Rail Europe

Opening of the new Lötschberg tunnel

Only 25 days to go before the new Lötschberg tunnel opens… and opens you new travel horizons!

Literally slicing through the Alps, the34,5km-long new train tunnel will be the quickest way to cross Switzerland from North to South by train, as it allows top speeds of 200Km/h (124 mph)!!!

As of the 9^th of December, it will not only significantly reduce journey times between South Switzerland and the rest of the country (making it easier to reach destinations such as Brig or Zermatt), but also speed up the trips between Italy and Switzerland! Check it out:

	Today	As of 09/12	Time savings
Zürich/Basel - Zermatt	4h 24min	3h 12min	1h 12min
Zürich/Basel - Brig	2h 42min	2h 08min	34 min
Bern - Zermatt	3h 18min	2h 08min	70 min
Bern - Brig	1h 36min	1h 04min	32 min
Milano - Bern	3h 16min	2h 44min	32 min
Milano - Basel	4h 27min	3h 55min	32 min

From 2008, there will be 6 daily services between Basel, Bern and Milano… and by 2009, Switzerland-Italy trips will be even more comfortable and faster with the new Cisalpino tilting trains, allowing an additional reduction of travel time by up to 60 minutes!!!

Tomorrow even more than today, rail will definitely be the best option to discover Switzerland, whose dense and efficient network offer the travellers a cost effective, scenic and comfortable way of travel. Make sure you make the most of it, thanks to the famous Swiss Pass, available from Rail Europe network.

For more information or to purchase your Swiss Pass, consult your Rail Europe travel agent www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy.

EUROPEAN HIGH SPEED RAIL OPERATORS LAUNCH RAILTEAM

Railteam makes international travel on high-speed trains
to and from Europe easy for travellers

Real alternative to air alliances and to travel by car

By 2010, 25 million international travellers on European
high-speed rail network

Rail Europe, the leading distributor of European Rail Products overseas is glad to advertise that on 2 July 2007, seven European high speed train operators announced the start of Railteam. SNCF (France), SBB (Switzerland), Eurostar (UK, France and Belgium), Deutsche Bahn (Germany), SNCB (Belgium), NS Hispeed (The Netherlands), ÖBB (Austria), and subsidiaries Thalys, Lyria and Alleo offer then to give travellers seamless high-speed train travel across international borders in Western Europe.

The already wide range of products of Rail Europe, with a Western European high speed rail network that links over 45 major urban destinations in Europe via over 4,700km of track, will keep on growing as the network will stretch to 6,000 km by 2010 and will triple in size by 2020. However, despite the size and continuing growth of the high speed rail network, many international travellers remain unaware of the benefits of taking high speed rail.

Easy, faster and seamless journeys.

From today, if for any reason, a traveller misses their connection because of a late running service, Railteam will ensure they can hop on the next train, irrespective of the ticket type they have.

Rail Europe’s offer will gain in quality with the diffusion of multi-lingual information onboard trains and in stations that will ensure international travellers know where, when and how to connect onto other services.

Railteam information points will be installed in the five main hubs (Brussels, Cologne, Lille, Frankfurt and Stuttgart), and in the coming months, at other major stations such as London, Strasbourg, Amsterdam and in the main high-speed train stations in Paris.

To reduce transit times for travellers, Railteam partners will also better coordinate connecting departure and arrival times.

Railteam members are investing 30 million euro in a new distribution system that will allow international travellers to find an attractive combination of prices, make a reservation, pay, and receive their ticket from Rail Europe in one transaction.  The new system will go live in 2009.

Railteam also will seek to introduce new innovations as technologies develop over forthcoming years such as text messaging about timetables and service disruptions.

A greener and mart choice: the choice of the future!

Rail Europe expects that with travel on high-speed trains becoming even easier and smoother, increasing numbers of travellers will opt for environmentally friendly high speed train travel within Europe. It is common knowledge that high speed rail journeys release significantly less carbon dioxide than flying to the same destinations.

Extensive research has also shown that business travellers are willing to travel up to four hours on rail because of the increased productivity versus the airlines, whilst leisure travellers are prepared to enjoy longer journeys of around 6 hours.

By 2010, the Railteam members expect 25 million international travellers to be using their European high-speed rail network.

Guillaume Pepy, Chief Executive Officer of SNCF said: “It is achievable when you consider that Rail is served by city centre terminals. Factor in the transport time,travelling to airports, grinding traffic jams, security delays ans so on, and it’s pretty clear that on travel times alone high-speed rail is, at the very least, a realistic alternative on any journey across the Railteam member states”

“High-speed rail represents the future of sustainable, comfortable travel across Europe.”

