On Trains & Buses

A freeze on rail fares in Scotland has been announced by First Minister John Swinney, as part of his government’s efforts to address the cost of living crisis. The 12-month freeze will apply to season tickets and ordinary tickets, which follows the abolition of peak fares on ScotRail routes in September 2025. This decision is seen as a way for the government to keep people’s costs down and maintain the attractiveness and affordability of rail travel in Scotland. Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop stated that this move follows the removal of peak fares, which brought fares down by up to 48 per cent.

Over the St Brigid’s Day Bank Holiday weekend from Friday 30^th January to Monday 2^nd February 2026, public transport services across Ireland will operate on modified schedules. Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and Luas services will follow Sunday timetables on the bank holiday Monday, with Nitelink services running on Friday and Saturday nights only. Iarnród Éireann will implement significant engineering works throughout the weekend, affecting multiple routes including services between Connolly and Belfast Grand Central, Cork, Limerick and Tralee lines, DART services between Connolly and Howth or Drogheda, northern commuter routes and Galway and Westport services, with bus transfers replacing trains on affected sections. The weekend coincides with several events in Dublin including rugby matches at Aviva Stadium and Tallaght Stadium, as well as the St Brigid’s Dublin City Celebrating Women Parade and Festival featuring over 80 events across the city.

A range of new and returning rail services is set to expand long distance travel options from through to 2027, spanning luxury sleepers, scenic daylight trains and faster cross border links. Plans include a West Coast overnight service between the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, a nine-day sleeper based trip from Bangkok through northern Thailand, a five-star train in Saudi Arabia running multi day journeys north from Riyadh and seasonal services in Hokkaido timed for drift ice and spring wilderness or summer lavender. North America sees a new Jasper to Banff or Lake Louise route in the Canadian Rockies and a replacement for the Colorado to Utah service, while the United Kingdom’s revived vintage style offering is expected to add another route in 2026. In Europe, new connections aim to make international rail more practical, including a Prague Berlin Copenhagen service, a summer only sleeper linking Poland to Croatia via several countries and a much faster Budapest to Belgrade run, while an operator is also restarting China to Central Asia journeys with new rolling stock and a renewed focus on classic onboard comfort.

Further funding has been approved for 100 new energy efficient DART carriages, fully replacing the original trains that have operated since 1984 and bringing total public investment in new electric DART rolling stock to about 670 million euro. The 173.9 million euro order raises the total on order to 285 carriages, formed into 57 five carriage trains, with earlier batches due to enter service from 2027 and 2028 and this latest order expected from 2029.

The new fleet is intended to add capacity across the Greater Dublin Area under the DART+ Programme in response to record demand, and will include features such as improved accessibility, more bicycle space, device charging and onboard CCTV, with five carriage sets designed with wide gangways and the option to operate ten carriage formations carrying at least 1,100 passengers. The procurement is being delivered by Iarnród Éireann with the National Transport Authority, with the wider DART+ programme aiming to double regional rail capacity.

The UK government announced in its 2025 Budget that regulated National Rail fares in England will be frozen until March 2027, marking the first such freeze in 30 years. The freeze applies to season tickets, peak returns for commuters and off-peak returns between major cities, benefitting over a billion passenger journeys.

Prix Versailles has announced its selection of seven exceptional railway stations that opened recently across the globe, recognising architectural excellence in transport infrastructure. The honoured stations span four continents, with locations in Sydney, Belgium, Guangzhou, two in Paris, and two in Riyadh.

European Sleeper, a Dutch night train operator, will launch a new Paris to Berlin service starting on 26^th March 2026, following the discontinuation of ÖBB and SNCF Nightjet services on this route on 15^th December 2025. The trains will run three times a week in each direction, with departures from Paris on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and return journeys on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

This development follows the company’s earlier launch of a seasonal Brussels to Venice route and its existing year-round service connecting Brussels and Prague. The operator is also considering future expansion to either Switzerland and Milan or Barcelona from Amsterdam and Brussels.

A Swiss mobility start‑up, Twiliner, will introduce a new sleeper bus service in November that offers comfortable, lie‑flat seats on two inaugural routes from Zurich, a twelve-hour one to Amsterdam and a fourteen-hour one to Barcelona. The former of these also calls at Basel, Luxembourg, Brussels and Rotterdam, while the latter only serves Bern and Girona. Toilet facilities, free coffee, water, Wi-Fi and a snack bar are also available.

The railway line between Stoke-on-Trent/Wilmslow and Stockport, part of the West Coast Main Line, will undergo a complete closure from 2^nd to 22^nd August 2025 inclusive. This cause is the replacement of the Greek Street bridge in Stockport, built in 1958, with a new structure having an expected lifespan of 120 years.

Rail replacement buses will connect Macclesfield with Stockport, Wilmslow and Stoke-on-Trent during this time. Journey times from Macclesfield will increase: 70 minutes for Manchester and 50 minutes for Stoke-on-Trent. Users from elsewhere will benefit from the validity of rail tickets on temporary Bee Network buses provided by TfGM.

Eurostar plans to increase its services in the coming months and years. From 9^th September 2025, there will be four daily direct trains between London and Amsterdam, rising to five trains a day by mid-December, with journey times remaining at under four hours. The company’s winter service to the French Alps will continue to run from December to March or April each season. Looking further ahead, direct services to Geneva and Frankfurt are to launch in December 2026, pending infrastructure and fleet readiness.