Europe

Europe by train

introduction

European

train tickets...

Eurostar

information...

Bangladesh

Cambodia

China

Indonesia

North Korea

Pakistan

Railtours Ireland - Short breaks to Ireland, without flying...

At last, a company called Railtours Ireland (www.railtoursireland.com) has started offering short breaks to Dublin and key attractions all over Ireland, by train & ferry instead of flying.  They offer tours departing London Euston station at 9am every weekday arriving Dublin around 6pm, with 2 nights hotel in Dublin.  You can combine this with tours  to the Giant's Causeway or Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney stone, and much more.  See the Ireland page.

Rail Europe now offering 'ticket on departure'...

Until recently, you couldn't book train travel to Europe at www.raileurope.co.uk if you were planning to leave in less than 7 days time, as there wasn't time to send out your tickets.  However, you can now choose to collect tickets on departure, using the self-service machines at St Pancras in London, or (if your journey starts in France) from any main French station.  This means you can book today and leave tomorrow if you like, a significant improvement.

"The Man in Seat Sixty-One" book is published..!

I've written an essential handbook for train travel from the UK into Europe, based on this website, published by Bantam Press on 30 June.  It's available now from Amazon.co.uk.  I hope you like it!

New page:  Rocky Mountaineer...

After a quick canter around the Canadian Rockies on the Rocky Mountaineer Fraser Discover, Kicking Horse & Whistler Mountaineer routes, I've put together a Rocky Mountaineer page to complete the Seat61 Canada page.  I've also revamped the Canada page, with larger photos.  The Rocky Mountaineer page is intended to complement the official Rocky Mountaineer site, helping you choose the best route, decide whether to travel Red Leaf or go for Gold Leaf Service, and understand what you're likely to see from the train.

New European timetable

The new June-December 2008 timetable brings very few real changes, except the surprise withdrawal of the Nice-Rome & Nice-Venice overnight sleeper trains, which have been in the timetable for over a century.  Obviously, nothing is sacred!  This is no high-speed route where faster daytime trains make sleepers obsolete - the alternative is a 10-hour daytime journey from Nice to Rome with a change of train.  You clearly can't leave anything to the Italians...

Ferries disappearing...

More sad news is just in that both the Superfast Ferries Edinburgh-Zeebrugge and the DFDS Seaways Newcastle-Norway ferry services will close for good in September.  This leaves no ferry from the UK to either Norway or Sweden, after over a hundred years.  The alternative to Norway is now a round-about train journey via Brussels, Cologne and Copenhagen.

New pages:  Train travel in Italy, Train travel in France

Now train travel within these two popular European countries is covered, with step-by-step instructions on how to buy tickets cheaply direct from the relevant operator's website.  Hopefully, Spain will follow...

'The Man in Seat 61' book is on its way...

I've now written a book based on this site, which is due to be published by the Bantam Press on 30 June 2008.  It's an essential handbook for train travel from the UK to Europe, with all the tips, resources, suggested routes, train times, how to buy tickets and approximate fares, but in convenient printed 'browse-in-your-armchair' form.  You can pre-order it at Amazon.co.uk.  A second book, this time on worldwide rail travel, is due out next year.

New online booking system at Rail Europe UK...

The team at Rail Europe (www.raileurope.co.uk) have been getting as fed up as you have with the unreliability and quirks of the French Railways (SNCF) online booking system.  So they told SNCF (which happens to be their parent company) that they are breaking away and creating their own system.  The new system went 'live' on Monday 21 April 2008, and it's now easier to use, more reliable, and more capable, booking more trains on more routes in more countries than the old SNCF system.  It's a huge improvement, making European train travel much simpler to book for us Brits!

London to Dhaka overland, anyone...?

There have been several news articles lately about train travel from Europe to India or even Bangladesh, prompted by Calcutta-Dhaka trains resuming after 40 years and the planned completion later this year of the final gap in the rails between Bam and Zahedan in southeast Iran.  It's true, if and when the Bam-Zahedan section is finally completed (it's been allegedly "under construction" for decades) the rails will indeed stretch all the way from St Pancras to Dhaka, with just a mile or two gap across the Bosphorus in Istanbul.  Such a two- or three-week trip should not be undertaken lightly, as it will take a lot of D.I.Y. organisation with all the bureaucracy involved in getting an Iranian visa, and there are security concerns with bandit attacks in southeast Iran.  But if you want to try it, see the new Europe-India overland page.

New page:  Train travel to & within Namibia

It's been asked for several times, so here it is, a page with information for train travel within Namibia on its 'StarLine' passenger trains and the tourist-orientated Desert Express, and for train/bus travel between Namibia and South Africa, Zimbabwe & Zambia.

