Continental trains

Why should we be taking the train in 2023? We all know the pressing environmental arguments about rail versus air travel, so I won’t recite them again here. The awful queues at Heathrow this summer certainly provide an additional incentive, even if a European departure from St Pancras is tricky for anyone not based in south-east England.

But while we Brits grumble and chafe about the saga of HS2, on/off rail disputes and whether the Elizabeth Line was really worth all the fuss, continental trains look increasingly thrilling and stylish for 2023, with a huge array of sleeper and high-speed services on offer (even if, in truth, they are also prone to occasional delay and disruption).

The guru in all this is Mark Smith, the Man in Seat 61 (seat61.com), who is already excited about the potential for train-based wonderment east of France, with new timetables that mean taking the sleeper is now ‘the most time-effective way to get from the UK to Prague’.

If you like a bit of fresh rolling stock, then prepare to swoon at the new generation of sleek ‘Nightjet’ sleeper services from Austrian operator OBB, due to come on track next year and running from Munich, Vienna and Salzburg to Italy. For a twin-city escape, try the expanding network of trains being introduced in Spain by new high-speed operator Iryo, which already links Barcelona and Madrid for €18 a pop.

It doesn’t even have to be that complicated. Yes, Eurostar has offered an embarrassingly limited number of direct connections to British travellers since it began operations in 1994. Nevertheless, plenty of fantastic European cities can be reached in under four hours by rail from London, including Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and – with a change – Bruges and Antwerp. More than 40 weekend-worthy destinations can be reached in under six hours.

Or try an escorted trip: tour operator Great Rail Journeys (greatrail.com) reckons that almost a third of us are hoping to go on one in 2023. New for next year are itineraries exploring the treasures of Tuscany and Classical Greece.

True trainspotters will be heading for Switzerland. You may already know about the Bernina and Glacier Express services, luxury journeys that deliver epic views. Now, restless with invention, the Swiss have launched the Goldenpass Express, a train that runs from Montreux to Interlaken. This absurdly scenic route is long established, but required ‘detraining’ at Zweisimmen because of the different gauges in operation. Complicated jiggery-pokery introduced this month means that new rolling stock can now adapt to the change of gauge, the differing heights of the platforms and even the varying voltages on the line without you having to leave the comfort of your carriage. At least HS2 doesn’t have to overcome those sorts of problems…

Beyond the train, the prospect of belt-tightening in 2023 means that the benefits offered by all-inclusive beach holidays will come to the fore. The trend towards later and later booking, which the pandemic magnified, will

IF YOU LIKE FRESH ROLLING STOCK, PREPARE TO SWOON AT THE NEW SLEEK ‘NIGHTJET’ SLEEPER

continue. Families – tied down by school holidays – will be looking for value over the summer and unless something awful happens to the value of the pound in relation to the lira, they will almost certainly still find it in Turkey. For something a bit different, British Airways has a couple of new Gatwick routes to consider from March: Guyana, for a taste of Englishspeaking South America, and Aruba, for off-the-beaten-track Caribbean sun. Finally, expedition cruises are proving popular, from Svalbard to the Antarctic; you’ll need to move fast if you want to book a berth.