Ten thousand kilometres of Europe by rail in 3 weeks
Mike Souter is a Scottish-born journalist and broadcaster, who now lives and works in Spain. As a specialist in rail travel, he was delighted to accept our invitation to explore Europe using one of our Global Passes:
The main railway line from Glasgow to Edinburgh was at the bottom of my garden as a child. A branch line, long since closed, meant that a young Michael had many an opportunity to be taken on the footplate of a steam train to the local station, and then run home to do it all over again! This was long before health and safety regulations and fears of child abductions came into the public consciousness.
It’s perhaps no surprise then that I should have a fascination with rail travel. Many is the time that I have startled car-loving American friends with requests to experience the ailing Amtrak routes; I have shared compartments with chickens and goats on railways from Sri Lanka to Cuba.
While I have had many trips by rail to individual countries within Europe, I had not, until 2008, taken advantage of the huge opportunities offered by a Global Pass. With the invaluable assistance of the undisputed European timetabling experts at Thomas Cook (http://www.thomascookpublishing.com/series.htm?series=Timetables), the team at Eurail and the tourist boards in the individual countries, I was able to put together a trip which would be both challenging for me and also provide a stimulus for my readers and listeners.
| Increasingly I find that air travel, particularly the hassle at airports, is a stressful way to travel; the overwhelming reaction I have had from this series shows that I am far from being alone.
While the concept of the Global Pass is outstanding, individual rail companies need to improve the quality of their service to pass holders, especially in making it possible to reserve seats easily online and to reduce some of the very expensive supplements they charge.
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I firmly believe that this sector of travel can only increase in popularity, but the product must move away from largely being marketed to backpackers. It needs to be more focussed on the increasing numbers of older passengers who want not only to travel in comfort, but to stay in quality accommodation at their destinations.