Take your bike on Eurostar...

At last, from 7 April 2008 you'll be able to call Eurostar and pre-book one of their bicycle spaces on the same train as you from London to Paris, Lille or Brussels, for £20 each way.  A major improvement over the previous two options, either dismantling your bike and putting it in a bike bag, or sending it as registered luggage when they won't guarantee it will be avaiolable for collection until 24 hours after you check it in!  See the bicycle section on the Europe page.

Half a million visitors....

January saw over 500,000 visitors to seat61 for the first time.

Up the Jungfrau:  Altitude 11,333 feet by train...

There's now a short section on Europe's highest railway, the famous Jungfraubahn up the North Face of the Eiger to the Jungfraujoch, just below the Jungfrau summit.  See the new Jungfrau section on the Switzerland page.

Better photos & information for City Night Line sleeper trains...

A recent trip to Switzerland aboard the City Night Line 'Pegasus' has allowed me to improve the photos of the couchettes and double-decker sleeping cars used on all the City Night Line sleeper trains, not just on the Austria & Germany pages, but on the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Denmark, Greece & Turkey pages.

New Eurostar through fares from 68 UK towns & cities...

You can now book through fares from 68 UK towns & cities to Paris, Lille or Brussels online at www.eurostar.com.  This makes it both easier and cheaper to travel by train from outside London into Europe.  And if your UK train arrives at Euston, Kings Cross or St Pancras, interchange with Eurostar is easy, you don't even need the Underground or bus or a taxi.

New timetable from 9 Dec 2007...

A new Europe-wide timetable was introduced on 9 December.  A highlight is that a whole range of overnight trains from Germany to Prague, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Moscow & Vienna have been extended to start in Amsterdam.  Amsterdam is now better connected to the rest of Europe by train than it has been in years.  DB Nachtzug (German Railways sleeper trains) and CityNightLine (German-owned operator of international night trains crossing Germany) have merged and been re-branded as City Night Line.  They offer amongst the best night trains in Europe, so this is good news indeed.

Eurostar in big switch to St Pancras on 14 November...

The very last Eurostar left London's Waterloo station on 13 November.  On 14 November, the new St Pancras International station opened, along with the final section of UK high-speed line that has shaved another 20 minutes off the London-Paris and London-Brussels journey times.  Journey time to Paris are now as little as 2 hours 15 minutes, to Brussels just 1 hour 51 minutes.  The Man in Seat Sixty-One was on board that first commercial Eurostar to Paris, the 12:30 on 14 November, naturally in seat 61 (car 8).  Information about the move to St Pancras & new timetable on the Eurostar website.  Click here for a .PDF format timetable for the new Eurostar service from November 2007 to July 2008.

Seat61 has now been updated to show the new Eurostar service from St Pancras, and photos showing the breathtaking new St Pancras International station now feature on the Eurostar page.  Most European pages have also been updated to show the new Dec 2007 to July 2008 timetable, and remaining pages will updated shortly.

New through fares from UK towns & cities to Paris & Brussels...

At long last, Eurostar are arranging through fares from many UK towns & cities to Paris & Brussels, in conjunction with the UK train operators.  From 14 November, these can be bought from Eurostar's telesales line on 0870 5 186 186 to buy these through tickets, but from December 2007 they should be available online at www.eurostar.com.  Click here to see the range of UK places served by the new through tickets, and cheapest prices.

New Eurostar one-way fares...

One-way fares for Eurostar have always been a problem, with cheap returns starting at £59, but official one-way fares costing £155.  At long last, Eurostar has introduced a trial £44 one-way fare, at least on a trial basis, for journeys from January until May 2008.  Keeping up with the best dodges to get affordable one-way fares has been an effort!  Advice on one-way Eurostar fares.

Improved France page...

Travel broadens the mind, and it also means better information for seat61.com...  A recent trip to Nice has allowed the France page to be updated, with better TGV information including illustrations of the impressive double-decker TGV Duplex, information about changing trains at Lille Europe, a better account of the TGV journey to the South of France, and info on extra destinations such as St Tropez, Villefranche sur Mer, Beaulieu sur Mer.

Amsterdam better connected from December...

Long-distance international trains to/from Amsterdam were cut back a year or two ago, but German Railways is bringing them back with a vengeance.  DB will extend the Cologne-Vienna, Cologne-Prague, Cologne-Milan, Cologne-Copenhagen and even the Polish Cologne-Warsaw/Moscow sleeper trains to start/finish in Amsterdam, as from 9 December 2007.

Changes to German sleeper trains from December...

