[Trainman Dave]

It does now:

ICE 9558 leaves Frankfurt at 6:34 and arrives Paris at 10:41
ICE 9559 leaves Paris at 18:54 and arrives Frankfurt at 22:58

This service is via Saarbrucken

I also found two Stuttgart to Paris TGV services. 3:39
They showed more connections however by the Stuttgart - Koln - Paris routeing !!! 6:14

[one very bored guy]

^^^ thanks, but that's still not the 3hr 50min as shown in the article, nor the 3hr 30minutes as advertised at Frankfurt's Hauptbahnhof.

In fact, it's only 10minutes faster than the previous fastest train which I could get as long as 5years ago.

Something is really smelling fishy here.

[Trainman Dave]

^^^ thanks, but that's still not the 3hr 50min as shown in the article, nor the 3hr 30minutes as advertised at Frankfurt's Hauptbahnhof.

In fact, it's only 10minutes faster than the previous fastest train which I could get as long as 5years ago.

Something is really smelling fishy here.

I don't really expect to see any real speed up until there are five daily trains at the December time table change. I have noticed that all new projects like this need a few months to develope their potential. In Germany at the moment, they may be using the old EC train paths!

[Grumpy]

Does anyone know if this new addition is complete yet? And if they are also rennovating the actual train sheds (which from memory were rather decayed and rusty)

On a picture in the latest issue of "Ville et Transports" the new addition is completed.
I cannot give you information about the renovated sheds, sorry.
The latest I know of are pictures in a "RailPassion" special about the Alsace region (2006) were there was nothing mentioned about this.

[Grumpy]

Picture gallery of the LGV Rhin/Rhone (U/C at the moment)

http://www.lgvrhinrhone.com/mediatheque.php?type=3

[Grumpy]

Basel SBB , 09.06.07

http://www.bahnonline.ch/phpkit/newsfotos/id9037_24.jpg

[Grumpy]

Opening next weekend : the Lötschbergtunnel in la Suisse:

http://www.isl.uni-karlsruhe.de/wwwstud/rehwald/images/Loetschberg_Basislinie.jpg

http://www.elco.ch/img/medieninfos/medieninfo2004-10-5.jpg

more info in english : http://www.blsalptransit.ch/en/frameset_e.htm

[Grumpy]

Who has pictures of the recently opened Betuwelijn in the Netherlands ?

[Grumpy]

Seems I am the only one to be interest in this thread.....:sly:

I have a question :why is La Défense not connected with the HS-network in France?

[Fabb]

Seems I am the only one to be interest in this thread.....:sly:

I have a question :why is La Défense not connected with the HS-network in France?

I remember an old project of a TGV station in La Défense. It was supposed to be part of a link between Paris and Normandy. I seriously doubt that it will become a reality.

Another possibility that was envisioned left me even more skeptical. TGV's were supposed to use the Eole line to cross under Paris between La Défense and the eastern network.

The Eole line won't reach La Défense for another several years anyway, so, I guess this is still science fiction. In a while, the idea will probably be rejected as preposterous.

[Fabb]

Rail rivals race for success on high-speed line


By Robert Wright
Updated: 8:41 p.m. ET June 8, 2007

Europe's high-speed rail network will take a huge step towards becoming truly international on Sunday when the first scheduled trains leave Paris for Strasbourg, Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland via a new, 300km-long dedicated high-speed line.

The new line, the LGV Est, will cut the journey time between Paris and Strasbourg by an hour and 40 minutes to two hours 20 minutes, shorten journey times to neighbouring countries and be the longest and most significant of six new rail lines designed for speeds of 250kph (155mph) and above opening across Europe this year.

Yet the event has contrasting implications for European unity. The LGV Est and several of the other new lines will open up fast international rail travel in Europe, transforming the continent's high-speed track network from a series of mainly domestic lines into one carrying significant numbers across borders. SNCF, France's national train operator, and Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national operator, will co-operate to provide services on the line.
Story continues below ↓advertisement

"For the first time, Europe's railways are combining forces," Deutsche Bahn says.

However, the LGV Est will also provide a fresh battleground for Franco-German train rivalry. The line will be the first where potential buyers can see SNCF's TGV, built by France's Alstom, run regularly on the same track as Deutsche Bahn's ICE3, built by Germany's Siemens.

Champions of both technologies are excited about the effect on a feud so bitter it is reminiscent of the commercial aircraft rivalry between Boeing and Airbus.

BoeingAirbusFrançois Lacôte, technical director of Alstom Transport and a former technical director of SNCF, boasts that the new line – where trains will run at a maximum 320kph (199mph) for the first time in Europe – will show the TGV's all-round superiority.

"I hope you'll have energy meters on every high-speed train – to have the real proof that ICE3 consumes more energy than the TGV," he crows.

Senior managers at Siemens, meanwhile, deride the TGV, first brought into service in 1981, as 30-year-old technology. They claim the ICE3, introduced in 1999, offers better acceleration because its motors are spread along the train under the floors, not concentrated in power cars at either end as on the TGV.

They question why SNCF and Alstom earlier this year chose to set a new world rail speed record of 574.8kph with a heavily modified, shortened TGV during a test-run on the LGV Est in May.

Friedrich Smaxwil, a member of Siemens' executive board, suggests the attempt reflects Alstom's struggle to win export orders. "France didn't sell any high-speed trains in the last year outside France," he says.

Alstom has previously sold TGV-type trains to South Korea and Spain, while Siemens has recently had successes in Russia and Spain.

Mr Lacôte says the most important arena for future competition could be China, whose high-speed rail market is rapidly expanding.

New export orders for Alstom would certainly be welcome news for SNCF and Réseau Ferré de France, France's national rail infrastructure company, which is relying on high-speed rail's wider economic benefits – including French exports and regeneration along the line – to justify the LGV Est's €5.5bn ($7.4bn, £3.7bn) cost, which has been mainly funded by French taxpayers.

Alain le Guellec, SNCF's director for the project, says he expects it to be a technical success but concedes profits may be more elusive.
Copyright The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Fabb]

Alstom to Supply 80 Double Decker Very High Speed Trains to SNCF for a Total of €2.1 Billion

LEVALLOIS PERRET, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

The SNCF (France’s national railway company) has ordered 80 double decker very high speed trains from Alstom (Paris:ALO) for a total of €2.1 billion. A conditional option of 40 additional train sets can be added to the order, which would eventually increase its value to €3.1 billion. First deliveries are scheduled for 2009.

This event marks the introduction of new double decker stock whose design fulfils the new requirements for interoperability, comfort and overall purchase and operational cost. Intended to operate at speeds of up to 320kph on the French, German, Swiss and Luxembourg networks, the trains will be fitted with signalling equipment which is compatible with all European networks and also with traction equipment adapted to the different currents of the countries through which they will travel.

In terms of comfort, the accent has been placed on accessibility for people with reduced mobility. Over 10% of the trains’ total capacity (509 seats) will be reserved for these passengers, with 52 specially designed seats. The wheelchair user areas will be larger and corridor width will favour ease of getting around.

Derived from the TGVTM Duplex, the new trains will benefit from a proven architecture and a large number of shared features, enabling development, manufacturing and operating costs to be reduced, particularly in terms of maintenance.

Alstom has manufactured 70% of the trains which currently operate at over 300kph worldwide. The company’s very high speed activity is constantly developing, thanks to its unrivalled experience and technological lead. Since the launch of the first TGVTM in 1981, 640 very high speed trains have been sold throughout the world. They have covered over 2.5 billion kilometres (6,500 times the distance between the earth and the moon), carried 1.5 billion passengers, have passed from a commercial speed of 260kph to 320kph, and have three world rail speed records to their name: 380 kph in 1981, 515.3 kph in 1990 and 574.8 kph in 2007.

[Swede]

By Robert Wright
[...]and be the longest and most significant of six new rail lines designed for speeds of 250kph (155mph) and above opening across Europe this year.[...]
Which are the other five? anyone know?

[Trainman Dave]

Which are the other five? anyone know?
I expect that they will include:

Cordoba to Malaga (might count as two sections)
Ebbsfleet to St Pancras
Antwerp to Amsterdam via Rotterdam ( might count as two sections?)
Milan to Bologna
Tarragona to Barcelona

[Grumpy]

Railteam will make travel across the European rail network as seamless as possible.

It is a cooperation between Europe’s leading high-speed rail operators, currently DB (Germany), SNCF (France), Eurostar (UK, France and Belgium), NS Hispeed (Netherlands), ÖBB (Austria), SBB (Switzerland) and SNCB (Belgium), as well as two of their high-speed subsidiaries Thalys and Lyria, with the possibility of more train operators joining in the future.

Rediscover Europe with the Railteam network. From Paris to Berlin, London to Vienna, choose among a wide selection of destinations in Europe...Brussels, Zürich or Frankfurt… Whether you are after a bustling break or a sleepy sojourn, you'll find the perfect city on the Railteam network.


What are the customers’ benefits today?

At the five main Railteam hubs Brussels Midi, Lille Europe, Stuttgart, Cologne and Frankfurt – more to follow at a later stage – and on major stations, multilingual staff and information points will be at the disposal of international travellers in order to guide them and make their connections as simple as possible.

* Onboard crew from all partners will also be able to answer your questions in connection with your international travel.
* If you miss your connection because your Railteam train is running late you can simply “hop on the next available train”.
* Holders of a 1st class General Season ticket in addition will profit from free entrance to the lounges of all Railteam member railways and from special conditions when renting a car at the travel destination within the Railteam network.


What are the customers’ benefits in the future?

* Customers will be able to book any Railteam journey through any partner point of sale at the best price.
* Customers of Railteam will also be able to exchange, modify or cancel their ticket by contacting any of the Railteam partners, whichever country they are travelling in.

http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/railteam-netzplan-gross.jpg

[R@ptor]

Nice. Let's hope that Renfe and Trenitalia will also join the Railteam soon, then we would have a real European network.

[Fabb]

I'm surprised that Nice and Toulouse are not part of the network. They are international destinations.

[Grumpy]

The new CISALPINO is arrived: images from http://www.bahnonline.ch

http://www.bahnonline.ch/phpkit/newsfotos/id8512_05.jpg

http://www.bahnonline.ch/phpkit/newsfotos/id8512_02.jpg

http://www.bahnonline.ch/phpkit/newsfotos/id8512_07.jpg

http://www.bahnonline.ch/phpkit/newsfotos/id8512_08.jpg

[Fabb]

Thanks for the photos !

It has a japanese look imo.

[Trainman Dave]

Thanks for the photos !

It has a japanese look imo.

Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :omg:

This is a very Italian look. It is a variation on the ETR series trains which have emerging freom Fiat or Breda for the last 20 years.!

[WonderlandPark]

I'm surprised that Nice and Toulouse are not part of the network. They are international destinations.

Very strange why SNCF has not linked those trains into the Railteam system. It doesn't make sense, I have used SNCF extensively in southern France and you book through the exact same system. A ticket Toulouse to Paris or Carcassonne to Avignon is the same as anywhere else in France. TGV style trains run (slower) all the way to Montpellier and Narbonne. Bordeaux is not served by the highest speed TGV's, so it isn't just about being only part of the 200KM + network.

[Trainman Dave]

I'm surprised that Nice and Toulouse are not part of the network. They are international destinations.

I think that they are not included becuase they don't have direct services to either Lille or Strasbourg. It would appear that the only lines included on that map are direct connections from the four Hubs. A direct route to Paris does not apear to qualify. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[nito]

Europe's first Shinkansen are being loaded on a boat to make their journey to Britain.


Javelin heads for UK

http://transportbriefing.co.uk/strategyandprojects.php?id=2052

Train manufacturer Hitachi Rail Systems has revealed that the first 6-car Class 395 unit needed to provide domestic rail services on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link - including the Olympic Javelin shuttle - has been delivered on time to the shipping line ready for transportation to the UK.

The unit, which will eventually join the fleet of train operator Southeastern, has been successfully loaded on to a ship at Hitachi’s Kasado Factory in Japan, having completed extensive factory testing. Upon arrival at Southampton docks in late August, the unit will be rail-hauled to a new purpose-built maintenance facility in Ashford, Kent, for commissioning prior to night-time testing starting on the National Rail network in early October. By the end of this year four of the 6-car trains are due to have arrived in the UK after which deliveries will stop for a year while Hitachi concentrates on building trains for the Japanese market. The company will then supply an additional 25 trains to complete the £260m order.

The trains will provide high speed domestic services into St Pancras using the Channel Tunnel Rail Link from 2009 and will also form the Javelin shuttle service which will be used to ferry passengers to and from Stratford International station during the 2012 Olympic Games. On the High Speed 1 route between Ashford and London St Pancras the trains will be capable of 186mph but while using the 'classic' network on routes to and from Dover will have a top speed of 100mph.

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/5176/getdatamainphprc1.jpg

[Grumpy]

a picture of 1983...

http://www.mezimages.com/membres/07/87791-TGV_001.jpg

[Fabb]

TURIN - LYON

AFX News Limited
Italy to seek EU funding for Turin-Lyon high-speed railway line UPDATE
07.12.07, 7:47 AM ET

ROME (Thomson Financial) - Italian infrastructure minister Antonio Di Pietro said a planned high-speed railway link between Turin and Lyon is one of a series of crossborder rail projects for which he plans to seek EU funding.

The high-speed rail link between Turin and Lyon has faced extensive opposition from local residents and environmental groups, particularly the plans to build a long tunnel through the Alps.

'Next Wednesday I have a meeting with EU transport commissioner Jacques Barot when I will file a series of rail projects for EU funding, and not just the new Brenner Pass link,' Di Pietro said.

Earlier this week, Di Pietro agreed with Austrian authorities on the launch of a new crossborder link via the Brenner Pass to Austria.

Confirming the inclusion of the Turin-Lyon link in the EU project list, Di Pietro said the route for the railway link has yet to be finalised.

The list of projects also includes a rail link with Slovenia.

Speaking at an infrastructure conference, Di Pietro said Italy must overcome opposition from local groups and politicians to get new infrastructure in place.

In further details, infrastructure ministry officials said its list for EU funding includes 4 international projects as well as 23 national projects which qualify because they support crossborder links.

The 4 international projects are the Turin-Lyons link, a high-speed rail tunnel under the Brenner Pass, a rail link from Trieste to Divaca in Slovenia and another rail link from Milan to the port of Genoa which qualifies as an international link, the officials said.

The request for EU funding amounts to 1.2 bln eur for the international projects and 2.4 bln for the national ones, they said, adding the overall investment for the 27 projects is seen at 11 bln.

These requests for EU co-funding compare to the 8 bln eur available in EU coffers for international projects and a similar sum for national ones, all of which must be spread across all 27 member states.

On the Brenner Tunnel, the officials said the EU's crossborder infrastructure czar Karel Van Miert said this is a very good project and should get the maximum 30 pct EU funding of about 1 bln eur, half to Austria and half to Italy.

Exploratory tunnels for the Brenner link have started but the full works are only scheduled to begin in 2010, they said.

This rail tunnel is likely to be considerably longer than the present fairly short road tunnel at Brenner because high-speed trains cannot climb very steep hills, they said.

stephen.jewkes@thomson.com

COPYRIGHT

Copyright AFX News Limited 2007.

[Fabb]

A high-speed revolution

Jul 5th 2007 | BRUSSELS, FRANKFURT, PARIS AND STRASBOURG
From The Economist print edition

http://www.economist.com/images/20070707/CWB934.gif

AS THE fastest train in Europe reaches its top speed of 320kph (200mph) the glasses of wine on the bar barely wobble. Champagne country is a blur as the train tears along Europe's newest high-speed line—the first to link France and Germany. France's Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) can now travel between Stuttgart and Paris in only three hours 40 minutes instead of six hours. The latest generation of Germany's Inter-City Express (ICE) trains has similarly shrunk the journey time between Frankfurt and Paris.

This week high-speed railways in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland joined with existing international services, such as the cross-channel Eurostar and the Paris-Brussels Thalys, to form Railteam, a new marketing alliance. The aim by the end of next year is to have one website that will allow travellers to view timetables and prices and, with one or two clicks, book tickets from one end of Europe to another. At the European Commission's insistence, Railteam members will compete on prices, though there could be some tricky moments as some of them team up to take on airlines.

Europe is in the grip of a high-speed rail revolution. Four new lines are opening this year and next, with trains running up to 320kph (see map). The eastern France TGV line is the first, to be followed in November by a new link from the Channel Tunnel to a new rail hub at London St Pancras, connecting Britain's first really fast line to the rest of the network. Paris will be only two hours 20 minutes away, and Brussels less than two hours. By 2008 Brussels will have new high-speed links to Amsterdam and Cologne. Railteam's aim is to increase high-speed passengers from 15m a year today to 25m by 2010.

The opening of the TGV-Est last month marked a huge change of heart for France. Its high-speed rail network has been spinning a web from Paris to the corners of the French hexagon since the mid-1970s. But now the TGV-Est wires France into the heart of its biggest neighbour, Germany, and gives birth to a joint venture between the French and German state-owned railways, SNCF and Deutsche Bahn (DB).

Although joint ventures between state-owned rail champions and a grand Railteam marketing alliance might not seem an ideal way of introducing a new level of competition into an industry long regarded as rusty, it is an important start. International passenger-rail services in Europe will be opened up to competition from January 2010. It could lead to a dramatic liberalisation of Europe's railways, akin to that of its airlines. Europe's open skies led to more privatisation of state airlines and the emergence of new, low-cost carriers such as easyJet and Ryanair. If Europe's railway revolution stays on track, an easyTrain or Ryanrail could emerge.

The prospects for Europe's trains have hardly been better since the great age of steam. For decades planes, cars and lorries have been quicker, more convenient and usually more reliable ways to transport people and goods throughout much of Europe. But concern over climate change, hassles at overcrowded airports, delayed flights and congested roads have conspired with better high-speed rail technology to make the train an increasingly attractive alternative, and an especially green one: a full high-speed electric train emits between a tenth and a quarter of the carbon dioxide of a plane, according to the bosses of Eurostar.
Signalling problems

Nevertheless, running railways is an expensive business and integration across national borders is painful and fraught with technical and political obstacles. Much of the expense is shouldered by taxpayers, who pay for the dedicated high-speed tracks, but the train services that run on them mostly make a profit (though Eurostar has been dogged by losses relating to the Channel Tunnel).

Then there are the technical difficulties. Brussels has been piling up directives on inter-operability for the past 16 years. Yet apart from a few services such as Eurostar and Thalys, rail travel has remained national, with locomotives and drivers changing at borders and little in the way of through tickets or co-ordinated timetables. Harmonising high-speed train control systems is an expensive nightmare. Eurostar trains have four different power systems for France, Belgium, the Channel Tunnel and the London commuter lines they had to use while waiting for the high-speed link to open.

Another obstacle to change is that governments and trade unions regard railways as providers of stable jobs that are shielded from competition. So there has been much resistance to opening up the market, particularly in France and Germany. The hope is that a grand alliance, and joint ventures under its umbrella, stand more chance of breaking free from old constraints than attempts to strike separate deals on particular routes.
Vorsprung durch DB

There is no doubt that Germany's state-owned railway is at the forefront of Europe's rail revolution. Hartmut Mehdorn, chief executive of DB, has turned a chronic loss-making railway into a powerful international business which plans to float some 30% of its shares next year. It is already a world-class logistics company, with a global business based on its international rail-freight activity. That could prove to be a useful hedge against greater competition in passenger rail.

DB carries twice as much freight and three times as many passengers as SNCF and owns and operates more than 90% of Germany's rail network. Over 200 competitors, mostly small firms that bid for franchises to run local services subsidised by regional authorities, run trains on its tracks. But DB still dominates the long-distance and inter-city traffic. Only two rivals compete on long-distance passenger services: Veolia on the Leipzig-Berlin-Rostock route, and Georg Verkehrsorganisation, which runs night trains between Berlin and Malmo in Sweden.

State rail firms have the ability to foil smaller rivals and new entrants. One way DB does this is with access to its tracks: InterConnex, owned by Veolia (a French group), fought a losing battle to run a passenger service between Frankfurt and Cologne. It was only offered a track on the right bank of the Rhine, which is winding and subject to delays. Some believe this is why DB will not be allowed to retain full ownership of the rail network in its pending privatisation. But Mr Mehdorn more or less made keeping the tracks a condition for staying when his contract was renewed for three years last month. Britain showed what can go wrong when track and train companies are separated: after the shambolic privatisation of British Rail the network company, Railtrack, collapsed and in effect had to be renationalised. Not surprisingly, there is little appetite to try anything similar on the Continent.

Over at SNCF the debates are different. Guillaume Pepy, SNCF's managing director, was taken aback when he was recently asked about privatisation. “No politician in France ever suggests privatising SNCF,” he replied. But even if privatisation is not on the agenda in France, that does not mean greater commercialisation has been ruled out. There will be no avoiding it once access to Europe's passenger lines follows the freight liberalisation that started last January. SNCF's union-bound freight business is suffering so badly in the new environment that it will probably need rescuing by a partly privatised DB. But both SNCF's charismatic president, Anne-Marie Idrac, who made her name rejuvenating the Paris Metro, and Mr Pepy are bullish about international high-speed passenger rail: they conceived Railteam.

