2.12 billion, $2.66 billion)

Better yet, it looks as if the ticket will be available not just to German citizens but to all public transport customers. So, if you’re looking to spend three months on a super-cheap jaunt around Germany, this summer could be the ideal time to do so.

The 9-Euro-Ticket is valid for journeys in the booked calendar month. Valid throughout Germany on local trains as well as all transport association services. The ticket is not automatically renewed after the validity of the ticket ends and can be purchased again in the following months (up to and including August).

Cancellation (exchange or refund) of your ticket is excluded.

Get your 9 Euro ticket  here: https://www.bahn.com/en/offers/regional/9-euro-ticket-en

Up at the top of the blog I mentioned the Hyperlook. Picture this: you step into a pod in Paris, settle down for a nap and in just over an hour you’ve been whizzed all the way to Berlin. That’s over 1,000 kilometres in less time than it currently takes to fly between those two European capitals. Sounds pretty bloomin’ fancy, eh?  

But this isn’t all some far-fetched fantasy: it’s the future currently being proposed by Zeleros, a Spanish hyperloop company. Hyperloops are essentially pod- and tube-based transportation projects that minimise air resistance and so have the potential to enable people to travel long distances much, much quicker than they currently feature air-locked, pressurised pods that will be able to carry up to 200 passengers at 1,000 kilometres per hour. Excitingly, Zeleros’ hyperloop is also 100 percent electric, meaning that, if supplied with renewable energy, they could be remarkably good for the environment. Here are a few renders and images of the designs.

Right now, an airplane-free future seems attractive for other reasons than just saving the planet. Since demand for air travel returned following the pandemic, the aviation industry has struggled with delays, cancellations, lost baggage and lengthy queues. A future without all that stressful stuff seems very enticing indeed.

And it isn’t just between Paris and Berlin that Zeleros is planning on building its hyperloop routes. The company is planning a global network of tubes that could slash journey times between cities around the world. Routes such as San Francisco-Los Angeles, Paris-Barcelona, Sydney-Melbourne and Boston-Washington DC could all be cut down to under an hour.

After all that excitement we move to the exciting world of model railways and to kick us off, who better than our regular contributor, the remarkable David Styles and today we’ve got some of his precision work preparations.

As you can see David is the very opposite of me! Where he has clean uncluttered, boards I have a mess. Let me assure you David’s way is definitely the way to go.

Now we have a new contributor, Markus Pick from another excellent Facebook group, “The Model Railway Group”. Lots of inspirational photos here. I especially love the shot of the signal box interior. Clearly Markus is a keen photographer who knows that little things are very important details in model railways. Here’s a little about Markus:

I’m 50 and I’ve always had an interest in railways since childhood having had a few Hornby train sets, and I always wanted to start a model railway someday… 3 years ago after losing my late wife Gillian I had the opportunity to build one myself so after a lot of Youtube research I started building my layout “Giddyford” named after my late wife’s nickname Gid. 

I always liked steam as much as the early diesels so modelling the 50s/60s even though before my time was what I decided to model…I try to add as much detail as I can because I believe it’s all in the detail it’s sometimes the little things that bring it to life …I’ve so much more to complete on my layout and it’s slow progress especially with the extension I’ve added but it’s definitely helped me with the loss of my late wife and I know she’d have wanted me to build one because I always went back on that I would and if it brings joy to others as it does me then I’m happy to help.

Well Markus your photos are fantastic. It’s good that the hobby helps you get over the sad loss of Gid. I’m sure you’re not alone. So here we go, Ladies and gentlemen, Markus Pick!!!!!!!!!

Recently we said hello to Accurascale and their breath-taking Class55. Well, you’ll be glad to know there’s more on the way and I’m very happy to say that they’ve got a new Class37 on the way. The 37 is, without doubt my favourite loco. I own 37s made by Bachmann, Lima and, of course, Hornby so this Accurascale model is very welcome. I must get one, but this depends on NannyBarb’s goodwill and Harrison not turning supergrass again. It is now in production and features the following unbeatable recipe:

• Heavy metal chassis for unrivalled haulage capacity.
• 5 pole skew wound motor with twin flywheels and helical cut gears for extra smoothness.
•  Stay Alive powerbank of capacitors to give uninterrupted running.
• Flange Wheel Sensor for extra realism on DCC sound
•  Twin speaker system including "Accurathrash" base reflex speaker for that unbeatable tractor racket.
• Differing sound recordings depending on sub class (with more to come in future releases).
  
•  A choice of body mounted or bogie mounted miniature snow ploughs in the accessory pack of every loco.
• Correct diameter wheels with correct sized EM and P4 drop in wheel packs (available separately) for finescale modellers.

Accurascale have 19 different 37s available but, unfortunately, only 2 are still available to order – “Loch Lomond” and “Stephen Middlemore” but the good news is they both feature the wee Scottie dog logo, a sign of great quality. My only gripe is that they don’t have a 37 with the stag antlers logo of Inverness TMD but maybe, seeing this, they’ll realise this slight error.

The Accurascale Class 37 will cost from £169.99 and to help you can buy with “Clearpay”. Perfect for impoverished pensioners like me.

To use Clearpay you have to download the Clearpay app, register and then search for Accurascale and click on the name when Accurascale has been found (Approximately 1 second). Then search for the item you want to buy, find your instalments, then make the first of 4 payments and pay the rest over 6 weeks. Simples!

A new film featuring trains has been released, Bullet Train starring Brad Pitt. It’s described as an action-comedy-thriller and is getting quite good reviews. So, here’s a photo of Brad, topless, for the girls.

Why on Earth did he leave Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie who always finds it difficult to smile?

Finally news today that Harrison, my grandson aka Supergrass has dropped me in it again. In the trains room he found 3 empty bags of Wine Gums and rushed along the hallway to pass the information to NannyBarb. She wasn’t pleased!

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The views and opinions expressed within the content are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of Trackside Signs or its affiliates.