train travel

Next Sunday (June 10th, 2007) marks the opening of the new eastern TGV high speed railway line, that will provide fast rail connections from Paris and Strasbourg to Basel, Zurich, Frankfurt and Stuttgart. As The Guardian explains, this is likely to open up much of southern Germany and eastern Switzerland to rail tourism.

The services to Germany will be operated by a new company named Alleo, as reported by Marcel Marchon of trainblog.com, whilst services to Switzerland will be run by TGV Lyria.

In The Know Traveller reports that prices from Paris to Basel, one way, will be a hefty US$128.

Meanwhile, The Independent provides the Complete Guide to Switzerland in style.

The Amsterdam/London Express was, for several years, the most hassle-free method of getting between the two cities. One ticket would get you from London Liverpool Street Station via train to Harwich, then on a fast hydrofoil to Hoek van Holland, and then finally on another train to Rotterdam, The Hague or Amsterdam, in around six hours.

Sadly, the hydrofoil was removed at the beginning of 2007, but the service remains, now using ferries, and renamed as the DutchFlyer; possibly in jest, as the service takes twice as long as it did previously.

However, it still remains one of the least problematic methods for getting to the Netherlands, since there's no annoying airports to deal with. And, as The Guardian explains, you can travel with a clear conscience, too.

For the first time in over 50 years, trains have crossed between North and South Korea, on two restored tracks between the countries.

However, any travellers looking forward to easy access to the North are advised not to hold their breath; this was just a one-off trial, with no guarantee on any further trips.

Meanwhile, The Independent uses a bit of artistic licence to envisage a future where we can travel from Inverness to Seoul, entirely by train.