Jon Worth - Jon Worth (Page 17)

Jon Worth

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Jon Worth

European, originally a Brit, became German, moved to France. Runs #CrossBorderRail project, writes a newsletter about railways. Green, lives happily without a car Normally stuck on a train, stuck in a village, or escaping either on a folding bicycle

A little Brussels-London security paranoia case study - this coming Friday

I have not taken Eurostar recently, but judging by comments posted on my previous blog posts about the service, it seems that the security paranoia that afflicts the route has not diminished. Anyway, for the first time in months, I am going to be on Eurostar on Friday this week,

A border control dressed up as a customs control, inside Schengen. Buchs, Switzerland, 1020, 14 March 2013

A border control dressed up as a customs control, inside Schengen. Buchs, Switzerland, 1020, 14 March 2013

Switzerland is in the Schengen Area. But it is not part of the EU Customs Union. Therein is the newest excuse I’ve heard for a border control within the Schengen area. I was a passenger on Railjet 362, departing Feldkirch* (Austria) at 0948 this morning, and scheduled in Buchs

Non-Schengen compliant border control at Puttgarden, 21st January 2013, 1244

Today I'm at least as angry at myself as a blogger (who was not adequately prepared) as I am about yet another breach of EU law and Schengen. My ICE train had just left the ferry, heading into Germany at Puttgarden at 1244, and was stationary at the

Non-Schengen (or non-Danish law?) compliant border control at Padborg, 16th January 2013, 0651

Non-Schengen (or non-Danish law?) compliant border control at Padborg, 16th January 2013, 0651

Back in spring 2011, when Denmark still had a centre right government supported in parliament by the populist Dansk Folkeparti, the country drew sharp criticism from the European Commission with a plan to reintroduce border controls. The centre right lost the election later in 2011, and the borders plan did

Odd and cool videos about Denmark

A few things roughly related to Denmark that I've come across recently... Via @sorenhave - a fun way to advertise a bus company Reminded by @iaindale - a bus flash mob (I've even been on a bus in København with this guy driving) A very elegant

How to organise a rail replacement bus service (Schienenersatzverkehr)

ICE36 train, departing 0944 from København H to Hamburg Hbf will not be able to run any further than Rødby on the Danish side of the Fehmarn Belt, and all passengers will have to board the ferry on foot instead of in the train, and take a replacement bus on

More from that little Nordic rail trip... Liberalisation doesn't work

The theory of liberalisation of European railways is all very well. At one level the cross border service between København and Malmo, the Øresundstog, is a good example of it – a rail service running every 10 minutes across the bridge between Denmark and Sweden, and run by neither Swedish incumbent

Goodbye Benelux train, the service that gave me my best-ever rail story (to date)

Tomorrow is the last day of operation of the Benelux Train, an hourly Intercity service that has been connecting Brussels, Antwerp, Rosendaal, Rotterdam, Den Haag and Amsterdam since the 1950s. Philip Richards documents his three eras using it here, here and here, and Alex van Herwijnen will be on the

How to complain to an airline: do it en masse

Maybe it's the winter season, or perhaps it's just bad luck, but two friends of mine are currently wrestling with airline customer services to get compensation - one for luggage lost for a fortnight, and another for a long delay. There is one clear lesson from

The demise of CityNightLine

A goods train derailed in southern Jutland on Friday last week and, as can be seen from the picture from the local newspaper, it was on a single track line section between Padborg and Kolding, meaning the whole connection between Hamburg and Jutland is blocked. The wagons were dragged between

OK, so Schengen is a myth. Systematic checks on the train leaving France are OK according to the Commission.

Back on 9th October I documented a non-Schengen compliant border control that took place on a train between St Jean de Maurienne and Modane - see the full details here. I put all that information into a full and official complaint to the European Commission, and today (about 2 weeks

A little Nordic rail trip

I will be making what should be a reasonably simple rail trip in early December - the 600km journey between Copenhagen (station: København H) and Oslo (station: Oslo S). So how do I do it? Well, it turns out that it is all nowhere as simple as it should be.

