How to Travel by Train in Europe
Do you have any plans to travel around Europe this summer? Travelling by train instead of flying can reduce your carbon footprint tremendously. You can measure the difference at several sites such as carbonfootprint.com and myclimate.org. BBC has a good article that goes a little bit deeper into the science of calculating carbon footprint when it comes to travelling. For example, a journey from London to Madrid would emit 43kg (95lb) of CO2 per passenger by train, but 118kg by plane (or 265kg if the non-CO2 emissions are included), according to EcoPassenger. Except for the climate benefits, taking the train is a wonderful way to see Europe and you get to meet a lot of interesting people on the way too.
How to book your train travels
Before booking any trip, make sure you have planned your route well. You can look up departure times and schedules on sites such as Trainline and Omio. You also might be able to book parts of your journey there but we would recommend the sites mostly for planning and maybe booking directly with each train company. For Scandinavians, the easiest way is to get to Copenhagen and from there travel South. You can also travel from Stockholm to Hamburg and Berlin by night train. From Hamburg, you can go in any direction, to Brussels, to Basel (which will take you to other parts of Switzerland, to southern France or Italy) to Berlin and east Europe (such as Budapest (from there to Bucharest) and Poland) or to Amsterdam (and maybe continue to Paris or London).
You can also travel by Interrail. With Interrail you can have one card for a certain amount of time that will allow you to travel through several countries, however, make sure you reserve your seat since the summer is busy!
Be aware of this before your travel
Night trains are popular and many routes are already fully booked, book in advance!
Make sure there are at least a couple of hours before the change of trains (some are normally late, especially the train from Sweden).
If you go by night train, choose a sleeping compartment if possible. If not, bring a pillow, earplugs and an eye mask.
There are normally good food options at the train stations (even for vegans. Hello Germany!!) but for long journeys, it can be good to bring some food and snacks on the train.
Times and platforms can change suddenly (this happened several times in Brussels) so be there an hour before and be aware of last minute changes.
Pack comfortable clothes for long routes and be aware that some trains might be super hot while others have good AC and can be cold during the night.