Touring Europe at 200 Miles an Hour

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

Touring Europe at 200 Miles an Hour
Travel by High-Speed Rail Catches On as an Alternative To the Hassles of Flying
By DARREN EVERSON
March 12, 2008; Page D1

To get to Europe, you still have to take a plane. But to get around, some savvy travelers are finding a much smoother -- and sometimes quicker -- ride on the train. High-speed rail operators in Europe are ambitiously adding routes and cutting travel times, looking to snatch customers from the short-haul airline market. They are also adding perks, such as DVD and movie rentals and free newspapers. Plush high-speed trains are luring customers weary of the bare-bones service offered on the many discount airlines that have proliferated throughout Europe: Eurostar Group Ltd. trains (which run in the United Kingdom, France and Belgium) have 33 inches of leg room in coach, for example. Discount airline Ryanair has 30 inches of leg room -- and the seats don't recline.

Spain, which is at the forefront of the rail boom, got high-speed service connecting Madrid and Barcelona last month. The journey was slashed by two hours: Now it takes just two hours, 35 minutes. Switzerland in January saw the opening of a $3.5 billion, 22-mile tunnel that passes through the Alps, cutting travel time by 45 to 75 minutes within the country and between Switzerland and Italy. In November, Eurostar reduced the travel time by 20 minutes on its popular London-to-Brussels and London-to-Paris routes. As of late January, there were more than 2,600 miles of high-speed lines under construction in Europe, including some 1,400 miles in Spain alone, plus an additional 5,300 miles planned, according to the International Union of Railways.

Consumers are flocking to the comfortable, speedy trains -- while growth is slowing in parts of the airline industry. Eurostar reported a 15% rise in ticket sales for 2007, with much of the increase occurring after the London enhancements. Meanwhile, airport passenger-traffic growth has fallen to 2% in Britain for the past two years, according to the country's Civil Aviation Authority. Prior to that, traffic had been growing 6% a year since the 1970s. While the nearly 200-mph trains are of particular use to long-distance commuters and other European-based consumers, U.S. travelers also can take advantage, whether they want to visit multiple stops across the Continent or just avoid the hassle of taking connecting flights.

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Train travelers can also avoid airport security hassles and some of the delays that have plagued flights lately. Last year was the fourth straight year that delays increased on intra-European flights, according to the Association of European Airlines. Train stations are often more convenient: They tend to be located in city centers. Airports are often more remote, especially those where discount airlines tend to fly. For example, Barcelona International Airport is about 20 minutes from the city center, but Barcelona Girona Airport, which Ryanair flies into, is 90 kilometers (55 miles) away. And as no-frills airlines have become increasingly prevalent in Europe, passengers are being charged for checking bags, checking in at the airport, and even for using credit cards. Rail has gone the reverse route, offering more perks. Eurostar's trains have power sockets and offer free newspapers and magazines in business and premium economy classes on-board. The TGV Med, a French high-speed train that travels from Paris to destinations near the Mediterranean coast, has DVD-player and movie rentals. SNCF, France's high-speed rail operator, is launching a youth-aimed overnight service to Biarritz and the French Riviera later this year. The service, called IDnight, will have music, dancing and an all-night bar.

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Price and route structure remain drawbacks for train travel. The low-cost airlines can be flown more cheaply on many routes, including London-to-Paris ($83 on easyJet in April, $180 on Eurostar), even though Eurostar owns two-thirds of that route's market share. Despite the 3,400 miles of high-speed lines already operating in Europe, many major cities still aren't directly connected. A one-way trip from Amsterdam to Berlin, for example, costs $205 via Rail Europe, a rail-booking agency, and takes a prohibitive six hours even though the cities are only 350 miles apart. On Transavia, a Netherlands low-cost airline, the trip takes 1 hour and 20 minutes and costs $129 -- round trip. High-speed trains are most popular on routes that run relatively straight and cover shorter distances. Rail operators say customers have historically chosen trains for trips of three hours or less. But Guillaume Pepy, chairman of Eurostar, says travelers are now willing to take trains for longer trips. He points out that trains have a 65% market share on the Paris-to-Toulon route, which the TGV covers in just under four hours. "It's extremely comfortable, easy to use and seamless," Mr. Pepy says. "You can use the time exactly as you want: sleep, read, work on the computer. It's useful time."

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[JCMach1]

1. RODE High-speed ICE in Germany a couple of years back!

It was good fun!!! It beats flying any day.

[MissHoneychurch]

2. Nothing unusal for me

I ride it every time I visit my mom or someone else. I don't have a car so I use the ICE. Takes about as long as a car ride and I can read and sleep and listen to my music without worrying. I love it :D

[JCMach1]

3. Ever ride the HIGHSPEED section between Frankfurt and Cologne

:) ?

[MissHoneychurch]

5. No

but I took the highspeed section once between Frankfurt and Berlin. ICE arrived 10 minutes too late in Berlin and there were NO stops between the two cities. :rofl:

[trusty elf]

4. Traveling from Basel to Paris by train

used to take five hours. With the TGV, it's now only a three and a half hour trip.

:thumbsup:

[question everything]

7. What is the route? Under the ocean?

We were planning on a European vacation this year, but with the dollar plunging will delay it. But taking the high speed train sounds fantastic.

Some 12 years ago we had to choose between Madrid and Barcelona since it did not seem possible to visit both, not with the vacation time we had.

But now, with the train only 3 hours trip, this sounds wonderful.

[trusty elf]

8. Are you thinking of the Eurostar?

That's the train that goes through the tunnel under the English Channel. It's very cool-from Paris Gare du Nord to London takes less than two and a half hours. It's actually quicker and much less stressful than flying.

[question everything]

9. Yes, thanks. Last time we visited England was before the

"chunnel" was built. I traveled there either flying or taking the boat to Dover.

[LibertyLover]

6. When we travel to Great Britan

my husband and I use their high speed trains as much as possible. We've gone London to York or Edinburgh several times and it has been wonderful. No hassles at the airport, leg room and interesting scenery. We plan on going to the continent in a few years, once our daughter is 8 and will take high speed trains as much as possible. I wish that the US hadn't ripped up so much of its railroad track beds.