How successful will the new high-speed lines be at taking business away from airlines? A big shift in passenger numbers would be more likely if airlines had to pay the same taxes that train operators do, namely value-added tax and a tax on fuel, both of which would push up air fares. But despite the resulting price disadvantage, high-speed rail still has many attractions. The added comfort of a train and the ability to walk about, eat in a dining car, work online or use a mobile phone—not to mention the lack of endless queues and security checks—mean that high-speed rail offers a good alternative to flying. Hence the razzmatazz on May 25th when SNCF and DB ran their first high-speed trains from Stuttgart and Frankfurt to Paris, under a joint venture called Alleo, which is part of Railteam.

http://www.economist.com/images/20070707/2707WB1.jpg
Reuters Move over, aeroplanes

There is more to the rivalry between rail and air than the experience in transit, however. Railways must compete in other respects, too. SNCF is justly proud of its airline-style yield management system (originally based on the expertise of Sabre, an offshoot of American Airlines), which fills up seats by pricing them according to demand. This booking-only system enables SNCF to fill over 80% of seats on average.

DB tried to introduce a similar system in 2003, but abandoned it because of opposition from politicians and consumer groups. They wanted DB to retain its turn-up-and-pay style of rail travel, which German passengers cherish. Karl-Friedrich Rausch, the head of DB's passenger business, consoles himself with the thought that although DB does not fill as many of its seats as SNCF, travellers can at least arrive at, say, Frankfurt airport's shiny new station and be sure that they can get an ICE train every half hour to Stuttgart or Munich without booking. One of the reasons for the German preference for hop-on, hop-off high-speed trains is that stage lengths are shorter than in France, where the population is more spread out, with fewer big towns. One German idea adopted by Railteam is that frequent travellers will be able to board the next train and get a guaranteed seat if they miss a connection because of a delay.

Mr Rausch, who used to work for Lufthansa, reckons airlines are 15 years ahead of railways in the way they manage their businesses. But he is doing his best to catch up. He is concentrating initially on the improvements to customer service that trains can offer. DB already runs co-ordinated services with Lufthansa that allow travellers to transfer from a plane to a train with a single ticket, for example. Mr Pepy at SNCF reckons that when rail networks are opened up in 2010, airlines such as Lufthansa and Air France-KLM will start operating their own train services. Mr Rausch is more cautious. He thinks open access will take some years to become a reality and that airlines will probably get involved only as partners to train operators.

Whether through competition, co-operation or both, a plethora of European directives such as the “Railway Interoperability Directive” and the “Third Railway Package” will encourage the emergence of this new era of international rail travel. Rail bosses note that on six-hour journeys they are typically winning more than 60% of the leisure market from airlines. The same is happening with business travellers on four-hour journeys. It may be a while before you can choose between a French TGV or a German ICE to ride to Bucharest or even Naples. But as when Lenin sped in his sealed carriage through war-torn Germany 90 years ago, the train of revolution has left the station.

[eduardo88]

I really hope DB isnt completely privatized! I have to say railways is one of the few areas I completely support a state-controlled-monopoly. It guarantees adequate service, we've all seen the state of British rail...

[tigernar]

Of course railways should be state-controlled, with regular services all over a country. But there is another way to do it to. Here in Norway, the government separated the train operating part of the state controlled company from the rail owning part. Both companies are still owned by the state(and there's still only one passenger train operator, the state), but there is competition in between train operators. The goods competition is good, as long as EU is there, without ESA we could done even better. But the point is that it's important that the state controlls the infrastructure, if not it can't be a clean competition.

The british government did a mistake when they privatised the infrastructure, because infrastructure is not profitable. But of course state controlled railways are preferable.

[Grumpy]

New 'Technicentre Lyon' , recently put in service:

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/5459/hangarlaguillpx8.jpg

[Fabb]

High speed train Madrid-Barcelona to open in Dec

2 August 2007

MADRID - José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announced the high-speed AVE train between Madrid and Barcelona will open on 21 December, after years of delay.

The AVE train, which has been beset by delays caused by political squabbling, should finally connect Spain's two biggest cities.

But campaigners oppose its route, saying it will undermine Antoni Gaudi's famously unfinished temple La Sagrada Familia.

Seville, in contrast, was connected by AVE train to Madrid in 1992.

Zapatero also announced the investment of EUR 500 million to broaden Barcelona airport by 2010 to have three runways.

[one very bored guy]

How on earth will it undermine the Segrada Familia?

[borgo100]

jeeze i wish north america had somthing like this, or just southern ontairo, i love going placed but don't want to pay $1000 for plane ticket or sit for 2 days on a train from Toronto to Newyork

[Trainman Dave]

How on earth will it undermine the Segrada Familia?

I believe that the route between Estacio Barcelona Sants and Barcelona Sagrera was planned to run under Carrer de Provença and Carrer de Mallorca. Carrer de Provença appears run beside La Sagrada Familia.

[nito]

I was under the impression that Europes' first Shinkansen would be arriving later this month, but it looks like the lead carriage has arrived early.


http://cache.viewimages.com/xv/72298148.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF193F669B259AB992A04CCE22DD6D7B538577E989B9328DF49DB

http://cache.viewimages.com/xv/72298142.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF193F669B259AB992A04CCE22DD6D7B5385768248930FBD8F8CD

http://cache.viewimages.com/xv/72298147.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF193F669B259AB992A04CCE22DD6D7B538575D3160030B09A922

[KingKrunch]

looking good :)

[Joka]

What route will these Shinkasen trains be traveling?

[Boris2k7]

jeeze i wish north america had somthing like this, or just southern ontairo, i love going placed but don't want to pay $1000 for plane ticket or sit for 2 days on a train from Toronto to Newyork

Indeed. I am so freaking jealous! Hell, I would die just to get conventional passenger rail back to Calgary...

[Fabb]

Fast track to Eastern Europe's future
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6951746.stm

The railways of Eastern Europe are going through a period of great upheaval including sudden privatisation and modernisation, following years of neglect. Nick Thorpe took a rail trip through the region to see for himself.

The lady in the brown dress held up the Tihany express.

"Please wait!" she called, as she scuttled down the platform, plastic bottle in hand. "The children are thirsty."

The pot-bellied signalman breathed the sigh of a man used to taking orders from women all his life, and sat down heavily on a bench, his red cap catching the late afternoon sun like a Balkan woodpecker.

The lady filled the bottle from a tap on the platform, hurried back to the train, handed the water in through the window and waved to the signalman. He blew his whistle and the train continued, hooting round Lake Balaton, like an ancient iron goose.

I have witnessed many such scenes this summer on the railways of Eastern Europe: the solidarity of passengers with one another, the leniency of ticket collectors and railwaymen.

Despite the general poverty of the railways, the decay and delay, there is what I can only describe as an old-fashioned socialism on the railways of Eastern Europe, which the roads have never had.

People feel the train is genuinely theirs. You notice it most in summer, beside the Baltic Sea in Poland, Lake Balaton in Hungary or anywhere where the train is part of the people's holiday.

Children still wave at strangers and strangers cannot resist waving back. Perhaps that is also why urban youth spend so much effort spraying their strange designs on the carriages.

Searching for a new model

But this is a time of great change on the tracks of Eastern Europe.

The rolling stock is 25 years old on average - the locomotives and carriages and freight wagons - and companies are competing to replace them.

The cargo arms of the big state rail companies are being sold off and, in some countries at least, are already flexing new, private muscles.

This year the rail freight market was liberalised throughout the European Union and in 2010 passenger traffic will follow. Each country is trying to avoid the mistakes made by others.

EU money is providing an important boost and so is the increasing congestion on the roads. The number of lorries on Polish roads alone has tripled in the past three years.

"Europe has shifted its centre of gravity eastwards," says Janusz Piechocinski, director of the Transport Consultants Group in Warsaw, "and we can all gain from the pool of experience here".

To open the vast markets of the former Soviet Union and Asia, he offers a model: British finance, German logistics and Polish experience in crossing the eastern borders.

For now, those borders present a major headache to freight companies. There are two different kinds of documentation, even two different widths of track (the Russian is wider).

Now President Putin has signalled his intention to privatise the vast Russian railways.

EU funding

"Will EU players be allowed to participate or only the Germans?" Piechocinski asks. He is full of questions.

"In a globalised world is there any sense in keeping Hungarian, Czech and Polish railway companies or would it make sense to put together an alliance of them to cut costs and restructure?

"Why concentrate so much EU money on high-speed trains and trans-European railway corridors, when it might be better spent on modernising trains and tracks used by most of the population?

"Why is privatisation stagnating in western Europe, but moving ahead so fast in the east?"

The Poles began privatising their freight transport three years ago and the first private passenger train will run this autumn. They have also been the most successful of the East Europeans in tapping EU funds so far.

Above all, Piechocinski believes in the future.

"We've entered a period of 20 years of prosperity and growth," he says.

'Slow but safe'

And in Prague, Ales Ondruj, the marketing director of Czech Railways, is also optimistic.

"Last year we had three million more passengers than in 2005," he says.


In places, the train is only allowed to travel at 30 miles an hour
The new super-city Pendolino express has shaved hours off the route from Prague to Ostrava in the east. But he laments the years of neglect.

"The age of the trains is not the main problem, but the absence in eastern Europe of the kind of constant upgrading and modernisation you see in the west."

"We may be slow, but we're safe," says Zbigniew Szafranski of the Polish rail company, PKP, when I ask about the ponderous progress of my intercity train from Warsaw to Gdansk.

He explains that the wooden sleepers under the first 40 miles (64km) of that line are almost destroyed.

In places, the train is only allowed to travel at 30 miles an hour (50kmph). While the modernisation of north-south routes would be more important for Poles, EU money is focused more on east-west routes.

He dreams of 180-mile-per-hour trains between Warsaw and Gdansk, cutting the journey time from five to three hours.

On the train two teenage lads make room for me in an already crowded carriage. They are on their way to a wind-surfing camp in Hel - don't laugh - it is a rather pretty spit of sand, stretching out into the Baltic Sea.

Will East European railway hospitality survive privatisation?

One can only hope.

[nito]

What route will these Shinkasen trains be traveling?The Shinkansens will run on four routes using the CTRL and upgraded conventional commuter lines to drastically reduce journey times between several Kent commuter towns.

