Back on Track: News Archive

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Timetable period 15.12.2019 - 12.12.2020

Germany/Austria/Switzerland - UK: In a major blow, DB's London Special aka Europa Spezial London was discontinued from 14 March 2020, increasing both the cost and risk of journeys via Eurostar and the Brussels - Aachen - Köln - Frankfurt ICE.

Germany - Sweden: The future of passenger trains via the train ferry Sassnitz - Trelleborg appeared to be in doubt once again despite ever increasing demand. A journalistic investigation into the safety of passengers remaining on board the train on the vehicle deck of the ship could mean that passengers will have to leave the train during the corssing, effectively killing off night train traffic. In the end the Coronavirus pandemic sealed the fate of the route, with Stena Line closing it down and taking the ferry FS Sassnitz out of traffic in March 2020.

December 2019 Timetable Change

Good news:

1. Austria - Belgium: night train connections between Vienna/Innsbruck and Liège/Brussels will operate twice per week from mid January 2020, albeit with very late arrivals in/early departures from Brussels.
2. Austria - Germany: direct trains between Vienna and Berlin are boosted by the introduction of a new Graz - Vienna - Prague - Dresden - Berlin RailJet train pair and an overnight seated train pair (KISS double-decker) Vienna - Nuremberg - Saalfeld - Halle - Berlin - Rostock - Warnemünde, both from 4/5 May 2020.
3. Austria - Hungary: two pairs of RegioJet trains between Prague and Vienna are extended to/from Budapest from June 2020.
4. Austria - Italy: a daily direct train pair is introduced between Vienna and Bolzano, South Tirol.
5. Austria - Poland: the existing train pair Vienna - Krakow is extended at both ends, running through between Graz and Przemysl.
6. Austria - Romania: the direct service Vienna - Cluj Napoca now conveys through carriages to/from Satu Mare.
7. Belgium - Germany: night train connections between Munich/Passau/Nuremberg and Liège/Brussels will operate twice per week from January 2020, albeit with very late arrivals in/early departures from Brussels.
8. Czech Republic - Germany: the introduction of a Graz - Prague - Berlin train pair from 4/5 May 2020 means an earlier first arrival in Prague direct from Berlin and a later direct train from Prague to Berlin. Prague - Berlin EuroCity trains are accelerated by around 17 minutes from 4/5 May 2020.
9. Czech Republic - Hungary: two pairs of RegioJet trains between Prague, Brno and Vienna are extended to/from Budapest from June 2020.
10. Czech Republic - Poland:
    - an existing Vienna - Břeclav - Bohumín - Kraków EuroCity train pair is extended to run between Graz and Przemysl.
    - a new EuroCity train pair Ostrava - Kraków - Przemysl is introduced.
    - thanks to funding by regional authorities in both the Czech Republic and Poland, Leo Express is operating new direct trains between Prague and Wrocław via Pardubice, Lichkov and Kłodzko on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
11. Czech Republic - Slovakia:
    - a daily pair of RegioJet trains between Prague, Brno and Bratislava is extended to/from Žilina.
12. France - Italy: the direct Marseille - Milan train pair operated by Thello runs to a much more attractive timetable with mid-morning departures and early evening arrivals.
13. France - Spain: the new broadly 2-hourly regional train service between Toulouse and Perpignan is extended at weekends to/from Portbou, just across the border with Spain.
14. France - Switzerland: the new cross-border regional train network Leman Express is launched, meaning there are now services linking Geneva with Annemasse every 15 minutes.
15. Germany - Poland:
    - from 14 June 2020 trains on the Berlin - Warsaw route are increased in frequency from four to five train pairs (six days/week). Trains are also accelerated by about 17 minutes from 15 December 2019, bringing the journey time between Berlin Ostbahnhof and Warzsawa Centralna down to about 5h18.
    - many Dresden - Görlitz services are extended 1.5 km across the border to/from Zgorzelec, connecting into/out of three daily electric regional trains to/from Wrocław.
16. Germany - Sweden: as a reaction to the resurgence of rail travel in Sweden/by Swedes since 2019, Snälltåget's Berlin - Malmö trains will run daily in high summer 2020, with couchette cars recently purchased from DB bolstering the fleet. Additional trains will also run in spring and autumn 2020, with at least one daytime service and some overnight services unusually travelling via Rostock - Trelleborg.
17. Great Britain - Netherlands: it seems likely that direct Amsterdam - London Eurostar trains will commence in April 2020, starting with up to three daily services, following the completion of immigration and security facilities in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
18. Hungary - Slovenia: the direct train pair Citadella between Budapest and Ljubljana is accelerated by 24 minutes in one direction and 55 Minutes in the other.
19. Norway - Sweden: on weekdays the Oslo - Gothenburg service is increased from three to four train pairs. With no departures before 06:00 or arrivals after 22:00, the trains are much more attractively timed than the last time this was attempted a few years ago.
20. Poland - Slovakia:
    - a daily overnight TLK train pair between Gdynia and Bielsko Biala via Katowice is extended to/from Žilina, meaning the Zwardon/Čadca border crossing regains long-distance trains for the first time in many years.
    - following the success of weekend trains between Poprad Tatry and Muszyna via Plaveč in high summer 2019, the Slovak ministry of transport has agreed to fund weekend services from 28 December 2019 to 1 March 2020, and from 5 June to 27 September 2020. Connections in Muszyna to/from Nowy Sacz and Kraków will apparently be well coordinated!

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Timetable period 9.12.2018 - 14.12.2019

France - Spain: From 11 February 2019 passengers are allowed to use French trains from Portbou to Cerbère and Spanish trains from Cerbère to Portbou, ending over a hundred years of trains having to run back empty to their homeland, an absurd practice that had been prescribed by an obsolete treaty between the two countries.

Bulgaria - Turkey: A new daytime Plovdiv - Edirne train pair was withdrawn after running just twice at the beginning of June 2019, operator BDZ citing insufficient demand... Maybe next time some proper marketing, an attractive timetable and an average speed of > 45 km/h would help!

Slovakia - Ukraine: A daily direct train pair between Košice and Mukacheve/Mukačevo was launched on 9 June 2019.

