When snow brings transport systems elsewhere to a halt, Swiss mountain railways keep running — calmly, predictably, and almost boringly on time. This isn’t luck, and it isn’t just “Swiss efficiency” as a cliché. It’s the result of hard geography forcing honest engineering, backed by culture, governance, and long-term thinking. Here’s why Alpine railways in […]
Image (C) Foster + Partners Florence is one of Europe’s most rail-dependent cities, sitting squarely on Italy’s north–south high-speed axis. Yet for years, travellers have heard about a new high-speed railway station that somehow never seems to open. So what actually happened to Florence’s planned high-speed station — and why do high-speed trains still arrive […]
Continue reading What Happened to the New High-Speed Railway Station in Florence?
Image (C) Barcelo Hotels Canfranc Estación Set high in the Spanish Pyrenees near the French border, Canfranc Estación, a Royal Hideaway Hotel occupies one of the most extraordinary railway buildings in Europe. Opened in 1928, the vast station was designed as a grand international interchange between France and Spain, complete with customs halls, hotel facilities, […]
Continue reading Getting to Canfranc Station Hotel in the Pyrenees
(AI generated image, prompt – “French TGV train”) Toulouse: a transport city built for the air, not the rails Toulouse is one of Europe’s most important transport cities — but its global reputation is rooted firmly in aviation, not rail ✈️. As the home of Airbus and a major aerospace research hub, the city is […]
Continue reading Why is there no high-speed line to Toulouse?