Thomas Cook European Timetable

{{Short description|Timetable of passenger rail services in countries of Europe}} {{Use British English|date=December 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2014}} {{Infobox magazine | title = Thomas Cook European Timetable | image_file = Thomas Cook European Timetable cover Sept 26 1993.jpg | image_size = 180px | image_alt = | image_caption = Cover in 1993; elements of this version were in the cover design from 1988–2004 | editor = | editor_title = | editor2 = Chris Woodcock | editor_title2 = Editor | previous_editor = Brendan H. Fox (1985–2013);<br> J. H. Price (1952–85), et al. | category = Travel reference; passenger rail transport | frequency = Monthly | circulation = 20,000 (as of 1977) | founder = | founded = | firstdate = {{Start date|df=yes|1873|03}} (as ''Cook's Continental Time Tables'') | finaldate = | finalnumber = | company = European Rail Timetable Ltd (2014–)<br>Thomas Cook Publishing (and predecessor Thomas Cook & Son, Ltd.), 1873–2013 | country = United Kingdom | based = Oundle, Northamptonshire | language = English, with 4-page introduction in four other languages | website = [http://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu/ European Rail Timetable] | issn = 1748-0817 | oclc = }} thumb|right|upright|Cover of the December 1888 edition

The '''''European Rail Timetable''''', more commonly known by its former names, the '''''Thomas Cook European Timetable''''', the '''''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable''''' or simply '''''Cook's Timetable''''', is an international timetable of selected passenger rail schedules for every country in Europe, along with a small amount of such content from areas outside Europe. It also includes regularly scheduled passenger shipping services and a few coach services on routes where rail services are not operated. Except during World War II and a six-month period in 2013–14, it has been in continuous publication since 1873. Until 2013 it was published by Thomas Cook Publishing in the United Kingdom, and since 1883 has been issued monthly.<ref name="JRTR">{{cite journal|last=Fox | first=Brendan | title=Thomas Cook Timetables–Covering the World | date=September 2009 | journal=Japan Railway & Transport Review | volume=53 | publisher= East Japan Railway Culture Foundation | pages=18–23 | issn= 1342-7512 | url=http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr53/pdf/18-23_web.pdf | accessdate=21 May 2020 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224055528/http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr53/pdf/18-23_web.pdf | archivedate=24 February 2014 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2013, Thomas Cook discontinued publication of the ''Timetable'', in accordance with a decision to close the company's publishing business altogether, and the final Thomas Cook edition was published in August 2013, ending a 140-year run.<ref name=telegraph2013aug>{{cite news|last=McClarence|first=Stephen|title=The end of the line for Thomas Cook's rail 'bible': After 140 years Thomas Cook has finally called time on its European Rail Timetable |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=29 August 2013|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/journeysbyrail/10273162/The-end-of-the-line-for-Thomas-Cooks-rail-bible.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830003625/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/journeysbyrail/10273162/The-end-of-the-line-for-Thomas-Cooks-rail-bible.html |archivedate=30 August 2013 |accessdate=28 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=saved-telegraph>{{cite news|last=Kim|first=Soo|title=European Rail Timetable 'saved'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10424698/European-Rail-Timetable-saved.html|accessdate=17 November 2013|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=28 April 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913073841/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/European-Rail-Timetable-saved/ |archivedate=13 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> However, within a few months a new company, European Rail Timetable Limited, was formed to take over publication of the ''Timetable''. The first issue compiled by the new company was published in March 2014,<ref name=bbc-7march2014>{{cite news|last=Cassidy|first=Nigel|title=Back on schedule: Europe's InterRail timetable is re-born|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-26475256|accessdate=28 April 2019|publisher=BBC News|date=7 March 2014}}</ref> with the publication title now being ''European Rail Timetable''.<ref name=ERT-2014Mar4>{{cite web|title=News Update - 4th March 2014|url=http://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu/home.html|publisher=European Rail Timetable Ltd.|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313080159/http://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu:80/home.html |archivedate=13 March 2014 |accessdate=28 April 2019}}</ref> In 2016 digital editions were introduced, and the number of printed editions per year was reduced from 12 to 6, but with digital issues thereafter being published monthly. In early 2025, the number of printed editions per year was further reduced, to just two – in January and June each year (named the Winter and Summer editions) – while digital editions continued to be published every month.<ref name="ERT-2025Jan" />