From the timetable change on 9 December, German Railways 'DB Nachtzug' sleeper trains and CityNightLine sleeper trains (in which DB is the major shareholder) will be combined under the brand 'City Night Line'.  A key change to reservation arrangements is that it will no longer be possible for solo travellers to book individual berths in a 2 or 3 bed sleeper compartment and share with other passengers of the same sex.  Solo passengers will only be able to book a single-bed sleeper, or trade down to couchettes (in which passengers will still be able to book berths in shared 4 & 6-berth compartments).  This will include DB's international sleepers from Paris & Brussels to Hamburg & Berlin, and from Paris to Munich.

New seat61 guestbook...

The original seat61 guestbook provider decided to withdraw its guestbook service, so I've switched to another provider.  It hasn't been possible to transfer the existing guestbook entries, so it means starting a new guestbook from scratch.  Thanks to everyone who has contributed over the last few years.  Link to the new guestbook.  Link to the old guestbook.

New destinations...

London to Santiago de Compostela, Vigo and A Coruña have been added to the Spain page.  London to Ravenna and Modena have been added to the Italy page.  If there are other key tourist destinations that you think could usefully be shown on seat61.com, let me know!

Christmas train bookings...

As usual, the normal 90 day advance booking period is squeezed to just two months before the timetable change on 9 December, just as people want to book trains for Christmas.  Reservations for trains within France and from Paris to Spain, Switzerland and Italy for the period 9 December 2007 to 22 January 2008 should now open on 11 October.  Bookings for this period within or via Germany should open on 1 November.  Just remember that no-one else can book before bookings open, either!

Improved and updated Italy page...

As the first benefit of running seat61 full-time, I've been able to hop on a train down to Italy for a quick trip to Florence, Siena and Rome.  The London to Italy page has now been revised, with new photos and updated information about the 'Artesia' overnight trains from Paris to Italy, as much had changed since the original information was collated.

Seat61 goes full-time...

Having been run as a hobby, sandwiched between a day job and busy home life, seat61 became a full time job on 18 September.  This should at last give me the time to keep the site properly updated, and expand it..!

Over 405,000 visitors in July...

Another record broken!

New hotel booking system...

HotelsCombined.com searches all the major hotel booking websites, so you don't have to.  Not only this, but at last there's a booking site that actually features many of my own favourite historic/atmospheric hotels, such as the Pera Palas in Istanbul, Windamere in Darjeeling, Continental Hotel in Saigon, Strand Hotel in Rangoon, Raffles in Singapore - although the Baron's Hotel in Aleppo has yet to be added!  I've recently tried it out myself to arrange hotels in Italy, and I've been sufficiently impressed to add a hotel booking page.

 

New:  Seat61 Ferry Shop...

Seat61 now includes a Ferry Shop, where you can book almost any UK or European ferry route and operator, all in one place.  Great for comparing operators, or finding out what ferry routes go where.  However, Seat61 will continue to show the ferry operators' own website addresses, and you can book through either.

New page:  Glacier Express, Switzerland's most scenic train ride...

The new Glacier Express page sets out all you need to know about Switzerland's most scenic train journey, with times, fares, photos and an account of the trip.

Train & ferry passengers increase as passengers switch from flights...

Eurostar have announced that the number of passengers travelling by train to destinations beyond Paris such as Perpignan, Bordeaux, Marseille and Nice increased by a staggering 39% in 2006, as people switched from flights.  DFDS Seaways have just announced that ferry passengers from the UK to Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands are up 17% on last year, as people switch from flying.  Virgin Trains have reported a 55% increase in train ticket sales between London & Glasgow in 2006/7, as air travel between those cities fell for the first time in years.  Both environmental pressures and the sheer hassle and frustration of modern short-haul air travel seem to be driving this trend...

New Calcutta-Dhaka train service...

A trial run with officials has been completed successfully, and direct Calcutta-Dhaka train service is due to start in late August or September 2007. When known, details will be posted on the Bangladesh page.

New Zealand page updated, extended and improved...

A trip to New Zealand in May has allowed a major update and expansion of the New Zealand page, with information on the superb train journeys between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Greymouth, and bus connections to Dunedin, Invercargill and Queenstown.

New European Timetable from 9 June 2007...

European railway timetables change on 9 June.  All the seat61 European pages are now being updated, please bear with me.  A major change is the opening of TGV-Est, with new high speed trains between Paris and Strasbourg, Basel, Zurich, Luxembourg, Stuttgart, Munich and Frankfurt.  A major downside is the withdrawal of the Paris-Vienna, Paris-Frankfurt and Paris-Zurich sleeper trains.

New Tallinn-St Petersburg train...

The Tallinn-St Petersburg sleeper train was withdrawn in 2004, a victim of bus competition.  But a new daily daytime train is due to start from 31 March 2007, with competitive timings and a fare of 350 kroons (£15). 