London St Pancras - Ebbsfleet
London St Pancras - Stratford International - Ebbsfleet

London St Pancras - Broadstairs
London St Pancras - Stratford International - Ebbsfleet - Chatham - Gillingham - Rainham - Sittingbourne - Faversham - Whitstable - Herne Bay - Birchington-on-Sea - Margate - Broadstairs

London St Pancras - Margate
London St Pancras - Stratford International - Ebbsfleet - Ashford International - Wye - Canterbury West - Sturry - Minster - Ramsgate - Broadstairs - Margate

London St Pancras - Folkestone
London St Pancras - Stratford International - Ebbsfleet - Ashford International - Sandling - Folkestone West - Folkestone Central

Essentially journey times will be cut by a third or a half meaning more people have better access to Central London.




Latest pictures and render of London St Pancras - the future home of Eurostar in London - less than 3 months to go!


End of the line

"London’s huge new international transport hub, St Pancras will be completed in three month’s time. The station will be the new terminus for Eurostar and connect for the first time with the Midlands network as well as services north and south of the capital via First Capital Connect (formerly Thameslink). The project managers have bravely publicicised the exact date time of the opening and all the huge Eurostar trains will be moved overnight. An electronic clock at the station is counting down the minutes.

Originally St Pancras station was built in four years (1864-1868) by William Barlow, the eminent Victorian Railway engineer. Work started at St Pancras in 2001 with the completion date set for 14 November 2007. St Pancras will be the “Jewel in the Crown” of High Speed 1 connecting the centre of London to the European high speed rail network, it is the UK's largest ever construction project and the first new section of railway for over a century. The route of HS1 uses over 150 bridges, including the longest high speed rail viaduct in the world and the largest ever tunnels under London. HS1 is costing £5.8bn and as well as being delivered on time and within budget is an active catalyst for over £10.5bn investment in regeneration.

The Barlow train shed is the largest enclosed space of its kind in the world (689ft long, 243ft wide and 118ft high). There are 850 cast iron pillars that raise the train deck 18ft above ground level. The undercroft area below the train deck was originally used to store beer barrels and will now be converted for use as Eurostar departures and arrivals lounges as well as The Arcade shopping area.

The ironwork of the roof has been painted in 25,000 litres of ‘English Heritage Barlow Blue’ (an exact match to the original colour of the station), all of the 300,000 Welsh slates on the roof have been replaced with new slates quarried from the same quarry as the originals, the station uses over 60 million bricks, several million of which have had to be replaced and over 250,000 km of cabling and extensive wi-fi systems will make this among the most technologically advanced stations in the world.

The renovation and modernisation of St Pancras International has cost £800m and it is expected that up to 50 million people per year will use and visit the station. The original station clock was broken and an exact replica, made by Dent Clock will be installed."


London St Pancras to the right, London King's Cross to the left. The picture also illustrates the new concourse being built to the side of King's Cross. The large wasteland in-between is to be redeveloped into a brand new quarter, of interest this wasteland will be the first sight of London due to the CTRL running under London through 2x18km tunnels.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/StPancras1.jpg


Platforms 1-4 will be used by Midland Mainline train to Sheffield, Leeds, Nottingham and Derby. Platforms 5-10 which run the entire length of the station are dedicated to Eurostar. Platforms 11-13 will be the terminus platforms for the Shinkansen train services mentioned previously. Platforms 5-10 shown in the picture with the 'arcade' to the far right.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/StPancras3.jpg


The Arcade and concourse for Eurostar.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/StPancras2.jpg

[Joka]

Wow, that is impressive. How will the travel time to Paris change once it's complete?

This "wasteland" that's being developed, is it the King's Cross Station expansion? (going off-topic, I know)
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/KingsCross9.jpg

[one very bored guy]

Damn that's impressive!

[one very bored guy]

When is the Kings Cross redevelopment going to start?

[nito]

When is the Kings Cross redevelopment going to start?The site over the last few years was used as a construction base for works at St Pancras and the twin 19km tunnels under London. Now that the project is nearing completion, all that is happening on the site is the clear up of the rail-related activities, in preparation for clearing of the land so that construction can start.

Due to the size of the project, it will be phased in over the next 12-15years, but the bulk of the project will be completed by 2012 to coincide with the Olympics. Combining historic Victorian buildings with modern developments, this is a brand new quarter for Central London.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/KingsCross1-1.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/KingsCross4.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/KingsCross7.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/KingsCross10.jpg




The new King's Cross concourse that will better connect with the redeveloped London Underground complex and London St Pancras. The present 1970's ticket hall will be demolished and replaced by a piazza larger than Leicester Square.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/KingsCross2.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/KingsCross3.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/El_Greco/KingsCross1.jpg

[Fabb]

Olympic Bullet Train Arrives In The U.K.
8/30/2007

Fast and easy access to the London Olympic Games at Stratford, London in 2012 will now be possible, thanks to the expertise of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and Hitachi Europe who have safely delivered the UK's first bullet train to the UK.

Two years of intensive logistics planning came to fruition over the weekend (24- 26 August, 2007) when the first of 29 striking blue Class 395 High Speed trains� built by Hitachi for rail operator Southeastern were delicately rolled off Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics� 67,140 GRT MV Tarago in Southampton after a six week, 10,760 voyage from Kobe in Japan to Southampton.

The bullet train, the first ever to arrive in Britain and the first to be shipped using a single logistics provider, will be joined by 29 others on the Southeastern Railways High Speed 1 line between Ashford, Kent, South East England, and London's newly refurbished St Pancras terminal and the Kent Coast.

Travelling up to speeds of 225 kmph (140 mph) the trains will enter service in December 2009 and play a key role in ensuring a journey time of just seven minutes from St Pancras to the London Olympic Games at Stratford in 2012.

With the help of Hitachi Europe, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) has been involved in the total supply chain logistics from the Hitachi factory in Kasado via Kobe to Southampton and thence to its base in Ashford in Kent, South East England where it will begin testing on the rail network in October 2007.

Each carriage was stowed on board MV Tarago in Kobe on its own rail bogies which were then lashed on to two rubber tyre bogies specially designed by WWL to accommodate each rail carriage.

The unloading operation from MV Tarago was a delicate and complex one. It took four hours to painstakingly roll each of the first six carriages of the train � made up of two driving pantograph trailers and four motor saloons off MV Tarago.

Once rolled off the vessel, each carriage was then meticulously lifted from the rubber tyre bogies onto the tracks. This was achieved by the use of two mammoth cranes one situated at each end of the carriage.

Each of the carriages was then pushed together by a tug master to form it into a complete train before being carefully rolled away under cover for safe keeping.

The train will then be rail hauled to a new-purpose-built maintenance facility in Ashford, Kent for commissioning prior to night-time testing starting on the mainline network in early October 2007.

Mark Bookham, Head of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics Southampton, said: �The management of the train�s shipment required detailed team planning every step of the way. Our operational skills were really put to the test in being able to deliver this train safely, on time, to budget and in an environmentally-friendly way for Hitachi.�

By the end of the year four more of the six-car trains are due to arrive in Southampton, while the remaining 25 trains to complete the order will be delivered in 2009.

[nito]

The other HSR station in London that has been built on the CTRL is Stratford International. Located north-west of the main Stratford station it won't be used by many trains, because the surrounding area is still a building site with the massive Stratford City development, as well as the 2012 Olympic site. The DLR Stratford International Extension which will connect with Stratford and on to Canning Town will be completed in 2010.

However, even when all building work is complete, Eurostars bound for London St Pancras will not stop here regularly (instead all of the Shinkansen services will), because Stratford International is going to be the primary London station for all HSR rail services heading to the north of England, hence by-passing St Pancras which would add delays to journeys.

The station is built in a 1km long trench due to the nature of the CTRL travelling through London underground via two 18km tunnels. The rail spur just visible to the centre of the picture leads off to the brand new Eurostar train depot at Temple Mills. The rail line at the bottom of the picture is the Stratford-London Stansted Airport line.


http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/7643/stratfordinternationalvd0.jpg

[Grumpy]

What a enormous improvement the king's Cross development is going to be , I am impressed by all of this :eek:

[Grumpy]

I have a question about this map:

http://www.economist.com/images/20070707/CWB934.gif

Why isn't there any connection planned between Zaragoza and Toulouse through the Pyrenées?
I do realize passing the Basque country is a political issue but it seems more logical to go straight through the mountains to gain much more time benefit + the HS line from Paris towards Lyon/Avignon could be congested in the future and RFF is creating a western link from Paris to Bordeaux/Toulouse.

[Gava]

:previous:
There is a connection planned for that route, however it depends on the Spanish-French cooperation. The HSL now actually reach Huesca about 80km north of Zaragossa running on uppgraded tracks. A true dedicated HSL through the Pyrenees will cost very much so it depends on EU funding.

Madrid-Paris will in the end probably pass by Valladolid, Burgos, Vitoria, San Sebastian and Bordeaux. The same route used today take about 13,5 hour and will be cut by more than half.

[Fabb]

The same route used today take about 13,5 hour and will be cut by more than half.

Only 13,5 hours ?
It's less than I expected.
Even if it's cut in half, it still won't be competitive. I'd rather use the plane than spend over 6 hours in a high speed train...

[Fabb]

Eurostar Sets London-Paris Record on High-Speed Line

By Tracy Alloway and Emmet Oliver

Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- A Eurostar Group train traveled between Paris and London in a record 2 hours 3 minutes as the company inaugurated the final portion of a 306-mile high-speed rail line linking the two cities.

The train hit 200 miles per hour on a test trip today, Eurostar said in an e-mailed statement. The new track, on which trains will travel as fast as 186 miles per hour in the U.K. and France, opens to Eurostar passenger service on Nov. 14. The London-Paris run will then take 2 hours 15 minutes, cutting 20 minutes from the current journey.

More than 110,000 people had booked tickets to travel on the new line between Nov. 14 and Dec. 25, the company said Aug. 8, more than double the same period last year. Passengers are eschewing flying between the U.K. and France to avoid airport delays and long lines at security checkpoints, according to the London-based rail company.

``Eurostar has today proved that our 186 mph trains are by far the quickest way of traveling between France and Britain,'' Chief Executive Officer Richard Brown said in the statement. The top speed of the trains will be 50 percent higher than the U.K.'s fastest domestic rail service, he said.

The U.K. portion of track that debuted today, dubbed ``High Speed 1,'' runs for 68 miles between the Channel Tunnel and St. Pancras station, which replaces Waterloo International as the London terminus. The track passes through Eurostar's new Ebbsfleet International station in Kent, before traveling under the River Thames and approaching St. Pancras via tunnels under east London.

