The December 2020 issue of Today's Railways Europe contains all the very latest news and features from railways across mainland Europe. All our regular monthly features are accompanied by interesting articles, which this month include stories from Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Switzerland, Italy and the Czech Republic. These and all other European countries are also featured in our comprehensive news coverage which encompasses main line railways, light rail and heritage topics.
Feature articles include:
East meets west in North Macedonia: With less than 700 km of operational lines, North Macedonia’s railway network is one of Europe’s smallest. Nonetheless, the country packs in plenty of railway interest with scenic lines snaking through rugged terrain and modern Chinese-built electric locomotives and EMUs contrasting with ageing GM-engined diesels, as Toma Bacic explains.
Narrow gauge diesels through the Rhodopes: Peter Hürzeler and Pascal Zingg present a portfolio of images depicting Bulgarian State Railways’ Class 75 and Class 77 diesels at work on the spectacular Septemvri–Dobrinishte line – Bulgaria’s last operational 760 mm gauge line – in autumn 2020.
Bremgarten-Dietikon-Bahn: From the suburbs of Zürich to the Freiamt: Climbing into the hills to the west of Switzerland’s largest city, the metre gauge Bremgarten-Dietikon-Bahn is both a busy commuter line and a scenic delight, as Andrew Thompson discovers.
Rail Centres: Brno: The Czech Republic’s second city, Brno, is a busy railway centre with a wide variety of traction to be seen on passenger and freight trains. Keith Fender is our guide to the railways in and around this interesting city.
From Firenze to Faenza: the Faentina railway: Marco Cacozza uncovers the history of a cross-country line through the Appennino mountains between Toscana and Emilia-Romagna, which evaded two attempts at electrification in the 1920s and 1940s and today remains diesel-worked.
Traction Archive: V200 Finale in Northern Germany: Phil Wormald recalls chasing the ever-popular DB Class 220 diesel hydraulics during their final years in traffic.
News stories include:
- Galician high-speed line extended
- Berlin Brandenburg Airport finally opens
- Škoda wins Estonian EMU order
- Whale tail scuplture “catches” derailed Rotterdam metro train
- Flexity trams in service in Zürich
- Wiesbaden Citybahn plans rejected
- Eurostar e300s under threat
- New NS EMUs damaged in German derailment
- BLS Cargo Vectron in Belgium
- Czech Railways to sell Class 380?
- 1980s look for FS E.444.005 in Italy
- Main line return for Hungarian MÁV 424 009
- “Britannia” replica in Norway.
Don't miss your copy!
Save money with a 12-issue subscription!