Seat61.com wins "Best Travel Website" in Wanderlust Travel Awards 2007...

The Man in Seat Sixty-One has been voted "Top Travel Website" by readers of Wanderlust Magazine in the prestigious Wanderlust Travel Awards 2007.  I'm delighted that the site has been recognised in such a high-profile way, and am very grateful indeed for everyone who voted for the site.  I'm also delighted that the results seem to show a remarkable shift in the way people are thinking about their travel.  In last year's Wanderlust awards, four airlines featured in the list of top ten best travel websites.  This year Seat61 is in first place, followed by the (in my opinion, at any rate!) attractive and imaginatively-written Eurostar.com in second place.  Only one airline (Flybe.com) now makes it into the list, at number 10.  Could the shape of travel really be changing towards more environmentally-sound and rewarding ways to go..?  I hope so..!

Record 364,000 visitors to Seat61.com in January...

Easily a record, beating the previous best (267,000 in a month) by a huge margin.  The most popular pages are (in descending order of popularity) the home page, London to Europe general information page, London to Italy page, UK travel page, Train travel in China page, Train Travel in Malaysia page, Train Travel in India page, Trans-Siberian page, Train Travel in Thailand page, London to Spain page, London to France page, London to the Netherlands page, London to Germany page.

Travelling to Europe from somewhere other than London?

The UK to Europe page now offers advice for buying special UK train tickets to connect with Eurostar if your journey starts from a UK town or city other than London.  Special Saver fares to a destination called 'London International CIV' allow you to travel at the affordable Saver rate, with no time restrictions even on Monday-Friday mornings, if you're connecting with a Eurostar or rail+sea ticket via Harwich-Hoek.  Other options are featured, such as direct cruise ferries from Plymouth, Poole or Portsmouth to France followed by a domestic French train to Paris, or using direct ferries from Scotland or the north of England to Europe, such as the overnight cruise ferries from Edinburgh to Zeebrugge, Hull to Rotterdam or Newcastle to Amsterdam.

Helsinki or Tallinn, anyone..?

The Finland and Estonia pages have been extended to show the option of travelling by Eurostar and sleeper train  to Berlin, then via the direct Superfast Ferry from Rostock in northern Germany to Helsinki and Tallinn.  The ferry has cabins, bars, restaurants, even a health club with sauna and jacuzzis.  This non-flying thing is hell, isn't it..?

Eurostar goes from strength to strength...

Eurostar have announced that the punctuality of their London-Paris and London-Brussels trains reached an all-time high of 91.5% on time or within 15 minutes during 2006.  This compares with typical performance of 70%-79% on time or within 15 minutes for competing short haul airlines.  Eurostar carried 28% more passengers in 2006 than in the 12 months before the first section of UK high-speed line opened, and after the first 11 months of 2006 had cornered 69% of the London-Paris air/rail market.  With Heathrow closed due to fog in December, this is likely to exceed 70% for the whole year.  Eurostar are now looking at how to capitalise on the move to St Pancras in November 2007, when journey time will be cut to 2 hours flat, London to Paris.  Better through booking from UK cities, and better through booking to destinations such as Amsterdam and Cologne are also being looked at.  A London-Amsterdam journey time of 4 hours 10 minutes (city centre to city centre) is only a couple of years away.  Eurostar now think that with airline security problems, extended check-ins and lower on-time performance, train can compete head-on with air travel for journeys of up to 4 hours or so.  Eurostar have also announced their best ever skiing season, with bookings for the direct ski train to the Alps up 43%.

TGV Est opens June 2007...

The new TGV Est high-speed line will open on 10 June 2007, slashing Paris-Strasbourg journey time from 4 hours to just 2 hours.  It will also slash Paris-Basel journey time from 5 hours to 3.5 hours, and Paris-Stuttgart to 3.5 hours too.  Advance train times are now shown in the relevant sections on the London-Switzerland and London-Germany pages.  Sadly, the new TGV services mean the demise of both the Paris-Vienna 'Orient Express' sleeper, the Paris-Frankfurt sleeper, and the Paris-Zurich-Chur sleeper.

Seat 61 shortlisted for "Best Travel Website", Wanderlust Magazine Travel Awards...

Coming soon after winning 'Best Personal Contribution' in the Responsible Travel Awards 2006, Seat61.com has been shortlisted for the category of 'Best Travel Website' in the annual travel awards run by Wanderlust Magazine, based on votes by Wanderlust readers.  The winner will be announced at The Times Travel Destinations Show, Earl's Court, London, on 1 February.  Fingers crossed!  I'm delighted the site has been shortlisted, and I'm very grateful to everyone who voted for seat61.

