Lessons from trains in Europe and Asia

Karen Christensen shares stories about her train travel in Europe and Asia to explain how the Train Campaign and Train Time came to be—and survive, even into these tough times for public transportation. Train compartments in France, the cleanliness of Japanese high-speed trains, and the ease of train travel in the UK all get a mention. Most recently, Karen took Chinese high-speed trains between Yangzhou and Hangzhou and Shanghai. This podcast follows from one in which Karen asks Matt Silber about his travels around New England during the summer of 2025. In turn, this was his chance to ask her about what she experienced when traveling by train outside the US—most recently in China in June 2025.Train Time is a media project focused on passenger rail’s potential for making the world a better place. Please support us with a paid subscription or sponsorship. Get full access to Train Time at traintime.substack.com/subscribe