Friday, February 28, 2014

The blessed return of a personal Bible.


I concede to a pleasing fit of nostalgia: A bag filled with mostly dirty clothes, salami and bread carved with a Swiss Army Knife, my Eurailpass, and the Thomas Cook timetable. Later, I fell in love with the bicycle as mode of European transport. But trains ... ahh.

In 2010, a Guardian editorial praised the continued existence of the Thomas Cook timetable, which finally fell to modern times ... but now is resurrected. Long live the European Rail Timetable (photo credit, Eurocheapo).

European Rail Timetable: Relaunching an essential train publication, at Eurocheapo

The decision last summer of the global travel business Thomas Cook to discontinue publication of its celebrated European Rail Timetable after 140 years was a mighty blow to rail travelers across Europe. However web-wise and connected a traveler may be, there is simply no substitute for a good printed timetable in revealing the overall pattern of rail services on any particular route. Whether for initial travel planning, or for evaluating options and amending itineraries while away, the European Rail Timetable was always worth its weight in gold.

Now there is good news. The title has been saved and the timetable will once again be published on a monthly basis from March 2014.

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