Save Time and Savor the Countryside

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As in Europe, many business travelers in the United States are relying on rail service because it is cheaper, less bothersome and often quicker than air travel because of airport logisitics.

By SARAH WILDMAN
New York Times
September 17, 2007

RIDING the rails in Europe was once the province of backpackers wearing tattered jeans and carrying Eurail passes. But today, people on European trains are just as likely to be executives wearing suits and carrying BlackBerrys and laptops.

The train is becoming an attractive option for business travelers, especially when weighed against the time it takes to drive on traffic-choked roads to the airports and then go through security. The convenience of hopping on a train downtown, the speed of high-performance lines, the reduced stress and the knowledge that you have reduced the carbon footprint of your trip (a new must in Europe) all make traveling by rail even more popular.

As high-speed routes continue to open across Europe, and new rail relationships are forged across borders, trains hope to scoop travelers away from low-cost airlines.

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