The ''Timetable'' has been recommended by several editors of travel guide books for Europe, one of whom described it as "the most revered and accurate railway reference in existence".<ref name=birnbaum1991>{{cite book | editor=Birnbaum, Stephen | editor-link=Stephen Birnbaum| title=Birnbaum's Europe 1991 | year=1990 | page=60 | publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company | location=Boston | isbn=0-395-55732-1}}</ref>

== History and overview == The idea that Thomas Cook & Son should publish a compendium of railway and steamship timetables for continental Europe was proposed by Cook employee John Bredall and approved by John Mason Cook, son of company founder Thomas Cook. The first issue was published in March 1873,<ref name="JRTR"/> under the title ''Cook's Continental Time Tables & Tourist's Handbook''.<ref name=keydates>{{cite web | title=Thomas Cook History: Key Dates | publisher= Thomas Cook Group | url=http://www.thomascook.com/about-us/thomas-cook-history/key-dates/ | accessdate=28 April 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815055933/http://www.thomascook.com/about-us/thomas-cook-history/key-dates/| archivedate=15 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Bateson | first= E.W. | title=Bibliography of English Literature, Volume III (1800–1900) | year=1969|orig-year=1940 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=London | page=845 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uak8AAAAIAAJ&dq=%22Cook%27s+Continental+Time+Tables%22&pg=PA845 | accessdate=7 February 2012 | isbn=0-521-04501-0}}</ref> The first editor, part-time only, was John Bredall. The title was later altered to ''Cook's Continental Time Tables, Tourist's Handbook and Steamship Tables''. Publication was quarterly until the beginning of 1883, and monthly thereafter. Except for a break during World War II, publication has continued to be monthly ever since 1883.<ref name="JRTR"/> The ''Timetable'' has only had six editors-in-chief in its history. John Bredall was followed in 1914 by C. H. Davies.<ref name="JRTR"/> Later editors were H. V. Francis (1946–52), John H. Price (1952–85, then Managing Editor until 1988),<ref name=price-obit>"John Price" (obituary of). ''Tramways & Urban Transit'' magazine, December 1998, p. 478. Ian Allan Publishing. {{ISSN|1460-8324}}.</ref> Brendan H. Fox (1985–2013), and John Potter (since 2014). So as to remain sufficiently compact that it can be easily carried by a railway traveller, the ''Timetable'' does not show every scheduled train, every line and every station for each country, but shows all major lines and most minor lines.<ref name=lets-go-italy/> It has always been a softcover book.

World War I did not interrupt publication, but emphasis during the war was shifted more to shipping services, the result of disruption of rail service in several countries. During World War II, however, the timetable's publication was suspended, the last prewar issue being that of August 1939. Publication resumed in 1946.<ref name="JRTR"/> June 2011 marked the 1500th edition.<ref name=1500th>{{cite web | title=European Rail Timetable 1500th Edition | date=2 June 2011 | publisher=Thomas Cook Publishing | url=http://www.thomascookpublishing.com/Blog/archive/2011/06/european-rail-timetable-1500th-edition/ | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808044855/http://www.thomascookpublishing.com/Blog/archive/2011/06/european-rail-timetable-1500th-edition/ |archivedate=8 August 2011|accessdate=7 October 2013}}</ref>

Cook's chief competitor, ''Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide'', also ceased publication in 1939, but did not resume after the war (A Bradshaw Guide covering just the United Kingdom survived until 1961). This improved the potential for significant increase in sales of the ''Cook's Timetable'' in the postwar period, and Thomas Cook began to offer it in the form of a monthly subscription, in addition to selling individual copies.<ref name="JRTR"/>

