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The following are some brief excerpts from an article by WILLIAM V. MADISON appearing in the current issue of the magazine OPERA NEWS which I thought were very interesting. He is talking about a trip on the Talgo from Paris to Madrid. It sounds different yet familiar, doesn't it?
Each car contains six compartments that run along one side of a narrow corridor. This arrangement is wonderfully comfortable if you’re four feet tall and possess neither baggage nor shoulders. First-class compartments boast two berths apiece and aren’t segregated by ***. Second-class compartments (like mine) are same-***, with four cramped seats facing each other, two-by-two.
When I turned up at the dining car at 9:15, only three of some twenty tables were occupied; meanwhile, the snack car, adjacent, did bustling business for as long as anybody paid attention. The dining car’s offerings were expensive... The snack car proposed great big sandwiches and Mahou beer, the option that I preferred on my return trip....
At about 10:30, another conductor who spoke neither French nor English arrived to convert our seats into berths. The design is ingenious, with bunks folding down from the bulkheads, but once the conversion was completed, my compartment-mates and I were obliged to lie down, since there was no room to sit upright. We turned out our lights shortly thereafter. The train was absurdly overheated; we’d each been allotted a complimentary bottle of water.... None of us availed ourselves of the tatty but clean linens... ..
According to my French compartment-mate, the gauge of the rails changes at the Spanish border, so the cars have to be hoisted and their nether regions reconfigured. This must be a lurid spectacle, but it takes place in pitch darkness and is the quietest part of the whole journey: I slept through it.
Geoff M Member # 153
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I haven't ridden the US Talgos so I can't compare. All I can recount are my experiences...
The cars themselves are very short but they are articulated. Reasonably comfortable and large windows. Mostly airline seating if I remember correctly - few, if any tables, in coach seating.
The dining car, if you can call it that, was full at night when we took the sleeper from Barcelona to Paris. Absolutely full of smoke. There were people in there too. Breakfast in the morning consisted of a croissant and tea/coffee. Cue trip to get a proper breakfast once we reached Paris.
The route that the sleeper takes through France is not on the TGV lines. The latter are well known for their superiority. The former are less well known for their poor quality. Rockin' and rollin' all night long - almost as bad as some US tracks.
I think that many of the comparatively few European rail passengers who opt for the Sleeping Car services, would consider Amtrak, even with the simplified dining, the height of luxury. Of course, any European would be astounded how it can take a train (I have the Lake Shore in mind) some 19 hours (if on time ) to cover 960 miles, or 1540km.
I can recall a 1990 trip Madrid-Sevilla aboard the overnight 'Estrella'. My single occupancy Wagon Lit simply "wasn't' and I was led to a four bunk couchette (supposedly First Class). Of course I was apprehensive about sharing a room with three strangers, but in the morning I'll admit I fast learned my fears were unfounded. My cabin mates were two Frenchmen and a Dutch. The Dutchman spoke as perfect French as he did English ("We're a small country; we have to know our neighbor's languages).
At Sevilla, we parted with handshakes and well meant farewells, but still it was a roughing it night that left me quite sleep deprived.
rrrayinmd Member # 4148
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While in the Army, I was stationed in Germany for 10 years and, to this day, admire the European philosophy on its transportation infrastructure. Namely, move the greatest amount of people, the greatest distance, in the shortest amount of time. I was able to move about great cities like Nuremburg, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Paris, London totally on busses, street cars, and subways and never, in 10 years, arrive more that 10 minutes early or late. And that included a train trip through the then East Germany to Berlin.
The US has a lot to learn from the Europeans when it comes to public transportation. Today, we are facing $3+ per gallon for gasoline. Europeans are, and have been, paying about twice as much as us for gasoline for decades...thus their reliance on public transportation.
rresor Member # 128
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Well, maybe it was because the equipment was brand new when I rode in 1992, but I found nothing at all shabby about the Talgo I took from Paris (Austerlitz) to Madrid (Chamartin). Our "gran clase" cabin had two ample beds and a nice bathroom with a shower. On French track, the ride was smooth and quiet. However, once we passed through the gauge change at the border, a big suitcase that had remained safely on the overhead rack all the way from Paris came down with a thump on the first curve leaving Irun, Spain.
Spanish track reminded me of CSX -- lurching, swaying, and over every turnout it sounded like somebody was beating on the exterior of our car with drumsticks.
All told, the Talgos are noisy and hard-riding.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Just as well, Mr. Resor, I only experienced Talgo on a daylight ride Bilbao-Madrid. I share the thoughts both you and the author of the Metropolitan Opera article noted by Mr. Miami.
With regard to the New Haven Talgo, I could only watch it go through Riverside CT. My Mother and Father, who still controlled a 16 year old's wherabouts, simply could not accept anyone for any reason wanting to ride a train for no reason other than to ride the train.
As an aside, I'm not about to make a journey to the Pacific Northwest solely to ride a Talgo; let alone again overseas.
Geoff M Member # 153
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$3+ per gallon for petrol? Think yourselves lucky: we here in Britain are facing a price of £1 per litre. The only reason we don't pay more is that the petrol pumps are only programmed to do up to 99.9p per litre. Today's exchange rate and conversion to US gallons gives USD$6.97 per gallon.
I can't say I remember the ride on Spanish tracks being particularly rough. If anything, poor quality excluded, it should be smoother because of the wider gauge.
At least the US has (or at least had) better food in the diner - and more friendly waiters than the French.
The fallacy that French trains run on time isn't quite accurate. TGVs might (their flagships), possibly international trains too, but local trains only average around 85% OTP (similar to the UK). On Time in this respect is arriving at the train's destination within 10 minutes of the advertised arrival time.
Geoff M.
dilly Member # 1427
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quote:Originally posted by City of Miami: Each car contains six compartments that run along one side of a narrow corridor. This arrangement is wonderfully comfortable if you’re four feet tall and possess neither baggage nor shoulders. First-class compartments boast two berths apiece and aren’t segregated by ***. Second-class compartments (like mine) are same-***, with four cramped seats facing each other, two-by-two.
Although the interior layout is different (and there are no sleeping accommodations), Amtrak's version of the Talgo is just as cramped and uncomfortable -- and I'm a slim person. I definitely wasn't impressed. Space-wise, the experience is closer to riding on a Greyhound or Trailways bus than traveling on a train. If America's citizenry continues to horizontally expand at its current rate, most passengers will soon be unable to fit into the seats.
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