Last Updated: September 4, 2007 10:41 EDT

[Gava]

Only 13,5 hours ?
It's less than I expected.
Even if it's cut in half, it still won't be competitive. I'd rather use the plane than spend over 6 hours in a high speed train...

Well considering downtown Madrid to downtown Paris today takes about 3,5-4 hour I'd say 6-7 hours in a airconditioned, low crowded and quiet train cabin beats a sweting, stressed, noisy and unreliable airtrip. Only passing the security check at airports can take anywhere between 5 min and 45 min so you are forced to be att the airport atleast 1,5 hour early.

[one very bored guy]

Well considering downtown Madrid to downtown Paris today takes about 3,5-4 hour I'd say 6-7 hours in a airconditioned, low crowded and quiet train cabin beats a sweting, stressed, noisy and unreliable airtrip. Only passing the security check at airports can take anywhere between 5 min and 45 min so you are forced to be att the airport atleast 1,5 hour early.

Quite frankly, your exagerating things a tad here.

First of all, you must ignore the travel time between home and the airport as in many cases it's the same between home and the train station.

2nd, I fly many times a year, and I rarely spend more than 15minutes walking through security checks. I book on the internet and usually use the automatic checking in booths which generally takes a whole 5 minutes.

Yes, it’s always wise to get to the airport early, but this time is mostly spent in spacious air conditioned waiting area’s, or shopping and relaxing. You can even use decent clean toilets, something which is not always possible when traveling 6 hours on a rocking train.

When finished waiting in space and comfort for the boarding, in most shorter haul flights you then only have an hour to three on this discomfort of the aircraft seat. That said, the automatic assumption that train travel is more comfortable is simply wrong. Everyone get’s a seat on a plane, this is not always the case on trains. I generally always reserve seats, but sometimes I have not been able to and have spent four hours standing in the isle or sitting on the floor in an ICE German high speed train. Just look at all the other people constantly trying to find a seat or crouched uncomfortably on the floor and you can’t tell me that the cheaper flight with a seat is less comfortable.

The destination is where train travel certainly has the advantage if you want to arrive in the central city as you can just stroll out of the station, where’s in a flight you have to wait for your baggage and then travel to the city. Of cause, this is not so much the case if flying to London via City airport, but in most airports it is. But keep in mind that for many business or city breaks, people only carry onboard luggage which does speed this up, and also in many cases people are not traveling to the city center but other suburban destinations in which there is no real difference then.

I prefer trains for travel up to around 4hours (5max), but for anything longer I would prefer to fly. For a distance that would generate a 6 hour train ride, I could fly for quicker and it certainly seems quicker because sitting in one spot for 6 hours is more boring for me that the changes air travel requires (Checking in, security, changing waiting rooms, boarding, landing, baggage etc are all changes that break up a long and tedious journey.

I guess everyone is different, but it’s wrong to assume that all flights are worse for everyone than train journeys.

[nito]

The only other station to open on the CTRL (apart from the original Eurostar station at Ashford and the Folkestone terminal) apart from Stratford International and the renovated London St Pancras is Ebbsfleet International.

Located to the east of London, in Kent its location doesn't look particularly important, but it is located at the heart of what is probably one of the biggest building projects in Europe: the Thames Gateway that will see hundreds of thousands of homes built to ensure the south-east doesn't implode from over-crowding.

4 Eurostars will call at the station at peak hours in each direction, while the station will be the point where all Shinkansen services from across Kent join to go on to Stratford and then St Pancras. Most of these Shinkansen services will continue on down the CTRL, but a spur was built to connect the North Kent Line (both visible to the centre of the image) and allow for journey times of 15mins to Central London. Present fast rush hour commuter services from the local area take 52mins and would better connect with Canary Wharf, Stratford City and the West End.

Also in the picture are a few of the Eurostar car parks for commuters and families who will be able to park and ride to London, Paris, Brussels,.... The spur that connects Phase I of the CTRL to the old commuter lines that Eurostar had to share is also visible to the top of the image.

In addition, the 2.5km Thames Tunnel is just visible to the far right. The CTRL emerges on the other side on to 3.7km of viaducts as it crosses marsh lands, before diving into 10km tunnels, to emerge at the trench for Stratford International. At the end of the station trench, the CTRL then runs via another set of 7.5km before emerging at London St Pancras.


http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/2682/5027903010c5b16e43dbpl0.jpg

[Fabb]

High speed rail opening again delayed

Tuesday 11 September 2007

The Dutch section of the high speed rail link between Amsterdam and Paris will be delayed by months, Tuesday's Volkskrant reports anonymous sources as saying. It was due to open on December 10 but the locomotives will not be ready in time because Canadian manufacturer Bombardier does not yet have a working safety system in place, the sources say.

Transport minister Camiel Eurlings has not yet informed parliament of the delay, the Volkskrant says. In a letter to MPs on Monday the minister said recognised that the risk of a postponement had grown because of technical problems.

The Telegraaf reports on Tuesday that Dutch Rail (NS) has submitted a damages claim of tens of millions of euros to the transport ministry because of the delays. The €5bn project to build the Dutch end of the high-speed link should have been operational a year ago, the paper says.

© DutchNews.nl

[Grumpy]

Porta Alpina project in Switzerland is cancelled also :(

[Fabb]

Germany moves toward building high-speed maglev line from Munich to airport
The Associated Press
Published: September 25, 2007


MUNICH, Germany: Munich is to get a high-speed magnetic-levitation rail link to its airport, Bavaria's outgoing governor said Tuesday, but city officials pledged to fight the project and Germany's transport minister expressed caution.

Bavarian Governor Edmund Stoiber said the expensive project — currently slated to cost €1.85 billion (US$2.6 billion) — would be "a beacon for high technology 'made in Germany.'"

Germany has sought to promote the so-called Transrapid for export, and a line has gone into operation from Shanghai, China to the city's airport. However, plans to operate the trains in Germany have stalled for years, with cost a major concern.

Construction of the roughly 40-kilometer (25-mile) stretch from Munich's main station to its airport could start in summer 2008, Stoiber said.

Once completed, perhaps as early as 2012, the line would cut the journey to about 10 minutes, compared with the current 40 minutes by commuter train.
Today in Europe

Maglev trains float just above the track on a magnetic field, cutting resistance and enabling extremely high speeds.

The German federal government is to shoulder half the cost, providing some €925 million (US$1.3 billion).

Stoiber said the state government, railway operator Deutsche Bahn and the companies involved agreed Monday to increase their contributions and cover a €165 million (US$233 million) financing gap. He proclaimed that "the way is clear for the start of construction."

He said he was confident that the costs would not exceed the planned €1.85 billion (US$2.6 billion) — a major concern among skeptics.

However, Federal Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said the agreement was not a "definitive solution" and building would only start if the project could be kept within budget.

Munich Mayor Christian Ude, who favors a cheaper express railway link, said he would take legal action to prevent permission being granted to build the maglev link.

The agreement comes days before Stoiber is due to leave office after 14 years as Bavarian governor. However, he insisted that "the Transrapid is a German project and certainly not a going-away present for me."

The German maglev trains are built by Transrapid International, a consortium including ThyssenKrupp and Munich-based Siemens.

Germany has a well-developed network of conventional high-speed trains. The only Transrapid line in Germany so far is an experimental stretch in the rural northwest.

In September 2006, that line was the scene of a crash between a Transrapid train and a maintenance vehicle, in which 23 people were killed. Investigations pointed to human error as the likely cause.

[Fabb]

Eurostar reaches destination in record time


Article Date: 26/09/2007

A Channel Tunnel rail link between London and Brussels has made the journey in the shortest time ever recorded.

The high-speed service from Eurostar travelled between the two cities at speeds of up to 186 mph to complete the run in 1 hour and 43 minutes.

This has been made possible by the move to another train station, as the service went to St Pancras International station instead of Waterloo.

Members of the public will be able to use the service from the middle of November, therefore allowing them to access mainland Europe in a shorter amount of time.

This could benefit both holidaymakers and overseas property investors, as foreign destinations will become more easily accessible from the UK.

Furthermore, the high-speed service should help Eurostar in its efforts to compete with airlines for cross-channel transport.

Earlier this month, Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown said that the new service marked Britain's entry into the "European high-speed rail club".

[:jax:]

The travel times between Ankara and Konya will be reduced drastically from 10 hrs 30 to 1 hr 15 when this line is completed.

That's a quite some reduction. Is the 10 hour journey time the fastest possible option today? In many before and soon comparisons the press release tends to choose the slowest regular service.

[Grumpy]

New high speed link in Brussels:

The last part of this project is actually U/C northbound of Brussels.
It will connect lines coming from the north directly to the Zaventem Airport + a new HS link towards the Netherlands:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/snot/kaart_diabolo.jpg

[Fabb]

Gare du Nord, September 29 :

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/666/dsc00343ku3.jpg

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/7923/dsc00344le9.jpg

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/9527/dsc00345sd2.jpg

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/9663/dsc00346kr0.jpg

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6025/dsc00347hg8.jpg

[Grumpy]

impressions of the Belfort/Montbéliard TGV station on the new Rhine/Rhone line who is U/C at this moment:

http://www.tgvbelfort.com/IMG/jpg/gare1.jpg

http://www.tgvbelfort.fr/IMG/cache-450x318/gare2-450x318.jpg

http://www.tgvbelfort.fr/IMG/cache-450x272/gare4-450x272.jpg

[Fabb]

^Organic design is everywhere these days ...

More TGVs, at the Gare de Lyon :

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/9696/dsc00410mv5.jpg

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/3309/dsc00413wp2.jpg

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/1514/dsc00408aa2.jpg

[nito]

Pictures of the Stratford International Station that has been completed. Eurostar won't make many calls at this station due to the area being one large construction site, however this will become a mandatory stop for the Shinkansen services that will begin operation soon.

The London 2012 Olympic Site will be located next-door, while the massive Stratford City redevelopment project is starting to pick up pace. Within a few years, this site will be surrounded by several towers of differing heights.

The station is built in a massive cutting, to allow for tunnels at both ends. There are 4 platforms, and 2 through tracks, with a middle track running up the middle that rises at a reasonable gradient to cross the northern tracks, so that it can branch off to the new train maintenance works at Temple Mills. Pictures by IanVisits on Flickr.com

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1072/1392805170_37af3b7a33_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1390/1391898957_b11bd6c336_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1123/1392790272_7a5b254b05_b.jpg

[Grumpy]

5 years before the Olympics the train station is already finished...it is going very fast in London!

