Often overlooked by visitors from around the world, and even the from the UK, trains on the European continent are fast, modern and efficient.  There is little doubt that looking out the window of a train you will see far more than from 30,000 feet.  So just what can the trains offer, and what can you expect on board.  

Well to start with it needs to be remembered that there are 3 types of trains in Europe.  Local or regional trains, these tend to run regular short to medium length distances typically under 4 hours – the offer different styles fro stopping services, express and intercity services.  Typically the service on board is limited to a seat, with an occasionally on the longer stretches this is sometimes complimented by a walk through drinks trolley or similar service.  

The next level up of service is the intercity, or Euro City trains.  These are perhaps unfairly often described as the older style, slower trains – but I feel this is possibly unfair.  It is true that they are not high speed by European standards, but they often do use the high speed tracks, especially in countries such as Germany  which means that although they do not travel for long distances at high speed, there is no doubt that they do get up to speeds well in excess of 250 km per hour.  

The final style of train in Europe is the true High Speed Trains.  These link the major cities of Europe, mainly based on the networks of France and Germany.  These are complimented by extensions into Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and London.  Alongside this Italy and Spain are adding and increasing the size and scale of their own high speed networks and these will soon connect into the rest of Europe.

These high speed services compete directly with the airlines, mainly for business class passengers.  They offer many different services on board, but you can expect more and more features such as plugs for your lap top, film or information television services, and internet connections.  Normally there is an onboard restaurant often with an at seat service as well.  In the first class seats this is often extended to include complimentary drinks and a meal service.  It needs to be remembered though that this is not always the same across all high speed trains and even the same company can have wide variations on their own services.  The Amsterdam to Paris train by Thalys has a full meal and bar service on a journey that lasts around 4 hours, but on their service to Marseille, the service is limited to a snack on the way out, and a light meal on the return, despite the service being 3 hours longer.  The reason for this is that the service onboard is less about the journey time, and ore about the target market.  Services frequented by business travelers between the main cities such as Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and London.  There are also High speed domestic services traveling widely in France and Germany.  Spain and Italy also have a good service that is rapidly expanding; however this is not yet fully connected into the rest of Europe.  

The only other service that must be mentioned is the overnight and sleeper network.  These tend to be slower trains operating over very long distances across Europe.  Typical services would be across most of the continent, with services from Amsterdam to Moscow or Milan, and Paris to Madrid or Barcelona being typical.  These services take in excess of 15 hours, and are only really competitive if you can offset the cost of the service against a night in a hotel.  The service onboard typically operates on a bed and breakfast style, with a full bed or bunk in your own or a shared compartment.  The head line price of these tickets can appear high, but it needs to be remembered that they can be used to replace a hotel and an airfare.