In Europe, there are different types of trains, from fast services to overnighters that take you to your destination first thing in the morning, to scenic routes, to slower regional services that take you off the beaten path and give you the thrill of discovery.

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• High-speed trains

The Eurostar connects the UK with France, the Netherlands and Belgium.

 

High-speed trains also connect France with the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.

 

Austria has high-speed links to Germany. ​

 

The last couple of years has seen the launch of fast train services s between France and Northern Italy (Milano and Torino) and between France and Spain (Paris to Barcelona).

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• Night trains

There is also a growing network of night trains. Currently, the leading operator in the overnight sector is Austrian Railways (Nightjet), with services connecting Austria with Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

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European Sleepers connects Belgium and the Netherlands with Belgium and Czechia.

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Snälltåget offers very popular overnight services between Berlin and Stockholm.

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The night train sector is likely to grow significantly. If press reports are correct, the limit at the moment is a practical one. Producing sleeper trains is a complicated and specialised business, and factories are struggling to cope with demand.

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• Regional trains

​Beyond high-speed trains, European countries still have their local and regional train network - the slow trains so to speak. These services, often used by commuters, are incredibly useful as they open up travel opportunities.

 

Fast trains tend to connect main cities - cities that are likely to also have an airport. These cities are therefore likely to be popular tourist destinations. The traditional regional trains are the ones that really allow you to discover off-the-beaten-path Europe. They take you to cities and villages that may only see day trippers, and sometimes not even those. You'll be steeped in history and surrounded by epic landscapes, without the crowds.

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In many cases, these slower trains operate on older tracks not suitable for high speed, that have less tunnels, and are a lot more scenic. For example, the regional route between Bologna and Florence is delightful, with the peaks of the Apennines gradually giving way to rolling hills dotted with cypresses and dream-like villages; similarly, the slow route connecting the main cities in western Germany coasts the Rhine in many places, offering incredible views.​

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• Scenic trains

Europe also offers several scenic trains which are attractions in their own right. Some are marketed specifically to tourists - although you can still use them to travel between locations instead of a faster connection. Examples of those are the Centovalli and Bernina trains between Italy and Switzerland.

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Other scenic trains are standard regional services riding through particularly scenic parts of the continent. I cover them in my posts on Europe's, Italy's, Switzerland's and Germany's most scenic train rides.

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