Blog - Midnight Trains

The Chinese train to a spaceport in the Gobi desert

We’re in the middle of the Gobi desert in the autonomous Chinese region of inner Mongolia, and this railway leads to one of China’s most important spaceports.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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11.2.2023

Welcome to Bristol

It’s not exactly the most touristy of British destinations. However, as you’re about to find out, this is a city full of weird and wonderful sights.

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11.2.2023

The EU backs ten international rail projects

A year after the end of the European Year of Rail, the European Commission has announced that it will support ten pilot projects in international train travel to make the sector more efficient, quicker and more affordable for travellers.

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10.2.2023

17.2.2023

Welcome to Granada

Because while it may only have 230,000 inhabitants, the various civilisations that have called this city home have let behind a gloriously rich and diverse heritage.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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5.2.2023

On board Tunisia’s Red Lizard train

This is Metlaoui, a city of around 40,000 inhabitants in the west of the country. The atmosphere in the white and blue building on the station platform is relaxed.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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4.2.2023

5.2.2023

Will the Kenya-Uganda train see the light of day?

This new railway is supposed to link up the port of Mombasa on the Kenyan coast with central Uganda.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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3.2.2023

10.2.2023

All aboard stunning (if slow) Japanese coastal railway

Known for their speed, cleanliness and legendary promptness, the Japanese bullet trains or Shinkansen are admired by train buffs the world over.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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28.1.2023

Bienvenue à Montpellier

‍Puisque les trains de la Renfe s’arrêteront bientôt à Montpellier, nous avons décidé de vous faire visiter cette ville du sud de la France, son légendaire ciel bleu et son inarrêtable énergie.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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28.1.2023

Renfe’s entry into the French railway sector

After the arrival of Trenitalia on the Paris-Lyon line at the end of 2021, this time Renfe – the historic Spanish operator – is also making moves in France

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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27.1.2023

A journey through northern Europe’s longest railway tunnel

‍The birth of a bridge, a tunnel or a railway line that better connects people and places is always an event. That’s the case for the Blix Tunnel.

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21.1.2023

22.1.2023

Welcome to Bergen

Having already visited Stockholm and Copenhagen, we’re heading back to Scandinavia to visit a city that’s not quite as well known as those capital cities: Bergen.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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21.1.2023

22.1.2023

How rising electricity costs have impacted the French railways

As it had announced in 2022, SNCF, the French national rail operator, increased train ticket prices on January 10 2023.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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20.1.2023

On board Iran’s incredible Unesco-listed train

Today, to pay homage to this struggle (and the incomparable beauty of Iran), we’ve decided to take you on board one of the world’s most spectacular trains: the Trans-Iranian Railway.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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14.1.2023

15.1.2023

Welcome to Erevan

We’ve decided to whisk you off to a place where influences from that part of the world mingle with those of the Old Continent: Yerevan, the splendid (albeit little-known) capital of Armenia.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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14.1.2023

15.1.2023

Will a trans-Afghanistan train ever be a reality?

The result of an agreement signed by Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in February 2021, the initiative was thrown into disarray by the coming to power of the Taliban in August of that year.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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13.1.2023

Bienvenue à Nantes

Nicknamed ‘the city of the Dukes of Brittany’ and ‘the Venice of the West’, this small city of around 300,000 inhabitants is famous for its relaxed pace of life and architectural heritage.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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7.1.2023

13.1.2023

Climb aboard Thailand’s incredible floating train

It’s no secret that trains don’t float. People could be forgiven for opting for a vessel of some sort over a TGV to get across a river or ocean.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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7.1.2023

17.2.2023

The two faces of the Vientiane-Kunming train

Since Laos has been involved in China’s new Silk Road initiatives, for better or worse, things have changed.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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6.1.2023

On board the real-life Hogwarts Express

Dépêchez-vous, le train va partir ! Alors que vous courez comme un dératé à travers la gare londonienne de King’s Cross en poussant votre chariot de bagages, vos parents ne cessent de vous presser.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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31.12.2022

5.1.2023

All aboard the Santa Claus Express

There’s a train – yes, an actual train – that allows travellers to visit his house in Finnish Lapland. So roll up and climb aboard!

