Brian Melican explores the latest rail connections around Europe…
Finally, after more than a decade of inexplicable neglect (and a worldwide pandemic), international rail travel is having a bit of a moment—as illustrated by the recent announcement of a new seven-hour high-speed Berlin-Paris direct connection and a renewed sleeper service between the two capitals from 2023.
Indeed, having reached their nadir in the late 2010s with the almost wholesale cancellation of all services in Germany, France, and Spain, night-trains are now back in the ascendancy, with old connections being reinstated and new ones forged. So as the Covid fog (of mask-breath on glasses) progressively lifts across the continent, let’s take a renewed look at some of the best rail-trips starting in Berlin.
Heading East
The backbone of eastward connections from Berlin is the four-times-daily Eurocities (EC) service from Gesundbrunnen to Warsaw, with the morning departure (09:27) of particular interest for onward connections from the Polish capital (which it reaches mid-afternoon after six hours).
Meanwhile, another EC plies the southern route through Poland, leaving from Gesundbrunnen an hour later (10:35) and putting the charming city of Wroclaw at an eminently weekend-able four-and-a-half hours’ travel time; Cracow, a popular destination as buzzing as it is quaint and picturesque, can be reached in time for dinner; for the truly intrepid, the last stop at 21:05 is Przemysl near the Ukrainian border—Lviv is only another 50 miles away.
More northerly connections to Poland’s beautiful Baltic coast are somewhat less direct and slower than they should be given how close it is: yet there is one good connection to Danzig per day, changing at Frankfurt an der Oder. Another, more leisurely route goes north-east via Neubrandenburg and Stettin, using regional trains, and is an enticing option for those less concerned about making a beeline and looking to stop off at unspoiled Baltic beaches along the way.
Heading South
Only 170 miles south of Berlin, Prague is the capital city to which Berlin enjoys the best connections, with direct ECs every two hours (at 16 minutes past the hour) from Hauptbahnhof to Prague’s main station. Not only is the journey, at around four-and-a-half hours, relatively short, it also includes one of the most scenic stretches of railway line in Europe when, between Dresden and Děčín, the rails hug the craggy cliffs and imposing outcrops of the Elbe valley in “Saxon Switzerland”.
From Prague onwards, almost all other parts of the well-connected Republic can be reached within a few hours, from b…