UK to Spain, by trainhotel...

A week in Spain allowed my wife and I (and 8 month old Nate) to sample Gran Classe on the excellent Trainhotel from Paris to Madrid.  Gran Classe features 2-berth rooms with private shower and toilet, evening meal with wine and breakfast included, for a fare of £107 per person each way.  There really is no better way to travel to Spain.  The London to Spain page has now been updated with illustrations and information about train travel from the UK to Spain.

In our case, taking Eurostar and the trainhotel to Spain was not only more relaxing than flying, it was actually faster.  On the day we left London, Heathrow was fogged in and all flights were cancelled.  We reached Seville by train from London 6 minutes ahead of schedule and ahead of most air passengers, a modern day case of the tortoise and the hare.  And we still have all our luggage!

New timetables across Europe from 10 Dec 2006

Pages are now being updated for the new timetables starting on 10 December in all European countries.  There are no major changes to report, though significant changes are expected at the next timetable change in June 2007, when the new TGV-Est high-speed line opens between Paris and Strasbourg.  This will allow new high-speed services between Paris and Basel, Zurich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt & Munich.  The downside is the planned withdrawal of the Orient Express Paris-Vienna sleeper train, and the Paris-Zurich-Chur sleeper train.  2007 could be the year when the name 'Orient Express' really does disappear from the timetables...

New seat61 'Rail Shop' to sell railpasses and world train travel...

Seat61 has teamed up with International Rail to provide the Seat61 RailShop, for easy online access to European railpasses and tickets, and railpasses for the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.  At present, there is only a UK-based railshop, but similar railshops for residents of North America and residents of Australia are planned.

Travel from London to Germany can now be booked online...

At last, the Eurostar website now allows online booking from London to Cologne.  As the German Railways website already allows easy online booking of trains onwards from Cologne to any destination in Germany, it's suddenly become possible to book daytime trains from London to anywhere in Germany online.  See the London to Germany page for details.

New routes and destinations for the London-France page...

The London to France page has been updated and improved, with train times added for London-Nice or London-Marseille via Paris, and for London to Limoges, Brive and Toulouse.

Seat61 wins "Best personal contribution" in the Responsible Tourism Awards 2006...

I'm delighted (and still stunned) that seat61.com is this year's winner in the 'Best personal contribution' category in the First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards 2006, sponsored by ResponsibleTravel.com, The Times newspaper and Geographical Magazine.  The winners were announced at the World Travel Market event at London's Excel exhibition centre on 8 November.  Thank you to everyone who nominated seat61.com.

New webhosting provider...

Webhosting for Seat61 is now provided courtesy of Ultraspeed.  Seat61 was switched to the new servers on 19 November, and the new hosting service should make the site more reliable.  Some emails may not have got through during the changeover period, I apologise if you haven't had a response, please try again now.

Seat61.com shortlisted for the First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards 2006...

This website has been shortlisted for an award in the First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards 2006, sponsored by First Choice holidays, The Times newspaper and Geographical magazine.  The award ceremony will be held at the World Travel Market exhibition at Excel in London's docklands on 8 November.  Fingers crossed..!

Shosholoza Meyl re-instate sleeping-cars to East London, Messina, Komatipoort...

In July, South Africa's Shosholoza Meyl passenger trains were split into two types.  Some routes (Johannesburg to Cape Town, Durban & Port Elizabeth) got a Tourist class train with sleepers and restaurant plus a separate Economy class train with economy seats.  Other routes (such as Johannesburg to East London, Komatipoort & Messina) just got an economy class train with seats, ending all civilised sleeper service to these destinations.  It's good to report that Shosholoza Meyl have seen the error of their ways and will reinstate sleepers on these routes from 1 November 2006.

Major rescheduling of trains in Burma (Myanmar)

All mainline trains between Rangoon and Mandalay have been rescheduled to run by day rather than overnight as before.  The new times are now shown on the Burma page, thanks to Sanay Travel of Rangoon.  It's not clear whether this is permanent or temporary.  It's also now been confirmed that the Thanlwin bridge is open to train traffic and the new Moulmein station is now open.  Trains are now running direct Rangoon to Moulmein, previously the railway terminated at Moatama for a ferry across the river.

Irish Ferries & Stena Line reschedule Holyhead-Dublin ferries...

Irish Ferries has changed its sailing schedule between Holyhead and Dublin, and the London to Dublin timetable on the Ireland page has now been revised to reflect this.  With Stena Line now offering only one 'HSS' service a day and none on Sundays, Irish Ferries is now easily the best choice to Dublin, and it now comes before Stena Line on that page with its Ulysses cruise ferry and Dublin Swift fast ferry both offering daily rail connected sailings.  Stena Line has also made a 30 minute change to one of it's sailings.