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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24.12.2022

5.1.2023

Welcome to Swedish Lapland

Make sure to wrap up warm and definitely remember to pack a camera – we’re about to see something truly magical.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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24.12.2022

6.1.2023

The origins of ‘flight shame’

It was first a Swedish word, flygskam, comprising the words flyg (plane or aviation) and skam (shame or dishonour).

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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23.12.2022

America’s missing high-speed trains

Only a handful of trains on the east coast get anywhere close, but the journeys are so short that the trains don’t reach top speeds. It’s an astonishing quirk that can be put down to a mix of historic, demographic, geographical and cultural factors.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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20.12.2022

Welcome to Vilnius

With just over 500,000 inhabitants, it stands out for the concentration of unusual sights to be discovered in the city centre. So put on your Gore-Tex, a woolly hat and some gloves – it’s time to discover Europe’s northeastern corner.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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17.12.2022

20.12.2022

The weird world of railway-themed video games

Could all those who’ve never dreamed of driving a train raise their hand? Yep, just as we thought: there are no hands in the air.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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16.12.2022

On board Louis Brennan’s gyroscopic monorail

‍In 1910, the City of London hosted The Japan-British Exhibition. Aiming to celebrate the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese relationship, this enormous international expo went all out to promote the Land of the Rising Sun among the British public.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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10.12.2022

16.12.2022

Welcome to Ankara

The city is so underappreciated by travellers, in fact, that we’re sure many of you would struggle to even imagine what it looks like, not in the same way you can for London, Paris or New York. We’re here to change all that.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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10.12.2022

16.12.2022

The effects of the Ukraine war on China’s ‘new Silk Road’

Clearly referring to the mythical route that transcontinental salesmen used in centuries gone by, it is essentially a vast web of commercial rail and sea links that will allow the country to transport goods to Europe and Africa.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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9.12.2022

All aboard the Barnum circus train

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome on board the RBBX, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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3.12.2022

9.12.2022

Bienvenue à Toulouse

Just because you’re more of a train person, that doesn’t mean you should miss out on a trip to the ‘Pink City’.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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3.12.2022

Could lightway trains save local railway lines?

SNCF, for example, has launched a service known as Flexy, which can carry up to 14 passengers on lines where trains can travel between 10 and 30 kilometres an hour.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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2.12.2022

8.12.2022

Why did Russia send a train of race horses to North Korea?

When railway services restarted between Russia and North Korea in early November 2022, the first train that travelled from one country to another was in fact a convoy filled with… 30 horses: five stallions and 25 mares.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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26.11.2022

Welcome to Krakow

You’d be foolish to leave Krakow off your bucket list. For this must be one of Europe’s most beautiful and exciting places.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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26.11.2022

Iryo, Spain’s third high-speed rail operator

Having run an inaugural trip between Madrid and Valencia on November 21 2022, Iryo aims to run 16 return journeys daily between the Spanish capital and the city of Barcelona.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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25.11.2022

How Dickens saved one of his manuscripts from a trainwreck

It’s 3.30pm on June 9 1865 in the county of Kent. A train travels from Folkestone to London. On board was the writer Charles Dickens,

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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19.11.2022

20.11.2022

Welcome to Birmingham

Nicknamed the ‘City of a Thousand Trades’ and the ‘Workshop of the World’ because of its importance during the Industrial Revolution

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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19.11.2022

20.11.2022

The railway linking up the Gulf states

Gulf Railway, a project that aims to link up the various member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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18.11.2022

The train station hidden under the Waldorf-Astoria

One thing few people know about this veritable symbol of luxury and excess, on 301 Park Avenue, in Manhattan, is that it has a secret railway station hidden beneath it.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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12.11.2022

