Sunday, December 10, 2017

On track

The Cross City Luas rolled across Dublin city centre yesterday coming on stream on time and costing €368 million.


Also yesterday in Potsdam near Berlin an extension to the existing tramlines came into service.

But the big rail news in Europe last week was the opening on Friday of the new Berlin to Munich rail service.

It took 10 years to build and cost €10 billion.

The newly-built ICEs on mainly new track will take two hours off the up-to-now six-hour journey.

The train serves Leipzig, Kulmbach, Bamberg, Nurnberg, Munich with some trains serving Augsburg.

It travels at 300km/h, going through 22 tunnels, crossing 27 valleys. Between Berlin and Munich it travels through 63 kilometres of tunnel.

And on the opening day it made a stop at Lutherstadt Wittenberg. 

On Friday two special trains were used on the inaugural service. Among the VIP guests was Angela Merkel.

On the return journey to Munich the train broke down and the VIPs arrived over an hour late back in Munich.


2 comments:

Jordan O'Brien said...

The LUAS has arrived in Broombridge and invaded my playground. Yes, as a child I climbed a wall and found great entertainment among the old goods wagons laid up in the area south of Broombridge. This was wild train country with tracks crossing and heading into the city. Many an hour I spent climbing in and out of the wagons. I welcome the LUAS and look forward to further development of the network in the years to come.
Jordan

Michael Commane said...

A railway man.
That's why you are so wise.

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