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What are your favourite and least favourite trains in other countries?

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swt class 450

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The motor sound of the Taurus trains is great. They are a very unique sounding train. This video shows the musical sound of the motors quite well:


They are certainly nice locomotives.
 
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61653 HTAFC

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An honourable mention for the 447 Series EMUs used on Barcelona commuter services. The wide loading gauge means plenty of space between the 2+2 seating, which is firm but well shaped. The lack of catering is an issue on the 3+ hour run up the Pyrenees to the French border at La Tor de Querol (as they spell it in Catalan) but they're smooth and quiet with big picture windows which give great views if they aren't covered in graffiti! (to be fair, they seem to prioritise cleaning the windows). They also have plenty of luggage space for a commuter train, including space for skis and snowboards as the route interchanges with the Vall de Núria rack railway at Ribes de Freser.
 
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gordonthemoron

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With regards to Pendolinos, I quite liked the Polish ones. ICEs are great apart from the ICE-T. Thalys are a bit ****. The Hong Kong Airport Express trains are quite nice, as are the bullet trains in Taiwan
 
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Groningen

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A very bad train was in the past the nighttrain from Madrid to Lisboa. Leaving the light on and bad seating.
 
43096

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user1234 said:
The motor sound of the Taurus trains is great. They are a very unique sounding train. This video shows the musical sound of the motors quite well:


They are certainly nice locomotives.
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That is an extreme example, as it is suffering wheelslip. Normally they just “play the scales” note perfect. Not complaining as a Taurus under wheelslip conditions is entertaining: I once had 182537 on an Eisenach-Leipzig train on a filthy wet night and it was slipping to some order. :D
 
scotrail158713

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tasky said:
Frecciarossa - some of the interiors are absolutely stunning. Leather-style seats in standard class on some configurations. The information screens are very generous with telling you the speed, which I like.
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I agree. I was on one in the summer and it was lovely. We’d only paid for a regionale ticket and didn’t realise the difference so were very surprised when the guard told us. Thankfully she let us get off at the next stop and get the next regionale train from there.
 
gordonthemoron

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The worst train I have ever been on was Bucharest to Sofia overnight in a former DB Regionalzug with the heating on full blast
 
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tasky

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gordonthemoron said:
With regards to Pendolinos, I quite liked the Polish ones. ICEs are great apart from the ICE-T. Thalys are a bit ****. The Hong Kong Airport Express trains are quite nice, as are the bullet trains in Taiwan
Click to expand...

Agreed on Thalys, it has too much carpet on everything and feels really shabby considering how incredibly expensive it can be
 
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swt class 450

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I have never really been a fan of any of the Thalys or TGV or Eurostar family of trains. I don't think that they are very well designed. I think that Germany has got it right with their ICE high speed trains. They are a lot nicer.
 
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JR Kyushu's 817 series. Simple elegant trains with transverse flip-over seating (which is surprisingly comfortable even though it is largely wooden). Great forward visibility through the cab, even when seated. Really good passenger information even though they are used on essentially rural services. And although they have a low top speed (like most Japanese non-Shinkansen trains), they accelerate really quickly.
 
hexagon789

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Favourites:

Italy - FS ETR 500
Switzerland - SBB EW IV Coaching Stock
Belgium - SNCB/NMBS AM96

Least favourite:

France/Belgium - Thalys TGV PBA
Belgium - SNCB/NMBS AM08
Italy - Rome Metro MB100
 
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MarcVD

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Preferred : any car with windows that can be opened.
Disliked : refurbished french corail stock.
 
43096

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hexagon789 said:
Favourites:
Belgium - SNCB/NMBS AM96
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Presumably you like SNCB I11 stock as internally it is all but identical to the AM96s. AM96 is an EMU version of the I11, in the same way that a Class 442 is an EMU Mark 3 coach.
 
hexagon789

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43096 said:
Presumably you like SNCB I11 stock as internally it is all but identical to the AM96s. AM96 is an EMU version of the I11, in the same way that a Class 442 is an EMU Mark 3 coach.
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I've not experienced the I11 stock, but I found the AM96s to be quite comfortable and much better suited to longer runs than the AM08s which are startlingly reminiscent of modern UK EMUs in terms of interior comfort, they are really suburban units but SNCB/NMBS puts them on some quite long IC runs.

Other than AM08s and AM96s, the only other Belgian stock I've ridden was the M6 double-dockers and that was only from Brussels Central to Midi/Zuid.
 
F Great Eastern

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Some of my favourites:
- DB ICE 2 and ICE3 (not been on an ICE4 yet)
- OBB Siemens Viaggio (RailJet) hauled by a Taurus
- PKP Stadler Flirt
- SNCF Bombardier Spacium

Least Favourite
- PKP Pendolino (standard class is a joke)

I don't get the hate for the Desiro ML, I was on a brand new one a couple of weeks ago and didn't have any problem with the legroom and the environment is very very nice and they are beautiful from the outside too.
 
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MarcVD

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43096 said:
Presumably you like SNCB I11 stock as internally it is all but identical to the AM96s. AM96 is an EMU version of the I11, in the same way that a Class 442 is an EMU Mark 3 coach.
Click to expand...

I11 is even better as seats are better aligned with windows which is not always the case for AM96. I11 is also less noisy.
 
RichJF

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Favourite: SNCF BB 9000 series DC locomotives. Proper retro & still in active service in SW France!

Least Favourite: Those articulated Alstom Regiolis things being introduced on TER services. Hideous to look at & travel on
 
DelW

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I had a brilliant trip up the Californian coast from San Diego to Los Angeles on a Pacific Surfliner. Top deck, business class coach, good views, loads of space (seat pitch must have been 40" or so), free refreshments and all for USD 50.45.

Looking forward to a first trip on a DB ICE in two months time, all my previous train travels in Germany have been on REs or locals.
 
SHD

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RichJF said:
Favourite: SNCF BB 9000 series DC locomotives. Proper retro & still in active service in SW France!

Least Favourite: Those articulated Alstom Regiolis things being introduced on TER services. Hideous to look at & travel on
Click to expand...

BB9300s have been withdrawn a few years ago. Indeed they were proper retro - but, like all their “Jacquemin” cousins, I have always found them to be elegantly designed. And although they were classically designed regarding electrics, their bogie design, inspired by the Swiss Ae 4/4, was extremely successful (two engines, contained within the bogie, and a homocinetic joint transmission). They proved that BoBo locomotives were capable of (for the time) excellent high-speed service - actually, they were the first locomotives to break the 200 km/h mark in revenue service in France in the 1960s.


cactustwirly said:
I also highly rate the BB22000 locos, and Corail stock
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Very good workhorses, and the last of the Nez Cassé design (in France at least).

DanTrain said:
What's wrong with the TGV? A classic high speed train non?
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I think too, especially in terms of technical design (suspension, electrics, on-board signaling) and ride comfort. But of course everyone has its own opinion on the design of the interior ;)
 
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SHD said:
I think too, especially in terms of technical design (suspension, electrics, on-board signaling) and ride comfort. But of course everyone has its own opinion on the design of the interior ;)
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Dodgy interior design is all part of the French experience :lol:
 
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MarcVD

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DanTrain said:
What's wrong with the TGV? A classic high speed train non?
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Too cramped, horrible seats, not aligned with windows. I hate these trains and avoid them at all costs, even if it takes me 3 or 4 more time to travel with a classic train, TER or otherwise.
 
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