Two major developments in European rail underline how international long-distance services are expanding both through new open-access routes and major infrastructure upgrades. Private operator Leo Express from Czechia is preparing its first move into the German passenger market with a trans-European service from Frankfurt to the Polish–Ukrainian border, while Austria’s ÖBB has launched a dramatically…
Tag: Leipzig
Leo Express files plans for extraordinary 2026 Bratislava–Ostend and Venice–Northern Germany services
Leo Express has formally notified Schienen-Control in Austria of its intention to launch two unusual new open-access rail services: a year-round Bratislava–Ostend line from December 2026, and a seasonal Venice–Heringsdorf / Kiel service beginning in summer 2026. The filings, submitted on 11 December 2025, appear in the Austrian regulator’s register of planned new commercial rail…
RAIL TOUR OF GERMANY | Avoiding delay-plagued ICEs in favour of regional trains
October 2024. During a week-long whistle-stop tour of Germany, we visit Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt, Weimar in Thuringia, Coburg in Upper Franconia (Bavaria) and Kassel in Hesse. Smaller cities, yes. But each with their own significance. Untouched by overtourism. We’re avoiding using the white trains of DB Fernverkehr, Deutsche Bahn‘s long-distance section and opt to use…
ANTWERP QUEER ARTS FESTIVAL 2025 | ‘QueerPassion’, inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach
As part of this summer’s festival season, queerPassion—a bold new project by the Austrian collective ĀRT HOUSE—is set to bring a powerful queer reinterpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘St. John Passion‘ to major European concert stages.
FRANCONIA | Veste Coburg
October 2024. During a week-long whistle-stop tour of Germany, we visit Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt, Weimar in Thuringia, Coburg in Upper Franconia (Bavaria) and Kassel in Hesse. Smaller cities, yes. But each with their own significance. Untouched by overtourism. We’re avoiding using the white trains of DB Fernverkehr, Deutsche Bahn‘s long-distance section and opt to use…
THURINGIA | A day in Weimar
October 2024. During a week-long whistle-stop tour of Germany, we visit Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt, Weimar in Thuringia, Coburg in Upper Franconia (Bavaria) and Kassel in Hesse. Smaller cities, yes. But each with their own significance. Untouched by overtourism. We’re avoiding using the white trains of DB Fernverkehr, Deutsche Bahn‘s long-distance section and opt to use…
Leo Express wants to operate trains from Ostend, Belgium to Bratislava, Slovakia from 2024 or 2025
Recently, we read quite a few big announcements regarding trans-continental train travel in Europe. We love those, but we’re also apprehensive. Let’s take a look.
European Commission supports 10 pilot projects for cross-border train travel, but Back On Track Belgium calls out key weakness
The European Commission will support ten pilot project for new cross-border services and the improvement of existing ones, it announced recently. But that support is not financial. Back On Track Belgium says the initiative is weak.
More than, but also sausages: rich cuisine of Germany’s heartland Saxony, Franconia and Bavaria
2020. Corona. Travelling is a different game. Yet our Fernweh acted up too often. So we arranged a train trip to Germany and Austria. Specifically to Leipzig in Saxony, several spots in Bavaria and returning home with ÖBB‘s Nightjet from Innsbruck in Tyrol to Brussels in Belgium.
Moonlight Express to include bar / restaurant coaches and sustainable quality food on Brussels – Liège – Berlin night train
Tuesday was a big day for rail news. Privateers European Sleeper from the Netherlands and Moonlight Express from Belgium announced night train services from Brussels to Berlin. Earlier, the Austrian Federal Railway carrier ÖBB (with its Nightjet brand) also showed interest in linking Brussels to Berlin. Are three sleeper services too much? Perhaps not.
Trip By Trip 