5 New European Train Routes

20.08.2023 - 17:25 / forbes.com

For those who love European trains, the welcome trend of new high-speed trains and new sleeper train routes connecting major cities across the continent will continue next year and into 2025. I wrote about this summer's bonanza of new routes in Forbes in April, well before the onslaught of crowds, heat, and delays started.

If nothing else, those smart enough and fortunate enough to travel by rail this past summer could largely avoid chaotic airports, crowds, and flight delays within the continent.

As recently as five years ago, sleeper trains were considered an antiquated form of rail travel, unnecessary and outdated in the age of EasyJet and Ryanair, with their cheap flights and promise of quick getaways. Climate awareness played a significant role in changing that perception. Suddenly, overnight trains are seen as intelligent, sensible, reliable, and vital to combating carbon footprints.

New partnerships between national and private rail companies have made these routes possible. The backing of the European Union has also helped.

Of course, one of the best reasons to take a city-to-city night train trip is that it allows you to travel efficiently from the center of one city to the center of another. There are no airport transfers, no need to arrive at an airport many hours ahead of time, and no typical airport delays. When you’re nodding off in your berth, note that you’re not paying for a hotel room for that night.

The good news is that new high-speed rail routes are also planned. These aren’t sleeper trains but fast trains that promise to radically reduce travel times within Europe.

Here's a look at five new train routes in the works:

Paris to Berlin

The TGV is France’s famous high-speed train that has crisscrossed the country for years. France and Germany are collaborating on a new TGV train route between Paris and Berlin that will start running sometime in 2024. The journey is expected to take about seven hours.

Paris to Madrid

A new high-speed Frecciarossa train between Paris and Madrid was announced in late 2022. The connection was proposed by the FS Italiane Group, which happens to be the owner of Italy's national state-owned railway, Trenitalia. This new train will link Paris and Barcelona and then connect to an existing high-speed train to Madrid. The start date is late 2024.

Paris to Venice

Midnight Trains is one of the newest start-up companies, and they plan to connect Paris to Venice sometime in 2025. This train will run via Milan.

Lisbon to Porto to Vigo

It will be late 2024 or even 2025 when a new high-speed rail network connects the Portuguese cities of Lisbon and Porto with the Spanish city of Vigo. The travel time between the two Portuguese cities alone will drop from