Featured image: A Spanish AVE train at Seville Santa Justa station. …And Why the UK Struggles Spain now operates the most extensive high-speed rail network in Europe, a transformation achieved in just a few decades. It stands in sharp contrast to the UK, where completing even one major north–south high-speed line remains elusive. Much of […]
Continue reading How Spain Built Europe’s Largest High-Speed Rail Network
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?
(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?
🚄 Karst Landscapes Made Easy Travelling by train from Hong Kong to Guilin is one of the easiest and most satisfying ways to reach China’s most famous natural scenery. Fast, comfortable, and surprisingly simple, the journey swaps skyscrapers for limestone peaks in just a few hours 🌄. If you’re planning to see the Li River […]
Continue reading Hong Kong to Guilin by TrainFor years, Graz and Klagenfurt have felt like they belonged to different corners of Austria. They’re both in the south, yes — but the rail link between them was slow enough that you often planned your trip around it. That changes with the Koralmbahn (Koralm Railway): a new, high-performance line between Graz Hbf and Klagenfurt […]
Continue reading Graz and Klagenfurt just got “closer” 🚄🏔️If you’ve ever opened Google Maps in Japan and zoomed out, you may have noticed something striking: high-speed rail lines and major corridors are shown far more clearly than in most other countries. Shinkansen routes, main JR lines, and dense urban railways appear tightly drawn and highly legible — almost as if Google is testing […]
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Featured image: The Pont du Gard near Nîmes, France – a UNESCO-listed Roman aqueduct crossing the Gardon River, built in the 1st century AD. Visiting Pont du Gard by bus, one of the most impressive surviving Roman aqueducts in the world, is entirely possible without a car. Two regional liO buses — 115 and 121 […]
Continue reading Getting to Pont du Gard by Bus from Avignon and NîmesThe newly announced freeze on UK regulated rail fares is a step in the right direction. UK train travel has become so expensive that even short journeys can feel like luxury purchases 🚆💸. Holding peak and off-peak fares steady is sensible — and long overdue. But if rail is ever going to be a realistic […]
Continue reading Freezing UK Rail Fares Is Welcome — But Does it Fix the Real Problem?