December 2018 Timetable Change

Good news:

1. Austria - Germany: direct trains between Vienna and Berlin are restored in the form of both an ICE train pair via Nuremberg and a daily night train via Bohumín and Wrocław.
2. Austria - Hungary: an additional Vienna - Budapest train pair is provided, meaning the fast, direct service between these two capitals now runs almost hourly all day, with just two gaps left to fill.
3. Austria - Italy: MICOTRA services between Villach and Udine were extended to/from Trieste at weekends from 2 June 2018. Funding is in place for these services to continue until at least June 2019.
4. Austria - Poland:
   - a new daily night train service links Vienna with Wrocław, Zielona Gora and Rzepin.
   - from 13 April 2019 one EuroCity train pair between Vienna and Warsaw conveys through carriages to/from Kraków.
5. Austria - Romania: a new direct service links Vienna and Cluj Napoca via Budapest and Oradea, formed by extending an existing Budapest - Cluj Napoca train pair. This reduces the journey time to/from Vienna by an hour - more of this please!
6. Austria - Slovenia: four new regional train pairs link Villach and Jesenice on weekends between June and September, a welcome addition to the otherwise poor service of just five long-distance train pairs on this international main line.
7. Belgium - France:
   - a modest service of two new daily train pairs links Charleroi-Sud with Mauberge, connecting into/out of intercity trains to/from Paris. These are the first passenger trains to use the Erquellines - Jeumont border crossing since September 2012.
   - a modest service of two new daily train pairs links Mons with Aulnoye, connecting into/out of intercity trains to/from Paris. This restores passenger services to the Quevy - Feignies border for the first time in ten years.
8. Belgium - Germany: from 7 April 2019 the midday train pair Brussels - Köln - Frankfurt will run daily instead of only on Fridays and Sundays. Also new on this route on Sundays from the same date until 3 November 2019 is an additional late evening train pair.
9. Czech Republic - Germany: Prague - Munich trains are accelerated by 10-15 minutes thanks to track upgrades in the Czech Republic.
10. Czech Republic - Poland:
    - a daily service of seven train pairs is launched between Královec and Lubawka/Kamienna Góra/Sędzisław (for connections to/from Jelenia Góra), the first weekday cross-border trains on this route for 69 years. Sadly only one train pair is extended from/to Trutnov for connections to/from the Czech rail network, but there might be improvements from 10 March 2019 - watch this space.
    - a new night train links Breclav and Bohumín with Wrocław, Zielona Góra and Rzepin.
    - an existing Vienna - Břeclav - Bohumín - Warsaw EuroCity train pair conveys through carriages to/from Kraków from 13 April 2019 onwards.
    - an existing Budapest - Břeclav - Bohumín - Warsaw EuroCity train pair conveys through carriages to/from Kraków.
    - we understand the twice-weekly Leo Express train pair between Prague and Kraków introduced in July 2018 will continue to operate.
11. Czech Republic - Slovakia:
    - a new late EuroCity connection runs from Bratislava to Prague.
    - night trains between Prague and Košice are accelerated.
12. France - Germany: the Paris - Freiburg im Breisgau TGV train pair is improved to run daily and accelerated by about 45 mins thanks to taking the shorter route via Offenburg.
13. France - Spain (- Portugal):
    - the night train Paris - Cerbère - Portbou was partially reprieved in summer 2017 thanks to regional financing; in 2019 it will run at weekends all year and daily during school holidays.
    - the night train Sud-Express in the direction Irún to Lisbon was extended to start back in Hendaye, France, from 25 April 2018, a common-sense move that makes rail journey opportunities from France to Portugal visible, bookable and much easier to make. This arrangement continues throughout 2019.
    - there are several additional connections between Toulouse and Barcelona thanks to the better coordination of arrivals and departures in the border station of Latour de Carol Enveitg, notorious for 'near misses' in previous timetables. There now appear to be four useable train pairs per day, of which two train pairs per day have very attractive connection times of less then 20 minutes. Sadly you still won't find the Spanish trains in international online journey planners, instead you have to go to the Rodalies Barcelona pages of the RENFE website.
14. France - Switzerland: although the cross-border section Delle - Bonfort reopened to passenger trains in 2006, it has taken another 12 years to reconnect Delle with the rest of the French rail network in the form of a new service of up to 16 train pairs per day linking Belfort and Delle directly or with a change in Meroux. The cross-border service itself is provided by Swiss rolling stock, with hourly trains from Biel/Bienne reaching Delle or Meroux.
15. Germany - Great Britain: new journey opportunities arise as a result of improved connections between ICE and Eurostar trains in Brussels, made possible through additional ICEs (see Belgium - Germany above), the reduction of the minimum interchange time in Brussels to 14 minutes (towards Germany) and the putting back of the last Eurostar from Brussels to London from 19:52 to 20:22 daily.
16. Germany - Netherlands: a new hourly direct service operates between Aachen and Maastricht via Herzogenrath and Heerlen. UPDATE: Actually commenced on 27 January 2019. This has been made possible by the electrification of the Herzogenrath - Heerlen section and use of multi-system electric multiple unit rolling stock, replacing the former EURegio service that ran between Aachen and Heerlen.
17. Germany - Poland: a new direct night train service links Berlin with Kraków and Przemysl (close to the border with Ukraine). This also creates a late evening (eastbound) and early morning (westbound) direct connection between Berlin and Wrocław via Rzepin and Zielona Góra.
18. Germany - Slovakia - Hungary: a direct night train service linking Berlin with Bratislava and Budapest is restored after an absence of one year, this time running via Frankfurt (Oder) (DE), Wrocław (PL) and Bohumín (CZ).
19. Great Britain - Netherlands: new journey opportunities arise as a result of improved connections between ICE and Eurostar trains in Brussels, made possible through additional ICEs (see Belgium - Germany above), the reduction of the minimum interchange time in Brussels to 14 minutes (towards Germany) and the putting back of the last Eurostar from Brussels to London from 19:52 to 20:22 daily. UPDATE: A third train from London to Amsterdam, running in the middle of the day, commenced in June 2019.
20. Hungary - Poland: an existing Budapest - Břeclav - Bohumín - Warsaw EuroCity train pair conveys through carriages to/from Kraków.
21. Italy - Slovenia: two daily train pairs between Trieste and Ljubljana were launched on 9 September 2018. These services continue in 2019.
22. Poland - Slovakia: an existing (Budapest -) Bratislava - Bohumín - Warsaw EuroCity train pair conveys through carriages to/from Kraków.
23. Slovakia - Switzerland: an existing Vienna - Zürich RailJet train pair is extended to start back from/run to Bratislava, creating the first direct connection between Bratislava, western Austria and Zürich for many years.