[Fabb]

Hitachi Unveils Bullet Train At New Ashford Depot


http://www.huliq.com/files/imagecache/medium/files/'BULLET%20TRAIN'.JPG

Hitachi Europe Ltd unveils its Ashford Train Depot maintenance facility and six-car Class 395 'bullet train' unit for Southeastern High Speed Services, at an opening ceremony in the presence of the UK Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Ruth Kelly MP and His Excellency Mr Yoshiji Nogami, Japanese Ambassador.

The ceremony, which will take place at 3pm at Ashford Train Maintenance Centre, Ashford, Kent TN23 1EZ, will be hosted by Hitachi and supported by HSBC Rail, Southeastern and the depco consortium.

Hitachi's Ashford Train Maintenance Centre will create over a hundred jobs, which will benefit the local economy. The world class maintenance facility includes a five track maintenance shed, incorporating a double road bogie and equipment drop pit and a heavy inspection road. Ashford also includes carriage washing plants, a bio-hazard pit for the safe removal of waste, a 25kV test track and a tandem wheel lathe. Additionally, the depot includes stabling facilities for rolling stock operating on Southeastern mainline services.

The depot will house the first Class 395 unit, which has been manufactured to the latest UK and European safety standards in Hitachi's facility in Kasado Japan. A further three trains are currently being assembled and will be delivered over the coming months and will complete a rigorous testing programme on the High Speed 1 line between Ashford and St Pancras and on the Kent network. The remaining 25 Trains will be delivered in 2009.

http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/javelin.jpg

Rt Hon Ruth Kelly MP, Secretary of State for Transport, said:

"Today marks a major milestone in the Channel Tunnel Rail Link programme. I'm truly impressed to see this first train in the fleet that will run Britain's fastest domestic train service from 2009. It will transform the experience of commuters, provide a real spur for regeneration, and carry passengers to the Olympics on the Javelin service.

"This is all part of the Government's £5.8bn investment in the new High Speed Line, which will revolutionise journey times for domestic passengers as well as those travelling internationally.

"This is symbolic of the recovery and regeneration of Britain's railway - backed by sustained funding from both Government and the private sector."

Alistair Dormer, General Manager at Hitachi Rail Systems London, said:
“Hitachi is delighted to host this official ceremony to open the Ashford Train Maintenance Centre and to welcome the first 395 'bullet train' to its new home. On behalf of our partners HSBC Rail, Southeastern and the depco consortium, we extend our thanks to the Rt Hon Ruth Kelly and Mr Nogami for attending the ceremony and helping us to mark this major milestone for Hitachi and for rail travel in the UK. We now look forward to working with our partners to complete testing and delivering the trains ready for service in 2009.”

Charles Horton, managing director of Southeastern, said: "This is an exciting time for Southeastern and we're proud to be introducing high speed services in December 2009. We enjoy a close working relationship with our partners Hitachi and look forward to this continuing and developing through the testing and introduction of the Class 395s and beyond.”-Hitachi

[Grumpy]

Some pictures of the recently added front glass at the Strasbourg train station

http://i18.servimg.com/u/f18/11/31/35/37/strg0310.jpg

http://i18.servimg.com/u/f18/11/31/35/37/strg0311.jpg

http://i18.servimg.com/u/f18/11/31/35/37/strg0314.jpg

http://i18.servimg.com/u/f18/11/31/35/37/strg0312.jpg

http://i18.servimg.com/u/f18/11/31/35/37/strg0313.jpg

[Fabb]

^I'll be there next December.



Munich Maglev moves closer to lift-off

Europe’s first commercial magnetically levitated (maglev) high-speed train service has moved a stage closer to reality with the signing of an agreement to build a 37km-long track between Munich airport and the city centre. Construction of the controversial €1.85bn scheme could start next year, with the first trains operating by 2012, cutting the journey time from 40 minutes at present, to just 10 minutes.

The German government has agreed to pay half of the cost of the project, with the state of Bavaria providing most of the rest. But the retiring Bavarian governor Edmund Stoiber, who has championed the scheme, admits that the plan depends on €50m of EU money coming – against strong objections in Brussels – from an infrastructure development budget that amounts to €150m a year for the whole of Europe.

Another potential problem is that the €1.85bn budget for the project is based on an estimate that is at least five years old, and this figure is expected to be exceeded.

If it goes ahead, the maglev line will be built by the Transrapid International consortium that includes Siemens and ThyssenKrupp. The only commercial high-speed maglev installation to date is a 30km-long line linking Shanghai city centre to its airport.

[Swede]

Why did they put up the glass front on Strassbourg's station? When I was there 10 years ago it looked real good anyway. The new version is, I guess, less common and does indeed look good too, but still...

[Grumpy]

I know some connections are no longer in service but who has a list of cancelled TGV & ICE connections ?

[Fabb]

Deutsche Bahn denies bid to run direct trains to London, has no concrete plans


BERLIN (Thomson Financial) - Deutsche Bahn AG has not filed a bid to Groupe Eurotunnel SA to run direct trains to London through the Channel Tunnel and has currently no concrete plans to do so, a spokesman for the German rail company said.

'We consider the direct line to London a very attractive one, but if we do something, it will be through the Railteam alliance,' he said.

Cross-channel high speed train operator Eurostar is part of the Railteam alliance which consists of seven European rail operators, including Deutsche Bahn and French rail operator SNCF.

The Times earlier reported Deutsche Bahn has plans to run direct trains from London to Cologne as well as to Frankfurt in direct competition with Eurostar, without naming sources. frederik.richter@thomson.com fr1/jlc

[Ardent]

Deutsche Bahn denies bid to run direct trains to London, has no concrete plans


BERLIN (Thomson Financial) - Deutsche Bahn AG has not filed a bid to Groupe Eurotunnel SA to run direct trains to London through the Channel Tunnel and has currently no concrete plans to do so, a spokesman for the German rail company said.

'We consider the direct line to London a very attractive one, but if we do something, it will be through the Railteam alliance,' he said.

Cross-channel high speed train operator Eurostar is part of the Railteam alliance which consists of seven European rail operators, including Deutsche Bahn and French rail operator SNCF.

The Times earlier reported Deutsche Bahn has plans to run direct trains from London to Cologne as well as to Frankfurt in direct competition with Eurostar, without naming sources. frederik.richter@thomson.com fr1/jlc

I am surprised they are denying it, particuarly when you look at DB's UK website, which has lots of offers from London to German Cities on it - the only problem being that you have to change at Brussels. DB would love to run direct trains.

http://www.bahn.co.uk/db_uk/view/index.shtml

I should imagine the new London St Pancras High Speed 1 link will lead to more competition and new serices such as new night sleeper train .

[Grumpy]

Strange bid if you ask me.
The UK isn't still easy accessable due to the Schengen agreement.
If DB wanted to run a service it would have made enormous efforts in the stations when there trains should run further than Brussels (Paris Est : TGV Est ?) which was/is their final goal I hope.
Saying the Railteam alliance will do so is still very vague aswell

[Ardent]

Strange bid if you ask me.
The UK isn't still easy accessable due to the Schengen agreement.
If DB wanted to run a service it would have made enormous efforts in the stations when there trains should run further than Brussels (Paris Est : TGV Est ?) which was/is their final goal I hope.
Saying the Railteam alliance will do so is still very vague aswell

The Schengen agreement is a border control agreement, I don't see how it would impact on train travel, as long as neccesssary passport and immigration rules were met.

France is a Schengen agreement signatory, yet it still manages to check passports and other criteria regarding the channel tunnel.

The Channel Tunnel is a possible terrorist target and whether the UK was a full Schengen agreement signatory or not, checks would have to be made before boarding a channel
tunnel train.

[Metropolitan]

The Schengen agreement is a border control agreement, I don't see how it would impact on train travel, as long as necesssary passport and immigration rules were met.That's the whole point. Inside the Shengen area, passports are NOT necessary to cross borders.

France is a Schengen agreement signatory, yet it still manages to check passports and other criteria regarding the channel tunnel.Passports are checked for Eurostar only because Britain requested it as it's not part of Schengen agreements. There is not all this ridiculous passport ceremonial to get into Thalys, TGV or ICE trains leaving Paris for Belgium, Germany or the Netherlands.

As now Brits have a single "international" train station, all of a sudden passport checkings have to be changed to those of an airport. I'm sorry but it's totally silly. It's been centuries that there are international trains all over Europe, and never passports had been checked before reaching the train platform as it's the case now on Eurostar. During international train trips, passports used to be checked inside the trains, and this even before the European Union was even imagined. Now passports aren't even checked anymore (except for Britain obviously).

Because of this useless system, passengers waste 30 minutes in a boarding room. What's the point in making fast trains if it's to stay longer in a room?

[Grumpy]

The Schengen agreement is a border control agreement, I don't see how it would impact on train travel, as long as neccesssary passport and immigration rules were met.

So in your opinion it is normal to ask train passengers to come sooner to the station to check their ID ??



The Channel Tunnel is a possible terrorist target and whether the UK was a full Schengen agreement signatory or not, checks would have to be made before boarding a channel tunnel train.

Impossible to make this happen,any train station is a potential target.
In most of the European countries it is even forbidden for train managers to ask the ID of a traveller.

As now Brits have a single "international" train station, all of a sudden passport checkings have to be changed to those of an airport. I'm sorry but it's totally silly. It's been centuries that there are international trains all over Europe, and never passports had been checked before reaching the train platform as it's the case now on Eurostar. During international train trips, passports used to be checked inside the trains, and this even before the European Union was even imagined. Now passports aren't even checked anymore (except for Britain obviously).

Because of this useless system, passengers waste 30 minutes in a boarding room. What's the point in making fast trains if it's to stay longer in a room?

Well said !

[SHiRO]

He Grumpy I thought you were against "the EU"? ;)

[Ardent]

Trains already run directly to Lille, Paris and Brussels from and to London without much problem.

Passports are checked without much problem at Waterloo and security is already tight on the Channel Tunnel route from Brussels, Paris etc, so it already does happen.

There is no way that Britain is going to allow anyone to get on a Channel Tunnel bound train without looking at their identity and possible even checking their baggage -

if it means coming to the station half an hour earlier then so be it - I would rather be safe in the knowledge that checks were being taken and that customs, police
and immigration were doping their jobs.

If Brussels and Germany doesn't want to do the checks then so be it, not many people want to go to Brussels anyway, and to be honest it's quicker to fly to Germany even with airport
check in times than to get the train.

I would rather see the Channel Tunnel closed than have a system with little security and no border controls.

Brits have a single "international" train station

We have St Pancras, Stratford, Ebbsfleet and Ashford. Also the Government is considering high speed 2, which would link Birmingham and Manchester with the
European High Speed Rail Network.

[SHiRO]

I would rather see the Channel Tunnel closed than have a system with little security and no border controls.