13.11.2022

Bienvenidos a Salamanca

You can’t ignore all the history here. So start by mooching around the Plaza Mayor and its splendid arcades.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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12.11.2022

13.11.2022

France hands €3 billion to the railways (then backtracks)

On the initiative of Gérard Leseul, the Socialist MP for Seine-Maritime's 5th constituency, this sum was based on figures from se Réseau Action Climat

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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11.11.2022

A 478-kilometre journey in the middle of the Aussie desert

Except in Australia, that is, where you’ll find what is considered to be the longest straight train line in the world.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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5.11.2022

6.11.2022

Welcome to Zurich

For proof that Zurich is far from boring, head straight to Rote Fabrik (literally, the red factory).

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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5.11.2022

6.11.2022

The world’s longest-ever passenger train

The trip took around 45 minutes, at an average speed of between 30 and 35 kilometres per hour.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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4.11.2022

The French rail workers who resisted the Nazis

As railway workers, you and your comrades have to put into place the Operation Vert which would support the imminent landings of the Allied Forces in France. It was finally time to push out the Nazis.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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29.10.2022

30.10.2022

Bienvenue à Bordeaux

Known for its beauty and refinement, the city of Bordeaux is above all famous for its wine.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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29.10.2022

30.10.2022

The French regions seeking €100 billion for the railways

A column by a group of 15 regional leaders in the newspaper Le Monde. In it, these men and women from across the political spectrum called on the national government to launch a new railway deal worth €100 billion between 2023 and 2033.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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28.10.2022

2.11.2022

The Baikal-Amur Mainline, a railway made in the Gulag

It’s 1932 and the Soviet government has ordered the construction of this gigantic line to create an alternative to one part of the Trans-Siberian.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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22.10.2022

Welcome to Bucharest

Let’s hit up the city sometimes known as ‘little Paris’.You can immediately see why it’s acquired that nickname. First off, the architecture is pretty stunning and definitely brings the City of Light to mind.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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22.10.2022

How Belgium plans to reinvent its railways

At a time when the protection of the planet is an absolute necessity, the modernisation of the railway network in a country known for being flat is no less honourable or important. Let’s dig a little deeper.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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21.10.2022

Climb aboard the high-speed KTX

Named KTX, for Korea Train Express, the trains are a symbol of the country’s cutting-edge technology and a very popular means of transport for locals. Let’s take a short trip.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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14.10.2022

How trains (briefly) connected the two Koreas

The unsurpassable 248-kilometre-long, four-kilometre-deep no man’s land has, however, seen several trains passing through that are testament to efforts to make peace between the two Koreas.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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14.10.2022

16.10.2022

Welcome to Malaga

Much lesser known than Madrid and Barcelona, this Andalusian city of 580,000 people boasts an exceptional heritage and all sorts of hidden treasures.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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14.10.2022

16.10.2022

The great families of the railways - Episode 5

Having arrived in Canada at the age of 20, Georges Stephen was one of the principal architects of the railway industry in this part of the world, and was the first Canadian to be ennobled. Quite a character, in other words.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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8.10.2022

Benvenuti a Catania

Lesser known than the eternally beautiful Syracuse, the ‘Milan of the south’ has loads to offer travellers after a mix of beauty, discovery and delicious food.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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8.10.2022

A Green New Deal for Europe

At the end of September 2022, the European Commission signed off funding worth €101 million to modernise the Palermo-Catania-Messina train line.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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7.10.2022

The great families of the railways - Episode 4

The Vanderbilts is a modest family, descended from Dutch immigrants, would become both rich and incredibly divisive.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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1.10.2022

4.10.2022

Welcome to Tbilisi

We’re heading for this small, little-known country between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea. So pack a swimming costume, put on a sturdy pair of shoes and let’s head to this one-of-a-kind metropolis.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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1.10.2022

4.10.2022

High-speed travel in the UK

The lack of existing lines makes it very easy to tell the story of high-speed train travel in the UK.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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30.9.2022

Välkommen till Malmö

Sweden’s third city (by population), this city in the south of the country is among the continent’s most diverse places, with 30 percent of its inhabitants born abroad.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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24.9.2022

28.9.2022

Why do ticket prices change so much?