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Timetable period 10.12.2017 - 8.12.2018

December 2017 Timetable Change

Good news:

1. Austria - Czech Republic: RegioJet introduced 4 daily train pairs between Vienna and Prague, competing with the 2-hourly RailJet (yes, confusing, isn't it?) trains provided by incumbent operators ÖBB and ČD.
2. Austria - Germany: Vienna - Nuremberg (- Frankfurt/Hamburg) trains were accelerated by up to 25 mins thanks to fewer stops and the reactivation of tilting equipment on the ICE trains used on the route.
3. Austria - Italy: the direct service between Vienna and Venice was doubled from one to two daily train pairs, albeit with less comfortable RailJet rolling stock replacing the fine compartment coaches of the previous EuroCity trains.
4. Austria - Poland: one pair of Vienna - Bohumín EuroCity trains was extended to/from Katowice.
5. Austria - Slovakia: one regional train pair between Vienna and Bratislava, and one IC train pair between Bratislava and Košice via Poprad Tatry were combined, creating direct daytime services between Vienna and Košice for the first time in many years. The wonders of interoperable RIC rolling stock!
6. Austria - Ukraine: a new direct service with newly-built UZD sleeping cars operated between Vienna, Lviv and Kiev.
7. Czech Republic - Germany:
   - services on the Munich-Prague route increased from 4 trains per day to 7, thus almost doubling the train service to 2-hourly. Unfortunately this came at the cost of the loss of the bistro cars that used to run in two train pairs per day. The new services were also sadly beset by reliability problems in this timetable period, with poor timekeeping and short formations owing to issues with the ex-Trenitalia rolling stock deployed by Alex/Netinera.
   - a new direct service of two train pairs on weekends only was introduced between Karlovy Vary and Zwickau via Klingenthal (all other connections via this route require a change of train in Kraslice or Sokolov).
8. Czech Republic - Poland:
   - the seasonal direct EuroCity train pair between Prague and Kraków introduced at the 2016/17 timetable change was increased to run all year round, presumably owing to strong demand (we had long suspected this would be a success) and possibly also to preempt the introduction of a rival service by Leo Express.
   - one pair of Vienna - Bohumín EuroCity trains was extended to/from Katowice.
9. Czech Republic - Slovakia:
   - RegioJet increased its Prague - Brno - Bratislava service from two to three train pairs per day.
   - RegioJet extended its overnight Prague - Košice train pair to/from Humenné.
10. France - Spain: the night train Paris – Cerbère - Port-Bou was partially reprieved in summer 2017 thanks to regional financing; in 2018 it operated at weekends all year and daily during school holidays.
11. Germany - Italy: a new daily direct Frankfurt - Milan EuroCity Express train pair via Basel was introduced with Swiss tilting rolling stock. This also led to the restoration of DB SparPreis through ticketing between Germany and Italy via Switzerland, albeit only for these direct trains.
12. Germany - Netherlands: hourly regional services between Bielefeld and Bad Bentheim were extended to/from Hengelo from 14 January 2018 (postponed from the mid-December timetable change in 2017 thanks to rolling stock authorisation problems), restoring regional services to the cross-border section for the first time since December 2013. This got off to a poor start owing to a mixture of further technical issues and staff shortages, but services subsequently settled down.
13. Germany - Switzerland: the NightJet overnight service between Hamburg and Zürich via Berlin was split into two separate portions north/east of Hillesheim in Germany,leading to much more attractive arrival and departure times in Berlin and allowing Hannover, Magdeburg and Potsdam to be served en route.
14. Hungary - Slovakia: the line between Rajka and Bratislava-Petržalka was reopened to passenger traffic with the re-introduction of 5 train pairs, of which four start/end in Hegyeshalom.
15. Italy - Switzerland:
    - one daily pair of EuroCity services between Milan and Zürich was extended to start/end in Venice, replacing the weekend-only service introduced in June 2017.
    - a new half-hourly regional route between Varesi and Mendrisio began on 7 January 2018, with extensions to/from Como (hourly route S40) and from June 2018 to/from Milan Malpensa Airport (S50 every 2 hours).
16. Portugal - Spain: in fact already running since 29 August 2017, a passenger service was reinstated on the Entroncamento - Elvas - Badajoz line. Although consisting of just one train pair per day, it offers reasonable connections at each end, making it feasible once again to travel by daytime trains between Lisbon and Madrid.

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Timetable period 11.12.2016 - 9.12.2017

Jump to December 2016 Timetable Change Summary

Bosnia - Croatia: on Friday 9 December 2016 it emerged that there was no agreement between the three operators (ZFBH, ZRS and HZPP) of the daily Sarajevo - Zagreb train pair to continue operating it from the timetable change two days later on 11 December. The service is therefore currently suspended until further notice, with the result that Bosnia is now completely cut off from its neighbours by rail. Just a few months earlier ZFBH had announced plans to use its modern Talgo rolling stock on the service, which was also supposed to be extended south of Sarajevo to/from Mostar and the Croatian coastal town of Ploče in summer 2017.

Bulgaria - Greece: the daily daytime train pair between Sofia and Thessaloniki was replaced by buses between Kulata and Strimon from 25.5.2017 until the end of the year. However, a new weekly overnight train pair between Sofia and Thessaloniki supposedly ran between 2.6.2017 and 2.10.2017, complementing the existing daytime service.

Bulgaria - Serbia: the direct train pair between Sofia and Belgrade was suspended from 1 February until 31 May 2017 and again from 18 September 2017 onwards, ostensibly because it is too expensive for ZS passenger subsidiary Srbija Voz to hire diesel locos from ZS subsidiary Srbija Cargo for the unelectrified part of the route. Don't you just love fragmentation!

