Recent content by cgcenet

It doesn't seem to include Rail and Sail to the Netherlands, which is available as a through ticket. (I tried Manningtree to The Hague as an test journey).

Only if you know EXACTLY when you are going to travel in and out of London every single day. Change of plan == New Ticket (probably full price). It would work for a weekly commute, but the idea of using Advance tickets for a daily commute is, frankly, bonkers.

I think it's simply that a train service is not an airline, and Izy/Ouigo seem to be about artificially turning a train service into a low-cost airline. Trains and planes serve different purposes: while airlines only serve long-distance markets, trains also serve local communities and...

I would much prefer a traditional train service with fixed walk-up fares, clockface timetable, stopping at main stations en route. It would plug the gap between Jeumont and Erquelinnes. I do not like the trend for rail operators to pretend to be airlines, especially in the artificial way that...

You can't book domestic journeys (for any country) via the Thalys website (this is totally dumb :evil: ). However, it is possible to book ICE tickets for a Belgian domestic journey via the DB website. I remember reading on the SNCB website that domestic tickets could be upgraded for travel on...

It's ridiculous because a train should just pick people up and set them down and it shouldn't matter where they sit or next to whom.On a train from Kings X to Edinburgh, people travelling the length of the train run might be sharing a carriage with people travelling from York to Newcastle. Why...

Thanks, yes I realised that after checking Eurostar website. I just seem to remember there used to be one or two. Yes, how ridiculous that is.

Thalys can be used for domestic travel in Germany and Belgium. According to the SNCB website, domestic tickets can be used on Thalys or ICE on payment of a supplement. And the B-Europe site quotes an Aachen→Cologne fare on Thalys. Also IIRC in theory it is possible to travel between Calais and...

For many travellers fare flexibility is the thing that matters. As a season-ticket-holding commuter I just want to arrive at my local station in the morning and get on board the next train. I don't want have to wait for the one after because I have a season ticket for a different operator. I...

It's also the Italian word for "bee".

This may be a result of Trenitalia's uncooperative behaviour, unilaterally withdrawing from the joint operation with ÖBB and DB running these services, then trying its hardest to prevent ÖBB and DB from continuing to run the services without Trenitalia's involvement. Therein lies another...

It is very difficult to know the demand until the service actually starts running. When new train routes have been started in the UK in recent years, the take-up has typically been much higher than expect. For a cross-Channel passenger shuttle service, the potential customers stretch well beyond...

Not "random". Ashford and Calais are the closest stations on either side of the Channel Tunnel (with facilities allowing international trains to stop). One would logically expect to be possible to travel directly between the two quickly and easily, much as you can between, say, Didcot Parkway...

This is because unlike trains, planes don't generally pick up and set down passengers en route (except on the longest routes). For trains, it is an efficient way of serving multiple communities with the same service. For planes, the cost of multiple landings (both in time and resources) would...

You missed out the safety regulations, which currently prevent any running of commuter-type train sets through the Channel Tunnel. Plus Eurotunnel's monopoly pricing of track access. Also I suspect that SNCF might not play nicely if the service ran to Lille. Actually the French seem to be the...