CrossCountry Ends Aberdeen–Penzance Direct Service

Italy’s Intercity Notte sleeper remains Europe’s last passenger train carried across the sea, operating between Milan and Sicily with carriages split at Villa San Giovanni, loaded onto a ferry and reassembled at Messina — a daily ritual prized by commuters, families and tourists for its scenery and cultural resonance. That ferry tradition, offering views of the Strait of Messina and Mount Etna, is threatened by a proposed €13.5bn suspension bridge over the strait targeted for completion around 2033, which supporters call progress while critics warn it could end the ferry ritual and divert funds from other needs. In Britain, CrossCountry has discontinued the historic Aberdeen–Penzance direct service — a 774-mile, roughly 13-hour route that had run since 1921 — citing falling demand and operational inefficiencies, and rail enthusiasts marked its final run. Together, these developments underscore a broader tension in European rail policy between modernization and preserving long-standing, scenic journeys with social and historical significance.