Bulgaria/Romania - Turkey: since 21 February 2017 it was once again possible to travel by overnight train for most of the distance between Sofia and Istanbul. There was even a connecting bus service for the 25 km stretch between Halkali and Istabul Sirkesi, which is still disrupted by rebuilding work. It was expected that through carriages would operate between Bucharest and Halkali from 3.6.2017 until 30.9.2017.

France (- Luxembourg / Spain): SNCF will withdraw almost all overnight 'Intercités de Nuit' services in the near future, most having already been cut back to run at weekends only. The following routes will disappear:

1. Paris Austerlitz – Perpignan - Cerbère - Port-Bou (Spain). This formerly daily service ceased operating from 10 December 2016. Update: co-funded by contributions of €1.4m annually each from the French State and the région Occitanie-Pyrénées-Méditerranée rgion initially for a period of 2 years, departures on Fridays and Sundays in both directions (daily during school holidays) have run again since 2 July 2017.
2. Paris Austerlitz – Tarbes / Hendaye - Irún (with legendary 'near miss' non-connections to/from Vigo/A Coruna). To be withdrawn in July 2017.
3. Paris Austerlitz – Savoie. Expected to run for last time on 30 September 2016.
4. Paris Austerlitz – Nice. RZD has apparently expressed an interest in taking over this route. Possibly connected with this, RZD sleeping cars have been trialled on this service since August 2016. UPDATE: expected to run until December 2017.
5. Luxembourg – Nice. Ran for last time on 30 June 2016.
6. Luxembourg – Portbou. Ran for last time on 30 June 2016. These cuts leave Luxembourg without any long-distance trains except a few daily TGVs. IC and EC services to France, Germany and Switzerland have already disappeared.
7. Strasbourg – Nice. Expected to run for last time on 30 September 2016.
8. Strasbourg – Portbou. Ran for last time on 30 June 2016.

Germany (- Czech Republic / Italy / Netherlands / Poland / Switzerland): DB withdrew all remaining CNL sleeper train routes at the timetable change in December 2016, replacing some of them with inferior overnight IC, ICE and bus services. However, Austrian Railways (ÖBB) took over some routes, while the Prague - Zürich service was rerouted via Linz. The following international services completely disappeared:

1. Amsterdam - Cologne - Basel - Zürich
2. The Amsterdam - Düsseldorf part of Amsterdam - Munich
3. Cologne - Poznan - Warsaw
4. Cologne - Dresden - Prague
5. Dresden - Basel - Zürich
6. Hannover - Basel - Zürich

Greece - Bulgaria - Romania: a new direct train pair between Thessaloniki and Bucharest ran weekly between 2.6.2017 and 2.10.2017. This was completely new between Thessaloniki and Sofia (where it ran overnight), but was attached to the existing (seasonal) daytime service between Sofia and Bucharest.

Portugal - Spain: from 29 August 2017 a single daily train pair was reintroduced between Entroncamento and Badajoz. This means it is once again possible to travel by rail by day between Lisbon and Madrid, albeit changing twice en route.

December 2016 Timetable Change

Good news:

1. Austria - Czech Republic: there were big improvements to the Linz - Prague route, with 4 instead of 2.5 train pairs and most services accelerated by 45 minutes.
2. Austria - Germany: the Munich - Hamburg night train pair was taken over by Austrian Railways and extended to start/end in Innsbruck.
3. Austria - Netherlands: a new weekly overnight Alpen Express operated in winter between The Hague and several Alpine ski resorts en route to Schladming. A day train Krokus Express also ran on two dates in winter 2017 with portions to/from Schladming and Bludenz. These services were operated by Euro-Express in cooperation with Treinreiswinkel.
4. Austria - Slovakia: a new daily direct overnight service was introduced between Vienna and Košice via Poprad Tatry.
5. Belgium - Germany: up to 3 additional ICE train pairs operate between Brussels and Frankfurt, filling some of the long gaps between trains in the Brussels - Cologne timetable.
6. Croatia - Germany: a direct overnight service between Rijeka and Munich resumed after a gap of over three years. This and the Zagreb - Munich service are even bookable online via the ÖBB website, a much-needed improvement.
7. Croatia - Hungary: new through carriages between Rijeka and Budapest were introduced, attached to one of the two daily Zagreb - Budapest train pairs.
8. Czech Republic - Poland: For the first time in many years, a direct daytime train pair ran between Prague and Kraków from Easter until the end of September 2017.
9. Czech Republic - Slovakia:
   - a new regional service of up to 4 train pairs/day links Ostrava and Banská Bystrica, with one train pair extended to/from Zvolen.
   - RegioJet launched two train pairs per day between Prague and Bratislava via Brno, using paths formerly allocated to ČD.
10. Czech Republic - Switzerland: following the diversion of the Prague - Zürich night train to avoid Germany, Tábor and České Budějovice regained their direct connection to/from Switzerland.
11. France - Germany: a summer weekend service ran between Wörth am Rhein and Strasbourg, a route that lost its direct passenger trains back in 1980.
12. Germany - Italy: Euro-Express/Treinreiswinkel operated weekly car-carrying overnight trains between Düsseldorf and Livorno/Verona in summer 2017.
13. Germany - Netherlands: hourly regional services between Düsseldorf and Emmerich were extended to/from Zevenaar and Arnhem from 6 April 2017.
14. Hungary - Slovenia: the EuroCity Citadella between Budapest and Ljubljana was accelerated by 13 minutes in one direction and 23 minutes in the other.
15. Italy - Switzerland:
    - EuroCity services between Milan and Zürich via Bellinzona were accelerated by 35 minutes at the cost of diverting trains away from the scenic Gotthard Pass mountain railway into the 57 km Base Tunnel.
    - a new regional service between Domodossola and Brig was launched by BLS, starting with 4 train pairs per day and stepping up to 2-hourly from June 2017. These trains supplement the existing EuroCity services.
16. Norway - Sweden: the service on the Oslo - Stockholm route was increased from three to five daily train pairs, following the 39% increase in passengers recorded between August 2015 and May 2016.
17. Serbia - Turkey: on paper at least through coaches were restored between Belgrade and Halkali (near Istanbul) from June until October, attached to the day train between Belgrade and Sofia and the night train between Sofia and Halkali. UPDATE: timekeeping in Serbia has been so poor that the through coaches were discontinued again from sometime in either August or September 2017, forcing passengers to change in Sofia with no guarantee that the connection would work in the eastbound direction.

