‘125 Hours – Europe’s Longest Train Journey: From the Arctic to the Atlantic’ 125 hours. 23 trains. 10 railway companies. 6,203 kilometres. From Finnish Lapland to the Algarve. Independent railway commentator and European cross-border rail connections expert Jon Worth has completed the longest train journey in the European Union. His record-breaking journey exposed both the…
Tag: European Union
Back On Track Belgium hails return of Brussels–Milan night train as “a real feat”
The return of a direct night train between Brussels and Milan has been welcomed by Back On Track Belgium as an important step in rebuilding Europe‘s international night-train network, although the rail campaign group says the difficulties involved show why a broader European strategy is needed.
ANDORRA | Tourism grew modestly in 2025, with shifting visitor patterns
Andorra welcomed 9,194,340 visitors in 2025, a modest increase of 0.7% compared with the revised 2024 total of 9.13 million. Behind that seemingly stable headline figure lies a notable shift in visitor behaviour. The number of tourists staying at least one night rose sharply by 12.7% to 4,362,733, while the number of day-trippers fell by…
Bonaire bets on quality tourism as visitor numbers reach new highs
Tourism on Bonaire has developed into one of the most distinctive and carefully managed visitor economies in the Caribbean. Unlike mass-market destinations built on large resorts and high-volume arrivals, the island has consciously positioned itself as a niche destination focused on nature, diving and sustainability. Yet it still attracts substantial visitor numbers, and tourism now…
MALAYSIA | 42.2 million tourists in 2025, becoming Southeast Asia’s most visited destination
The Philippines in 1996-1997, China in 2000, Vietnam in 2009, Japan in 2013 and 2025, South Korea in 2014 and 2024, Taiwan in 2017 (the starting point of Trip By Trip), Singapore in 2018, Hong Kong and Macau in 2023. I like travelling to East Asia. Yet I never visited Thailand, for many westerners the…
Virgin Trains takes major step towards London to Brussels, Paris and Amsterdam services
Virgin Trains has taken a major step towards challenging Eurostar‘s dominance of cross-Channel passenger rail services after the United Kingdom‘s rail regulator gave the green light to a track access agreement that could allow the company to launch international services in 2030.
RAIL IN EUROPE | Standardisation of trains to speed up delivery and cut costs
As Europe races towards climate neutrality, rail transport is set to play a pivotal role. Yet, the sector faces a persistent challenge: trains are too expensive, and delivery times are too long, Duurzaam Mobiel writes. At the recent Bundesverband SchienenNahverkehr (BSN) industry conference in Kassel in Hesse in Germany on 5 and 6 May 2026,…
2026 | The state of LGBTI rights in Europe’s next generation of EU members
ILGA-Europe and the Equal Rights Association (ERA) have warned that anti-LGBTI legislation and democratic backsliding are becoming a defining feature of the European Union enlargement region, urging Brussels to use accession talks more forcefully to defend fundamental rights.
BALTIC STATES | A week for Tallinn in Estonia, Riga in Latvia and Vilnius in Lithuania by train, exploring Rail Baltica
August 2025. We’re travelling to the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and more specifically their respective capitals Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Are they interconnected by rail? Yes, but not in the most straightforward or userfriendly way possible. The Rail Baltica project should remedy this. Unsurprisingly though, this megaproject faces political and budgetary hurdles. It…
Switzerland breaks tourism records with nearly 44 million overnight stays in 2025
I turned 45 in June. I have this tradition – when possible – of not being in Belgium for my birthday. From Sweden in 2013 to the Châteaux of the Loire Valley in 2014, Lake Orta in 2015, Rome in 2016, London in 2018, North Carolina and Virginia in 2019, England in 2022, and Rotterdam…