Travel
‘The return of the night train’: Belgium plans to boost sleeper services during its EU presidency
“The unfair competition between trains and planes must be addressed,” says Belgium’s Minister for Mobility.
“Night trains are the future,” says Georges Gilkinet, Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Mobility.
It’s something he hopes to persuade his EU colleagues of as Belgium presides over the Council of the European Union this year.
During the next EU informal meeting of transport ministers in Brussels in early April, Gilkinet will put night trains firmly on the agenda.
Together with Austria, Belgium has led the development of night trains in recent years. Both countries now want other EU member states to focus on connecting Europe’s major cities by sleeper train.
Here’s why Gilkinet is confident he can convince the European Commission “to accelerate the return of the night train”.
Europeans want to travel more sustainably
Europeans are increasingly turning their backs on flying due to its environmental impact. There has been widespread support for France’s short-haul flight ban, and Spain could soon follow suit.
A 2021 survey commissioned by campaign group Europe on Rail found that over half of respondents – in Germany, Poland, France, Spain and the Netherlands – were interested in replacing flights with rail.
But to make this a reality, train connections need to become better, wider reaching and less expensive for travellers. Only a few regular overnight services exist today, and for the same route, the train is on average four times as expensive as flying, a Greenpeace study found last year.
Gilkinet wants to bring change by creating favourable conditions for night train operators. He proposes enhancing international rail infrastructure, better integrating technical differences between countries, simplifying ticketing systems and reducing operational costs. “The unfair competition between trains and planes must be addressed,” he says.
Gilkinet sums up some measures that can level the playing field between trains and flights. “In Belgium, night trains pay no energy costs for locomotives and are exempt from track access charges. If every European country introduced similar measures, more operators will be encouraged to operate overnight trains.”
Unfair competition between trains and other transport
At the moment, the use of cars and aeroplanes is incentivised. Over the last two decades, EU countries invested 66 per cent more in motorways than in railways. This led to a 30,000 kilometre growth in highways, while railway lines were reduced by 15,000 kilometres.
The aviation industry, meanwhile, receives huge subsidies – these could add up to €80 for each return ticket, according to some calculations. Kerosene is virtually not taxed and airline tickets are free of VAT.
International trains do not enjoy these benefits and, in many countries, VAT is charged on tickets and electricity. The system of track access charges is disadvantageous for overnight trains since they cover long distances; this has a relatively high weight on the cost of operation.
Cars remain by far the most popular mode of transport in Europe. In 2021, almost 80 per cent of passenger-kilometres across the EU were travelled by car, 7.3 per cent by plane, and 5.6 per cent by train.
Austria leads the way in night train travel
During the upcoming meeting of EU transport ministers in April, Austria will take the floor.
The country’s national railway, ÖBB, has led the revival of night trains in Europe. “We will discuss with them what governments can do to improve and expand the network in Europe,” explains Gilkinet.
ÖBB has continued investing in sleeper trains when most other countries chose to abandon them. Recently it released modern carriages with individual sleeping capsules.
Outside those run by ÖBB, most international night train connections have disappeared, while a few domestic services still operate in large countries such as France, Italy and Sweden. In Eastern Europe the network is still relatively extensive.
New private operators, such as European Sleeper, are exploring the market and launching new services, including extending its connection from Brussels to Prague in March.
A simplified train booking system
As well as expanding the train network, a simpler booking system is needed to integrate services across the continent. Rail Europe is one of the few platforms that currently allows travellers to compare prices and travel options online.
“It should become easier for travellers to buy an international ticket,” says Gilkinet. “Public and private companies have to cooperate more and think from the perspective of the customer.”
The goal is to make booking an international train as easy as booking a flight. To achieve this, rail companies will need to be willing to share data in order to develop the necessary digital tools.
The Belgian EU presidency has also prepared some specific legislative work to improve cross-border connections, identifying the key ‘corridors’ of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) such as Brussels-Basel-Milan.
Another critical point to solve is the lack of modern sleeper carriages that are available for operators.
EU transport ministers are expected to make a collective commitment for more night trains during the informal meeting on 2 April. It will then be up to the European Commission to take on the challenge.
This article was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe.
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The discount fares can be purchased this week, until 21 April, on journeys up until 12 May.
If you fancy seeing some of Britain’s top sights on the cheap, this is the month to book some leave.
Travel tech company FlixBus is celebrating its 3rd anniversary in the UK by offering £2 (€2.34) tickets for coach services across England, Scotland and Wales.
The discount fares can be purchased this week, until 21 April, on journeys up until 12 May.
This year, FlixBus added connections to the city of Inverness as part of its Scottish Network, which will be included in the deal.
The company says it aims to make coach travel “as sustainable and affordable as possible”.
It recently launched an electric, long-distance, zero-emission route between Newport, Bristol and London.
Here are five of the best journeys available on the £2 offer.
Escape to the Scottish Highlands
Visitors seeking bracing air and epic scenery can take a four-hour bus from Glasgow to Inverness, stopping on the way in Perth.
The city of Inverness is considered the gateway to the Scottish Highlands.
From here, you can strike out into the countryside and lose yourself in heather-carpeted glens and granite mountains.