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Timetable period 13.12.2015 - 10.12.2016

Jump to December 2015 Timetable Change Summary

InterRail tickets: The attractiveness of InterRail was given a major boost at the start of 2016 through the inclusion of one free return trip in the country of residence to/from the border.

Belgium - Austria: The weekly Treski couchette train beween Belgium and ski resorts in Austria via the Netherlands ran in the winter 2015/16 season, apparently boasting the innovation of using a single TRAXX locomotive all the way through from Brussels to Austria.

Belgium - Luxembourg - France - Switzerland: Direct trains Brussels - Basel and Luxembourg - Basel ran for the last time on 2 April 2016, making the Eurocity brand extinct in Belgium and Luxembourg. Although a single TGV train pair between Brussels and Strasbourg via Lille has been introduced, journey times on the Luxembourg - Basel axis are now significantly longer.

Czech Republic - Germany: summer weekend services over the Vejprty - Cranzahl border crossing resumed on 1 May 2016 under an initiative of DB and ČD. Results have been so positive that a similar summer service will be provided in 2017.

Germany (- Czech Republic / Italy / Netherlands / Switzerland):

• DB withdrew all remaining CNL sleeper train routes at the timetable change in December 2016, replacing them with overnight IC, ICE and bus services. However, Austrian Railways (ÖBB) will take over some routes, while the Prague - Zürich service will be rerouted via Linz.
• In summer 2016 a Munich - Innsbruck - Bologna train pair was extended to/from Rimini at weekends.
• Car-carrying night trains between Düsseldorf and Verona ran once a week in summer 2016, this time operated and marketed by the partnership of Treinreiswinkel and Euro Express.

Germany - Sweden: Snälltåget cancelled all Berlin - Malmö services in the period 15-28 August 2016 thanks to construction work by DB on the German island of Rügen and a lack of serviceable locomotives owned by the Georg Verkehrsorganisation in Germany.

Kosovo - Macedonia: For some time now the 'direct' train pair between Prishtina and Skopje has been no such thing, in reality there is a change of train at the border station of Hani i Elezit. As if that were not bad enough, the northbound service was rescheduled to leave 10 minutes earlier from September 2016, thus breaking the long-standing connection from Bitola in the south of Macedonia. Infuriating nonsense!

Poland: service updates March 2016:

• 16 months after the loss of the Eurocity Wawel, direct trains once again linked Berlin and Wrocław via Cottbus, this time in the form of a weekend service between 30 April and 25 September 2016, subsequently extended to 8 January 2017. The States of Berlin and Brandenburg provided 100,000 EUR each in financial support. The service used DB Regio DMUs and was operated in partnership with the Polish operator KD, with single tickets from end to end costing just 19 EUR.
• A Zielona Góra - Frankfurt (Oder) train pair was extended to/from Berlin Lichtenberg from 1 April 2016. This has been achieved by opening up empty rolling stock transfers to/from Lichtenberg depot to passengers. As of 28 March 2016 the journey planner of the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB) showed the service running daily except Thursday (!) and with different timings between Frankfurt (Oder) and Berlin depending on the day of the week. It appears the service was financed until the end of 2016.
• A first step towards the provision of several daily services between Berlin and Gorzów (Wielkopolski) took place on 20 March 2016 with the introduction of one train pair between Krzyż and Berlin Lichtenberg. This is the result of welcome cooperation between the Lubukie Region (UMWL), the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB), Arriva Polski, DB Regio and the Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn (NEB). Trains are 'additional' on the Polish side but run in place of existing franchised NEB services between Kostrzyn and Berlin. VBB tickets are valid between Gorzów and Berlin. It remains to be seen whether Arriva will pursue its plan to operate a Torún - Berlin train pair via Krzyż.

December 2015 Timetable Change

Good news:

1. Bulgaria - Russia: a daily Sofia - Moscow service via Belgrade and Budapest is provided by RZD.
2. Bulgaria - Serbia: a daytime direct service between Sofia and Belgrade runs again after a gap of 4 years. Approximate timings: Sofia 11:30 - Belgrade 19:30, Belgrade 07:35 - Sofia 16:30. It continues east of Sofia to/from Istanbul, at least in theory, depending on engineering works in Turkey.
3. Croatia - Romania: Bogajevo - Erdut has reopened with two regional train pairs on weekdays - better than nothing!
4. Croatia - Slovenia: the two train pairs on the Čakovec - Mursko Središče - Lendava route now operate on Mondays to Saturdays, not just on Saturdays.
5. Czech Republic - Germany: Cheb - Aš - Selb - Hof has reopened with 9 daily train pairs.
6. Czech Republic - Poland: interesting announcements have emanated from Poland...
   • An additional EuroCity train pair between Prague and Warsaw, with a further extra train pair between Ostrava and Warsaw.
   • 6 train pairs Cieszyn - Český Těšín - Frýdek-Místek (after a gap of 6 years with no trains)
   • Reopening of the Bohumín - Chałupki - Rybnik (- Katowice) border crossing with 3 EuroCity train pairs and 4 local train pairs. The reopening was postponed to 18 January 2016. Until then EC trains were diverted and local trains bustituted.
   • Czech Republic - Poland: direct services now run between Liberec and Szklarska Poręba Górna via Tanvald, following the approval of ČD RegioShuttle trains for use in Poland, or at least on this specific route. This permission apparently came just a few days before the timetable change!
7. France - Germany - Poland - Russia: the Russian night train service linking Paris and Moscow runs 3 days per week, an increase in comparison with most of 2015. It continues to operate overnight between Paris and Berlin. From June 2016 there should be an additional 3 train pairs per week between Berlin and Moscow using RZD's new Talgo trains.
8. Germany - Poland: the 3 daily train pairs Dresden/Görlitz - Wrocław run once again, this time in partnership with Polish operator KD. An additional 6-7 train pairs to/from Görlitz are provided by KD, running to/from Jelenia Gora/Wegliniec/Zielona Gora.
9. Germany - Switzerland: some Zürich - Munich EuroCity trains will be extended to/from Basel.
10. Hungary - Poland: the direct EuroCity train Varsovia between Budapest and Warsaw is restored after an absence of one year. On selected dates it will convey through cars Burgas/Varna/Sofia/Bar/Beograd - Moscow.
11. Hungary - Russia: a daily Budapest - Moscow service is provided by RZD.
12. Serbia - Turkey: direct trains between Belgrade and Istanbul - or somewhere between the Bulgarian border and Istanbul in any case depending on construction works - were expected to be restored after an absence of many years.

