High-speed rail travel in European countries has been a reality for close to three decades. France with its Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) and Germany with its Inter-City-Express (ICE) trains have been the leaders with extensive domestic high-speed railway networks. However, international travel has long been more problematic – even when these trains crossed borders, speeds tended to drop dramatically.
International Train Travel with Railteam in Western Europe
Railteam was formally announced in mid-2007 as a cooperation alliance between seven European railway networks. Current members include DB Deutsche Bahn (Germany), SNCF (France), Eurostar (UK), NS Hispeed (Netherlands), ÖBB (Austria), SBB (Switzerland), and NMBS (Belgium).
France and Germany have by far the most extensive high-speed networks in Europe while many of the smaller countries often have only one or two high-speed lines with connections to France or Germany rather than to other domestic destinations. In the case of Britain, only the Eurostar line from London to the continent is considered high-speed enough to qualify for membership of Railteam.
- Travelers eagerly await the culmination of the cooperation with the launch of a website – planned for 2009 – where international tickets can be booked online in a single transaction. Currently, separate bookings are often required without guarantees in cases of delays when traveling on discounted and restricted tickets.
High-Speed Trains between Western European Countries
Railteam trains operate on many lines but use five main hubs: Brussels (Belgium), Lille (France), Stuttgart, Köln (Cologne), and Frankfurt am Main in Germany. Most European destinations should be within direct reach from one of these stations. (Paris with its numerous unconnected stations remains a major stumble block for travelers to opposite parts of France.)
Currently there are only three major high-speed trains in the Railteam network:
- The French TGV comes in various variations – even in France, TGV trains operating in different regions have special names while those crossing the borders include the TGV Thalys to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany (Cologne and Düsseldorf), the TGV Lyria to Switzerland (Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchatel, Basel, Zurich, Bern), and the TGV Rhealys to Luxembourg, Germany (Saarbrücken, Frankfurt, Stuttgart), Munich.
- The German ICE trains have been crossing the border to neighboring countries for several years although speeds often drop dramatically once outside Germany. International ICE services are available from Germany to Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Basel, Zurich, Bern, and Vienna.
- The Eurostar trains operate only on the line from London St Pancras International station via the Channel Tunnel to Lille and Paris in France and Brussels in Belgium.
It is expected that the Spanish AVE and Italian FS high-speed networks will eventually join Railteam.
High-Speed Trains vs Low-Cost Airlines in Western Europe
Railteam is designed to compete with European low-cost airlines but its working model is that of international full-service airline alliances such as Star Alliance, One World, and Skyteam. The idea is one reservation through to the final destination no matter which actual trains are used, integration of frequent traveler programs, waiting lounges, and the ability to continue journeys without surcharges in case of delays.
As security checks, luggage restrictions, endless surcharges, and the general inconvenience factor of flying short stretches increase, high-speed train travel looks increasingly more attractive. Railteam claims business travelers prefer trains if the journey is less than four hours while leisure travelers are willing to tough it out at least two hours longer before flights offer serious competition.
Fastest traveling times between major Western European cities are currently for example:
- Amsterdam to Brussels – 2h40
- Brussels to Paris – 1h20
- Amsterdam to Paris – 4h00
- Paris to London – 2h20
- Brussels to Cologne (Köln) – 2h20
- Brussels to Frankfurt – 3h40
- Amsterdam to Frankfurt – 4h00
- Paris to Frankfurt – 3h49
- Paris to Geneva – 3h05
- Frankfurt to Basel – 2h50
- Frankfurt to Vienna – 6h56
- Paris to Geneva – 3h30
- Vienna to Salzburg – 2h40
- Zurich to Innsbruck – 3h30
Traveling times are coming down as lines are upgraded in especially Germany and France. Brand new lines that will be added in the near future include Railjet links between Zurich, Innsbruck, Munich, Salzburg, and Linz. High-speed rail links into Italy and Spain are also in the works.
On many journeys in Western Europe, trains can already compete with planes on time and price. Germany, for example, has very competitive low-cost airlines but flights are mostly to Mediterranean destinations rather than to cities served by high-speed trains. Trains on the London to Paris, Brussels, and Cologne routes are not only more convenient but actually faster than planes when check-in times are taken into consideration.
Henk Bekker - Henk Bekker is a freelance travel writer currently living on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
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