Thomas Cook might be turning in his grave at the news that the company bearing his name no longer escorts travellers from England to Switzerland (see previous article). But other news from the same company this month will surely be enough to raise the ghost of Cook.

In 1873, Thomas Cook launched his Continental Timetable and Tourist’s Handbook, the title which evolved over the years into the remarkable European Rail Timetable. In March this year, the company celebrated 140 years of timetable publishing with great fanfare and we at hidden europe felt privileged to be a part of that heritage — through our responsibility for the Thomas Cook title Europe by Rail and, latterly, our role in providing a ‘Route of the Month’ feature for each issue of the European Rail Timetable.