At London’s St. Pancras station while standing in line for the Eurostar to Brussels, a women next to me remarked that she had never before today taken a long-distance train. I replied that the Eurostar wasn’t really a long-distance train … that it would best be referred to as a high-speed train. That seemed to…
Americans don’t understand high-speed trains—where they work and where they don’t. And why. And no wonder! A very small percentage of Americans haveever seen a high-speed train, much less traveled on one. Amtrak’s Acela trains operating in the Washington-New York-Boston corridor average 80-plus miles-per-hour and top out at about 150 along a rather short…
The impact the Chunnel has had on commerce–all kinds, but primarily tourism, I would guess–between the UK and the Continent must be really amazing . . . even astronomical. I mean, Londoners can now run over to Paris for lunch and be back here in time for their blooming’ tea! Consider: Eurostar trains, literally…
More and more, I’m reading about travelers—be it for business or pleasure—getting ripped off. And sometimes that means big bucks. For instance, what if something mechanical goes wrong with a rental car while you’re driving it? I understand and agree that a rental car company can hold me responsible for fixing the dent if I…