hidden europe 3

Lost links: the demise of Europe's night trains

by Nicky Gardner

Summary

Moscow to Athens, Geneva & Paris! The through carriages which have disappeared.

Last March, in hidden europe 1, we surveyed the growth of European budget airlines, and noted the expansion of discount carriers' networks into eastern Europe. While air travel has acted as a considerable force for European integration, what can be said of the trains?.

In this issue of hidden europe, we unravel a little known tale of how, although rail passengers numbers have grown overall, many of the regular train services that connected eastern and western Europe in the cold war years have disappeared. But there are one or two quirky survivors.