==Title changes== Although minor changes to the publication's title have been made over the years, every version included "Continental", rather than "European", from 1873 to 1987 — except for a brief period (1977–1980) when the coverage was expanded to worldwide and the name became the ''Thomas Cook International Timetable''. The longstanding inclusion of "Continental" in the title reflected the fact that coverage was, for many years, mostly limited to continental Europe. From 1981, most non-European content was moved into a new publication named the ''Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable''. "Rail" was added to the title only relatively recently, in 2005, making it the ''Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable'', but its coverage continued to include some non-rail content, such as passenger shipping and ferry timetables.

From January 1919, the title was altered slightly, to ''Cook's Continental Time-Table''. The apostrophe was dropped in 1956, and "time-table" also became one word. Subsequent name changes were made as follows: *''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'', mid-1974 through 1976 *'' Thomas Cook International Timetable'' ({{ISSN|0141-2701}}), 1977–80 *''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'', ({{ISSN|0144-7467}}), 1981–87 *''Thomas Cook European Timetable'' ({{ISSN|0952-620X}}), 1988–2004 *''Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable'' (ISSN unchanged), 2005–13 *''European Rail Timetable'' ({{ISSN|1748-0817}} until 2021), 2014–

The "International" name was short-lived, as the non-European content that had prompted the adoption of that name was moved into a new publication at the beginning of 1981, the ''Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable'' ({{ISSN|0144-7475}}).<ref name="JRTR"/>

The ''Continental Timetable'' became the ''European Timetable'' in January 1988. Although "Rail" was added to the title in 2005, the ''Timetable'' continues to include principal passenger shipping services and a few coach (intercity bus) services, as before, and its ISSN did not change in 2005.<ref name="JRTR"/>

==Content and format changes== Coverage of the United Kingdom was originally very limited, and in the period 1954–70 it was excluded altogether. ''Bradshaw's Railway Guide'' had been publishing railway timetables for Britain since 1839, and continued to do so until 1961. British Rail was publishing its own timetable book, so even after ''Bradshaw's'' ceased publication, ''Cook's Timetable'' continued to cover only the continent. However, by the end of that decade Thomas Cook Publishing had decided it would be worthwhile to include in its ''Timetable'' a section covering the principal British services, and 64 pages of tables were added for this purpose in 1970.<ref name="JRTR"/>

Following the example of some of the national railway companies on the continent (starting with Italy in 1898), the use of a 24-hour clock for train arrival and departure times was adopted by ''Cook's Timetable'' in December 1919. It was the first timetable book in Britain to adopt this practice.<ref name="JRTR"/>

Although railway timetables have always been its predominant content, the ''Cook's Timetable'' included a substantial amount of other information during the first decades of the 20th century. The August 1939 edition, for example, devoted 48 of its 520 pages to general travel information, and regularly scheduled passenger shipping routes took 130 pages.<ref name="JRTR"/> In later decades, content other than railway timetables has continued to be included, but on a smaller scale. Shipping services consumed only about 30–35 pages in 1963<ref name=feb63>''Cooks Continental Timetable'', February 1963 issue.</ref> and general travel information consumed about 15–20 pages after the post-war resumption of publication.