You’re snuggled up on the sofa, laptop on your knees, and you’re searching for a train ticket for the following evening. Bad news: the ticket is far more expensive than it was just a couple of days ago.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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23.9.2022

The great families of the railways - Episode 3

They may not be as well known as the other two, but this clan produced two real pioneers of the railways: Edward and his son Joseph.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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23.9.2022

28.9.2022

The great families of the railways - Episode 2

James in the second instalment of our series on the great families of the European and US rail industry.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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17.9.2022

19.9.2022

Welcome to Belfast

We’re heading to Belfast in Northern Ireland. Lesser known than the likes of Dublin and London, this city is as historic as it is fun. Here’s a whistlestop guide to the capital.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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17.9.2022

19.9.2022

Morocco’s first high-speed trains

In November 2018, Morocco inaugurated something really rather special: a high-speed railway line connecting Tangier, Kenitra and Casablanca.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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16.9.2022

The great families of the railways - Episode 1

Emile and Isaac were both born in Bordeaux, on December 3 1800 and 25 November 1806. They were brought up in a Jewish family who had to flee first Spain and then Portugal, and were grandsons of Jacob Rodrigue Pereire, a pioneer of education for deaf and mute children.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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10.9.2022

19.9.2022

Welcome to Zagreb

Less touristy than other Croatian cities like Dubrovnik and Split, the capital is really laid-back and full of amazing things to do. Here’s what we’d recommend doing there.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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10.9.2022

Riding the Elizabeth Line

As you may well know, on May 24 2022, another new line appeared on the world’s oldest underground network (which first opened in 1863). It’s named the Elizabeth Line in homage to Queen Elizabeth II.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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9.9.2022

19.9.2022

Trains that test the limits of the human body

So today we’ll be telling you about how US Air Force doctor John Stapp tested the limits of the human body thanks to the Gee Whiz and Sonic Wind n°1.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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3.9.2022

6.9.2022

Welcome to Sofia

Relatively off the tourist radar, the Bulgarian capital is a modern, dynamic and yet laid-back city packed with surprising sights. So put your summer outfit back in your bag (and perhaps a pair of skis) and let’s head east.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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3.9.2022

6.9.2022

Welcome to the Lofoten

We’ve decided to head further north, to Norway’s Lofoten archipelago.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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2.9.2022

On the board the high-speed train to Lhasa

‍With its 150,000 kilometres of railway lines, China has the second most extensive train network in the world after the USA. But that’s not all.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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2.9.2022

Germany’s €9 rail pass: what impact did it have?

On June 1, Germany launched a new initiative that sent what could almost be described as shockwaves through the rail industry

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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2.9.2022

Meet the Numtots

The Numtots, short for New Urbanist Memes for Transit-Oriented Teens.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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26.8.2022

How the Underground Railroad took slaves to safety

Not all that well known in Europe, this was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses that allowed American slaves to flee the southern states.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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20.8.2022

25.8.2022

Welcome to the Aeolians

We’re continuing our tour of Europe’s most beautiful archipelagos with a trip to the Aeolian islands.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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20.8.2022

25.8.2022

The great nationalisations of Euro rail travel - Episode 4

The story of the British railways starts with carriages mounted on tracks made of wood, then metal, and pulled by horses.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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19.8.2022

The day two American trains collided head on

It all started on July 9 1918 in Nashville, the capital of the state of Tennessee.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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13.8.2022

14.8.2022

Welcome to the Balearics

Grab your sunglasses and slap on the sunscreen: we’re heading off to a real paradise, not all that far from the Catalan coast.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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13.8.2022

14.8.2022

The great nationalisations of Euro rail travel - Episode 3

The railways were taken into the hands of the state in 1937 but not in a single stage. In fact, it was the result of various interventionist moves that are very closely tied to the political history

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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12.8.2022

Welcome to the Cyclades

Rather than whisk you off to an iconic European city, now we will be suggesting an itinerary for a trip to one the continent’s most beautiful islands or archipelagos (even though it might technically not be possible to get there by train).

