The world’s longest tram has made its debut on a line connecting three cities in the southwest of Germany.

Running along the lines of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region which includes Manheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg, the giant tram measures exactly 58.61 metres from end to end – a world record.

It carries 368 passengers, has air conditioning and can travel at a speed of 80km/h.

Serving essentially as metropolitan trains, these record breaking trams will travel along both urban and inter-city routes. A modular design means it can be split up into sections for maintenance or the creation of different length trams.

The tram, which was delivered to Mannheim in September, was manufactured by Czechia’s Škoda Group. It is part of a more than €260 million package of trams ordered by the transport operator which is due to be fully delivered by the end of 2026.

The Rhine Necktar Region (RNV) network is no stranger to setting records for the length of its trams. Back in the 1960s, its 38.55-metre vehicle was also the longest tram in the world at the time.

Previously the record was held by a nine section, 55.9 metres long tram in Budapest which has run through the city since 2016.

What is the world’s longest ever passenger train?

These extra long trams are dwarfed by record-length trains.

In 2022, a Swiss railway company set a record for the world’s longest passenger train which was made up of 100 coaches and 25 engines for a length of 1,910 metres. Altogether the train weighed nearly 3,000 tonnes.

As if this was not impressive enough, it navigated up some 789 metres in altitude from Preda via Bergün to Alvaneu. Onboard are 4,550 seats but – unlike the speed trams – it could only travel at around 30 to 35 km/h.

The entire 61-kilometre journey along the UNESCO World Heritage Albula Line took around 46 minutes, travelling along historic viaducts and up spiralling rails. The train was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for its incredible length.

Rhaetian Railway ran the world record-breaking train in honour of Swiss Railways 175th anniversary in 2022.

One of Europe’s busiest airports temporarily closed two of its runways on Tuesday as part of search efforts to find a missing dog.

The pet escaped from its carrier a week ago at Paris’ Charles-de-Gaulle Airport and has not yet been found.

The animal and its owner were travelling on an Air France flight from Vienna and had landed in Paris for a layover before continuing on to Dallas.

Air France says that staff, volunteers and transport police are working round the clock to find the dog.

Dog escapes from aircraft hold during unloading

A week ago, Croatian tourist Míša launched an appeal on social media to find her dog, Amalka, who escaped from the cargo hold of her plane upon landing at Charles-de-Gaulle airport.

The door of Amalka’s crate had likely become loose during mid-flight turbulence and came undone during unloading, Air France said.

The airline is one of a growing number that allows pets to travel in the cabin, but only those under 8kg – at 15 kg, Amalka had to travel in the hold.

Owner Míša told French media that she is extremely distressed by the incident and has remained in Paris to help with search efforts.

“I have ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and Amalka was trained to be my emotional support dog. In situations like this, she’s usually there for me,” Míša told French newspaper Le Parisien.

Two-year-old Amalka has evaded attempts so far to be reunited with her owner and is still roaming the nearly 33-kilometre square airport.

“The animal has been seen and approached several times, but so far it has not been possible to capture it,” a spokesperson for Air France told press.

“Air France understands and shares the emotion and concern of the owner of Amalka who has been assisting since day one. The company is taking care of her stay during this search.”

On Tuesday, airport officials decided to deploy drones to help search for Amalka. The operation required the closure of two of the facility’s four parallel runways.

The operation was scheduled for early afternoon to keep flight disruption to a minimum.

Charles-de-Gaulle is one of Europe’s busiest airports handling 67 million passengers in 2023.

Last week, a TAP Air Portugal flight was grounded in another incident of an animal crate accidentally opening.

130 hamsters managed to escape, raising concerns they might chew through the aircraft’s wiring.

The plane was held at an airport in the Azores for several days as ground staff sought to recapture all the animals.

It’s been a long time coming, but Wales is shaping up to become the first country in the UK to introduce a nationwide tourist tax.

Details released yesterday (Monday) indicate that the levy will add £1.25 (€1.50) per night to the price of accommodation in Wales, or £0.75 (€0.90) for visitors staying on campsites and in hostels.

The tax won’t be universally applied across Wales. Rather, different regional councils will decide for themselves whether to introduce the levy in their area.

Some exemptions have been noted too, including when lodging with family or staying for an extended period.

First floated in 2018, a public consultation for the proposed tourist tax was held in 2022. Once it’s officially passed into law by the national parliament, the new Welsh tourist tax is expected to come into force in 2027.

What will Wales tourist tax be spent on?

Taxes on visitors are nothing new, but efforts have significantly ramped up in recent years.

As long ago as 1910, France introduced its ‘taxe de séjour,’ becoming the first country in the world to do so.

Today, more than 60 destinations around the world have such a tax in place, including Barcelona, Amsterdam and, since April, Venice.

In most cases, the proceeds from such taxes are used to fund specific projects or events, market the destination, or diversify the economy of areas reliant on tourist cash.

But Wales has another plan for its tax winnings, and it’s about protecting one of the country’s most unique elements.

Welsh language speakers are in decline: latest figures from the Welsh Government show that as of 30 June 2024, just 27.8 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh.

This was the lowest percentage recorded in the last eight years – and around 1.4 percentage points lower than in 2023.

Will the tourist tax in Wales really help revive the national language?

Efforts are already underway to boost the language under the government’s Cymraeg 2050 plan, which aims to have a million Welsh speakers by 2050. To date, much of the work has focused on children, including school curriculum reforms and the promotion of Welsh-medium playgroups (Cylchoedd Meithrin).

But more efforts are needed to get to a million Welsh speakers, and the estimated £33 million raised from such a tourist tax is seen as a valuable vehicle for driving this change.

The new visitor levy could support the language “particularly within Welsh-speaking communities where tourism is considered a significant contributor to the local economy,”  said the Welsh Government”.

How this translates into concrete action remains to be seen, particularly given the element of local authority autonomy.

However, it also suggests that revenue could be used to “promote the visibility, vitality, and viability of the Welsh language, as well as increase the awareness and appreciation of visitors and residents alike”.

More UK cities are planning to charge  visitors

The idea of making tourists pay more to directly support the local area is gaining traction across the UK.

In August this year, Edinburgh announced plans to become the first Scottish city to introduce a tourist tax, which will apply from 2026.

In England, primary legislation would be required to permit a tourist tax, with neither central government nor local councils having the power to introduce such a levy.

However, other UK cities are getting in on the action via a legal workaround that could be rolled out more widely in the coming years.

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are partnerships operated by local businesses intended to provide additional services or improvements to a specific area.

Through this mechanism, cities can collect additional business rate payments (BID levies) from companies in that district. Several English cities have already used this to target tourism, and more are set to follow.

Manchester introduced an ‘accommodation BID’ in April 2023, known as the ‘City Visitor Charge.’

Liverpool established a similar system at around the same time, and tourism BIDs also exist in cities including Blackpool, Great Yarmouth, and Tweed Valley.

The combined unitary authority of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch (BPC) revealed plans to apply a £2 per night ‘visitor charge’ this summer, although a backlash from the hospitality sector has put the plans temporarily on hold.

BPC maintains that as many as 60 other UK cities are poised to introduce levies through the BID system.