[[File:Cook's Timetable various covers 1949-2010.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Several ''Continental/European Timetable'' covers, along with one ''Overseas Timetable'' cover. A graphic of a 24-hour clock was part of the cover design from December 1919 through 1975. The final Thomas Cook iteration is at lower right.]] A longstanding regular inclusion was a section giving passport and visa requirements for each European country, as applicable to travellers from different countries, taking about 4–8 pages. Other longtime regular features included a summary of baggage and customs regulations for each country, information on foreign currencies and a table giving the annual rainfall and average monthly high and low temperatures for each of about 150–200 European cities.<ref name=var>Various issues, ''Cook's Continental Timetable'' and ''Thomas Cook European Timetable''.</ref> Some of these features, although included in the ''Timetable'' for more than a century, were scaled-back in the 1990s or 2000s, after such information became available in greater detail on the Internet, or because of the simplification of border control and currencies under the European Union. Added in about 1990 was a brief, five-language glossary of words often used by railway travellers. A one-page list of scenic rail routes is another regular inclusion. Included since at least 1949 is a multi-page section with small maps of several cities that have more than one station,<ref name=seat61-cook>{{cite web | title=The Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable | publisher=The Man in Seat Sixty-One (travel website) | url=https://www.seat61.com/Thomas-Cook-European-Timetable.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114132950/http://seat61.com/Thomas-Cook-European-Timetable.htm | archive-date=14 January 2012 | url-status=unfit | accessdate=19 July 2022}}</ref><ref name=seat61>{{cite web | title=The fall & rise of the famous European Rail Timetable... | publisher=The Man in Seat Sixty-One (travel website) | url=https://www.seat61.com/Thomas-Cook-European-Timetable.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424224023/https://seat61.com/Thomas-Cook-European-Timetable.htm | archive-date=24 April 2022 | url-status=live | accessdate=19 July 2022}}</ref> showing the locations of the principal rail lines and stations — and also showing metro or tram lines connecting stations, where available, to help travellers who need to go between stations to continue their journeys. The number of cities covered by this section has varied over time, between about 30 and 60.<ref name=var/>

Among the changes implemented in the immediate post-war period was that timetables were numbered, by route.<ref name="JRTR"/> Previously, tables had been simply headed by the names of the major cities served by the route. Numbering of timetables is a common practice now. Initially, the maps for each country or region remained unaltered, not showing the timetable numbers. This changed with the issue of 23 May 1954, which introduced a set of 15 new "index maps"&nbsp;– in place of 10 maps previously included&nbsp;– all drawn in a new style, showing only the railway lines covered by the ''Timetable'' and with individual timetable numbers marked for each line on the maps.<ref name=23may54>Price, J. H. (May 1954). "Stop Press [regular section summarising significant changes in each issue, mostly to transport services]: New maps". ''Cook's Continental Timetable'', 23 May – 17 June 1954 issue, p. 8. Thomas Cook & Son, Ltd.</ref>

Sections in which timetables for certain types of long-distance services are grouped are another longtime regular feature, with a section on "car–sleeper trains" and one covering major named international trains.<ref name=seat61/> After the launch of the Trans-Europe Express (TEE) network, a section covering just TEE trains was added, designated Table 10, and this table was changed to a EuroCity table when ECs replaced most of the then-remaining TEE services at the start of the railways' summer timetable period on 31 May 1987.<ref name=may87>''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'', May 1987 issue, pp. 65 and 472.</ref>

The February through May editions include a section, at the back of the issue, giving planned schedules for the forthcoming summer timetable period on main international routes, for the benefit of persons doing advance planning of a summer travel itinerary,<ref name=birnbaum1991/> subject to the railway companies of the various countries providing the information sufficiently far enough ahead of time for this "supplement". Similarly, the October and November editions include a supplement showing the planned winter schedules on major routes, for the railway operators' winter timetable period. This practice of including advance summer and winter supplements in ''Cook's Timetable'' in the 2–3 months before those seasonal changes took effect started in 1958.<ref name="JRTR"/>

Around 1970, listings began to use local place-name spellings instead of anglicised versions for some – but not yet all – cities for which an English spelling existed. For example, the Hague became {{Lang|nl|Den Haag}}, and Munich became {{Lang|de|München}}. This change was made in steps, not all at once. It was applied to all Italian cities, such as {{Lang|it|Firenze}} and {{Lang|it|Napoli}}, with effect from the 26 May 1974 edition.<ref name=29mar74>Price, J. H. (March 1974). "Editorial". ''Cooks Continental Timetable'', 29 March – 30 April 1974 issue, p. 6.</ref> By mid-1975 the transition to local place-name spellings throughout the book had been completed. Distances between stations, shown in each route's timetable, were expressed in miles until the 1970s, but were changed to kilometres in 1976.<ref name=july76>Price, J. H. (July 1976). "Editorial". ''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'', July 1976 issue, p. 6.</ref>

