vagabond

By RICK STEVES
THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Europe is investing in its infrastructure, and travelers know the results are breathtaking. With the English Channel tunnel, trains speed from Big Ben to the Eiffel Tower in about 2.5 hours. You zip under the English Channel in 20 minutes ... looking out the window for fish.

More travelers now connect London and Paris by train than by air -- and high-speed rail between these two cities may get even faster and cheaper in the near future.

Eurostar, a joint service of the Belgian, British and French railways, is the speedy passenger train that zips you (and up to 800 others in 18 sleek cars) from downtown Paris to downtown London more easily than flying.

Direct Eurostar service from London to Brussels also takes 2.5 hours. The actual tunnel crossing is a 20-minute, black, silent, 100-mile-per-hour nonevent. Your ears won't even pop.

In the 15 years that the bullet train has been running, not much has changed except London's Eurostar station -- it's now St. Pancras International (in Paris it stops at Gare du Nord; in Brussels it's Midi Station). But starting this winter, the pace of change is speeding up. In December, a high-speed connection between Brussels and Amsterdam opens, cutting the journey from London to Amsterdam by an hour.

In January, Eurostar's monopoly on using the Chunnel -- the tunnel beneath the English Channel -- expires. With its London-Paris flights suffering, Air France realized if you can't beat 'em join 'em. In 2008 it announced a competing high-speed rail service between London and Paris to start in late 2010 -- but the economic downturn could put that service on hold. Air France will use the same tracks, but says its trains could run faster than Eurostar's (a claim that Eurostar disputes).

The competition can only be good for travelers, but for now, you'll have to use Eurostar. Their fares are reasonable but complicated. Prices vary depending on how far ahead you reserve, whether you can live with refund restrictions, and whether you're eligible for any discounts (children, youths, seniors, round-trip travelers, and railpass holders all qualify).

Fares can change without notice, but typically a one-way, full-fare ticket (with no restrictions on refunds) runs about $425 first-class and $300 second-class. Cheaper seats come with more restrictions and can sell out quickly (figure $80 to $160 for second-class, one-way). Unlike our cheapo airlines, you can take two large bags and one small day bag per person for no extra fee.

Since only the most expensive (full-fare) ticket is fully refundable, don't reserve until you're sure of your plans. But if you wait too long, the best deals will get bought up.

When you're ready to ride, you'll find the process is similar to an airport check-in--without all the drama, sole-baring shoe inspections, and waiting. You must be at the station at least 30 minutes in advance of your Eurostar trip. You'll pass through airport-like security, show your passport to customs officials, and find your departure gate listed on a TV monitor. There are a few shops, newsstands, snack bars, and cafes (I usually bring better, cheaper food for the trip from elsewhere), pay-Internet terminals, and a currency-exchange booth with rates about the same as you'll find on the other end.

I like to ride in second class (Standard class) to save money. First class (also called Leisure Select) gets you a little more leg and elbow room, a newspaper, a classy meal, and power plugs at your seat.

As you zoom along at speeds up to 185 miles per hour, consider how long it took to link Britain and France. Since the days of Napoleon there had been talk about a tunnel under the English Channel, but it wasn't until 1986 that the two countries finally reached an agreement to build it together. Once the digging started, crews crept forward 100 feet a day until June 1991, when French and English workers broke through and shook hands midway across the Channel. Voila! Cheers! The tunnel was complete.

With 24 miles underwater, it's the world's longest undersea tunnel. The ambitious project helped to show the European community that cooperation between nations could benefit everyone. High-tech know-how, a shared European vision, and people's love of travel have created incredibly fast trains that crisscross, link and strengthen Europe.

Whizzing along on a European bullet train is the greenest way to go -- far more fuel-efficient and less polluting than flying. Every time I ride through the Chunnel -- caught up on my research, well rested and unfrazzled -- I'm thankful for Europe's comfortable rail network.

hotshot

Trains work well in Europe, but I doubt they would in the US. London and Paris are about the same distance apart that New York and Boston are. Unless they get a lot faster it will still be faster to get naked in front of the TSA and fly from New York to LA or where ever.

