European Rail News & Notes

Your source for updates on European train travel
published on 27 June 2012
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Damage to a bridge in Amsterdam is affecting many rail services to and from the Dutch city. The situation is fluid and travellers are advised to check the current situation before travelling. Night trains to and from Amsterdam are the most seriously affected.
published on 22 June 2012
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
A new rail link is launched today, connecting the Hungarian capital with the Croatian port of Pula. It is a twice-weekly summer season service, with departures from Budapest on Tuesday and Friday evenings and with trains from Pula running back to Budapest on Wednesday and Saturday nights. The service will run until late August.
published on 20 June 2012
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Cast back half a century and there would have been nothing unusual about a direct train from Edinburgh to the port of Oban on Scotland's west coast. Indeed, our 1961 Bradshaw shows three direct trains each weekday from the Scottish capital to Oban — all running along the now sadly defunct Callander route, and serving along the way stations like Kingshouse Platform (on request), Killin Junction and Luib. All names that have long disappeared from the timetables.
published on 18 June 2012
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Russian Railways (RZD) this week launches new direct seasonal through carriages from Moscow to Split on the Adriatic coast of Croatia. The inaugural run left Moscow's Kiyevskaya station just after 10 pm last evening. The entire journey to Split takes 62 hours, but with an interesting interlude in Budapest along the way.
published on 15 June 2012
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
Spain boasts Europe's most extensive network of dedicated high-speed passenger railways, and that network is further enhanced this weekend with the opening of a further short stretch of high-speed line south of Madrid. The new link will carry the first direct AVE trains from Spain's eastern Levante region to Andalucía, so removing the need to change trains in Madrid.
published on 14 June 2012
by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries
A new local rail service from Villach in Austria over the nearby border to Udine in Italy has just been launched. Good news for local travellers in this part of the eastern Alps. The new service runs twice daily in each direction.