2019 will be a great one for rail travel

Happy New Year! I hope you have a great one. If, like me, you either need or want trains as your main mode of transport, there is a lot to look forward to in 2019. Before we get started, a quick reminder that my podcast Dear Railway is still online. I started Season 2 a few months ago and plan to post new episodes in the coming weeks.

In December 2018, the traditional railway timetable change throughout Europe brought many exciting new travel opportunities. In my home region, the Belfort-Delle railway reopened after 26 years of closure, adding a new link between France and Switzerland. This line allows travellers from northwestern Switzerland to easily access Europe's high speed rail network at Belfort-Montbéliard TGV station.

So what should we expect for 2019?

• On 2 January 2019, the new 26-30 railcard was finally released in the UK. This is a digital-only railcard, with a fixed one-year price of £30. You can enjoy 1/3 off on all rail fares. In fact, if you can't find '26-30 railcard' while booking your next train ticket, the railcard also works with 16-25 tickets. I released an episode of Dear Railway a few months ago especially for travellers aged 26-30.
• The branding of French high speed rail services should continue to evolve in 2019. Your standard TGV services should now be called TGV inOui and is meant to offer even more comfort as before. For low cost options, OuiGo is the name to follow. I'm really not sure how I feel about these new names - blog post coming up with more explanations.
• Originally scheduled for December 2018, the Elizabeth line should finally open in the Autumn. Running through the mighty Crossrail underground line, TfL's new line (will it go down history as a Tube? a train? We shall see) will connect Reading/Heathrow to Essex/Canary Wharf. It has been Europe's biggest railway project in recent years and we can't wait to test it. You should follow Geoff Marshall for more on Crossrail - his YouTube videos are very much detailed and up-to-date.

• In Germany, no new projects to unveil in 2019, but instead many maintenance closures on key ICE routes (Hannover-Göttingen this year). Be aware of that.
• I'll finish with the most exciting project, in my opinion. At the end of this year, after over 100 years of debating, planning, building, the region of Geneva will finally have its transnational, suburban network. The CEVA railway (Léman Express in its commercial name) will open, hopefully removing thousands of cars from the horrendous peak time traffic jams across the border. France and Switzerland will be fully connected, with trains running every 10 minutes, stopping 5 times throughout the city of Geneva. A real RER, S-Bahn, metro... you name it. Geneva is one of my favourite cities, located at the heart of a gorgeous region, celebrated for its unique environment and location. This new regional network will finally enhance this, and relieve the city from out-of-control car traffic. We look forward to it. In the meantime, you can read this previous article I wrote a few years back.

As you can see, there is a lot to look forward to in Europe in 2019. I have, of course, left some out. Some of these do not seem exciting, but in fact they all contribute to continue building Europe's mighty transport network. We will also keep following the building of the Ceneri base tunnel in Switzerland (to be opened next year), the enlargement of the Paris metro ahead of the 2024 Olympics, the controversial Lyon-Turin tunnel, HS2 in the UK, the Karlsruhe-Basel project, and many more. As for me, I hope to continue sharing my thoughts and train passions here and elsewhere. Have an amazing new year, keep travelling, and bon voyage​.