Christmas markets

Should you find yourself wondering what to do with your last few weeks in December BEFORE Christmas, Rail Europe has some excellent suggestions to bring interesting alternatives to the traditional approach to Christmas. Come explore some of continental Europe’s Christmas markets. Yes, they will bring back all the magic of Christmas, with their log cabins, hand-craft gifts, delicious smells of mulled wine and regional savouries, you’ll give yourself a welcome break from the usual Christmas stress and no doubt find some beautiful, original gifts. It provides memorable sights, sounds and smells for all the family. 

Christmas markets date back to the 16th century, when religious holidays were also social events with fairs and entertainment. This tradition continues in France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and the Scandinavian countries. What better way to take the pain and commercialisation out of Christmas shopping than to visit some of the best-known Christmas markets by train.       

                                       

Rail Europe has selected some of the top Christmas markets in Europe for short week-end breaks, easily accessible by train:

• Strasbourg Christmas Market (Christkindelsmarik): Place Broglie through to rue de la Comédie are a wonderland for children and adults. Renowned for its traditional gifts, wines and foods, the Strasbourg Christmas market attracts tourists looking for new ideas for Christmas... since the 16th century! The market opens 26th November to 23rd December.

• Lille’s Christmas market on Place Rihour entertains and delights tourists and locals alike every year with stalls selling gifts, arts and crafts and northern delicacies. Don’t miss the music and entertainment each Saturday with a big concert held on the last Saturday before Christmas.

• Go south for Provençal Christmas markets! Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, Arles, numerous cities and towns in the south of France hold their Christmas markets with the well-known provençale “santons” or figurines dressed in their traditional costumes and work garbs of gone-by days. Wines and local gastromic delights are for sale as well as music and street theatre for children... not forgetting Santa’s hut!

• German Christmas markets – from Bremen in the north, to Berlin, Cologne, Koblenz and Freiburg, German Christmas markets are set against the back-drop of beautiful historic squares and City Halls (“Rathaus”), with music, stalls, tempting dishes and wines and beers for this special season.

         

• Try an Alpine Italian Christmas markets – high in the Dolomites, or in the surrounding Alpine cities, experience the beauty of the snow-covered mountains, the Italian hand-craft gifts and wondeful food to enjoy an atmospheric experience.

• Belgian Christmas markets – The Brussels annual Christmas market takes place in Place St. Catherine with its wonderful bright lights from the beginning to the end of December. For the first time this year, young children can ice-skate on the nearby ice-rink to bring a real atmosphere of Christmas. Find all kinds of gifts and ideas in these magical surroundings. Nearby on the coast, Ostend also holds its annual market with stalls, boutiques, all cheefully lit up for the occasion.

• Swiss Christmas markets – Basel is one of Switzerland’s most popular Christmas markets, when the city is alight with lights and stands selling all types of gifts.

Rail Europe, the World’s largest distributor of European rail travel offers travellers a number of easy solutions to visit Christmas markets in several countries or to visit several Christmas markets within a specific country:

• Eurail Select Pass – With this 1st class pass, travellers can visit 3,4 or 5 adjoining countries connected by train. It would be possible, for example, to visit the Brussels, Cologne, Paris and Strasbourg Christmas markets. It would also be possible to visit, Freiburg, Berlin, Prague and Vienna.

• Eurail Regional and National passes – There are many combinations for regional and national passes. All enable travellers to use the train in countries where are held Christmas markets. The passes offer you unlimited travel by train in the country / region covered. They are valid for 2 months, available in 1st or 2nd class, with great flexibility (“continuous” or “flexi” formulas).

• City to city tickets – Enjoy selected destinations at high speed! Rail Europe indeed sells a unique range of high speed trains, to quote but a few: Eurostar (London-Paris/Brussels), Thalys (Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam/Cologne), TGV (France), ICE (Germany), Artesia (France-Italy), Lyria (France-Switzerland) and Italian fast trains, allowing you to visit and experience many different traditions and atmospheres even during a short stay in Europe

For more information on passes and tickets, please contact your Rail Europe agent: www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy.

RAILTEAM is now on tracks!

A major step forward has been achieved with the agreement in Berlin, on June 14th, between the major European railways – German, Austrian, Belgian, Dutch, Swiss and French. This alliance between the main high-speed services operating in Europe (Thalys, ICE, Eurostar, Lyria, TGV...) will offer travellers top quality service on Europe’s high-speed network. RAILTEAM is similar in concept to alliances set up by the major airlines.