Ever heard of freedom of movement?

[Ardent]

Ever heard of freedom of movement?

Ever heard of Terrorism.

[Ardent]

New St Pancras snow train to Bourg St Maurice

A new Eurostar service starts on December 22, running from the new St. Pancras International Terminal direct to Bourg St. Maurice in the French Alps

Friday, 02 November 2007
Mary Wilson

http://www.countrylife.co.uk/news/property/article/153447/St_Pancras_snow_train.html


Just hop on the train at St. Pancras and seven hours later hop off at Bourg St. Maurice, which is close to the Italian border.

From here, you can take a coach to numerous ski resorts including Tignes, Val d'Isere, Vallandry and La Plagne.

Alternatively, the new MGM development, Le Grand Coeur, is based just five minutes from the train station in Bourg.

The development is made up of 63 one to four bedroom contemporary apartments within four traditional looking chalets built in timber and stone.

Each home comes with cellar storage and an underground car parking space and a 7 minute funicular railway links Bourg St. Maurice with Les Arcs 1600 and the 420 kilometre pistes in the Paradiski skiing area.

The train runs twice a week up until April 13th 2008 and prices for the apartments start at EUR 201,000 (around pounds 138,500). Should you wish to rent out your apartment, then two bedroom apartments currently let at around euros 800 a week during the peak season.



:)

http://www.raileurope.co.uk/snowtrains/eurostar_ski/default.asp

[Metropolitan]

Trains already run directly to Lille, Paris and Brussels from and to London without much problem.

Passports are checked without much problem at Waterloo and security is already tight on the Channel Tunnel route from Brussels, Paris etc, so it already does happen.

There is no way that Britain is going to allow anyone to get on a Channel Tunnel bound train without looking at their identity and possible even checking their baggage

if it means coming to the station half an hour earlier then so be it - I would rather be safe in the knowledge that checks were being taken and that customs, police and immigration were doping their jobs.That's your opinion. Mines is that it is useless and excessively procedural.

If Brussels and Germany doesn't want to do the checks then so be it, not many people want to go to Brussels anywayThat's a cheap and unjustified despiseful comment. Should I recall you that Brussels is the capital city of the European Union. As a matter of fact, many people do want to go there.

We have St Pancras, Stratford, Ebbsfleet and Ashford. Also the Government is considering high speed 2, which would link Birmingham and Manchester with the European High Speed Rail Network.I'm glad for you and it's great news. However, the point of my message was that it's ridiculous to consider "international" as an upper station standard in the European context. In continental Europe nearly all central train stations are "international" ! If they would all have the same passport checking procedure as with Eurostar, I'm sure the European rail network would have finished in the same state as in the US...

[Ardent]

That's your opinion. Mines is that it is useless and excessively procedural.

It doesn't matter what your opinion is, Britain is not going to stop security measures on Eurostar - simple as that.



That's a cheap and unjustified despiseful comment. Should I recall you that Brussels is the capital city of the European Union. As a matter of fact, many people do want to go there.

No it's a fact. Who the hell wants to go to Brussels or indeed Belgium.



I'm glad for you and it's great news. However, the point of my message was that it's ridiculous to consider "international" as an upper station standard in the European context. In continental Europe nearly all central train stations are "international" ! If they would all have the same passport checking procedure as with Eurostar, I'm sure the European rail network would have finished in the same state as in the US...

That is your opinion.

Mine is that we have to have relevant security measures, partcuarly after recent European Transport related terrorism in London and Madrid.

I personally think the safety and human life comes before anything else including trade.

The Channel Tunnel is a major target for terrorists, and passport/customs controls are important to stop criminal activities such as people smuggling,
illegal immigrants, terrorism, drug smuggling and a whole array of other activities.

There is no way that Britain will stop checking it's borders or do away with customs, indeed the borders are now subject to both outgoing and incoming checks.

[Swede]

No it's a fact. Who the hell wants to go to Brussels or indeed Belgium.
That is stepping way across the line. Here at SSP one behaves in a civil manor, or one doesn't post.
/Moderator-mode

As for the passport-checking, the UK isn't part of Schengen and is free to do so if it wants. No biggie IMO, the exact procedure might be able to be effectivised but I wouldn't know since I've never taken the Eurostar. The one time I've had to show my passport on a train was over 10 years ago (before Schengen) on a train entering Germany from Sweden (ferry...), but that wasn't much of a hassle.

[SHiRO]

The UK isn't part of Shengen, but it eventually should be imo
There are 100s of tunnels, bridges, airports, etc in the EU which are secured while maintaining freedom of movement. Granted, the Channel Tunnel is a potential high profile target, but it's not the only one.
Such targets need to be protected but overall British border control vis a vis fellow EU citizens is just a little too strict.

[Ardent]

The UK isn't part of Shengen, but it eventually should be imo
There are 100s of tunnels, bridges, airports, etc in the EU which are secured while maintaining freedom of movement. Granted, the Channel Tunnel is a potential high profile target, but it's not the only one.
Such targets need to be protected but overall British border control vis a vis fellow EU citizens is just a little too strict.

The UK and Ireland have no plans to join the Schengen Agreement.

British borders aren't too strict there is a EU and Non EU Customs Channel, and checks at the rail stations aren't excessive they merely involve passport control and some luggage checks.

If you take the ferry you are still subject to checks.

The Conservative Party want to tighten our borders further with a dedicated border police, while Labour is pushing ahead with id cards and more checks, not less.

If you want a passport in the UK now you have to go for an interview at the passport office and more checks are now required and transport (including rail) companies will have to
hand over passenger lists in future in order that they can be scruitinised.

Such is the world we live in.

[one very bored guy]

If you want a passport in the UK now you have to go for an interview at the passport office and more checks are now required and transport (including rail) companies will have to
hand over passenger lists in future in order that they can be scruitinised.


I take it you are talking about a first time British passport.

[Ardent]

I take it you are talking about a first time British passport.

Yes in terms of the interview - however bio-metrics are to be made part of all future UK passports.

Passenger Lists and documentation relating to booking journeys is also being used increasingly to identify criminals or any potential threat.

http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39168033,00.htm

Btw Eurostar is grouped under the Ferry company heading and much of the same rules apply.

[SHiRO]

Yeah it's widely documented that the UK is one of worst offenders regarding violations of privacy.
But by all means, let's keep this thread about HSR. :)

[Fabb]

Europe's high-speed rail gains popularity

By SHELLEY EMLING
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/28/07

London — Travelers in Europe, whether tourists or residents, are familiar with hassles at airports and aboard airliners. Now, their discontent is contributing to a new golden age of rail travel.

"My husband and I actually prefer train travel," said Jane Seto, an American who moved from San Francisco to London this year. "I find it's less stressful to travel when dealing with rail stations versus airports."

Helping the trend is the opening of new high-speed routes across Europe that are enticing travelers away from even the budget air carriers and their rock-bottom fares.

Travelers in Europe first started to see rail in a new light in 1994 with the launch of London-Paris Eurostar trains through the Channel tunnel. The journey from Britain to France took just under three hours on trains that coasted along quietly.

Beginning Nov. 14, that journey will become even shorter when service in London shifts from Waterloo International Station to St. Pancras. The journey from London to Paris will take two hours and 15 minutes, while a trip from Brussels to London will take less than two hours.

Eurostar officials say they believe the quicker trips, on trains traveling at speeds of up to 186 mph, will herald a 20 percent rise in the number of riders by 2010. Already, the number of passengers on Eurostar was up by 5 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year.

Rail fans point to all sorts of advantages. Passengers are required to check in just 30 minutes before departure. Security lines tend to be shorter than at airports. And Eurostar trains arrive on time or early more than 90 percent of the time.


Contrast that with having to cope with London-area airports, which have been branded a disgrace by the British media for their lost luggage, long lines and security hassles.

Train travel does generally cost more than air travel — but not that much more after you factor in the costs of getting from the airport to the city center.

"Eurostar's numbers are surging, and they are beating the low-cost airlines on the London-to-Paris and London-to-Brussels routes," said Richard Cope, a travel analyst at the Mintel consulting firm. "The low-cost airlines may be cheap, but they usually fly out of airports far away from city centers, so there's lots of extra journey time."

Judi Grant-Johnston, an American living in London, said she will only take Eurostar when traveling to Paris.

"I can get cheaper flights, but the train is so much more relaxing and the experience of checking in and security is much better organized," she said. "And with trains you can more easily bring back a bottle of wine, olive oil or vinegar because you don't have to check your luggage."

Richard Brown, chief executive of Eurostar, said in a written statement that passenger numbers are rising all across Europe.

He said more people are discovering "the punctuality and productivity advantages that Eurostar offers compared with the experience of flying."

He added that more travelers also are being attracted by the environmental benefits of using high-speed rail instead of short-haul air.

Brown pointed to an increasing number of rail destinations available from London, like a high-speed line from Brussels to Amsterdam launching in 2008 that will whisk riders from London to Amsterdam in under four hours.

Already in June, France's high-speed system, TGV, launched about 30 new city destinations reachable from Paris's Gare du Nord. Cities such as Zurich, Frankfurt, and Luxembourg now are all easy rail rides not only from Paris but also from London.

To ensure rail travel in Europe is seamless, Eurostar and eight other European train companies recently formed an alliance called Railteam.

Railteam is establishing multilingual information points in hub cities such as Cologne, Brussels, and Frankfurt. It also has implemented a new system that allows those who have missed a connection due to a late-running train to have a guaranteed spot on the next available train, no matter what kind of ticket they hold.

Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst at Forrester Research in San Francisco, said European rail travel has indeed become a more viable option.

He said it can be especially good for business travelers who are eager to get some work done.

"Because a traveler can use his or her cell phone on the train — and on some routes even access the Internet via Wi-Fi connections — train travel can be more productive," he said.

Betty Stark, a travel consultant in Madison, Wis., said that high-speed trains are the ideal way to get around Europe for leisure travelers as well.

"Yes, some of the low-cost air carriers throughout Europe are offering very low fares," she said. "But why put up with the rampant inconveniences of air travel when you can board a sleek whisper-quiet train and whoosh through the countryside in comfort?

"I've done it several times and I love it," she said.

[Grumpy]

No it's a fact. Who the hell wants to go to Brussels or indeed Belgium.

I am told that the majority of EU employers of the UK prefer a Eurostar ride instead of a plane to go between London and Brussels...

Are there indications that the UK is about to sign the Schengen agreements in the future ?


He Grumpy I thought you were against "the EU"? ;)

You are a naughty boy :P

[Ardent]

I am told that the majority of EU employers of the UK prefer a Eurostar ride instead of a plane to go between London and Brussels...

