Economy Class & Beyond

Star Alliance and ÖBB signs for Air+Rail Connectivity in Austria

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Star Alliance has signed up another train operator to help extend its reach, with Austrian national operator ÖBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen/Austrian Federal Railways) joining as an intermodal partner. This partnership allows customers of ÖBB and Star Alliance member airlines to seamlessly begin or conclude their long-distance journey on ÖBB’s eco-friendly Railjet trains, … [Read more...]

Condor announces Air+Rail expansion with DB

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Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Condor are significantly expanding their cooperation and will offer further options for easy and convenient travel to Germany's largest airport in Frankfurt am Main in future. For passengers, it will be possible to book customised train connections for Condor long-haul flights when booking a flight. The offer can be booked from 21 German train … [Read more...]

CrossCountry Trains unveils its first refurbished train

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UK Train operator CrossCountry has unveiled the first train to go through its fleet refurbishment programme. CrossCountry 170101 in its new colours at Derby Station - Image, CrossCountry  The work is being carried out at Arriva TrainCare’s Crewe depot and funded by Porterbrook, who owns the fleet. The reintroduction of Class 170 ‘Turbostar’ unit 170101 to … [Read more...]

Lufthansa Express Rail links improves, by adding local transit options too

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We've talked here about the move to Air+Rail Links - and how it helps bridge the gap to getting to your destination - but it lacks in one way - the "Last Mile" to your final destination, be it a hotel, your home, a business meeting... and so on. Lufthansa is expanding its Express Rail programme, so tickets will now be valid for local public transportation.  Bookings … [Read more...]

Southeastern Railway returns a Networker Train back to its “Network SouthEast” livery

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Southeastern has unveiled a special Networker (Class 465) train, with it painted back in its original Network SouthEast livery to mark Railway200 – a year-long celebration marking the 200th anniversary of passenger rail services in the UK.   Unit number 465908 was unveiled at a special event at London Charing Cross station and named Chris Green in honour of the former … [Read more...]

Eurostar resumes direct services from Amsterdam to London

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For those of you who prefer to take the train between Amsterdam and London, there's good news: Eurostar is resuming its Amsterdam to London (direct) service. Eurostar at Amsterdam Centraal - Image, Economy Class and Beyond. The station over the past 8 months has been going through some remodelling, as well as the construction of a UK Terminal to allow border clearance … [Read more...]

Catching Trains over the Festive Period? Plan Ahead…

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We're fast coming up to Christmas - and as usual, this is an important time for the rail network, as there are major closures throughout the period. You won't find many people at London Liverpool Street Station, as it's closed over the festive period – Image, ORR/Network Rail. Apart from services being busy in the run-up (remember, that trains normally end early on … [Read more...]

FirstGroup makes further privatised rail plays

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FirstGroup Rail was busy last week, by purchasing a nascent open-access, operator, announcing new routes and putting in orders for trains. A Lumo Train, operated by FirstGroup - Image, FirstGroup.  Purchase of Grand Union Train (GWML) With the Great Western franchise to be moved back into public ownership in the next few years, FirstGroup wants to be relevant in that … [Read more...]

Avanti West Coast launches a low-alcohol beer for the festive season

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For those of you travelling during the festive period, Avanti West Coast has launched a new low-alcohol beer ‘Safety Thirst’. The beer is being launched as part of a safety campaign to help reduce customer accidents at stations and onboard trains during the festive period. Named “Safety Thirst”, the 0.5 percent pale ale, will be stocked onboard the intercity operator’s … [Read more...]