Speed freaks, take note. for a ride to remember, try the latest offering from German railways. Just take your seat at the Frankfurt airport station and prepare to be hurtled westward to Cologne at 180 miles an hour. Ready for the full thrill? A glass screen behind the driver’s cabin allows first-class passengers to watch the track ahead unwind at hyper speed. To spare the Rhineland countryside, the high-speed track shares a corridor with the motorway, following the road’s occasional dips and climbs. The only disappointment could be the trip’s brevity. Since its opening last year, the line has cut the journey time between the two cities from two and a quarter hours to just 55 minutes. That’s barely long enough to enjoy the seat-back TV or browse the selection of free papers on offer.
Forget the idea of the railway as the outpaced survivor of the 19th century. For hard-pressed business travelers, it’s back in style. With the blessing of the European Union, a network of high-speed lines is cobwebbing the Continent, challenging the pre-eminence of the airlines. By 2020 almost every European capital will be plugged into a system of new or upgraded tracks three times larger than today’s. At the same time, national rail companies are joining forces to create transnational services and build a shared fleet of super sleek rolling stock. Small wonder the industry’s champions talk of a new golden age when trains will supply a green, hassle-free alternative to choked roads and crowded airways. Says Maurizio Bussolo of the Paris-based International Union of Railways: “High-speed rail is a symbol of the railway’s rejuvenation.”
In parts of Europe, trains have already grounded planes. All flights between Brussels and Paris have been scrapped since the launch of the Thalys rail service in 1995, which scoots between the two capital cities in less than 90 minutes. The Eurostar link between London and Paris has bagged 60 percent of passenger traffic on the route. There’s no mystery to its business appeal. “You never have to queue, there’s a comfortable seat awaiting you and the train takes you right to the heart of the city,” says British businessman Richard Bassett, a frequent Eurostar passenger.
Other victories look sure to follow. The twin capitals of Spanish business, Madrid and Barcelona, are currently linked by four flights an hour. But analysts reckon that more than 70 percent of travelers will switch to rail when a new service opens in about three years, slashing four hours off the current six-and-a-half-hour ride. OK, the plane may still have the edge for speed. But who will want to make the wearisome trek to and from the airport when the train is waiting downtown and the journey can be spent doing business by laptop or cell phone?
To push home their advantage, the railways are baiting passengers with the kind of perks once available only to high-end fliers. For first-class Eurostar passengers, –the pampering begins in a terminal at London’s Waterloo Station, revamped last year by designer Philippe Starck. Elsewhere, meals are often delivered to the seat, journeys start with a free drink and stewards take bookings for taxis and hotels. Power points for laptops are nearly universal. Fax machines are even available. In Sweden, hard-pressed businessmen can reserve a four-seat onboard conference room.
The enthusiasm is global. The Japanese, who introduced the world to high-speed rail travel with bullet trains, are extending their network. China talks of a line between Shanghai and Beijing, scheduled to be finished in time for the 2008 Olympics. South Korea is building a north-south track running the length of the country. And in the United States, Amtrak’s high-speed Acela line has cut the travel time between Washington, D.C., and New York to two and a half hours, luring passengers off the air shuttles. True zealots believe that maglev technology–using electromagnetic power to drive trains at speeds as high as 500kph–offers even greater promise.
Transport planners are careful to avoid talk of an air-rail rivalry. The more sensible goal is integration. In an ideal future, the airport will serve as a superhub for both rail and air services. At Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris–as well as in Frankfurt–the high-speed rail station is already within easy strolling distance for disembarking air passengers. “The connection with the train can be as smooth and comfortable as the connection between one aircraft and another,” says Moshe Givoni, a professor at London University studying the potential of air-rail links. “This has to be the way forward.”
Hard economics, however, stand in the way of perfect collaboration. The French pioneers of high-speed rail in Europe boasted that they could offer half the journey time of driving and half the price of flying. No longer. The advent of budget airlines has upset the old calculations. Whatever the comforts of Eurostar, in hard times cost-conscious managers might opt for the ¤65 London-Paris round-trip flight over the standard ¤240 ticket on the train. Indeed, Eurostar is now introducing its own budget fares after an 8 percent drop in passengers last year. Even under the best circumstances, high-speed rail is no money spinner, especially when new track is needed; Spain’s Madrid-Barcelona link will end up costing at least ¤4.5 billion. But most of Europe’s railways are still under state control and run not for profit but for public benefit.
For some business travelers, too, the lure of the auto remains overwhelming, especially for short-haul trips. “You really need to alter people’s mind-sets to get them out of the car,” says rail-industry exec Richard De Leeuw. Besides, the charm of the railway depends on a balance of speed and convenience. Numbers start to fall away sharply when any journey time much exceeds three hours. Complimentary drinks and high-speed thrills are little consolation for a harried exec desperate to get to the office.
