It was a nice 1,5 days among well functioning train system. But today I’m traveling through Germany. It doesn’t start well. I did reserve some extra DB time for changing trains but my train to Cologne is pretty much late the exact same time. So let’s see if I’ll reach Warsaw today.
Dutch passenger organisation Rover points out that Eurostar is paying around six million euros per year for the border checks for London-bound trains while the state is covering the checks at Schiphol. Worse, Schiphol has automatic e-gates that reportedly work while Amsterdam and Rotterdam Centraal don’t, leading to queues and departure delays.
I couldn’t find a number for London-bound passengers, but it should be around a million, so cost is in the order of five to ten euros per passenger, which isn’t exactly a lot, given Eurostar’s usual prices. But still: What kind of signal is this?
(Cc @erpu)
Press release in Dutch: https://rover.nl/actueel/31-internationaal/2826-rover-oneerlijk-dat-treinreiziger-naar-londen-voor-grenscontrole-betaalt
Design of the OUIGO TGV-M revealed: they’ve done away with the passengers altogether! 🎉
Wake up new.
Weststeiermark, #Steiermark #Austria
#TrainTrackTuesday #tunnel #koralmtunnel
‘It’s the best feeling’: how Copenhagen gave cyclists a green wave.
“Traffic lights are synchronised so a rush-hour cyclist at 20km/h can catch green lights all the way.”
If you want people to choose not to drive, make the non-driving trip better & easier for them. It’s as simple as that, really.
‘It’s the best feeling’: how C...
Quick note from the road: Lake Bled. I can neither confirm nor deny that we mostly went there for a kremšnita.
Elle est injuste et inefficace par rapport à l’objectif d’insécurité, pendant que des véhicules de plusieurs tonnes peuvent y rouler à 10 km/h. Elle catégorise tous les Clermontois et les monte les uns contre les autres.
#NonSensHistorique #LeRetourDuNonSens #VilleAContreSens #LeVéloNeMarchePas #Clermont
2/2
Freight trains of Czechia.
Car manufacturing is of course on the rails too.
And now off to a 26h journey all the way to Nice! 🚂 It could have been 24h, but I prefer having more buffer before the night train.
The trip starts with lunch in a brand-new ComfortJet train. It was wise to start eating straight away, as the 5 restaurant tables got crowded as soon as the next stop of Pardubice. Some people even sat in 3+2 configuration instead of the planned 2+1.
Quick train spotting before heading to the next destination. #CyclingOnRails #KoloVeVlaku
At least you'll find a pedestrian zone in the historic center. And bicycles aren't banned there, you may even find racks to attach your bicycle!
More of #Prague: the infamous highway in front of the train station, typical residential streets full of cars parked on the surface (with the occasional bicycle parking zone in unused corners), vintage tramway car.
Lots of motonormativity, but I guess it could be worse if the self-proclaimed "selfish motorists" party was in power here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorists_for_Themselves
Update: it looks like all the delay appeared at Bad Schandau just before the Czech border. So really a #CrossBorderRail problem: https://bahn.expert/details/EN%2040459/j/20261015-c327b7a5-2bb1-3813-b1c6-fa9f1ddd272c
Locomotive or driver not ready in time for the swap? I wonder if systemic operational issues with night trains are recorded anywhere at the European level. 🤔 cc @jon @backontrack @opentransport
Le nouveau pool de vélos en libre-service se déploie à Nantes ces prochains jours, massivement électriques et répartis sur les communes de la métropole, avec par ex. 19 stations rien qu'à Carquefou. Ca vise fortement les déplacements depuis le résidentiel non dense (lotissements) et les déplacements qui ne sont pas périphérie-centre, par ex. zones d'emplois industriels ou tertiaires. Vu le prix, on a plutôt envie de faire 5 minutes que 30mn, ça vise du multimodal pour le déplacement lointain 1/2
Pétition adressée au nouveau maire de droite et l'ensemble du conseil municipal de #ClermontFerrand pour l’annulation de l’arrêté municipal "Pied-à-terre" du 12 octobre 2026.
Celles et ceux qui fréquentent le centre-ville de #Clermont sont invités à signer cette pétition et à soutenir cette démarche en faveur de #mobilités actives accessibles à tous.
https://framapetitions.org/petition/user/velocite63/non-au-pied-a-terre
Which German regional transport organisations have sane apps:
* No registration
* Just Apple Pay is enough
I don't remember how much boring info I had to enter for the BVG app back in the days, but at least Apple Pay works fine in that.
The DING app (for the region where Ulm is): Bla bla bla and no Apple Pay. No thanks, at least for just a few days.
Why can't there be something like ENTUR, but for Germany? Please? Digitalisation?
Whatever train trip you take, there is *always* a new data headache
Next week I need to take a TER train Culmont-Chalindrey - Mulhouse. This is the Paris Est - Troyes - Mulhouse line, which is compulsory reservation *only on the bit into Paris* according to this: https://www.sncf-connect.com/aide/reservation-bord-des-ter-fluo
But timetables and the Interrail app think its comp res throughout
I am going to try my luck without a reservation
Another sign that a city doesn't take cycling seriously: a sign forbidding electric scooters in a 30 km/h area infested with parked cars. And no space to plant trees of course.
The only slight upsides I've seen: a central zone limiting traffic of heavy vehicles, and the occasional safer cycling lane on a wide sidewalk. Be careful though: it's usually a trap ending at the next intersection. #Prague #Czechia #Motonormativity
And the traditional visit using a rental city bicycle.
What can I say? Based on the route I took, Prague is one of the worst places to cycle in Europe. Cycling infrastructure is close to non-existent except for cheap paint to mark a zone at red lights, which you can't access due to traffic jams. The rare cyclists I've seen used the tram tracks to go around.
That's a shame because the Czech railways are one of the best in Europe, also in terms of allowing bicycles on board. 🤷♂️ #urbanism #Prague
A bit of train spotting. The direct train to Copenhagen using the new ComfortJet model. And the RegioJet budget operator, which claims to go all the way to Paris and even London, but that's by bus!
