51businesstraveller.com APRIL 2020
CLOCKWISE FROM
TOP: Eurostar is set
to launch direct
Amsterdam-London
services; Nightjet’s
Viennese network
now serves Brussels;
MTRX runs regular
services between
Stockholm and
Gothenburg- OEBB VIENNESE ROUTES
Austria lacks high-speed lines. In compensation, OEBB
operates speedy three-class Railjets from Vienna to
destinations in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, the Czech
Republic, Hungary and Italy. oebb.at - OUIGO PARIS SERVICES
All credit to France’s SNCF for being the first train firm
to emulate the low-cost airlines’ business model with its
Ouigo subsidiary. These duplex TGV high-speed trains
(which are branded separately from SNCF’s traditional
TGVs) radiate from the Paris termini and suburbs to serve
destinations throughout France. ouigo.com - AVLO MADRID-BARCELONA
This month, Spain’s Renfe was scheduled to launch its
own version of Ouigo, which is branded Avlo, on the
Madrid-Barcelona high-speed route, although this has now
been postponed. Avlo uses Spain’s unique Talgo trainsets
and its fares are priced below those that Renfe charges for
its regular high-speed AVE services. Renfe has been forced
to act to compete with the entry of Ouigo into the Spanish
domestic market later this year. renfe.com
A number of
newcomers have
appeared as the
EU promotes
competition- IZY PARIS-BRUSSELS
IZY (pronounced “easy”)
is yet another innovative
train, this time from
SNCF and Belgium’s
SNCB and Thalys. It
operates up to four times
daily between Paris
Nord and Brussels Midi, with low fares in all classes.
The journey time is two and a half hours – roughly one
hour longer than Thalys – and IZY charges less because
it operates over classic lines, thus avoiding high-speed
access fees. Since last year it has used one of the original
Eurostar trainsets. izy.com - FLIXTRAIN GERMAN SERVICES
Rather than operate high-speed trains over high-speed
lines, Germany’s Flixtrain deploys conventional rolling
stock running over classic track, meaning fares remain
low. Its current routes are Aachen-Leipzig, Stuttgart-
Berlin and Cologne-Hamburg. Flixtrain wants to expand
in France to compete with IZY and is awaiting approval
from France’s rail regulator Arafer. flixtrain.com
WORDS ALEX MCWHIRTER