Concertgebouw orchestra plans tour by train
NewsAlways in the mrket for green credentials, the Dutch have booked a Swiss tour by train. Good for them:
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra will be touring Switzerland from 13 to 16 November, performing in Lugano, Berne, Zürich and Geneva under the baton of Daniel Harding. Thanks to the Swiss Federal Railways, the orchestra will be travelling by train.
Wow, how considerate… what about the intinerary of the rest of their tour:
31.10.,1.+2.11. Spain
[insert flight number]
4.+5.11. London
[insert flight number]
9.+10.11. Abu Dhabi (!!!)
[insert flight number]
They’re swimming to Abu Dhabi.
Possibly sea kayaking; I hear that violas make good paddles. (Just kidding! I adore violas.)
I know that every year they are coming to Paris by train and they are coming frequently to Geneva. But it would be a bad idea to abandon the tours in Asia and in North America. If they do several dates in the same continent and then if they used trains it’s Ok I think.
The trouble is, comfortable high-speed trains able to criss-cross a continent (or continental-sized countries as the US, China or Russia) are only available in Europe, Japan and China, if I’m not mistaken.
In the US, Amtrak is certainly not an option for long-distance travel.
Amtrak is not high speed outside of the East Coast and has a pathological aversion to run trains on time
Indeed, we have missed their appearances here @ Carnegie Hall the last few years.
Wow! Yes, because I reckon there are no planes available for the the 120 km stretch between Bern and Zürich?
The only alternative is by bus. The railway definitely has a smaller CO2 footprint.
Much ado about nothing.
Train in Switzerland is an obvious choice. Even without any environmental considerations.
At least the trains run and on time almost all of the time in Switzerland. Compare to almost all of my own connections missed by cancellations or late running in the UK. Germany not unaffected by problems either.
Obviously, considering the havoc at Schiphol, this seems like the only viable option these days
Cool! Shades of the old Metropolitan Opera going on cross-country tour by… train.