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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6.8.2022

11.8.2022

The Trans-Amazonian Rail, China’s latest venture in South America

In 2015, China announced it intended to build a train line linking the Brazilian Altantic coast with the Peruvian Pacific coast: Trans-Amazonian Railway.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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6.8.2022

11.8.2022

The great nationalisations of Euro rail travel - Episode 2

It’s a rather unusual case, as the country was for a long time very behind when it came to the development of the railways, and would soon go through an extended period of political instability, what with the Spanish civil war and Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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5.8.2022

Üdvözöljük Budapesten

With its rich history and thriving contemporary culture scene, the Hungarian capital brims with treasures that many are still yet to explore.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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30.7.2022

2.8.2022

The great railway nationalisations - Episode 1

We’re launching a new series on the great nationalisations in European rail, starting with the one that took place in Italy between 1903 and 1915.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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29.7.2022

19.9.2022

Bienvenue à Lille!

Whack on some sun cream (yep, you never know) and a pair of comfortable shoes – we’re heading to the north of France.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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23.7.2022

24.7.2022

The Eiffel Tower and the railways

It’s the end of the nineteenth century, the Industrial Révolution is well under way in France, and iron is the manufacturing material du jour.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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23.7.2022

24.7.2022

The Eiffel Tower, a train station of a kind?

Although a trip up the Eiffel Tower takes you in a perpendicular direction to that of a train, climbing up the iconic monument really does, somehow and in a way that’s rather hard to articulate, evoke the sensations, emotions and general atmosphere of the railways.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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22.7.2022

Snowpiercer, the post-apocalyptic train that never stops

Following a climate catastrophe, a new ice age has made the entirety of the planet uninhabitable. Only a handful of survivors remain, and they’re all on board a train that never stops moving.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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16.7.2022

19.7.2022

What is the actual carbon footprint of a train?

Rather than continue to reel off the environmental benefits of the train, this week we’re going to focus purely on the stats, totting up the real carbon footprint of trains in France. Here goes.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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15.7.2022

Benvenuti a Verona!

Known as being the setting of Shakespeare’s famous play Romeo and Juliet, and also ‘the city where everyone hates each other’ in the musical comedy of the same name.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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10.7.2022

15.7.2022

When Emile Zola climbed aboard the railways

So let’s go, and explore a world where the criminal underworld and the rail industry intertwine.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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9.7.2022

10.7.2022

How opening up the railways has transformed the industry - Episode 4

The opening up of passenger transport stems from the EU’s adoption of its fourth major package of rail reforms in 2016. This essentially divided the sector into two main categories.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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8.7.2022

24.7.2022

Why the Tren Maya has scandalised Mexico

Having introduced you to ‘La Bestia’, the so-called ‘death train’ Central American immigrants use to cross Mexico, Midnight Weekly is returning to those parts this week to tell you about the Tren Maya.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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2.7.2022

24.7.2022

Welcome to Valletta!

