---
title: "Back On Track: Escape to Europe's New Routes Opening This Autumn and the World's Most Luxurious Train Suite"
description: European rail is having its busiest year in a generation, from a restored Budapest to Belgrade line to a new Prague to Copenhagen express. But nothing matche...
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-08-17T09:00:00.000Z
updated: 2026-08-17T10:40:55.408Z
canonical: https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/back-on-track-the-new-routes-opening-this-autumn-and-the-world-s-most-luxurious-train-suite
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/vso-carriage-l-observatoire46.avif
categories: Mindful Travel, Sacred Routes
content_type: News
region: Europe
publication: Rich Travel Magazine
access: members
schema_type: Article
---

European rail is having its busiest year in a generation, and autumn is bringing a fresh run of it to the timetable. A survey of eleven thousand people commissioned by manufacturer Hitachi Rail found a third expect to travel more by train over the next twelve months, and the routes now opening across the continent explain why.

The headline addition is a direct service linking Budapest and Belgrade, restored this year after track and station work that took the better part of a decade and cost around a billion pounds. Six round trips a day are planned between the two capitals, two of them fast EuroCity services connecting onward to Vienna, reopening one of Europe's more scenic detours: the onward route down to Bar, on Montenegro's Adriatic coast.

Further north, a new direct daytime service now links Prague, Berlin and Copenhagen, running on Czech Railways' new ComfortJet trains, which reach speeds of up to 230 kilometres an hour and carry a restaurant car, a children's cinema and space for bicycles. Full service through Dresden, Berlin and Hamburg began in June, cutting the journey between Berlin and Copenhagen to around seven hours.

---

*This article is only available to registered readers. Visit the article URL to read the full piece.*