Are there indications that the UK is about to sign the agreements in the future ?




You are a naughty boy :P

There are no indications Britain will join Schengen, if anything our border
controls look like becoming stricter.

[PeterG]

Are there indications that the UK is about to sign the Schengen agreements in the future ?

No - the UK (and Ireland - but that's a different matter) is reluctant to sign up to the Schengen Agreement.
However, it has announced that a new electronic border control system will come into use in 2009.
IMO the UK should join Schengen because it would allow it to access the Schengen Information System, which is a large database with details on undesirable people.

Also, there is no way that the UK is going to start cutting down its border security, especially at this time when terrorism and immigration are big issues for the government. It won't happen under Labour, and if the Conservatives get in, it will be even tighter.

[Fabb]

Royal opening for high-speed rail link to Europe


LONDON (AFP) — Queen Elizabeth II was to unveil a luxurious new international rail terminal in London Tuesday, signalling the start of a new era of high-speed train travel to continental Europe.

St. Pancras station, a long-neglected Victorian gothic masterpiece, has been scrubbed up and transformed into a swanky rail hub connecting Britain to France and Belgium.

The queen and her husband Prince Philip, fresh from the high ceremony of the state opening of parliament across the city, were to open the revamped station at 7:00pm.

The official launch is the culmination of a 5.8-billion-pound, 10-year project to bring high-speed rail travel to Britain.

Services on the new 68-mile High Speed 1 rail line between St. Pancras and the Channel Tunnel will link London with Paris in two hours, 15 minutes, and London with Brussels in one hour, 51 minutes.

Services are switching on November 14 from Waterloo station, south of the River Thames, to St. Pancras on the north side, making it easier for passengers from the English Midlands, northern England and Scotland to connect to the continent.

The new line enables Eurostar trains to hit their full speed of 186 miles per hour, cutting journey times between London and continental Europe by at least 20 minutes.

Instead of rolling along from the coast then clunking and grinding past the rooftops and grimy brick railway arches of south London, passengers will whizz through the Kent countryside before speeding underground across the capital.

Built in 1868, the new-look St Pancras has been kitted out with Wifi, touchscreen monitors and passenger information screens. It also hosts Europe's biggest champagne bar -- 90 metres long -- along with a plethora of upmarket boutiques.

More than 150 years of dirt has been scraped from the brickwork to spruce the station up.

"The restoration and extension of the iconic St. Pancras station is a tremendous boost for London," said James Bidwell, chief executive of the Visit London tourism agency.

"St. Pancras International is not only the new, spectacular home of Eurostar but also a grand retail and hospitality destination which will welcome many millions of visitors to London in great style.

"The culmination of the 10-year St. Pancras restoration project is a truly historic moment for London and symbolic of our great city as we prepare for (the) 2012 (Olympics)."

Rail travel has often been a source of misery in Britain, through the 1960s mass closure of local stations to strikes, packed, sweaty commuter trains and leaves on the line blamed for holding up services.

Britons have often looked abroad with envy as French passengers hurtle along on the TGV or Japanese travellers cruise in futuristic "bullet trains".

But the new rail line has inspired hope that train travel in Britain could finally be something to boast about.

[PeterG]

Britons have often looked abroad with envy as French passengers hurtle along on the TGV or Japanese travellers cruise in futuristic "bullet trains".

But the new rail line has inspired hope that train travel in Britain could finally be something to boast about.

This is something that I always try to get across to people about high-speed rail (and I mean TGV and Shinkansen high-speed here, not the "high speed" that our TOC's boast about - where 100mph is considered high speed) in the UK.
The fact of the matter is that having a TGV type network in the UK is simply not possible.
In France, for example, large urban centres are many hundreds of miles apart. Paris and Lyon are 300 miles apart, about the same distance as between London and Newcastle - the key difference being that in between London and Newcastle there are 11 stations on the ECML that GNER trains regularly stop at, whereas on the TGV Sud-Est line there are only 2. This means that TGV trains can accelerate up to a very high speed and maintain that for substantial distances without having to stop, whereas UK trains cannot - the stations being much closer together physically.
I would go so far as to say that UK trains go as fast now as they are ever going to go; unless any new high speed line cuts out most of these intermediate stations - which would never be allowed by the public or the government.
Yes, of course we watch enviously across the channel at France's TGV, and when I travel on them it feels like I've stepped forward a few decades, but without astronomical changes to the UK rail infrastructure, we'll never have a truly high speed rail network like France and Japan do.

What we can do is make our existing network as efficient as possible - such as new, modern trains which we are already seeing from the likes of the Pendolino. The ECML needs new trains in the near future (not refurbished diesel ones from the late 1970's), and in-cab signalling is a must to get trains going as fast as possible.

[Fabb]

The fact of the matter is that having a TGV type network in the UK is simply not possible.

... but a Shinkansen type network would be closer to something that could work in UK.

[PeterG]

... but a Shinkansen type network would be closer to something that could work in UK.

Well maybe, Fabb. But, as I'm sure you'll be aware, high speed rail networks spanning whole countries is extremely expensive - we're talking tens of billions of pounds, possibly even hundreds of billions if we're talking a network extending across the entire UK.
Considering the government has shelled out £10 billion to upgrade the WCML in recent years, it seems improbable that they're going to sanction a completely new network in the next few decades at least.
Plus, where would it be built? You can't build on existing line because it would bring the country to its knees. We're a cramped little island, with a planning application process that is fluent in making things complicated - Heathrow Terminal 5 took 8 years to be passed. And that's small fish compared to a new rail network.
I just don't see it on a large scale in the next 30 years at least. By then, Maglev will probably be the in thing.

On a small scale maybe. There have been rumours of a high speed line between London and Birmingham, with no intermediate stops, which is a possibility - but again the space problem comes in. Where do you built it?

[one very bored guy]

This is something that I always try to get across to people about high-speed rail (and I mean TGV and Shinkansen high-speed here, not the "high speed" that our TOC's boast about - where 100mph is considered high speed) in the UK.
The fact of the matter is that having a TGV type network in the UK is simply not possible.
In France, for example, large urban centres are many hundreds of miles apart. Paris and Lyon are 300 miles apart, about the same distance as between London and Newcastle - the key difference being that in between London and Newcastle there are 11 stations on the ECML that GNER trains regularly stop at, whereas on the TGV Sud-Est line there are only 2. This means that TGV trains can accelerate up to a very high speed and maintain that for substantial distances without having to stop, whereas UK trains cannot - the stations being much closer together physically.


Sorry, I have to disagree here. We have high speed lines in Germany, and this with many cities and stops in between. I have also been to Japan, and their Shinkansen network also has many stops.

I just don't see your point. Actually, the UK is perfect for high speed rail. It is a long, thin country with high density. Traffic mainly goes North/South, which does make things a bit cheaper.


I would go so far as to say that UK trains go as fast now as they are ever going to go; unless any new high speed line cuts out most of these intermediate stations - which would never be allowed by the public or the government.

I think you are missing the point here. Why assume that the majority of traffic would be between London and Newcastle? With the stops in between there will be a large amount of traffic between these stops as well which would certainly make it viable.

The total length would not be too long in travel time.
Frankfurt to Berlin has 10 stops (including Berlin) and takes around 4hr 20minutes with and this includes a 10minute transfer in the middle.

If you take the direct fastest train (no change), and only 3 stops it is only 17minutes longer.

Now, Berlin is double the distance from Frankfurt than Newcastle is from London, so if a 4 hour journey is viable for high speed rail, I am sure an hour and a half is also for the UK.

One way to do this, is to offer different services. Some trains stop at more stations that others. It's done all over the place. Other country's do not stop their high speed trains at every little town. I am sure that the line could avoid stops at Grantham (pop 34,000), Newark (25,000) Retford (21,000) etc. In fact, looking at the current route between London and Newcastle

[Fabb]

^I agree with that.
The time lost during the deceleration, stop and acceleration at a station is not that important.

Another report of the St Pancras Station opening, by BBC News :

Queen opens new £800m St Pancras

The Queen has opened a transformed St Pancras station and new Channel Tunnel rail terminal for Eurostar.

Her Majesty said the £800m St Pancras International was "magnificent", and hoped people would consider it as not just a station but as "a destination".

Developers have called it the jewel in the crown of a £5.8bn project to bring high speed rail to the UK.

St Pancras will house high-speed services to Kent, Midland Mainline, Thameslink and six Tube lines.

Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen offered her "warmest congratulations" to all those involved in the renovation.

It gives me great pleasure to officially launch High Speed 1, Britain's first high speed railway
The Queen

She told guests the high speed rail service, known as High Speed 1, would make a "real difference" to people's lives and bring the UK closer to Europe.

The Queen said: "The remarkable re-birth of this great and gleaming station means that people across the whole of Britain, not just the South East, are suddenly quite a bit closer to Europe.

"And as we look forward to the London Olympics in 2012, it is good to know that a journey from here to the new High Speed 1 station at Stratford will take spectators a mere seven minutes.

"It gives me great pleasure to officially launch High Speed 1, Britain's first high speed railway and to re-open this magnificent station, St Pancras International."

The evening ceremony was compered by actor Timothy West playing St Pancras' designer William Barlow.

The event saw two Eurostar trains and a Hitachi Bullet Train, which will shuttle spectators to and from the 2012 Olympic Park, arriving at St Pancras.

A suspended giant screen featured appearances from F1 driver David Coulthard, actress Kristin Scott Thomas and other personalities.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins and pop singer Lemar provided musical entertainment.

The 68-mile high speed railway line runs from St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel opening at Folkestone in Kent.

Work on the station began in 2001 to enable it to accommodate domestic rail services and Eurostar trains to and from France and Belgium.

The front of the station, Sir George Gilbert Scott's neo-Gothic building, will open as a five-star hotel in 2009.

The new route will cut journey times to Paris by 20 minutes to two hours and 15 minutes, and to Brussels by 25 minutes to one hour and 51 minutes.

Story from BBC NEWS

[Grumpy]

some photos of the Eurotunnel at Calais

http://www.eurotunnel.com/NR/rdonlyres/DA9720E8-2C10-4B03-AF9D-B78BD2A636B9/0/7395.jpg

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http://www.eurotunnel.com/NR/rdonlyres/EAA24310-ED1F-4396-B09F-DAD636BBFFD8/0/11971.jpg

http://www.eurotunnel.com/NR/rdonlyres/DC241B9C-DCA3-42C9-9428-ADD8025D013D/0/12964.jpg

[nito]

St Pancras was opened by Queen Elizabeth yesterday night. Images from flickr.com


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