>>1281964Interesting, but your link doesn't work for me...
If the Talgo rolling stock is going to be like the Trenhotel in Spain or some of the old Japanese things, like the Cassiopeia, then the question will become, why?
If it's to replace the EC services which are cross-border, where multiple different locomotives set up for various signalling and electrification standards are needed, then I can totally understand that.
But if it's to replace the IC carriages, many of which have been modernised to an interior that's similar to the ICE with the exact same seats as ICE trains with the underseat power sockets, then I'm left a little confused.
There is a unique IC service I took in Germany, the Königssee which goes from Hamburg Altona to Berchtesgaden. The line originally went to the lake of Königssee and the line from Freilassing to Königssee was electrified on the order of Adolf Hitler, because he wanted to get from Berlin to his Alpine summer house easier. The line between Königssee and Berchtesgaden has been dismantled, but there is still a station building there. There is only one IC on this route a day, but it's only 5 carriages long to Berchtesgaden after Freilassing.
If these carriages were to be scrapped, then this old train service dating back many years would be ended, since the Talgo set would be far too long.
I think there are a handful of through carriage as well as limited capacity single track lines which have only a handful of IC carrages keeping some very old long distance trains open.
I might post some pics from the time I took that IC train. It was a really comfy journey. I spent 10 hours on the IC after I boarded the train in Hannover.