Journey back in time to the historic city of York
This route takes travellers from the city of Manchester to the historic heart of York in northern England. The journey takes two hours and 40 minutes, stopping at Bradford and Leeds on the way.
York is one of the UK’s cultural hotspots, home to the UNESCO-designated York Minster, a Gothic behemoth from the 13th century with medieval stained glass windows.
If it’s a sunny day, take a walk around the city walls – a reminder of York’s Roman past.
Harry Potter fans should leave time to stroll down the Shambles, a street of charmingly crooked half-timbered houses that bely its macabre past as a slaughterhouse.
Visit the vibrant city of Manchester
This route travels between the city of Birmingham and the city of Manchester passing through Stoke On Trent and stopping at Manchester Airport.
The two-hour and 45-minute trip gives travellers access to one of the UK’s trending tourist destinations.
Once the hub of the Industrial Revolution, Manchester is now home to a buzzing music scene, warehouses transformed into popups and co-working spaces and the unmissable Gay Village along Canal Street.
Chill out in the Cairngorms National Park
A three-hour bus from Glasgow takes travellers through the attractive Scottish towns of Perth and Pitlochry to Aviemore in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park.
Nature lovers will find ancient forests, secluded lochs and a funicular whisking you up to sublime valley views.
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This Italian lakeside city wants to impose a daily visitor fee.
Lake Como is glitzy, glamorous and engulfed by tourism.
The third largest lake in Italy, it sees as many as 1.4 million visitors a year descend on its shores.
The tourist numbers are proving overwhelming for the holiday hotspot in northern Italy, and one city is now considering introducing a tourist tax.
Mayor of the lakeside city of Como Alessandro Rapinese says he is mulling a Venice-style daily charge with suggestions that it could come into force soon.
Lake Como to introduce a daytripper fee
Rapinese has lambasted Lake Como’s overtourism saying it is “difficult to be mayor when you are fighting tourism”.
“We are already discussing the idea[ofa[ofatourist tax]. Revolutions begin with concrete measures and we are ready for this long journey,” he told UK newspaper The Times.
The fee would apply to daily visitors to the city of Como.
The mayor has not shared any further details about how much the fee will be, who will have to pay and when it will come into force.
If he uses the Venice model, the charge will apply to daytrippers (not those who have booked overnight accommodation in the city) and may be levied only on busy days like weekends and public holidays.
Lake Como battles overtourism
The chic lake has been struggling with soaring tourist numbers in recent years.
Crowds have boomed since several celebrities including George Clooney purchased multi-million euro properties along the shoreline and the lake provided a backdrop for films including Casino Royale and House of Gucci.
“I visited Lake Como last year and said I would never go back. Standards had dropped. Restaurants were disappointing in quality and price. Too many people to enjoy anything about the resort,” one visitor wrote on X.
Last summer, one lakeside villa which appeared in James Bond and Star Wars films was forced to limit visitor numbers.
Villa del Balbianello cut daily entries from 2,000 to a maximum of 1,200 to protect the historic house.
The Italian Fund for the Environment (FAI), which runs the property, called it “a drastic decision” but essential to counter the effect of “an excess of tourism that has an ever greater impact on Lake Como”.
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Applicants are accepted from most EU countries as well as the UK, USA and Canada.
Türkiye has become the latest country to launch a digital nomad visa for foreign remote workers.
The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry has created a dedicated website where those interested can complete the first application stages.
The country hopes to lure digital nomads to destinations including Istanbul, Dalaman on the southwestern coast and Izmir on the west.
“Thousand years old ancient cities, unique bays hidden between forests, turquoise seas, dynamic people, big cities; Türkiye has all,” the visa promotion reads.
“In addition, this beautiful country is one of the biggest countries of the world in terms of economy and business, with strong infrastructure services.”
Who is eligible for Türkiye’s digital nomad visa?
Those interested in Türkiye’s digital nomad visa need to be aged between 21 and 55. Applicants are accepted from most EU countries as well as the UK, USA and Canada.
Additional prerequisites include holding a university degree, having an employment or business contract and being able to prove a monthly income of $3,000 (€2,800) or an annual one of $36,000 (€33,800).
Applicants can register and upload their documents – including a passport with six-month validity and a photo – on the dedicated Digital Nomad GoTürkiye website.
If the application is accepted, you will be issued a Digital Nomad Identification Certificate which you can then take to a Turkish visa centre or consulate in your place of residence.
The best locations for digital nomads in Türkiye
The digital nomad website also promotes destinations around the country as prime spots for remote workers.
Istanbul is “a business centre with large companies and small start-ups, a metropole of 20 million inhabitants, a meeting point of different cultures [and] a historical centre where the paths of millennia-old civilisations converge.”
Digital nomads will find a strong transportation infrastructure with several metro and bus lines, and ferry journeys between its European and Asian sides, according to the website. It also says it is easy to find fully furnished apartments to rent.
Dalaman, on the Aegean coast, “offers great transportation options, an easy escape from the crowds, an impressive variety of free-time activities, and a strong infrastructure for those who want to work from this paradise on Earth.”
Izmir, also on the Aegean Sea, is ideal for those seeking year-round warmth and Blue Flag beaches.
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