The ''Timetable''{{'s}} page size from 1873–1939 was {{convert|123|x|184|mm|in}},<ref name=apr88>''Thomas Cook European Timetable'', April 1988 issue, p. 31.</ref> but was increased to {{convert|152|x|249|mm|in}} with the post-war resumption, and there have been only small changes to this subsequently. The ''Timetable'' currently measures {{convert|154|x|242|mm|in|sigfig=1}}. The number of pages per issue varies from issue to issue, mainly seasonally, and has varied over time. From the 1930s to the early 1990s the size of one issue usually varied between about 400 and 520 pages, while since the mid-1990s it has varied between about 560 and 600 pages.<ref name=var/>

For more than 136 years the cover of the ''Cooks Continental'' (or ''European'') ''Timetable'' was orange (or red-orange) in colour, but with effect from the October 2009 issue it was changed to blue,<ref name=oct2009>Fox, Brendan (ed.) (October 2009). "Our New Look". ''Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable'', p. 3.</ref> matching the colour used for Thomas Cook's ''Overseas Timetable'', in publication since 1981. When publication was taken over by a new publisher in 2014, what is now the ''European Rail Timetable'' returned to using red-orange for the cover colour.

In some years, a portion of the cover space was sold for an advertisement, including from the 1940s through 1975 and from 1998 through 2004. Since 2005, the cover does not carry advertising and, in the final years of publication by Thomas Cook, instead featured a monochrome photograph – changed with each issue – of a train of one of the railways of Europe.<ref name=var/>

In 2013, the ''European Timetable'' started to include a ''Route of the Month'' article in each monthly edition; it features narrative travel writing describing a particular European rail journey, usually with cross-reference to particular table numbers in the timetable section of the book. The legacy publication, independently published since March 2014 and now titled ''European Rail Timetable,'' continues to carry a ''Route of the Month'' in every issue. From early 2015, the Route of the Month was complemented by a second piece of narrative writing in every issue; this additional feature gives tips of travel planning and ticketing and runs under the title ''Tip of the Month''.

==Non-European coverage== Although coverage was mainly limited to continental Europe, by at least the 1960s a few pages were devoted to major routes in other areas, mostly adjacent to Europe. For example, in the February 1967 issue, 16 of its total of 440 pages were given to railway timetables for "the USSR and Far East", Turkey, and all countries in the Middle East and North Africa that had any scheduled train service.<ref name=feb67>''Cooks Continental Timetable'', February 1967 issue.</ref> Non-European coverage was expanded in the 1970s. Schedules for Amtrak, in the United States, were added in 1972, after Amtrak hired Thomas Cook & Son Ltd. as a sales agent and paid to have its schedules included in the ''Timetable''. By 1974, Canadian National's service had also been added. However, altogether, the US and Canadian section still took up only 10 pages in a 520-page book.<ref name=29mar74/>

A more substantial change was implemented early in 1977, when coverage was expanded to world-wide, and the title was changed from the ''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'' to the ''Thomas Cook International Timetable''. The new information for non-European countries was much more condensed than that for Europe, but the change still added 80 pages to the publication. The monthly print run exceeded 20,000 in summer 1977.<ref name="JRTR"/>

In January 1981, the non-European content was taken back out, to be included instead in a new bi-monthly publication entitled the ''Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable'' ({{ISSN|0144-7475}}), which averaged about 420 pages and included many more coach services, in countries where intercity rail service was very limited or non-existent.<ref name="JRTR"/> With this change, the main timetable book reverted to the name ''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable''. The ''Overseas Timetable'' was published for 30 years, but ceased publication at the end of 2010.<ref name="end of the line">{{cite news | last=Calder | first=Simon | authorlink=Simon Calder | title=End of the line for the Thomas Cook book | date=23 October 2010 | newspaper=The Independent | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/simon-calder-end-of-the-line-for-the-thomas-cook-book-2114010.html | accessdate=28 April 2019 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101024144824/https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/simon-calder-end-of-the-line-for-the-thomas-cook-book-2114010.html | archivedate=24 October 2010 | url-status=live}}</ref>

