Express trains culled across Europe amid pandemic

Despite temporary cuts, the new schedules from December will bring significant improvements

Departing soon? Rail services across Europe are being cut (Simon Calder)

The coronavirus pandemic is hitting long-distance rail services across Europe, as operators respond to a drastic dip in demand amid increasing travelling restrictions.

But when new timetables are brought in on 13 December, passengers on some key Continental lines will see major improvements in European rail travel.

The November edition of the European Rail Timetable reports that all Nightjet services between Germany and both Austria and Switzerland will be suspended from 8 November to 2 December. This will affect overnight links including Berlin to Zurich and Brussels to Vienna.

Long-distance international services between Sweden and both Norway and Denmark remain suspended until at least 12 December.

Meanwhile the publishers of Europe by Rail report that two high-speed operators from Paris – Thalys and Lyria – are expected to announce new schedules with reduced services from later this week.

The cuts will affect some journeys from Paris to Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany.

Both Thalys and Lyria have suspended their premium class offering from this week.

The coronavirus pandemic is also affecting passenger river services on the Danube between Vienna and Bratislava. The operator said: “Twin City Liner's scheduled trips cannot take place until further notice due to the rapidly increasing number of infections and the strict requirements in Slovakia.”

But long-planned improvements on some inter-city rail routes are due to take effect from 13 December. 

Austrian and Hungarian Railways intend to introduce three additional services between Budapest and Vienna – creating an hourly service between the two capitals throughout the day.

Journeys on the trans-Alpine link between Zurich and Milan will be 20 minutes quicker because of the opening of the Ceneri Base Tunnel – a link almost 10 miles long beneath Monte Ceneri in southern Switzerland.

The European Rail Timetable says: “The EuroCity service between Zurich and Milan will increase to ten trains a day.”

Three of these services will extend to provide through services to and from Venice, Bologna and Genoa.

Nicky Gardner of Europe by Rail said: “The changes that come in next month are merely the prelude to more changes in April.”