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Often, yes. In other cases, it’s simply needed to being able to accommodate demand. The IC2000 are a good example for this.

We have to disagree then. In any case it’s moot, their capacity is certainly needed and I am quite sure the Swiss prefer a slightly less comfortable seat to no seat at all. Mind, the typical journey in Switzerland is very short. I would certainly welcome double-deck long-distance stock at ÖBB...

I have just been to Switzerland, travelled again on the IC2000 cars and for the first time on the Bombardier Twindexx RABe 502 (both in second class), and while these last seem to very problematic on a technical level, I find both very adequate for long-distance travel and while Swiss domestic...

Ok, thanks. Either you were lucky or they have reduced border checks (maybe because Croatia will soon join Schengen and already applies its rules). The Zagreb - Vienna IC had been know as „almost always very late“ for a long time because of this.

When were you there? Recently, inward trains from Croatia often pick up long delays at the border, it being a „Schengen external border.“

It’s way to cheap. Someone has to pay in the end. I am all for affordable and above all easy to use (which is a major advantage of such flat fees) public transport, but you don’t have to give it away (if someone really can’t afford slightly more realistic prices, improve social policies, but no...

How is the situation in Germany? In Austria, since the vast majority of passengers have season tickets and we don’t „touch in/out“, I doubt anyone will ever want to invest money in card readers. It will be app-based purchases and probably at some point a GPS-based system.

I am currently in Lyon and they are heavily promoting contactless travel with payment by bank (credit) card. It seems to be newly introduced.

I think the Siemens sleepers bought by DB and then sold to ÖBB, which constitute the core of the current NJ sleepers, are quite a bit newer.

I suppose that the thinking is: some people want all the perks and are willing to pay, others want and need a no-frills service. Paying for a private room with shared facilities will certainly put off a lot of people nowadays, especially younger ones which are not used to the night trains of...

In case anyone is interested, a picture taken today (10 August 2022) at St Pölten main station. It’s a shortened new NJ set with a driving trailer, an accessible coach, a couchette with the new „capsules“ and a sleeper. Unfortunately the former threads on these new sets are closed but feel...

The UK is just ahead of the curve; lack of staff will hit many European railways and indeed many economies (in the short term, a huge recession would „help“, but then there is the question how much transport can be afforded on very high energy prices.).

Having several brands is not always helpful to market services, because no one will be able to differentiate them anymore. I agree though that two brands (one for true HS services, a second one for other high-quality rapid trains) would be useful in Italy. A third one is definitely too much...

If we go down that road, it is also worth mentioning that most tax receipts don’t go towards public transport. So we would have to take into account social services, education, pensions, health etc. The point I was trying to make is that the excellence of Swiss public transport (and I am...

From what I know, Switzerland and the UK have quite comparable tax levels indeed, and they are considerably lower than in most of the rest of Western Europe. Comparing these two countries to tax havens or city-states (which don’t have to provide infrastructure in, say, the Hebdrides or some...

One might also add that with few exceptions, the Spanish classic rail network is very slow and therefore since the building of motorways was very uncompetitive (so very different to France and the UK, where on a classic network, 200 kph was/is quite common).

Many Spanish HSL have little traffic and a single track (with double-track islands) is enough. All HSL are built to accommodate two tracks though, so the second one can be added rapidly when necessary.

Switzerland is actually one of the lowest taxed countries in the developed world. And, as has been pointed out before, measured against income, public transport is not expensive for Swiss people (yearly „all public transport“ rover for 3.330£…).

It made sense at the time.

It wasn’t a cheap shot and I am certainly not anti-French. It is a fact that what the French offer timetable-wise is very bad - as can be seen from the timetables- compared to everything that is further east or north in Europe. Considering they have one of the best networks in Europe, it is a...