Starting in the early 1990s, quarterly editions of the ''European Timetable'' have also been published, sub-titled the "Independent Traveller's Editions" and containing 32 additional pages of travel information. The frequency of these was later reduced to twice per year, for the summer and winter periods only. These editions are intended mainly for sale at book shops<ref name="JRTR"/> and each one is given a distinct ISBN, in addition to the ISSN of the series title. They have a full-colour photograph on the cover, as compared to the monochrome photo on the cover of the regular ''European Timetable''.

In August 2011, about eight months after the ''Overseas Timetable'' ceased publication, a new section called "Beyond Europe" was added to the ''European Timetable''. This section appears in every issue but rotates among six different regions of the world outside Europe, with each area being included only twice per year, six months apart.<ref name=mirror-july2011>{{cite news|title=Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable to include 'Beyond Europe' section|date=30 July 2011|newspaper=Daily Mirror|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/thomas-cook-european-rail-timetable-144616|accessdate=28 April 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131117115706/https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/thomas-cook-european-rail-timetable-144616 |archivedate=17 November 2013}}</ref>

==Foreign-language editions== thumb|right|upright|Cover of the Autumn 2007 Japanese edition A Japanese edition of the ''European Timetable'' was introduced in 1985, published twice a year (named the Spring and Summer editions) and printed by a different company, under a licensing agreement with Thomas Cook Publishing. The frequency later increased to quarterly but then reverted to bi-annually. The tables of train times were essentially unmodified, but the general-information sections and the introductory paragraphs at the start of each section were translated into Japanese. From 2000 to 2009, a monthly German-language edition was published, and this was produced directly by Thomas Cook Publishing – under an agreement with {{lang|de|Deutsche Bahn}} (German Railways) and titled {{lang|de|Kursbuch Europa}}. Unlike the Japanese version, this edition differed only slightly from the English version, with a brief German introduction and a different cover design.<ref name="JRTR"/>

==End of Thomas Cook era== On 1 July 2013, Thomas Cook announced that it would cease publishing the ''Timetable'' and all of its other publications, in accordance with a decision to close the company's publishing business altogether.<ref name=indttc>{{cite news | first = Simon | last = Calder | authorlink = Simon Calder | title = Thomas Cook's European Rail timetable reaches end of the line | newspaper = The Independent | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/thomas-cooks-european-rail-timetable-reaches-end-of-the-line-8682078.html | date = 1 July 2013 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902182320/https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/thomas-cooks-european-rail-timetable-reaches-end-of-the-line-8682078.html | archivedate=2 September 2013 |accessdate=28 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The final Thomas Cook edition of the ''Timetable'' was published in August 2013.<ref name=telegraph2013aug/><ref name=saved-telegraph/> However, at the end of October it was announced that publication would resume, independent of Thomas Cook Group, in February 2014 as a result of agreements that had been reached allowing the formation of a new company for that purpose, European Rail Timetable Limited.<ref name=IRJ-2013nov1>{{cite news|last=Briginshaw|first=David|title=European Rail Timetable to be re-launched in February|url=http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/europe/european-rail-timetable-to-be-re-launched-in-february.html?channel=542|newspaper=International Railway Journal|date=1 November 2013|accessdate=28 April 2019}}</ref><ref name=saved-telegraph/> The new company was owned by John Potter, who had been a member of the former editorial staff.<ref name=saved-telegraph/><ref name=bbc-7march2014/> The new version did not include Thomas Cook in its title. The first issue compiled by the new company was published in March 2014, with the publication title now being ''European Rail Timetable''.<ref name=ERT-2014Mar4/><ref name="back in print">{{cite news|last=Coldwell|first=Will|title=The InterRail bible returns: European Rail Timetable is back in print|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/mar/10/interail-bible-returns-european-rail-timetable|accessdate=28 April 2019|newspaper=The Guardian|date=10 March 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324014512/https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/mar/10/interail-bible-returns-european-rail-timetable|archivedate=24 March 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