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Timetable period 14.12.2014 - 12.12.2015

Jump to December 2014 Timetable Change Summary

The offline journey planner for PCs/laptops offered by Austrian Railways - and with several language options - was discontinued at the end of 2015. However, the Slovakian infrastructure manager still offers a very similar programme, albeit only in Slovak! Click here and scroll down to PCEuropa.exe (CP 2015/2016) to download it.

Austria - Czech Republic: ÖBB reports passenger numbers between Graz and Prague have quadrupled since the introduction of direct services every 2 hours in December 2014. Despite being accelerated by an hour, the end to end journey time remains about 7 hours. This provides yet more evidence that rail can be popular for journeys of longer than 4 hours, especially when there is no need to change trains.

Austria - Germany: The Eurocity Vindobona between Vienna and Berlin used to carry as many as 90 passengers per train between Austria and Germany, but rail might have lost two thirds of these since the train was scrapped in December 2015. Read more in this European Transport Conference presentation.

Bulgaria: The Bulgarian government has done a u-turn! On 1 Feb 2015 almost all the trains withdrawn in January 2015 were reinstated thanks to an additional 40m BGN funding package. A victory for campaigners! Click here for a list of the 140 services originally planned to be axed.

Eurostar has relented to public pressure, abandoning plans to force passengers with bikes to dismantle them before taking them on board (November 2015).

France - Germany - Poland - Belarus - Russia: The thrice-weekly Paris - Berlin - Warsaw - Moscow service was reduced in frequency to weekly from April 2015, somewhat undermining recently announced price cuts. However, from 18/19 June it was increased to twice weekly until mid-September and re-timed to operate overnight between Paris and Berlin with brand new sleeping cars. We demand that DB (i) shows the train correctly in its journey planner and on all sources of departure information at stations, and (ii) sells tickets online and at stations. Just imagine how popular this could be if it were to run at least 5 days a week, with couchette cars added between Berlin and Paris!

Germany - Italy: Dutch operator Treinreiswinkel operated a weekly car-carrying overnight train between Düsseldorf and Verona from July until the middle of AugustSeptember 2015, the first direct connection between the populous Ruhrgebiet of Germany and Italy since 2006. You don't have to bring a vehicle along to travel on these trains, something DB Autozug could learn from. More info here.

Hungary - Serbia: The rail service between Röszke and Horgoš has been suspended following the completion of Hungary's border fence on 14 September 2015, which has severed the route. See for yourself by looking at this photo of the scene and this map. In the wake of the loss of passengers this caused, domestic Hungarian trains between Röszke and Szeged have also been cut, running for the last time on 31 October 2015. Will other cross-border routes follow...?

Moldova - Romania: The daily Chisinau - Bucharest train was reduced in frequency to thrice weekly from 23 March 2015.

Netherlands - France/Italy/Slovenia: EETC Autoslaaptrein services (overnight car-carrying trains) ceased without prior warning on 15 April 2015, having apparently succumbed to price hikes of 50% in the Netherlands and 30% in other countries for infrastructure usage and locomotive hire.

Norway - Sweden: After a period of uncertainty, the Oslo - Stockholm service was improved from 9 August 2015, with up to 3 train pairs and a best journey time about 1 hour quicker than before, plus catering for the first time in many years. Sadly the new service has apparently been plagued by punctuality problems thanks to the many long stretches of single track on the route.

Poland: recent situation. Almost all passenger trains in Poland are financially supported by the national government or the voivodoships. Unfortunately the amount of money available is decided on an annual basis and towards the end of each year, leading to a great deal of uncertainty about what will run in the following year... In some cases new services are started only for funding to be cut just a few months later. This start-stop approach also affects international trains: see this blog post, this article on cuts announced for the start of 2015 and the following list:

• Białystok - Hrodna/Grodno (Belarus): a new daily TLK service (as part of a through service to/from Kraków) was launched on 4 September 2016.
• Białystok - Kaunas (Lithuania): a new weekends only regional service of one daily train pair started on 17 June 2016. Although it operates on new 'Via Baltica' infrastructure in Lithuania, track condition in Poland is such that the trains take 4 hours 40 mins to cover the 250 km.
• Krzyz - Kostrzyn - Berlin: services were heavily disrupted by staff and rolling stock shortages at the Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn from 26 July to 4 September 2016, although the direct Krzyz - Berlin train pair was restored (with DB staff) from 1 August.
• Warsaw - Minsk: the long-standing daily overnight train with convenient departure and arrival times was reduced in frequency to twice a week from 28 April 2015 and axed completely on 13 December 2015.
• Wrocław - Berlin (DE): the SPD in Berlin is running a campaign for the reinstatement of the EuroCity service that ran for the last time on 13 December 2014. In late 2015, the States of Berlin and Brandenburg announced they would financially support weekend services in summer 2016, although the Polish ministry of transport had declared that no money is available. UPDATE: the service will run between 30 April and 25 September 2016 8 January 2017, funded entirely by Germany according to the information available to us.
• Wrocław - Dresden (DE): Funding for these trains is in place on the German side of the border from December 2014 until December 2018. 4 days before the timetable change in December 2014, it was announced that financial support had been secured on the Polish side until 28 February 2015. On 20 February it was confirmed that the trains would not run from 1 March owing to a lack of money. This meant Wrocław had no direct services to/from Germany and a new 2 km gap in the European passenger network was created between Görlitz and Zgorzelec. Polish trains were granted permission by DB Netz to run into Görlitz station from 21 September 2015, making it possible to extend regional trains of the Polish operator from Zgorzelec to/from Görlitz from the 2015/16 timetable change. A further announcement was made on 24 September that money has been found by the government of Lower Silesia to fund 3 KD train pairs Wrocław - Dresden through 2016, also starting in December 2015. Bringing the story up to date, both the Dresden - Wrocław services and 6-7 pairs of additional KD trains across the Görlitz/Zgorzelec border began operating on 13 December 2015, the contracts having been signed just three days in advance!
• Wrocław - Trutnov (CZ): the Lubawka - Kralovec border crossing sees passenger trains only on summer weekends. Direct Wrocław - Trutnov trains did not run in 2015, but 3 pairs of Jelenia Gora - Trutnov trains were provided on weekends between 25 April and 31 August 2015.
• Kraków - Bohumín/Ostrava (CZ): this new service started on 14 December 2014 and ran for the last time just 17 days later! A truly absurd situation that leaves the Skawina - Oświęcim line with no passenger trains, just months after the completion of EU-financed upgrading!
• Poznan - Frankfurt (Oder) (DE): regional services ceased on 31 December 2014, just 5 months after they (re)started in August 2014. A weekend service primarily to serve students then resumed from 6 February 2015. Update: this service ran for the last time on 31 August 2015, following PR's decision to stop running all commercial services.