Types of services which will be offered by mid-2007 include:

• Facilitating tickets, rates and platform changes at “hubs” such as Brussels, Frankfurt or Charles de Gaulle airport
• Harmonising rates, on-board services, in-station services to increase awareness of high-speed services
• Access to top notch services – waiting rooms, internet access
• Combining passenger loyalty schemes and determining passenger rights
• Combining marketing and communication activities to encourage usages of high-speed services in Europe

The alliance will be headed up by a top level committee with 4 working groups to implement plans. Guillaume Pepy, CEO of the French Railways, commenting on this new alliance said “Our ambition is to bring high-speed Europe to customers. By combining German and French services, we have a large network and top level quality service on offer. We aim to be the rail alternative for customers looking for an alternative to the airline offer.”

Disabled travellers

Catering to the needs of disabled travellers is part of services provided by the railways. UK, French and Swiss railways offer in-station services to assist disabled travellers access the trains.

• Switzerland
 Call Center Handicap offers advice and assistance for disabled travellers with the possibility to arrange assistance in the stations to access trains for passengers in wheel-chairs or visually or mentally impaired. Advance notice (one hour, two hours, twenty-four hours) is required for some services.
 Tactile bands and braille signage mark out the security lines on escalators, platforms and on train carriages
 Cassettes and information in braille is provided by the Association for the Blind
 Televox also provides train timetables and platform information for several train stations
• France
 Porters wearing red jackets are free of charge for disabled passengers (disability card required)
 Each train has a special area for wheel-chairs
 Disabled services and routes are indicated with a special pictogram
 Wheel-chairs are available at the entrance of major train satations and ramps are also in place to help disabled passengers access trains.
• UK
 The National Rail Enquiries will indicate the train company responsible for stations to assist in arranging a journey
 A booklet “Rail Travel for Disabled Passengers” is available giving advice and information
 Toilets in train stations and on-board are accessible for wheel-chairs
 Staff can meet and accompany disabled passengers to their trains
 Guide dogs, hearing dogs, assistance dogs can be taken into station restaurants
 Wheel-chairs and powered wheel-chairs up to 67cm wide and 120cm long can be carried on all trains, pending space availability

In France, discussions with Associations for disabled travellers and the French Railways have commenced to ensure that the necessary changes are incorporated at the planning stages for new stations and trains. The next 10 years should see major improvements for disabled travellers. The SNCF has agreed to put a timetable on the work in progress, so that by 2015, wheel-chair users, visually impaired, mobility restricted travellers will be able to use the services throughout the country.

Throughout Europe, many of the stations were not at all built with wheel-chairs or guide dogs in mind. In designing new stations it is easier to build-in facilities for disabled travellers. Most importantly, however, the railways are working closely on training programmes for all their public-facing staff to ensure they are equipped to inform and assist disabled travellers and facilitate their journey.

Brunel Awards

At the recent Brunel Awards ceremony held in Copenhagen, Swiss Railways won 3 of the 9 awards and 5 of the 19 commendations. The Brunel Awards distinguish and award international architecture and design in the railway world. Named after the English railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859), the Brunel 2005 Awards received 157 entries from 44 companies in 15 countries on 3 continents in the following categories:
   
• Architecture – 7 awards – 10 commendations
• Graphics, Industrial design and Art – 3 awards – 4 commendations
• Technical Infrastructure and Environment – 2 awards, 3 commendations
• Rolling Stock – 3 awards, 4 commendations
• Special Brunel Jury Prize for Excellence in Corporate Design

Swiss Railways won 2 awards in the Architecture category for Zug and Bern (Wankdorf) train stations and 2 commendations for the stations in Muntelier-Lowenberg and Langenbold. In the Graphics, Industrial design and Art category, for Zug station for the lighting design, which helps create an impression of space and harmony with the suburban environment. Lastly, Swiss Railways received a commendation for the regional train FLIRT for rolling stock design. For the second time, the jury awarded Swiss Railways a special prize for outstanding overall achievement.

In-station services

• Swiss Railways

Travellers will no longer be wondering where to find that special gift or track down the DVD they hadn’t time to buy before leaving home as they wait for their train. Swiss Railways have developped an in-station service concept branded “RailCity”, to facilitate their customers. RailCity is located in the seven major Swiss train stations – Basle, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Lucerne, Wintertour and Zurich - and offers shopping facilities and services with flexible opening hours when the other shops are closed (on Sunday for example). Both travellers and people in the vicinity can now avail of shopping and services in a very central and safe environment.

Services and stores vary from station to station, however, core services includes banking, gifts, up-to-the minute fashion, shoes, florists, bakeries, bars and restaurants, food halls, books, music and DVD stores, car-rental, pharmacy, medical cabinets, hair-dressers and tourist office.