After publication resumed under the new company, printed timetables were again published monthly initially, with expanded Summer and Winter seasonal issues each year also printed. In May 2016, a digital version of the ''Timetable'' was introduced. At the same time, the company announced that the regular June issue was being discontinued and replaced by the Summer issue, which contains additional pages of travel information.<ref>{{cite web |title=ERT Summer 2016 |url=http://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu/ert-summer-2016-152-p.asp |publisher=European Rail Timetable Limited |accessdate=2019-04-28 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705000248/http://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu:80/ert-summer-2016-152-p.asp |archivedate=5 July 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Later in 2016, the number of monthly printed editions published per year was reduced from 12 to six—in February, April, June (as the "Summer" edition), August, October, and December ("Winter" edition). The first month for which only a digital issue was published, and no print edition, was November 2016.<ref name="ERT-2016Nov">{{cite web|title=What's new this month |date=November 2016 |work=European Rail Timetable |page=3 |url=https://www.europebyrail.eu/downloads/newslines/ert-newslines-nov-2016.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428103945/https://www.europebyrail.eu/downloads/newslines/ert-newslines-nov-2016.pdf |archivedate=28 April 2019 |accessdate=2019-04-28}}</ref>

Thomas Cook itself would eventually go bankrupt, on 23 September 2019.<ref name="collapses">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/sep/22/thomas-cook-in-last-ditch-talks-to-avoid-collapse|title=Thomas Cook collapses, stranding 150,000 UK holidaymakers|last1=Goodley|first1=Simon|last2=Makortoff|first2=Kalyeena|date=23 September 2019|newspaper=The Guardian|last3=Bannock|first3=Caroline|accessdate=19 February 2020}}</ref> The ''Timetable'' was unaffected, having been independent of Thomas Cook since 2014, and continues to be published.

In autumn 2021, in response to a widespread drop in travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn put a strain on ERT's financial situation, the company reduced the number of print editions per year from six to four (one per season), but with digital editions continuing to be published monthly.<ref name="ERT 15 Oct 2021">{{cite web |title=News about four seasonal editions |url=https://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu/news-about-four-seasonal-editions-36-c.asp |publisher=European Rail Timetable Limited |access-date=2022-04-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111053032/https://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu/news-about-four-seasonal-editions-36-c.asp |archive-date=11 November 2021 |url-status=dead}}</ref> With that change, the use of the timetable's longstanding International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), for periodicals, was discontinued and, instead, each print edition is assigned an International Standard Book Number (ISBN). The publisher changed to thinner paper for the print editions in early 2023,<ref name="ERT-2023Feb">{{cite web|title=Newslines |date=February 2023 |work=European Rail Timetable |page=5 |url=https://www.europebyrail.eu/downloads/newslines/ert-newslines-february-2023.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209213436/https://www.europebyrail.eu/downloads/newslines/ert-newslines-february-2023.pdf |archivedate=9 February 2023 |accessdate=2025-06-23}}</ref> but in January 2025 (starting with the Winter 2024/2025 edition) changed to "much heavier" paper.<ref name="ERT-bluesky-2025jan20">{{cite web |title=The Winter 2024/2025 printed edition is now on sale ... You'll note that we've switched to a much heavier paper ... |url=https://bsky.app/profile/europeanrailtt.bsky.social/post/3lg6bsev4s22q |publisher=European Rail Timetable |via=Bluesky |access-date=2025-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250619063850/https://bsky.app/profile/europeanrailtt.bsky.social/post/3lg6bsev4s22q |archive-date=2025-06-19 |date=January 20, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The number of printed editions per year was further reduced in early 2025, to two – in January and June each year (named the Winter and Summer editions) – while digital editions continued to be published every month.<ref name="ERT-2025Jan">{{cite web|title=Newslines |date=January 2025 |work=European Rail Timetable |page=5 |url=https://europebyrail.eu/downloads/newslines/ert-newslines-jan-2025.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20250125061126/https://europebyrail.eu/downloads/newslines/ert-newslines-jan-2025.pdf |archivedate=25 January 2025 |accessdate=2025-06-23}}</ref>

