Germany and Japan are my favorite places for shooting (and riding) passenger trains.
My first time in Germany was in 2012. I took the high-speed ICE train from Frankfurt Airport north to Cologne, where this beautiful train station (Hauptbanhof) sits just across the famous bridge. All of Europe is rail-ified but Germany is probably the most intense. You can go anywhere so easily and cheaply and quickly! And the infrastructure, like this station, is so cool and beautiful.
My first attempt at selective color after I got re-energized with Photography and Printing. I think there’s some dodging and burning in there too! 😉
Love in the train station…so very European!
My fast train in 2015 from Florence, Italy up to Milan before changing for Munich, GermanyYou’ll always see lots of variety in trains and coaches as all the different countries have their own types and also inter-connect with each other.
Random industry switcher as I sped by towards Milan
The S3 line runs from Mammendorf into Munich and out the other side to Holzkirchen as sort of a regional train. Here it is passing through Pasing station.
Triple ICE trains parked upAlmost every passenger train, and most freights, are electric-powered, which makes them very fast, efficient and reliable.A typical freight train. Far fewer freight trains run in Europe due to the massive trucking industry and shorter hauls. There are also no double-stack container trains as their tunnels and catenary structure isn’t designed for them (I’m guessing)
Long-distance ICE trains move in and out of Munich Hauptbanhof all day, every day
The opportunities to shoot trains in Germany are stupendous! Every station is open-air to some degree and the trains roll by non-stop all day long and into the night. Passenger trains in the US and Canada don’t really excite me because they are so few and far between. In Germany though, they are the big show.