Taftan Express Iran-Pakistan suspended...

You can travel all the way from London to Bombay by train, with just a short gap at Istanbul (where you cross the Bosphorus by ferry) and in Iran where there's still a gap in the rail network between Kerman and Zahedan.  Unfortunately, it's been reported that the gap has just got bigger.  The twice-monthly 'Taftan Express' from Zahedan in Iran to Quetta in Pakistan has been suspended because of repeated bomb attacks on the line.  Buses remain available as an alternative.

Web hosting problems...

I changed web hosts in August, switching seat61.com from shared hosting to a Virtual Personal Server with a UK IP address at interhost.co.uk.  The good news is that Google now knows that seat61 is a UK site, so it shows up in searches for 'UK sites only'.  The bad news is that I've had some downtime problems in the month since then, including an outage all afternoon on Sunday 24 September and the site going down for brief periods on several other occasions.  I'm keeping an eye on the site and contacting InterHost.co.uk as soon as I see a problem, but please bear with me.  If the site disappears, it won't be permanent, seat61 will be back as soon as I can get the problem sorted.  If the problems persist, I will need to rehost again.  Note that if the site goes down, my email goes down with it..!

Good news:  The Auckland-Wellington "Overlander" reprieved at the eleventh hour...

New Zealand's "Overlander" train between Auckland and Wellington has been reprieved at the eleventh hour, within days of its intended closure.  All train service between NZ's two most important cities was due to cease on 30 September 2006 with the withdrawal of this last remaining train.  Such was public support that the service has been saved, albeit running 3 times a week in the off-season, daily during the Christmas, Easter and summer high-season periods.  Details on the New Zealand page.

Photos of the wonderful new train journey to Tibet...

Many thanks to Keith Crane for allowing use of some excellent photos from his recent trip on the train to Lhasa.

DFDS Seaways closes Newcastle-Gothenburg ferry service...

Sadly, DFDS is closing down its long-standing Newcastle-Kristiansand-Gothenburg ferry service in early November.  DFDS has bought Fjord Line's ship 'Fjord Norway' and will take over Fjord Line's Newcastle-Norway service, but this leaves Sweden with no direct ferries to and from the UK.  This is a shame, it would have been far more sensible to have dropped the Fjord Line route and maintained a link with both Norway and Sweden, as Gothenburg is a far more convenient arrival point with direct trains to Stockholm every hour taking just 3 hours, for onwards ferries to Finland, Estonia and Latvia.  Dumping passengers in Norway, a difficult train ride away from Stockholm and its onwards connections, is not helpful and it leaves a nasty hole in the 'non-flying' European transport network...  The Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Finland pages have been updated with news of the withdrawal, more information about alternative routes will be added in due course.

New page:  Train travel in Taiwan...

The new seat61 Taiwan page has links for train information in Taiwan, and details of the ferry service connecting Taiwan with Japan.  If you can help supply more information or photos to develop this page, please email me..!

Online booking for trains in Turkey...

Thanks to Philip Dyer-Perry whose Turkish is rather better than mine, the Train Travel in Turkey page now features step-by-step instructions for non-Turkish speakers to use the Turkish-language online booking system on the TCDD (Turkish Railways) website.  Trains make a great way to get  around Turkey cheaply and in comfort and enjoying the fabulous Turkish scenery at ground level, and it's now easy to book tickets online, too.

19,000 visitors in one day...

A new record for a single day was set on 4 September, following articles featuring seat61 in the Financial Times, Mail on Sunday, Italy's La Republica and an article written by Robert MacPherson syndicated in Yahoo and papers around the world.

Over 267,000 visitors in August...  Airport chaos... 

A new record.  Last month, China ousted Malaysia as the most popular page on the site after the home page, almost certainly driven by people looking for information on the new line to Tibet.  This month, the London to Italy page went into the lead for the first time ever, probably driven by UK travellers eager to reach Italy in spite of the air travel chaos.  On Thursday 10 August when the UK's airports virtually came to a standstill, seat61 received over 12,000 visitors against around 7,000 on a typical Thursday.

TGV Est opening 2007...  Withdrawal of the Orient Express...

The new TGV Est high speed line from Paris to Strasbourg opens next year.  German ICE trains will link Paris and Frankfurt in just 3 hours 45, French TGVs will links Paris and Munich in about 4 hours 45.  Two daily trains will link Paris & Zurich in 4 hours 45.  On the down side, the Paris-Frankfurt sleeper train will cease, and so will the Paris-Vienna Orient Express, finally removing this famous name from the timetable after 120 years.