The tiny Maltese capital, just south of Sicily, only has 6,000 inhabitants. It’s much smaller than Sarajevo, Manchester or even Cádiz, but just as worth visiting if you’re after a sunny weekend break.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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2.7.2022

19.9.2022

How opening up the railways has transformed the industry - Episode 3

The idea of opening up passenger rail transport in Europe isn’t a new one. The first discussions between the member states of the European Union in fact took place in the 1970s.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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1.7.2022

Jean Bertin’s Aérotrain

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s an Aérotrain. That’s how the credits for a Netflix series about this far-fetched invention would start.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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25.6.2022

29.6.2022

Willkommen in Leipzig

From Manchester to Cádiz, Warsaw to Dubrovnik, each week Midnight Weekly takes you on a tour of a major European city. And today we’re heading to Leipzig.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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25.6.2022

19.9.2022

How opening up the railways has transformed the industry - Episode 2

Because while trains may usually be considered a means to get humans from one place to another, they are clearly also a way of conveying goods too. So let’s climb aboard and slot ourselves in besides the factory products and girders.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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24.6.2022

24.7.2022

On board the Bestia, the Mexican death train

Day is dawning in the small town of Arriaga, in the state of Chiapas. Suddenly, the train sets off. In an instant, men, women and children emerge from the shadows and grasp onto the sides of the train.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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18.6.2022

24.6.2022

Welcome to Sarajevo!

Though its name may be associated with war and violence, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina has undergone a remarkable renaissance.

Jean-Baptiste Bonaventure

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18.6.2022

Featured Story

The EU backs ten international rail projects

Midnight Vibes

On board the stunning Cévennes railway in the French mountains

Welcome to Rotterdam

Thalys is making way for Eurostar

How a small French town revived a historic train

Welcome to Aberdeen

The world’s longest possible train journey

Start your journey now by subscribing to our newsletter

The Chinese train to a spaceport in the Gobi desert

Welcome to Bristol

The EU backs ten international rail projects

Welcome to Granada

On board Tunisia’s Red Lizard train

Will the Kenya-Uganda train see the light of day?

All aboard stunning (if slow) Japanese coastal railway

Bienvenue à Montpellier

Renfe’s entry into the French railway sector

A journey through northern Europe’s longest railway tunnel

Welcome to Bergen

How rising electricity costs have impacted the French railways

On board Iran’s incredible Unesco-listed train

Welcome to Erevan

Will a trans-Afghanistan train ever be a reality?

Bienvenue à Nantes

Climb aboard Thailand’s incredible floating train

The two faces of the Vientiane-Kunming train

On board the real-life Hogwarts Express

All aboard the Santa Claus Express

Welcome to Swedish Lapland

The origins of ‘flight shame’

America’s missing high-speed trains

Welcome to Vilnius

The weird world of railway-themed video games

On board Louis Brennan’s gyroscopic monorail

Welcome to Ankara

The effects of the Ukraine war on China’s ‘new Silk Road’

All aboard the Barnum circus train

Bienvenue à Toulouse

Could lightway trains save local railway lines?

Why did Russia send a train of race horses to North Korea?

Welcome to Krakow

Iryo, Spain’s third high-speed rail operator

How Dickens saved one of his manuscripts from a trainwreck

Welcome to Birmingham

The railway linking up the Gulf states

The train station hidden under the Waldorf-Astoria

Bienvenidos a Salamanca

France hands €3 billion to the railways (then backtracks)

A 478-kilometre journey in the middle of the Aussie desert

Welcome to Zurich

The world’s longest-ever passenger train

The French rail workers who resisted the Nazis

Bienvenue à Bordeaux

The French regions seeking €100 billion for the railways

The Baikal-Amur Mainline, a railway made in the Gulag

Welcome to Bucharest

How Belgium plans to reinvent its railways

Climb aboard the high-speed KTX

How trains (briefly) connected the two Koreas

Welcome to Malaga

The great families of the railways - Episode 5

Benvenuti a Catania

A Green New Deal for Europe

The great families of the railways - Episode 4

Welcome to Tbilisi

High-speed travel in the UK

Välkommen till Malmö

Why do ticket prices change so much?

The great families of the railways - Episode 3

The great families of the railways - Episode 2

Welcome to Belfast

Morocco’s first high-speed trains

The great families of the railways - Episode 1

Welcome to Zagreb

Riding the Elizabeth Line

Trains that test the limits of the human body

Welcome to Sofia

Welcome to the Lofoten