Non-Schengen compliant border control between St Jean de Maurienne and Modane, 9th October 2012, 1240

Four French police boarded the front carriage of the 0749 Paris Gare de Lyon – Milano Garibaldi TGV at St Jean de Maurienne on 9th October. The train was running with a delay of around 55 minutes, hence departing from St Jean at around 1230. At 1240 the four police entered

Schengen: what can they ask, and what am I obliged to tell?

Bleary eyed and grumpy last week due to a delayed night train, I was nevertheless rather surprised when a Danish policeman demanded to see my passport abord the night train to København H at Padborg (border station from Germany). When I asked him why and how he was demanding this

In praise of @DB_bahn (not the railway, but the Twitter account)

This is for you Torsten, Simon, Norman, Marc, Kai, Danny, Janice, Matthias, Maik, Filiz, Jana, Christian, Christian and Nicole: a huge thanks from a regular DB traveller for helping to make my journeys a little more manageable and pleasant. For those of you reading this that are not regulars on

Cheap rail tickets through Germany

So you want a one-off rail ticket through Germany, and you want it as cheap as possible. You're doing a journey like Belgium (- Germany -) Austria, or Denmark (- Germany -) Czech Republic, but you're not going to stop* in Germany. Here's how

5 stops, 13 trains - a little European rail diary

Tomorrow I set off for a journey lasting just over two weeks, mostly for work but with a little holiday in between. The whole trip is by train. Here's the schedule, and how I booked at at the lowest price possible: 1. Thu 19 Apr - London-Paris Eurostar

My top, erm, coolest airports...

I was posed a challenge on Twitter by @airport_one if I could pen a similar post to the one about rail stations about airports instead. This is a bit of a challenge as I don't travel as often by air as I do by rail, and one

The World's 11 Coolest Train Stations - JW version

Huffington Post has a piece listing The World's 11 Coolest Train Stations. Problem is I'm rather unconvinced by their choice, as is @christianwolmar. So here's my own choice of 11 stations - and I have been to all of these. Perhaps these are not

In its quest for market share, Deutsche Bahn has forgotten about technology and service on their Frankfurt-Brussels route

The Intercity-Express (ICE) connecting Brussels with Frankfurt/Main via Köln is probably the least reliable train I've ever experienced. The catalogue of problems I have had with this service stretches back years, right from when the service was first introduced. I do at least 4 return journeys a

Ljubljana

A dusting of snow covered the peaks at Jesenice after crossing the border from Austria into Slovenia yesterday lunchtime. A 1970s Yugoslav coach on the Eurocity from München, replete with pee-onto-the-tracks toilets, creaked and groaned over the old lines through Lesce Bled and Kranj and a warm afternoon sun softened

Dubai

At one level Dubai is a shining example of the determination and ingenuity of the human race. Here a city of more than 2 million inhabitants built in double quick time in the most unlikely of locations, lacking water to sustain its population and enduring suffocating heat and even humidity.

The case for night trains from Brussels

As part of my relentless pursuit to be green with my travels, I'm always taking the train. But for a trip I'm planning 3-6 December to Berlin, my patience is really running low. To get to Berlin from London I have 2 options - Eurostar to

Petra ticket prices

Petra ticket prices

The ancient city of Petra is the highlight of any visit to Jordan. The great Nabatean city, with most buildings constructed between the 5th Century BC and 2nd Century AD, is a must-see. However the problem is the ticket price. A standard day ticket costs JD50 (€49.04, $70.26,

How to consistently get London-Brussels or Brussels-London Eurostar tickets for €49 single

NOTE: this system has been replaced in 2022 with a new "De Connect" ticket. You can find out how that works in this new post! I'm a regular traveller on Eurostar, and I often travel onwards from Brussels to Germany by train, so much in fact