• French Railways

Travellers to France will notice major changes in big train stations, as 30 stations have already undergone refurbishing and renovations to broaden the scope of services provided for travellers. This programme started in 2003 is spreading to more than 165 train stations in 2005 and means that there will be an increasing number of services and shopping available. French Railways have embarked on an ambitious programme to ensure their train stations, designed differently throughout the country, are ambassadors for the towns and regions they transport travellers to. Each station, whilst different, will adhere to a standard 45 service charter. The first Parisian station to qualify was Montparnasse which sees on average 175,000 passengers daily – over 400,000 during peak departure periods – and over 25,000 people pass through the station on their way to and from work, to shop, run errands and carry out their business.  Another example is Paris-St. Lazare a transport hub with rail, suburban and underground services converging with over 450,000 people passing through on a daily basis. Underground parking, lifts, escalators, new entrance areas and a new shopping area are all part of the major renovation programme. Marseille train station is undergoing major refurbishments to create a major transport and services hub on the Mediterranean coast.
Culture, shopping and daily life, all converge in these new areas being developped in major train stations. Business centres are being opened in big international train stations with wifi connections available for ever-business executives.
The new TGV Est which will be operational from 2007 onwards is bringing a wave of change; stations are being renovated, including Paris-East (Gare de l’Est) and three new stations will be built to generate major hubs for linking cross-country and international services.

Special discounts and bonuses with French & Swiss Rail Passes

The French and Swiss Rail passes offer more than good value for travellers using the national railway networks, they also offer discounts on a wide range of city tours, sporting activities and shopping to ensure travellers get more value for their money in these countries! Some examples are given below:

Switzerland

• Reduced rates on cable cars and mountain trains not included in the Swiss travel scheme
• Reduced rates for bicycle rentals
• Reduced rates on ski and other winter rentals
• 50% discount on Zurich city guide walking tours
• 20% discount on the Basel Card,
• 20% discount in Bern for guided tours
• Discounts on watch & jewelry sold in Gübelin outlets
• And many more bonuses

France

• Free travel on the RER line from the Charles de Gaulle airport to Paris, if in transit through Paris
• Free travel on the RER C line to visit Versailles
• 50% on Parisian boat trips down the Seine with Bateaux Parisiens
• 50% discount on the Sea France ferries operating between Calais-Dover (passengers)
• 50% discount on the Corsican rail network
• With many more discounts available

These and many more money-saving discounts are available with both the France and Switzerland Rail Passes. For more information, your agent can provide you with indepth details.

Switzerland: Dial 088 44 22 66 for Rail Taxi

Swiss Rail and local taxi operators have clubbed together to set up Rail Taxi, which means travellers can call a  new toll-free number - 0800 44 22 66 - 24h/24h to order a taxi, to bring them to or from the train station. Sixteen large towns and cities are currently participating in this new service. Nine hundred taxi operators have been selected for the partnership based on their language skills and geographic knowledge. They have a special sticker Rail Taxi on their vehicles. Fares are the same as a regular taxi ride and telephone number is toll-free. For travellers calling from abroad, please dial +41 800 44 22 66.

Left-luggage services in France and Switzerland

Most back-packers remember the days when they could go to the left-luggage desk in any train-station, deposit their baggage and head out to explore the sites, safe in the knowledge their belongings were well-looked after.  Left-luggage services offered counter-top service or automatic lockers of different sizes. As a result of heightened security (for example, Plan Vigipirate in France), following a number of terrorist attacks or the threat of such attacks, some railway operators temporarily curtailed or closed these services. This is no longer the case. Proactive measures have replaced the cautionary methods put in place during ‘orange’ periods (i.e. low terrorist threat) with new scanners to check baggage and passengers entering the left-luggage areas.
Travellers can therefore once again avail of these services particularly in main train stations in France. Left-luggage services are now available in the main stations in Paris – Paris Gare de Lyon (gateway to the south of France and Italy), Paris Montparnasse (gateway to the Loire Valley and the Atlantic coast), Paris Gare du Nord (gateway to the north of France and the international services to the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands), Paris Austerlitz (gateway to the south-west and Spain). Regional train stations include Angers, Avignon-Centre, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nantes and Toulouse. For passengers using Marne-la-Vallée Chessy returning to or from Eurodisney, left-luggage facilities are once again in operation.

• Opening hours for left-luggage services are generally from 06.30AM to 11.00PM.
• Costs for small automatic lockers are 3€50, 5€ for the medium-sized ones and 7€50 for the large sized lockers.
• Baggage can be left for 72h, with the exception of Paris Gare du Nord where it can be left for 48h.

In Switzerland, it is customary for train stations to offer left-luggage facilities, ranging in size from small,
medium and large sized lockers, ranging in price from 2 to 8 CHF.