Posted on 10/12/2019 5:00:08 AM PDT by Olog-hai
As the anti-flying movement known as “flight shaming” is gaining momentum across Europe, Switzerland is adding new train services to some of its international routes.
The TGV company Lyria, which is owned jointly by the Swiss Federal Railways and France’s SNCF, is adding trains to its high-speed link between major Swiss cities and Paris.
Beginning on December 15th, 30% more connections will be offered to the French capital from Geneva, Zürich, Lausanne and Basel. That means an increase from the currently available 13,500 seats daily to 18,000 by the end of 2020.
The goal of the expanded service is to shift passangers (sic) from short-haul flights to rail. […]
In fact, according to a poll conducted by the Zürich-based Sotomo research institute in September, climate change is among the top concerns for the Swiss voters in the upcoming October 30th elections.
The Parliament has decided to start taxing plane tickets — CHF 30 to CHF 120 per flight, depending on the distance traveled. …
(Excerpt) Read more at thelocal.ch ...
I will not fly. It’s not the flying, it’s the airports. They treat you like cattle. Maybe train stations are the same way, IDK. I’d rather drive. Or take a train if I could...
‘New terrorist targets!’
No kidding! It was the first thing I thought of. With airport security screening, a terrorist has a slim chance of getting on board.
With a train they do not need to get on board. All they have to do is disrupt the tracks to make the train derail. An explosive device could be planted so it is completely non-visible and then triggered wirelessly. Terrorism would be impossible to stop.
The leftists would have the population just where they want them. Too shamed to fly, too scared to go by rail.
Terrorism is not impossible to stop with respect to any transportation mode. Government interference as in this vein, though, greatly increases the likelihood.
Trains? Why don’t they just walk around Europe like they did in the 9th Century?
Riding horses and donkeys would be animal cruelty?
Canals (which date back before Jesus’ birth) are too high-tech?
I can tell you they are worse. At least on a plane you have a seat...not true on a train, especially anything regional.
Some are one step short of the trains in India with folks hanging on.
European trains, at least.
Have you ever been on a Swiss train?
1900s is the era of flight. More like 1800s.
These euro trains are ridiculously expensive especially if you aren’t travelling alone. Rental car is the way to go.
Canals like Electric Vehicles have the limited range problem. :)
Aren’t a couple of major Swiss airports actually not in Switzerland? How do the extra taxes work there?
I'm 'all aboard' on that
I took a “TGV Inoui” train from Luxembourg City to Paris last month. There are speed monitors in each car; we hit 317 kmph (197 mph) once we got to the actual high speed railway south of Metz. Whatever you think of France, the high speed train service there is marvelous.
On the French TGV trains, seat reservations are mandatory. This is also true on the Eurostar trains through the Channel Tunnel, the Thalys trains through Belgium, the two competing Italian high speed rail services, and the AVE high speed trains in Spain.
You can stand up in the restaurant/bar “bistro” car if you want.
Good thinking
That’s exactly what we need in California
The Swiss federal railway system is top notch. The stations in the bigger cities serve as shopping malls, so a train traveler can easily access supermarkets, drug stores, dry cleaning and shoe repair, banks, a post office, and much more. The trains themselves are exceptionally clean and tidy. Additionally, there are some privately owned and operated railways in the country which are extremely popular with tourists (the Glacier Express is one).
I traveled through Bern last month as part of a Eurail adventure. The main station there is a ten minute walk from the federal parliament building, right in the center of the city. European trains are a key to experiencing the best that Europe has to offer. I had never been to Bern before; it is a significant city but generally off the tourist trail. It is a gem (although like the rest of Switzerland it is expensive).
I paid CHF14 for a large draft beer at an outdoor café there (slightly less than $14.00). A couple of days later, in Maribor, Slovenia, I paid 2.10 Euros (about $2.35) for a the equivalent portion of beer in a restaurant in the train station there.
Yes, top notch all the way.
I was particularly impressed that when we got off the train in Zurich, the airport was one escalator ride away.
Our government could never plan or run anything so well. *sigh*
If your airport has CLEAR, you can avoid being treated like cattle.
I go on at least two trips per month that involve airlines. I live in the DC area; the airport I like the best is Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA). I park my car at a Metro station that has multi-day parking for a cheap price, and take the Metro train for a 12 minute ride to the airport station, which is connected by a pedestrian bridge to the terminal. The cheapest long term parking at DCA is $17 per day.
I paid for a 5 year membership to a government program called “Global Entry”; for $20 more than the “pre-check” program, I get expedited transit through the immigration checkpoints at US airports (such as Washington Dulles). As a part of Global Entry I get pre-check. As a Platinum Medallion on Delta, I got a discount on CLEAR. I figure I can get from the exit of the Metro station to the entrance of the Delta Sky Club in 7 minutes, including the time I require to go through the TSA checkpoint.
The TSA is more about “security theater” than about actually providing a fail safe security system. It has always seemed to me to be more about preventing “scalpers” from buying up the cheapest advance purchase airline tickets and then selling them to willing purchasers whose names don’t match those on the boarding passes. This is why the airlines got the federal government to take over airport security after 9-11-01.
The airport train station at ZRH airport is a revelation (there is a similar setup at Amsterdam Schiphol). From ZRH airport you can take trains to other Swiss cities and mostly bypass the main train station, Zurich HB (although it is generally easy to navigate and is in the center of the city).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.