NMBS / SNCB to retire nearly 50-year-old I6 coaches

Belgium‘s national railway operator NMBS / SNCB is preparing to permanently withdraw its nearly 50-year-old I6 coaches from service, bringing an end to a fleet that has been running since 1977. I6 coaches were (are) laid out in a corridor + compartments set-up. A cosy and romantic design philosophy which is nowadays very rare.

Antwerp sees increase in international train travel

International rail travel from Antwerp in Belgium is continuing to grow strongly, with Eurostar reporting a 16% increase in passengers during the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period last year. The growth comes as Antwerp gains another direct international high-speed connection, with Deutsche Bahn’s ICE trains beginning direct services to Cologne…

EUROPE | Five combinations of one-day-cities you can visit in one-week trips

On 18 August 2026, Italy‘s Urban Mood Magazine published ‘10 Underrated European Cities to Visit in 2026 (Before Everyone Else Does)‘. I roamed the Trip By Trip archive to find ten other ‘not top op mind‘ cities in Europe to visit. Doing so, I stumbled upon a few one-day-cities which are best combined together. 

RHINELAND-PALATINATE | Kurioos and Queer Koblenz

After Bonn in 2023 and Münster in 2024, Dennis and I went further than North Rhine-Westphalia for our 2025 Christmas market in Germany outing. We went to Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, at the confluence of the Rhine and the Moselle rivers. Hence the name of the city. 

GoVolta unveils ambitious expansion with new services to Cologne, Luxembourg, Strasbourg, and high-speed trains to Paris

Dutch open-access operator GoVolta has announced its most ambitious expansion plans yet, notifying the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (Autoriteit Consument & Markt, ACM) of three new international routes while also seeking permission to carry domestic passengers on its Amsterdam to Berlin and Amsterdam to Paris services. Spoiler alert: notifying a government agency such…