Rail renaissance resumes across the world

New and revived night trains will link Paris with Nice, Berlin with Stockholm and Bratislava with Split

Amtrak trains are starting to resume

Even as lockdowns tighten in Europe and elsewhere, with international travel from Britain still illegal, the prospects for rail passengers are set to improve.

The new April edition of the European Rail Timetable reports mostly positive developments – especially with night trains.

The editor, Chris Woodcock, reports: “The recent renaissance of European overnight rail travel has reached France with the welcome reintroduction, from 16 April, of a service between Paris and the Cote d’Azur.”

The night train from the French capital to Nice last ran in December 2017.

Like other French overnight services, it has first class couchettes with four berths in each compartment and second class couchettes with six berths, as well as carriages with reclining seats.

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The first Berlin Night Express from Stockholm via Malmo, Copenhagen and Hamburg was due to arrive on the morning of 1 April. The new service has been delayed as a result of the coronavirus crisis, but is now expected to launch on 11 June.

A new overnight link from Bratislava via Vienna and Graz to Split in Croatia will start on 16 June. The Austrian Railways service will also convey cars, saving around 400 miles of motoring between Vienna and the Dalmatian coast.

Further afield, the European Rail Timetable reports that most Georgian Railways services to and from the capital, Tbilisi, have resumed after a three-month pause.

In Australia, inter-state rail links have been blighted by border closures, but the Overland service between Melbourne and Adelaide is running once again.

Last November Amtrak long-distance services across the US were reduced from daily to running just three times a week. But reinstatement is promised from late May.

On 24 May, the California Zephyr, Coast Starlight, Empire Builder and Texas Eagle will resume daily operation.

A week later, the Capitol Limited, City of New Orleans, Lake Shore Limited and Southwest Chief increase to daily. And on 7 June the Crescent, Palmetto, Silver Meteor and Silver Star follow suit.

Mr Woodcock emphasises: “Disruption to everyday life continues with countries imposing varying levels of restrictions in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.

“For the foreseeable future, it is particularly important to consult official government travel advice before undertaking any essential journeys.”

The European Rail Timetable is available for £11.99 in a digital version and £18.99 for a paper edition.

In addition, the website Seat61.com provides valuable “Covid updates” for key nations.