Content warning: Night trains in Europe are coming back
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:
Content warning: The accessibility for the blind advent calendar: day 15 - Austria
Welcome to Innsbruck, Austria again. This time we go to the main train station where I spent a part of my mobility training. Through this training I have learnt that there is a semi-independent way for blind passengers to operate the on-site ticket machine. How come semi, you might ask? 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
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.
