Oct 16, 2026, 9:28 AMToday's newsletter is prepared, ready to go at 14:00 CEST
Signup at https://jonworth.eu
This week:
Analysis: Wunderline turns to farce, and accountability collapses
Bullshit Meter: Croatia - Greece trains on an EU funded coast line
Good week: Battery trains for Niedersachsen, new tracks for Brandenburg
Oct 16, 2026, 9:28 AMAlso a good week: Portugal starts building a broad gauge high speed line
Unexpectedly good week: New high speed line opens in European Türkiye
Bad week: More than a Renfe AVE 100 power car in danger of going up in flames
Oct 16, 2026, 9:29 AMMitigations against a bad week: RegioJet has backup plans in case its new Pesa EMUs are not ready in December
Photo of the week: Frecciarossa at Gallese Teverina
Calendar: TGV-M launch 6 November
Oct 16, 2026, 9:41 AMAnd *of course* 🇵🇹 building a broad gauge high speed line got all the whingeing going
Here’s why re-gauging lines probably makes no sense:
https://jonworth.eu/why-you-probably-should-not-re-gauge-railways-in-europe/
And *were* Portugal to build a 1435mm HSL, then they’re going to need gauge changing trains, and look at Talgo’s mess currently
Oct 16, 2026, 9:44 AMIt’s not that complicated
1) You cannot re-gauge all of 🇪🇸 and 🇵🇹 railways to 1435mm in a cost effective & timely manner, and you should not try
2) So if 🇵🇹 is to build a HSL, you *either* have multiple breaks of gauge nationally, and have to buy Talgo trains, *or* you leave the break of gauge somewhere in 🇪🇸 where fewer of your passengers go (and Renfe doesn’t give a shit about 🇵🇹 anyway)
So 1668mm HSL makes sense
@jon Thanks for the explanation (and answering my earlier question on the other network).
What about building the new line dual gauge, keeping options open for the future ?
Oct 16, 2026, 10:12 AM@jon Isn't it generally a better idea to build a high-speed network disconnected from the normal slow-speed network? Like in Japan, China and - yes - Spain? So different gauge shouldn't be a problem.
Oct 16, 2026, 10:13 AM@deBaer If you have unlimited money, yes. If you don’t, then no. Japan is the only country that ever did it. Even Spain did not do it, because it put gauge changers everywhere.
@jon what was the reasoning behind Spain building HSL on a smaller gauge if most of what they had was 1668? I had vaguely thought broader was better if you wanted high speeds
Oct 16, 2026, 10:26 AM@http_error_418 They built to the European standard, supposedly with the idea of eventually converting a lot of their network. But instead they just brought the gauge change headache into the country instead of having it at the border to France!
@jon so a case of "it would have been fine (if expensive) if they'd finished but it's only half done and it's worse than if they'd left it alone"?
Ye gods it's just like my workplace
Oct 16, 2026, 10:56 AM@http_error_418 Yes, pretty much 😄
Oct 16, 2026, 1:32 PM@jon Troll: but they did re-gauge both countries in the 50s
Orc: But Spain has been laying re-gaugeable track since the late 80’s
(Edited as it seems glitchsoc removed my xml-like tags)
Oct 17, 2026, 12:17 PM@jon broad gauge means interoperability or non interoperability with Spain?
Oct 17, 2026, 12:31 PM@jmovs it doesn’t. That’s the POINT. The two Spanish HSLs closest to Portugal are both broad gauge!
You’re going to have a break of gauge somewhere
Oct 16, 2026, 9:30 AM@jon I wish it weren't bullshit. This area needs it so badly. Even the passenger ferry options aren't as abundant as they should be for countries on the Adriatic.
Oct 16, 2026, 9:34 AM@ml It’s not as simple as yes/no. The way to do this is focus on the corridor Thessaloniki - Skopje - Beograd - Zagreb, and then from that run lines to the coast. For Albania do this through Montenegro.
Instead we get this grandiose shit from politicians that will never happen.
Oct 16, 2026, 10:20 AM@jon I came here to make a sneaky remark about the UK-Ireland train connection on this map. Then I entered "Frankfurt - Dublin" in bahn.de, was surprised it works, and now I want to go on that trip.
Oct 16, 2026, 10:34 AM
@jon > In my newsletter next week 23rd October I want to cover all the [14th December timetable] changes
bit early to start looking now right? better idea to look around Dec 15th
in my neck of the woods:
1) AVE has no information on whether the direct Marseille - Madrid service will still run after December 5th
2) Neither Region Sud nor Liguria have PDF timetables out yet
3) Trenitalia has no information on the Ventimiglia - Cuneo line
4) Nice - Ventimiglia miss Rome by 10m rather than 11m
@bovine3dom@masto.ai @jon@gruene.social I think 23rd might be a bit early but the railway has to be really shit to not have the new timetables ready by November 15th (a month out), waiting until December would be a bit much imo
> the railway has to be really shit to not have the new timetables ready by November 15th
and in contravention of EU law i believe. but when has that ever stopped anyone :)