Ideas of personal liberty go hand in hand with the freedom to move where we please. Already challenged depending on an individual's nationality, climate imperatives increasingly oblige us to reconsider established modes of transport (even if government policies have been slow to push us towards greener ways to travel).
The dream of connecting Europe with a rail network that could one day replace short and medium-haul flights has a near-universal appeal but still seems some way off. But with its place at the axis of western Europe, Belgium is one of the first beneficiaries of international rail and yesterday welcomed the news of another night train linking Brussels and Berlin, due to start in December.
This journey has already been possible since May but passengers can expect a competitor to increase the frequency of journeys and bring down prices – which many argue are prohibitively high on the Good Night Train. Operators themselves will hope that increasing the provision of night trains will induce consumer demand – a phenomenon that has been seen elsewhere in Europe, where a greater number of trains has benefitted all operators.
For its part, the EU has ambitions for rail to supplant low-cost aviation for travel inside the bloc and in 2016 introduced the Fourth Railway Package with the aim of opening up competition and encouraging rail companies to vie for customers with similar business plans to budget airlines.
But despite the promising signs of changing transport habits, critics have been quick to highlight key advantages that planes still have over trains: journey time, cost, and in some cases comfort. For trains to really have the edge there will need to be significant investment, likely complemented by efforts to disincentivise flying (the industry can keep prices low thanks to relatively little taxation).
Still, another night train is an exciting prospect for Brussels – which had around 25 leaving the capital each day until EU subsidies ended in 2003. The challenge today is not just to revive a relic of a bygone era but to create a network for the future.
Will you be booking a night train? Let @Orlando_tbt know.
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1. Place Royale: Chaotic roundabout in city centre to become large urban square
Planning permission has been granted to transform the busy, dangerous roundabout on Place Royale in the centre of Brussels into a pedestrian-friendly square. Read more.
2. Night trains: Second connection between Brussels and Berlin from December
The company behind the existing night train between Brussels and the Austrian capital of Vienna will soon launch another connection between Berlin and Brussels. Read more.
3. Driving in Belgium? Make sure you have these items
With different speed limits in different regions and unpredictable Belgian motorists, driving in Belgium can be stressful. But did you know that it is compulsory to have these items in your vehicle at all times? Read more.
4. Young Belgians leave home later than other Western Europeans
Young Belgians leave their family home much later than citizens of neighbouring countries, a recent study has found. Read more.
5. Hitting the jackpot: Belgian banks see massive rise in profits
Belgium's major banks have posted an enormous surge in profits over the first half of this year, calling into question their repeated claims that they have no margin to increase customer savings rates. Read more.
6. Belgians still working fewer hours than before pandemic
The average number of hours worked per worker in Belgium is still below the average recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic, and the figure is predicted to remain at a similar level. Read more.
7. Major airforce show returns to Belgium this weekend after 5-year hiatus
For the first time since 2018, the Belgian Air Force Days will take place this weekend. Dozens of military and civilian aircraft from several European countries will take to the skies for a unique airshow. Read more.
