European High Speed Trains Just Keep Getting Faster

December 15, 2009 | Krista Stryker

Trains are a fast and efficient way to travel in Europe

If you’re like me, the novelty of flying has become much less exciting over the years as airport security continues to increase and a one-hour flight now requires at least 3-4 hours of airport time.

And since airplanes are no longer any fun, trains have now become my preferred mode of travel. They’re comfortable, you always have plenty of leg room, and sometimes you can even have a whole room to yourself. Awesome! The only downside of trains versus planes is that it can be frustrating how long it takes to get places on them compared to air travel.

Well, now there is good news for train lovers in Europe: the Pan-European high-speed rail network that has taken ages to perfect has a new coordinated timetable that cuts journey times substantially between many key European hubs. The timetable will become effective after the New Year, and rail times between Germany, the UK, France, Belgium, Holland and Italy will be all slashed.

Richard Brown, chief Executive of Eurostar says these new time cuts will open up the markets for European rail, and guesses that more and more people will start using this extremely popular and time-efficient means of travel.

“It’s an exciting time for rail passengers in Europe,” he says.

Yes, it is.

To see if your favorite travel destinations might be affected, take a look at some of the new time cuts:

The time it takes to travel between Paris and Amsterdam will be cut to three hours and 18 minutes, down from over four hours.

The trip from Paris to Cologne will be cut to three hours and 14 minutes, 29 minutes faster than before.

Italy’s commitment to high speed rail means it will be opening three new stretches into service after the New Year, connecting Turin in the North with Naples in the South.

The Rome to Naples line will cut 11 minutes from the journeys.

A new line between Florence and Bologna will cut the time between the cities from 37 minutes to 20 minutes and will also cut the time between Turin and Milan by up to an hour.