عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Night Rails to Revive Trans-Europ Express After Long Suspension

A train on the line constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and financed by the Chinese government arrives at the Nairobi Terminus. Photo: Reuters/Thomas Mukoya
A train on the line constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and financed by the Chinese government arrives at the Nairobi Terminus. Photo: Reuters/Thomas Mukoya
TT
20
TT

Night Rails to Revive Trans-Europ Express After Long Suspension

A train on the line constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and financed by the Chinese government arrives at the Nairobi Terminus. Photo: Reuters/Thomas Mukoya
A train on the line constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and financed by the Chinese government arrives at the Nairobi Terminus. Photo: Reuters/Thomas Mukoya

People who traveled to Europe before the 1980s may remember the Trans-Europ Express (TEE) rails. Now, and after decades of suspension amid the prosperity of low-cost airlines, Europe's largest rail companies have decided to revive the TEE network, reported the German News Agency.

The new night rails will link cities like Barcelona, Rome, and Warsaw. The main national train operators in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France have announced plans to launch new trans-European rails as of 2021.

These plans aim to make traveling to Europe more eco-friendly with long easy paths that connect large cities.

In October, the Austrian Federal Railways has announced plans to expand its night trans-European rail lines services.

In September, German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer presented a new plan to revive Germany's Trans-Europ Express (TEE) with a mix of night and fast trains.

First, Scheuer proposed operating cross-European rails that don't require major infrastructure equipment, including links between Amsterdam and Roma, Paris and Warsaw, and Berlin and Barcelona.

The main goal was to enable passengers to travel across these cities within 13 hours.

The Trans Europ Express operated trains across Europe from the 1950s to the 1980s, but since then, the long cross-borders rail links have been operated by the EuroCity rails.

Most Viewed

 
Varieties

Firefighters Battle a Wildfire Burning Out of Control on the Greek Island of Chios

A firefighting helicopter during firefighting operations on Chios Island, Greece, 24 June 2025. EPA/KOSTAS KOURGIAS
A firefighting helicopter during firefighting operations on Chios Island, Greece, 24 June 2025. EPA/KOSTAS KOURGIAS
TT
20
TT

Firefighters Battle a Wildfire Burning Out of Control on the Greek Island of Chios

A firefighting helicopter during firefighting operations on Chios Island, Greece, 24 June 2025. EPA/KOSTAS KOURGIAS
A firefighting helicopter during firefighting operations on Chios Island, Greece, 24 June 2025. EPA/KOSTAS KOURGIAS

Hundreds of firefighters backed up by aircraft were battling a wildfire burning out of control for the third day on the eastern Aegean island of Chios Tuesday, with authorities issuing multiple evacuation orders.

Towering walls of flames tore through forest and agricultural land on the island, where authorities have declared a state of emergency and have sent firefighting reinforcements from Athens, the northern city of Thessaloniki and the nearby island of Lesbos, said the Associated Press.

By Tuesday morning, the fire department said 444 firefighters with 85 vehicles were tackling the blaze on scattered fronts. Eleven helicopters and two water-dropping planes were providing air support.

Emergency services have issued evacuation orders for villages and settlements in the area since Sunday, when fires broke out near the island’s main town. The fire department has sent an arson investigation team to Chios to examine the cause of the blaze.

“We are faced with simultaneous fires in multiple, geographically unconnected parts of the island — a pattern that cannot be considered coincidental,” Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Giannis Kefalogiannis said Monday from Chios. Authorities, he said, were “very seriously examining the possibility of an organized criminal act, in other words arson.”

The minister said police forces on the island had been reinforced, while military patrols had been doubled.

“Whoever thinks that they can play with the lives of citizens and cause chaos with premeditated actions will be led to court,” Kefalogiannis said. “Arson is a serious crime and will be dealt with as such.”

Wildfires are frequent in Greece during its hot, dry summers. In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as they tried to flee. More than 100 died, including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.