Recent content by Austriantrain

I don’t disagree, of course you are right. It is just that from London, journey time to most of the destinations you mention will be extremely long. I never argued against Frankfurt as the train destination. I just think it needs to stop in Cologne too to fill it.

The administrative court of Cologne has quashed the regulator‘s decision regarding Italo access rights. In German https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/deutsche-bahn-netzagentur-klage-trassen-100.html Appeals probably to follow… EDIT: it seems to be an interim measure.

First of all, it isn’t hardline, but very sensible. A „made in Switzerland“ requirement would simply make every procurement much more expensive. Second, it would be prohibited under the EU association treaties anyway.

Easiest would be a Frecciarossa variant, since variations of it will soon be approved in all 4 countries. The TGV M will be approved in Italy and I don’t see approval in Germany and Switzerland as a problem for a 4-voltage variant, they are not difficult countries for certification. As for the...

The Swiss do have an issue though by having very tough accessibility laws (one reason for the Giruno and its layout). I do believe they have an exception though when it is technically not feasible, such as on tilting trains. Here might be a second case.

I am sure they could, but I am not sure that they would take the risk to do what would be a very expensive development for an already quite saturated market. The Giruno itself did not find any buyers apart from SBB, but in that case, nothing really similar was available at the time. Here, there...

4+4 compartments are atrocious and those railways that still used compartments for a longer time than elsewhere mostly went to 3+3. Which of course makes the seating differential to open-plan very significant. I beliebe SNCF even had a trial for 4+4 couchette-style compartments. Not...

SBB have announced that they will buy 21 High-Speed trains with an option for 20 more. Link in German: https://www.bahnonline.ch/91473/sbb-kauft-neue-hochgeschwindigkeitszuege/ A previous plan to lease them has been discarded. From what I gather from previous reporting, these sets will be...

For high-Speed trains that discounts the initial, enormous investment. There is no doubt that the initial French LGV paid their cost and probably also could pay (via track-access charges) their further improvement, but I have my doubts that the newer once, some of them like LGV Rhin-Rhone not...

These trains are now reported to start by summer 2027: https://www.deutschebahn.com/de/presse/pressestart_zentrales_uebersicht/Ab-Sommer-2027-neue-Direktverbindungen-von-Muenchen-ueber-Innsbruck-nach-Mailand-und-Rom-starten-14044616

Certainly a UK specific rule. The new Nightjet sets have beds like that too.

Indeed, this specific one is NIMBY. There are quite a lot more of them in Germany, of course.

We have had this discussion before. Of course it was a factor in the 1990s and 2000s, but in the last 15 years the main factor was the fundamental principle of German governments "no debt" (or as little as possible). That was when money would have been cheap; they recently changed policy, but of...

It was built so that trains from Austria via Buchs to Zurich don't need to change direction in Sargans (which, due to the station layout, is complicated) and is still used for this.

While it can be used as a loop, that is not its purpose of course.