How well-connected is the European rail system? The answer to that question is very, and here are the maps to prove it. Peter Kerpedjiev, a PhD student at the University of Vienna, has used the Swiss public transport database to create a series of detailed maps showing the distance it takes to travel from various major European cities to different points in the continent.
Here’s London, which as you can see shows it is quicker to travel to a huge slice of west Germany than some parts of Scotland:
Paris looks more similar to London than you might think …
And Berlin …
Interactive maps for 25 other European cities are featured on Kerpedjiev’s website. They all assume a 5kph-walking pace – or a swimming rate of 100 minutes per kilometre – to better illustrate the continental coast. The data source is not 100% perfect, with Ireland and parts of Spain not particularly well represented.
The maps are of the isochrone variety. To explain why he chose this style, Kerpedjiev writes in a blogpost:
A map containing contour lines corresponding to the locations which can be reached in a particular amount of time provides a clear and concise comparison between the travel times to various locations as well as a concrete reference to the absolute time required to reach a particular point.
His blogpost also offers more about his methodology.
