Which nations rail service is the best, and why?

Slowtwitch
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Re: Which nations rail service is the best, and why?

Post by Slowtwitch »

I've had similar problems on the Duoro route, but only in the height of sumner. Out of season is a breeze and net enjoyable train journey.
NickJP
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Re: Which nations rail service is the best, and why?

Post by NickJP »

Pendodave wrote: 16 Feb 2022, 7:23pmIn terms of forming part of an integrated transport system which serves pretty much the whole country, Switzerland is going to be tough to beat... I also quite like Germany.
Haven't taken a bike on German trains, but ditto on the Swiss. I've taken my bike on quite a lot of Swiss trains, and always found the service they offer extremely good.
Pendodave
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Re: Which nations rail service is the best, and why?

Post by Pendodave »

I recently used a train in france (bourg st maurice - chambery) where part of the route had the dreaded rail replacement bus in place.
Unlike here, the coach driver was perfectly happy to put someone's unboxed, non-folding bike in the lockers underneath.
Maybe it's just a far less risky proposition than in the UK? (!).
Anyway, good for them. SNCF has moved up a notch in my personal rankings.
Will
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Re: Which nations rail service is the best, and why?

Post by Will »

The European Cycling Federation (ECF) did a report on this last year:

https://ecf.com/system/files/Cyclists_l ... report.pdf

The top ranked service was the NS/DB Amsterdam to Berlin service. The Swiss and Belgian national train services came in joint second, followed by the Hungarian and German national rail services.

I think the Belgian national train service will score even higher in a few years time:

https://ecf.com/news-and-events/news/al ... eir-trains

I've only been on a Belgian train once myself (from Adinkerke to Ghent) but was impressed with the amount of space available for bikes.

It is a shame that there are no longer any ferries going to Belgium as it has potential for getting further into Europe with bikes. There is a hourly direct service that runs from Ostend to Eupen (near the German border). The Belgian national rail company (SNCB) recently ordered some multi-system locomotives that will allow their trains to go into Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. It is rumoured that the Ostend-Eupen service will be extended to Cologne using the new locomotives. Cologne is a connecting point for trains to Switzerland and Austria, and when the new ICE 3 NEO trains (with 8 bike spaces) come on line, Munich will be reached in around 4.5 hours.

I find the main issue when planning to use trains is trying to find out what the bike provision is like on a particular train service I am interested in. I used to use a site called vagonWEB (https://www.vagonweb.cz/razeni/index.ph ... 21&lang=en), but they have now reduced the number of countries they cover, so you have to rely on data from 2021 - eventually this will be so out of date that it will no longer be useful.

Will
Jdsk
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Re: Which nations rail service is the best, and why?

Post by Jdsk »

Will wrote: 20 Mar 2022, 2:41pm The European Cycling Federation (ECF) did a report on this last year:

https://ecf.com/system/files/Cyclists_l ... report.pdf
Thanks for posting that.

Jonathan
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mjr
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Re: Which nations rail service is the best, and why?

Post by mjr »

Will wrote: 20 Mar 2022, 2:41pm It is a shame that there are no longer any ferries going to Belgium as it has potential for getting further into Europe with bikes.
Once you get out of the port to Loon-Plage, Dunkirk ferries are fairly well connected to De Panne station: 22 miles, more than half on cycleway and the rest on town streets or country lanes. https://cycle.travel/map/journey/151228
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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richards
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Re: Which nations rail service is the best, and why?

Post by richards »

Buses in France have been mentioned. In the Gard I was allowed to take my bike, in the Herault (next door) I was not. This led to using the route in the Cevennes from Ganges (Herault) to Le Vigan (Gard) I could only use half the buses if I wanted to take my bike. That was pre-plague of course. I suspect it always depends on which département you are in.
Jdsk
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Re: Which nations rail service is the best, and why?

Post by Jdsk »

NB date.

The Briefing Room: "How to Fix Britain's Railways":
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001hfrp

Highly Recommended

Jonathan
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Re: Which nations rail service is the best, and why?

Post by mjr »

Jdsk wrote: 27 Jan 2023, 10:04am NB date.

The Briefing Room: "How to Fix Britain's Railways":
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001hfrp

Highly Recommended

Jonathan
Available as standard download at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001hfrp
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
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