Spain: The overnight train between Madrid and Barcelona, which continued to/from Cerbère in France until December 2012, ran for the last time on 7 April 2015.

December 2014 timetable change summary:

Good news:

1. Austria - Germany: the EuroNight train between Cologne and Vienna is extended to/from Düsseldorf. Despite rumours of conversion to 'global pricing', the full range of tickets is thankfully still valid on this train...
2. Austria - Hungary: additional EuroCity trains between Vienna and Budapest, forming an hourly service at peak times. One train pair is extended to/from Debrecen in Hungary... using Polish rolling stock, in an excellent example of good old cooperation and efficient use of assets!
3. Austria - Italy: the EuroCity train pair Vienna - Venice reinstated last year continues to run and gains a restaurant. Funding for the popular MICOTRA service between Villach and Udine has been secured until at least December 2015. More EU kick-start funding for operations please! Services now run more often and a new station has been opened on the line between Lienz and Fortezza. There are also additional trains between Innsbruck and Bolzano.
4. Austria - Poland: one EuroCity train pair between Vienna and Warsaw is extended to/from Gdynia.
5. Austria - Switzerland: the EuroCity Transalpin Graz - Zürich regains its panorama car, offering a wonderful view of the Alps as the train negotiates the Arlberg Pass.
6. Belgium - Netherlands: 'Benelux' InterCity trains from Brussels are increased in frequency to hourly and run through to/from Amsterdam for the first time since December 2012, albeit on a longer, slower route via Brussels Airport (why?). This means they reach Brussels just 37 minutes before some Eurostar departures, but common sense has prevailed and such connections are officially recognised.
7. Bulgaria - Romania - Hungary: a new daily long-distance train between Sofia and Budapest via the new Danube Bridge 2 operates, travelling by day between Sofia and Craiova and overnight between Craiova and Budapest.
8. Croatia - Slovenia: services are restored to the Čakovec - Središče - Ormož line, with 3 train pairs on weekdays. See also 'close but no cigar' below.
9. Czech Republic - Germany: four new regional train pairs operate between Gera and Cheb via Plauen, reducing end to end journey times by about 20 minutes.
10. Czech Republic - Poland: the daytime direct Eurocity train pair between Prague and Warsaw is reinstated. The Polish domestic section between Nysa and Głuchołazy regains two pairs of trains at weekends only, providing new journey opportunities between southern Poland and the Moravia region of the Czech Republic.
11. France - Italy: Thello began a Marseille - Nice - Genova - Milan open access service under the EuroCity brand. The service started with a single, badly-timed train pair, but from 12 April 2015 it was enhanced by the addition of a further two train pairs between Nice and Milan at rather more passenger-friendly times. InterRail holders unfortunately receive only a 25% discount on full fares.
12. Greece: the two pairs of international trains restored in May 2014 will continue, linking Thessaloniki with Sofia and Skopje/Belgrade. Trains on the latter route should be extended once a week in summer to/from Budapest.
13. Hungary - Serbia: one of the Budapest - Belgrade train pairs deleted in December 2012 has been reinstated, restoring the service to 3 train pairs daily.
14. Hungary - Slovenia: a direct service between Budapest and Ljubljana is reinstated after a gap of two years, this time with restaurant car (at least according to the Hungarian timetable). We hope that there will be no repeat of last year's partial bustitution on the Slovenian side owing to a "shortage of diesel locomotives".
15. Hungary - Ukraine: a new direct service runs between Budapest and Kiev.
16. Serbia - Croatia - Slovenia: the overnight train between Belgrade and Ljubljana via Zagreb is reinstated.
17. Switzerland - UK: Geneva - London journeys will be faster and more convenient four days a week thanks to better connections (of about 40 minutes) in Lille Europe.

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Timetable period 08.12.2013 - 13.12.2014

Jump to December 2013 Timetable Change Summary

Many international City Night Line services cut in late 2014. The following routes were scrapped in December 2014 (routes to/from Copenhagen on 1 November 2014):

• Amsterdam - Copenhagen - View petition against this decision
• the Amsterdam - Duisburg/Oberhausen part of Amsterdam - Prague
• the Amsterdam - Duisburg/Oberhausen part of Amsterdam - Warsaw
• Copenhagen - Prague - View petition against this decision
• Copenhagen - Zürich - View petition against this decision
• Paris - Berlin - Sign petition against this decision / Read article
• Paris - Hamburg
• Paris - Munich

So what is going on? DSB (Danish railways) has blamed the loss of the Copenhagen routes on the seasonal nature of demand and construction work on the Danish island of Fyn in summer 2015. However, DB appears to want to withdraw from this market, having already started to take rolling stock out of service as it becomes due for heavy maintenance. Complicating matters is the situation with subsidy for the service within Denmark, with different stories emerging from DB, DSB and the Danish government.