Bad news from New Zealand:  No trains from Auckland to Wellington from 1 October 2006...

The Overlander from Auckland to Wellington is being withdrawn permanently on 30 September 2006.  This follows the withdrawal of the overnight 'Northerner' last year, and it means that from 1 October 2006 there will be NO TRAINS AT ALL between Auckland & Wellington, the two most important cities in a supposedly developed country.  Your only option is then to be strapped to a seat on a plane or stuck all day in a bus seat.  Perhaps you should visit a  more developed country instead, like Australia..!

New page:  Nepal

A new Nepal page now shows information about train travel from London to Kathmandu, and overland train/bus travel from Delhi and Varanasi to Kathmandu.  It's not a journey I've yet made myself, so feedback (or photos) from travellers would be very welcome..!

London-Amsterdam by train+ferry from January 2007...

It's reported that Stena Line will withdraw their Harwich-Hoek van Holland HSS fast ferry service from Jan 2007, as budget airlines have reduced the number of people taking their car abroad by ferry.  However, they plan to upgrade their existing daytime and overnight conventional ship sailings (at present mainly used by cars & freight vehicles rather than foot passengers).  It's not yet certain whether train+ferry tickets will continue on this route using the conventional ferries, but hopefully they will.  Details will be shown on the Netherlands page as soon as they are confirmed.

Thanks to everyone who's helped...

Once again, a big thank you to everyone who's e-mailed me with updates, travellers' reports and extra information.  It has really helped to keep the site updated for future travellers.

New Railway to Tibet...

Passenger trains start running from Beijing to Lhasa in Tibet on 1 July 2006, over the world's highest railway.  Fares start at just $102 for a hard class sleeper, though trains are booked solid already for the first few months.  Details are now on the China page.  A direct train from Guangzhou to Lhasa is now on the cards for October.

Seat61 in the papers:  The Times, The Guardian

Short travel articles written by yours truly, The Man in Seat Sixty-One, are due to be published this month in both the Times and the Guardian travel sections...  The Guardian article is the start of a monthly column.

261,000 visitors in May

A cool quarter million, and a new record.!

European timetable change, 28 May

All European pages are now updated for the May-December European timetable.  Very few major changes have taken place, although the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof station has now opened as the main Berlin transport interchange, and all long distance trains now stop there.

Cape Town-Johannesburg by train...

The hitherto daily 'Trans-Karoo' from Cape Town to Johannesburg & Pretoria has been cut back to run Cape Town to Johannesburg only, and the sleepers will run only 4 times a week from July.  But it's still a bargain, at £30-40 one way including sleeper..!  On the positive side, South African railways have doubled the affordable deluxe 'Premier Classe' service from Cape Town to Johannesburg from once a week to twice a week.  It is no longer attached to the Trans-Karoo, it now runs as a separate train in its own right, with increased passenger capacity and lower fares (from £137/$240 one way including meals).  See the South Africa page and look for 'Premier Classe'.

Updates....

• Stena Line has trimmed back its Monday-Thursday sailings Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire in Ireland, and the London to Ireland page has been updated to show this.  However, the London to Ireland page has also been improved to show the Irish Ferries fast seacat 'Dublin Swift' as well as their conventional ship sailings, making the Irish Ferries option probably the better of the two for London-Dublin journeys, which cost just £24 one way, £48 return.

• The Northern Ireland page has now been updated to show details of the cheaper route via Holyhead & Dublin.  London to Belfast costs just £32.30 one-way, £64.60 return, centre to centre, with unlimited availability at that price..!  London to Londonderry costs just a couple of pounds more.

• On the Train Travel in Thailand page, there's now better info on the excellent train+ferry service from Bangkok to Ko Samui, and on ferries to Ko Tao and Ko Phangan.

• On the London to Spain page, I've added times and approximate fares for travelling from London to Barcelona in a single day.  Although not as convenient and more expensive than the overnight Eurostar+trainhotel option, some people may prefer daytime travel.

The Observer's Guide to Rail Travel, Sunday 9 April...

Watch out for 9 April edition of the Observer, which will feature a guide to rail travel to Europe written by yours truly, the Man in Seat Sixty-One...

243,000 visitors in March...

A new record, and it's still only March - perhaps over 2 million visitors in 2006?  We'll see..!  In the meantime, please keep your feedback coming, as up-to-date information from recent travellers really helps keep the site updated.  I try to reply to all emails, but it can sometimes be difficult..!

New page:  Bangladesh

With basic train travel info for Bangladesh, including Dakha-Chittagong trains.  Feedback from travellers to add to this page would be particularly welcome.

In the papers this month...

