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Items tagged with: trains
In Europe, flying is cheaper than taking the train.
It's an embarrassment, and a major problem: we have to stop flying for silly short distances. Realise that the overheads of flying (reaching the airport, awaiting 2 hours, the flight, the unloading, reaching the destination) largely cancel out any time gains of flying. And the carbon costs are utterly untenable. Not to speak of the modern, dire conditions of the whole flying "experience".
Another embarrassment is that train connections can't be guaranteed when across countries or companies. They aren't even coordinated. As if those who commission and set the schedules didn't travel by train themselves, at least not internationally. In considering how tiny most European countries are, it's frankly bizarre.
There are so many destinations one could travel by train to, yet in practice, it's not sensible. A disgrace.
The upside is that it can be fixed.
As night trains are the superior art of traveling, I never understood why in the last decade most train companies dismantled them.
I always suspected a mixture of pseudo-modernism ("high-speed trains are more modern"), lack of cooperation among rail operators of different countries (the European rail system has more of a patchwork than a network) and the conspiracy theory of car and air travel industries lobbying against the most convenient way to travel long distances.
Luckily, follks in Eastern European countries weren't as shortsighted as their counterparts in the other parts of Europe, and maintained their night trains. ÖBB is most active in bringing back night train connections in Europe. Turkyie and Ukraine are good on track, too!
If you want to find night train connections, check this web:
back-on-track.eu/night-train-l…?
"Back-on-Track is a European network to support improved European cross-border passenger train traffic and night trains." 🖤
#NightTrains #Trains #Railway #EuropeanMobility #Mobility #Travel #TravelInEurope #FutureOfMobility #EuropeTourism #Tourism #MobilityTransition #SleeperTrains #SNCF #DB #OEBB #ÖBB #NightJet #Nightline #TrenItalia #MÁV #PKP #PolRail #RENFE (just kidding, the Spanish rail company is a candidate for being the worst in Europe )
Well, on the front of the machine, there is a dedicated customer service number embossed in Braille where you can call and tell the representative where you would like to go. They are able to remotely operate the machine, find your connection, choose the right ticket options for you and bring you to the payment screen. Once the payment is complete, the ticket comes out as usual. Kind of makes me wonder: if the railway staff are able to access these machines remotely, why isn't this possibility open to those who might need it for accessibility reasons?
I am not sure whether this works in other Austrian cities, I haven't also heard of this implementation in any other place.
Unfortunately, I have never had a chance to use this so no recordings or first-hand experiences this time.
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Railway #Transport #Trains #Austria #Innsbruck
Neat: Deutsche Bahn to release €9 tickets for unlimited travel on local/regional trains for a month (June, July, or August)
bahn.com/en/offers/regional/9-…
9-Euro-Ticket
Energy costs are rising. As one response, the German government is planning to launch a special-offer ticket as part of its support package for bus and rail transport.www.bahn.com