I'm unsure what your experience is, but mine is in complete contradiction to this. I've taken direct trains from one end of Europe to the other. I don't know what your second map represents, but it's not direct train lines.

I've personally taken direct trains from London to Germany (some of those trains go on past Germany) and London to Italy. How they handle the electrification etc I don't know, but I've never noticed an issue or had to transfer between internationals.

Most of my train rides have been cheaper or similar price to flying once you factor in local train travel too, and exceedingly nicer and easier. You very rarely even notice crossing the borders, which is a fun aspect.

[–] AstroStelar@hexbear.net 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Admittedly, I have little experience to go off of, so I may be comparing it more to typical commuter rail than I should. My only real experience is travelling from my hometown in the Netherlands to Hamburg for a school field trip. I had the typical Deutsche Bahn experience of train delays (usually less than 30 minutes at least) and on the way there one train just wasn't running, so I had to take a detour and technically board the InterCity Express at the wrong station.

I also almost got stranded in the countryside at night because the last train of the day was bit by bit delayed by over an hour and I was panicking that it would be cancelled.