HSLD

Berkshire Hathaway just bought Burlington Northern (300B+). I trust that Warren Buffet has more of a plan than to just provide commodity transportation.

Widespread rail service in the US is long overdue.

rickair7777

There is room for more of it here, but it has major limitations relative to Europe. Our distances (especially in the west) are much longer...to even approach practicality you would need ultra-high speed trains (ie maglevs).

Unfortunately those tracks are pretty expensive, and have to built in nearly straight lines...ridiculously expensive in the western mountain ranges.

Also a 300 knot train creates the same amount of drag that that 300 kt airplane would create...at sea level. Unless you enclose the tracks in a vacuum chamber ($$$) it's not going to be that energy efficient.

Don't forget security...high-speed tracks would be vulnerable to catastrophic disruption along their entire length.

So now we have a vacuum enclosed maglev track drilled straight through the rockies, surrounded by fences, land mines, hardened against RPGs/mortars, and patrolled by TSA commandos....$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Air at the flight levels is still free and beyond the reach of al queda...

FlyBoyd

Just for comparison...

AMTRAK
New York Penn Station to Los Angeles Union Station
1005 26 NOV to 0815 29 NOV = 72+ hours
$303

Delta
JFK to LAX
1645 26 NOV to 2021 26 NOV = 6+ hours
$169


We have a long way to go.

KC10 FATboy

Widespread rail in the US --- AIN'T HAPPENING. I repeat .. AIN'T HAPPENING.

Yes, I know that isn't proper grammar.

Here's why.

#1. Rail in other countries, especially Europe, is heavily subsidized much much more than Joe Biden's Amtrak.

#2. Literally 90% of the rail that was laid in the US has been removed and the easements, land, bridges, etc. have been removed and/or sold. That means, to buy up the land and obtain property rights at this day in age would be catastrophicly high. Not to mention, the NIMBY's. Ain't happening.

#3. But what about the rail that is already in place? There is a big time engineering problem here. The freight companies own just about all American rail. Because our freight trains are incredibly heavy, the track can only be burmed (angled) very slightly in a curve or spiral. Otherwise, if you go over the critical angle, the bottom rail topples. So, when you try to put a light passenger train on the same track, the burm is too small and as such, the speed is drastically reduced. Accela was an attempt to overcome this by actually angling the rail cars on the freight track. Even more expensive.

#4. Even if the land, type of rail, and infrastructure wasn't a problem, rail NEVER will turn a profit. There's simply too much wear and tear.

#5. Our cities, communities, were never developed with rail in mind. They were built around the car. With that being said, our cities are spread out. The only areas where you're going to see rail, and exists today, are going to be the highly densely populated areas like the northeast.

KC10 FATboy

#6. The existing rail systems are busy. In fact, NJ is building another tunnel to NYC because that corridor is the busiest rail corridor in the world. If we intend to clog up the freight rails with passenger service, you can expect a lot more accidents.

LostInPA

Good call, KC10. With Amtrak using frieght lines, the track owner's freight has right-of-way over the pax train. So I guess we can say that the train gets to 'ground stop' as well.

Link from US Senate estimates costs due to Amtrak delays
Senator Frank R. Lautenberg

HSLD

I agree with the economics of transcon rail posted above - I should have been more clear about that.

I was thinking more about rail in metropolitan areas as a form of mass transit, like SFO's BART or Chicago's Metra/L systems. Most large cities have at least some rail infrastructure that could be massaged into a successful local mass transit.

We've built our society around sprawling suburbs that require a huge energy overhead (look around during your next commute and see how many people carpool). Maybe it's too late for some municipalities as they're too spread out to make rail work - but for others, local rail is a good mass transit alternative.

tomgoodman

Rick Steves, author of the article Vagabond posted, has a website that is very useful if you're planning to travel in Europe, especially by train: Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door