Seat61 featured in Lighter Life magazine, Adventure Travel Magazine and Cornucopia magazine this month.  Also in 'Rail Travel' by Ginny McGrath in The Times Online, and on CNN Online in Ultimate train journeys - The Orient Express.

New page:  Motorail

People often ask about 'motorail' car-carrying trains in Europe, so the information has been expanded and given its own page.  A new weekly overnight motorail from Brussels to Bologna and Alessandria in Italy starts in June this year, which is bound to be popular.

220,000 visitors in January...

Thanks for everyone's support - January 2006 has been the busiest month for the site yet.  Please keep the feedback coming in - travellers' reports and suggestions help keep the site updated.  I'd be glad to hear from you..!

New page:  Laos

A new Laos page has been added, covering overland travel to Laos, including the rough but scenic Hanoi to Vientiane bus.  Feedback from travellers to add to this page would be particularly welcome.

1.7 million visitors in 2005...

It's been the busiest year since the site started in 2001.  The Malaysia page remains the most popular after the home page (with Singapore to Bangkok the train trip everyone wants to make, 1,200 miles in 48 hours for just £35/$50 with sleepers..!) , with the Rail Travel to Europe page next, then Thailand, Trans-Siberian, France, India, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Russia.

Timetable update...

European pages have now been updated for the new timetable that came into effect in all European countries on 11 December.

Syria and Jordan

A few extra photos have been added to the Syria and Jordan pages to show some of the sights that can be seen there.

172,000 visitors in October...

A new record, up from 159,000 in September, but in a month where summer travel season should be over.  Top page after the home page is Malaysia, then Thailand, France, India, Europe, Trans-Siberian, China, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Australia...  The least-visited pages are Botswana, Moldova, Andorra, Gibraltar, Malta and Iceland...

New page:  Sri Lanka

By popular demand, a page about train travel in Sri Lanka has been added.  It features train times for the most popular Colombo-Kandy route and links to other sites for more information.  Comments and help with developing this page would be very welcome.

New page:  Pakistan

Also by popular demand, a page about train travel in Pakistan has been added, with basic information, train times for key routes.

Google Adsense...

I've added some Google-generated adverts to most pages on the site to help fund both site costs and to support the travelling that generates the information.  The site remains a hobby, and I hope the ads aren't too obtrusive.  This site has always been provided free to travellers to help and inspire their travels, and it will continue to be free.

Improved page:  London to Greece

It's easy to reach Greece without flying, in comfort by train and ferry in just 48 hours.  My wife and I travelled to Greece this way for a friend's wedding in August, and the London to Greece page now has more info and photos to tell you how to plan and book this trip.  A wonderful way to get there..!

Improved page:  London to Istanbul

If you've ever wanted to travel from London to Istanbul by train, the London to Turkey page tells you how...  I returned from Istanbul to London a few weeks ago, and I've now updated this page with the latest information and photos of what the journey is like.  The new Romanian sleeping-cars running from Istanbul to Bucharest and from Bucharest to Budapest are excellent.  They were bought second-hand from Germany, and they make this journey surprisingly comfortable.  Just make sure you always book a sleeper for a journey like this, and not just a basic sit-up-all-night seat.  The sleeper supplement is just 15 euros per person to share a 3-berth sleeper, so there's just no need to rough it..!

Improved page:  Jordan

After a recent trip by train from London to Petra in Jordan and back, I've been able to revise the Jordan page, with practical info and photos for the wonderful Damascus-Amman train journey along part of the old Hedjaz Railway (as blown up by Lawrence of Arabia - the passenger coaches looked as if they HAD been blown up by Lawrence...).  I've also added bus info Damascus-Amman (as these operate daily) and for Amman to Petra and Aqaba.

Improved page:  Syria

The trip to Jordan again took me on the weekly 'Toros Express' from Istanbul to Aleppo, 868 miles for £29 including sleeper berth.  I've updated information about the journey on the Syria page, with photos, and also improved information on the Aleppo-Damascus trains which are an excellent way to do this journey.  Contrary to (uninformed) popular opinion, Syria is one of the safest and most interesting countries to visit, with some of the most hospitable people you will meet anywhere...

158,000 visitors in August...

A new record...  It's also becoming increasingly common for environmental reasons to be given as a reason by people researching train travel to Europe.  Short haul flights are, after all, one of the most polluting forms of transport known to man, and they put the pollutants right where they can do most damage.  Is this the start of a budget airline backlash..?

New sleeper train Thessaloniki - Istanbul

From 8 July 2005, a new air-conditioned sleeper train started up between Istanbul and Thessaloniki.  At just 48 euros per person sharing a modern 2-bed sleeper, it's a comfortable, time-effective travel option which saves you a night in a hotel, too.  See the Train Travel