==Usage== Users and buyers of the ''Timetable'' have included independent travellers (both tourist and business travellers), travel agents, book shops, libraries and railway enthusiasts. The ''Timetable'' has been suggested as a useful reference by travel writers in various media, such as ''The New York Times'',<ref name=nyt-grimes>{{cite news | last=Grimes | first=Paul | title=Practical Traveler: The Rewards of Homework | date=1 July 1984 | newspaper=The New York Times | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/01/travel/practical-traveler-the-rewards-of-homework.html | accessdate=12 February 2012}}</ref> and by many noted travel-guide writers. Fodor's has recommended ''Cook's Timetable'' for travellers to Europe who "want to be really knowledgeable about train times in Europe",<ref name=fodors75>{{cite book | author=Tennant, David D. | editor=Eugene Fodor | editor-link=Eugene Fodor (writer) | editor2=Robert C. Fisher | title=Fodor's Europe 1975 | year=1975 | chapter=Planning Your Trip: Rail Travel in Europe | page=101 | series=Fodor's Guides | publisher=David McKay Company | location=New York|isbn=<!--none-->}}</ref> while Let's Go Travel Guides has called it "the ultimate reference" for rail travellers on the continent.<ref name=lets-go-italy>{{cite book | editor=DeLaite, Alexandra | title=Let's Go Italy 1999 | page=39 | year=1999 | publisher=Let's Go Travel Guides/St. Martin's Press | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | isbn=0-312-19488-9}}</ref> In ''Europe Through the Back Door 2005'', Rick Steves wrote that the ''Thomas Cook European Timetable'' is worth considering by any rail travellers who prefer a book format over Internet sources, when planning or taking a trip.<ref name=ricksteves2005>{{cite book | last=Steves | first=Rick | authorlink=Rick Steves | title=Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, 2005 | year=2004 | page=131 | publisher=Avalon Travel Publishing | location=Emeryville, California | isbn=1-56691-618-6}}</ref> Guide-book editor Stephen Birnbaum described the ''Timetable'' in 1991 as "a weighty and detailed compendium of European national and international rail services that constitutes the most revered and accurate railway reference in existence."<ref name=birnbaum1991/> It has also been recommended by the travel website, The Man in Seat Sixty-One.<ref name=seat61-cook/><ref name=seat61/> A writer in a different genre, British novelist Malcolm Pryce, listed the ''Thomas Cook European Timetable'' as one of his favourite travel-related "reads" and suggested that it would appeal to those who are nostalgic for the romance of railway travel.<ref name=pryce>{{cite news | last=Pryce | first=Malcolm | authorlink=Malcolm Pryce | title=Malcolm Pryce's top 10 expatriate tales: From Graham Greene's novels to Thomas Cook's timetables, the novelist settles on the best rootless reads | date=6 May 2009 | newspaper=The Guardian | url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/may/06/best-books-expatriate-top-10 | accessdate=28 April 2019 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131117115557/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/may/06/best-books-expatriate-top-10 | archivedate=17 November 2013}}</ref>

== See also == * Rail transport in Europe * Official Guide of the Railways * List of railroad-related periodicals * Cook's Travellers Handbooks

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== * {{Official website|http://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu/}}

Category:Passenger rail transport Category:Rail transport in Europe Category:Rail transport publications Category:Ferry transport Category:Publications established in 1873 Category:Travel guide books Category:1873 establishments in England