In recent times the service has gained a reputation for poorer service in return for higher fares (for which DB is responsible) and timetabling/booking difficulties, thanks mainly to the inability of the Dutch, French and German infrastructure managers to plan their construction work at least 3 months in advance. Infrastructure managers continue to increase track access charges, further weakening the economic case for night trains. DB has stated that operating costs (the sum of track access, locomotive hire and personnel) in France are 70% higher per train km than in Germany. In the case of the routes to Amsterdam, locomotives must be fitted with a new signalling system (ETCS) to haul the trains between Emmerich and Utrecht, adding greatly to operating costs. In the meantime airlines continue to enjoy their tax-free status. Put together, this would appear to signal the beginning of the end of international night trains and car-carrying trains to/from Germany, which DB has said must cover their operating costs (or else be cut) by 2017. Despite all this, the trains are not empty: the demand is there! The key question is: who should be responsible for running such trains given the unsupportive framework conditions? Click here to read a related opinion piece in the European Rail Journal.

Major EuroCity cuts from December 2014: on 14 December 2014 Berlin and Dresden lose their direct connections to Vienna and Villach, the train between Berlin and Wrocław will be axed and Budapest loses its direct link with Warsaw.

Journey planning: Although DB will no longer offer an offline journey planner from the end of 2014, ÖBB continues to do so: it can be downloaded for Windows here.

Austria:

• Night trains to Italy/Germany/Switzerland: Austria's ÖBB is apparently poised to make a 46m EUR investment in night train rolling stock, in complete contrast to Germany. Read more.
• EuroCity trains on the Brenner route between Innsbruck and Italy continue to be a success story, with longer trains and additional services beyond Verona to Venice and Bologna from April 2014.
• Austria - Italy: regional authorities in Italy are developing proposals to support the reintroduction of long-distance trains from Vienna to Trieste via Ljubljana (Slovenia). News article (in German).

Bulgaria:

• Connections with Romania: Regional cross-border trains between Vidin (BG), Golenti and Craiova (RO) via the infamous Danube Bridge II commenced on 10 May 2014. In June 2014 the Optima Express from Villach, Austria to Turkey was reported as running this way.
• Direct connections with Greece restored: A new Thessaloniki - Strimon - Kulata - Sofia day train pair was introduced on 10 May 2014 after an absence of 3 years, with a reasonably passenger-friendly timetable to boot!

Czech Republic:

• 2-hourly regional trains between Dečin and Rumburk via Bad Schandau, Sebnitz and the 'missing link' to Dolní Poustevna started on 5 July 2014 and are carrying more passengers than expected!

Germany:

• EuroCity trains on the Brenner route between Munich and Italy continue to be a success story, with longer trains and additional services beyond Verona to Venice and Bologna from April 2014.
• 2-hourly regional trains between Dečin and Rumburk via Bad Schandau, Sebnitz and the 'missing link' to Dolní Poustevna started on 5 July 2014 and are carrying more passengers than expected!
• Bad Bentheim - Hengelo (NL): local trains on this route will be reinstated (and extended to/from Bielefeld) in 2017. More here.

Greece - Macedonia - Serbia: A Belgrade - Skopje - Thessaloniki train pair was introduced on 9/10 May 2014, thus restoring international trains to/from Greece after a gap of 38 months. While this is welcome, we hope the planned 05:00 southbound departure time from Skopje will eventually be shifted later, giving the train a fighting chance to attract leisure travellers. Update: as of March 2015, the southbound train leaves Skopje at 04:45!

Italy - Slovenia: regional authorities in Italy are developing proposals to support the reintroduction of long-distance trains from Vienna to Trieste via Ljubljana (Slovenia). News article (in German).

The Netherlands - UK: Any Dutch Station tickets to/from London via the Channel Tunnel are once again available from NS International.

Poland: Kłodzko to Kudowa Zdrój was expected to reopen on 30 May 2014, reducing the length of the cross-border gap to Náchod Běloves station in the Czech Republic to a mere 5 km walk...

Serbia: Services between Jimbolia and Kikinda (Romania) ceased on 31 August 2014, along with passenger trains on the Serbian domestic routes Subotica - Kikinda and Zrenjanin - Belgrade. The Sombor - Vrbas line lost its passenger trains on 14 December 2014.

Sweden: National operator SJ stopped selling international point to point tickets (except to Copenhagen, Narvik and Oslo) from 1 August 2014.

December 2013 timetable change summary:

Good news:

• Croatia - Hungary: the Zagreb - Budapest service has been restored to two daily direct trains in each direction.
• Croatia - Slovenia: a service between Karlovac and Metlika will be reinstated on 15 December 2013.
• France - Germany: the Paris - Freiburg TGV train pair introduced in August 2007 continues.
• France - Spain: new direct AGV trains operate between Lyon/Marseille/Toulouse and Madrid/Barcelona, to be followed (possibly) by Geneva - Barcelona from March sometime in 2014. See also separate story under bad news below.
• Italy - Austria: a daytime Eurocity train pair (with Europe's most comfy compartment coaches) has been restored between Venice and Vienna after three years' absence.
• Switzerland - Austria: the Zürich - Austria route (via the Arlberg Pass) once again hosts a Eurocity train pair (with extremely comfortable Austrian compartment coaches) in the form of the 'Transalpin' Zürich - Graz, a big improvement over RailJet!

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The situation in south-east Europe remains dire. Back in 2007 it was still possible to travel between Ljubljana/Budapest/Vienna and Thessaloniki/Istanbul without changing, but today journeys are an ordeal rather than a pleasure. The lack of day train between Belgrade and Sofia renders many trans-Balkan rail journeys extremely difficult if not completely unfeasible.
Photo courtesy of afc45014 on Flickr.

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Timetable period 09.12.2012 - 07.12.2013

France - Switzerland: a new cross-border regional network centred on Geneva is to be launched in December 2017. More here.

End of the line for German car trains? There is increasing press speculation that DB will end Autozug operations and instead transport cars by truck (!) from sometime in 2017, leading to the loss of direct trains from northern Germany to southern Austria, France and Italy. Sadly these trains are unavailable to passengers who do not bring a car or motorcycle along, a bizarre and discriminatory policy that has no doubt contributed to the declining economic viability of the network. It is not yet known if the regular City Night Line (sleeper) trains that also convey car transporter wagons will also be affected. With this loss and SNCF's withdrawal from the car train market several years ago, only a handful of routes in/to/from central and south-east Europe will remain. Will Autozug's passengers travel on day trains and hire a car at their destination, or simply drive all the way...? UPDATE: trains on the last remaining Autozug route from Berlin's Wannsee terminal (to Munich) ran for the last time on 26 April 2014.

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