Jon Worth

Analysis

The Avelia Horizon trains Eurostar has ordered from Alstom are not compliant with Channel Tunnel evacuation rules - what can be done about it?

*** This post is an adapted version of one part of my #CrossChannelRail Project Final Report *** Let's get one thing out of the way first: the problems here are nothing to do with the Avelia Horizon trains being double deck. The loading gauge in the Channel Tunnel and HS1

Analysis

#CrossChannelRail final report released, and the next steps

After three weeks of research on the ground in spring 2025, dozens of follow conversations, and plenty of desk research, today I finally published the conclusions report from my #CrossChannelRail project - you can download the PDF of the report here. The stations map is also available in a zoomable

Analysis

Renfe, why should we trust a word you say about ticketing?

A post popped up in my Bluesky feed from Renfe: https://bsky.app/profile/renfeoperadora.bsky.social/post/3m4xurom2is2k CER praised it, of course. And - after a bit of searching - I finally found the right link to the press release (as the one on Bluesky did not work)

Analysis

"News" that Régiolis cross border trains cannot operate in Germany is actually nothing new

The latest setback in the entry into service of the new Régiolis fleet for France-Germany cross border services: now there is a problem with the emergency brakes, Le Republicain Lorrain reported yesterday. While the trains are OK to operate in France, but they do not respect the standards on the

Analysis

We have no intellectual space for big but implementable ideas about railways

There's this railway joke* where a passenger is at Calais Fréthun station, staring at the "Londres, Ebbsfleet - Voie 3" sign. The passenger stops a gnarled SNCF employee and asks "How do I get to London?" (in French, obviously), and the response is "

Analysis

When a plan's not a plan, and a revolution isn't a revolution - European High Speed Rail

Today the European Commission released its "plan to accelerate high-speed rail across Europe" (press release here). Only it's not a plan. And Community of European Railways (CER), the state owned railways' trade body, stated this will "revolutionise the way travel distances are perceived in

Analysis

Not being allocated depot space at Temple Mills: blessing in disguise?

As the discussion about future rivals to Eurostar has heated up, so more and more of the focus has been on access to the Temple Mills depot in East London. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) last week decided that yes, there was capacity for a company other than

Analysis

News stories, and social media posts for context: from Elvas to Nagykereki

On 12th July I was at Nagykereki on the Hungarian great plain, trying to find remnants of the former cross border railway line to Episcopia Bihor in Romania. You can see where the line used to run on OpenRailwayMap here, and on my borders map here. In terms of international

Belgium

All about 2 metres? The importance of the difference between a 200m and a 202m train is scarcely plausible

When discussing the future of long distance services through the Channel Tunnel, we generally talk of 400 metre long trains composed of one unit, and 2x 200m trains composed of two units coupled together. But when you drill down to the detail, these numbers are approximations. Eurostar's original

Analysis

ORR grants Virgin Trains access to Temple Mills: the low risk option

The UK's Office of Rail and Road has today decided that Virgin Trains should have access to the Temple Mills depot in east London to maintain its future Channel Tunnel fleet, and has rejected applications from Trenitalia, Gemini and Evolyn to use the facility. It has also, importantly,

Belgium

Working out what Eurostar is going to do - based on the numbers, not what the company says

If you take what Eurostar has said in its press release, Alstom has said in its press release, and what has appeared in the FT and The Guardian among others yesterday, you end up with the impression that these Avelia Horizon double deck trains Eurostar is to order from Alstom

Analysis

Eurostar ordering just 30 Alstom trains: pragmatism, and a lack of ambition

Put all the rhetoric to one side. In announcing today they are ordering 30 Alstom Avelia Horizon (TGV-M) double decker trains (see the FT here), with only options for 20 more, Eurostar is being less ambitious than has been rumoured for more than a year, where the talk was of

Analysis

What train other than Alstom Avelia Horizon could Eurostar even consider?

Back in June I wondered why - despite it being heavily rumoured for more than a year - Eurostar still had not signed a deal with Alstom for the purchase of 50 Avelia Horizon double deck high speed trains. These trains are to be called TGV-M in France, while Avelia

Belgium

Constraints on future Channel Tunnel operators

Sometime this autumn the UK's Office of Rail and Road (ORR) will adjudicate on capacity allocation at Temple Mills depot in east London. Responses to ORR from Eurostar and the four other companies that seek to also enter the market for long distance trains through the Channel Tunnel

Analysis

Why you probably should not re-gauge railways in Europe

Once in a while the debate pops up that some country should re-gauge its railways - Finland being the most recent example. In this blog post I am going to delve into this issue, and explain why - in most cases - it does not make sense. But first let&

Analysis

SNCF's half hearted effort to support international night trains in danger of hitting the buffers

In December 2023 the Paris-Berlin night train re-started after a 9 year hiatus. Operated as a Nighjet service by ÖBB, SNCF provided motive power for the train from Mannheim to Paris. They even put SNCF stickers on some of the carriages, and ÖBB lauded the launch of the service as

Bullshit Meter

A Stockholm-Turku link with tunnels and bridges

No, there is not going to be a Turku 🇫🇮 - Stockholm 🇸🇪 fixed link (tunnels, bridges) Too far, too expensive, not enough people living either side Maybe instead Sweden could complete its high speed railway south of Stockholm that does make sense but they can't find money for?

Austria

Two public bike tours, and a speech on board the Kulturzug Berlin-Wrocław - let's talk #CrossBorderRail this autumn!

Starting 15th September I am back on the rails (and cycle paths!) of Europe on my #CrossBorderRail conclusions tour. You can find the whole route of the tour here (dates indicated in the data panel of the map), and the signup form for all the events here. But there are

Analysis

Building a machine-translated railway news aggregator

One of the side effects of the fracturing of the social media landscape has been it has become harder to follow breaking news that has niche importance. If it's the big questions of war and peace, sure, we all still see it. But what is happening in European

Analysis

Connecting the everyday user experience with the big picture politics of French railways

There is currently an argument in France about the future of the national railway operator SNCF that goes roughly like this: better keep the whole thing together, because then some smaller places that are not profitably served can still have their trains. If we let private companies cherry pick the

Analysis

Green Signals podcast about rivals to Eurostar, and some further thoughts about the challengers

I was a guest this week on the Green Signals podcast about rivals to Eurostar and their chances of success. You can watch it here: You can likewise get it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. Also - amazingly! - the comments on Youtube are mostly constructive. That is

European Union

Does a railway operator need to know about all the legs of my journey so as to offer me passenger rights?

One of the most interesting discussions provoked by my previous post about the European Commission's passenger rights consultation was whether a railway operator really needs to know about my whole journey to be able to offer me passenger rights. Oliver Blanthorn and Cycling on Rails - two of

European Union

Mapy.com - the map app for everything?

This summer's #CrossBorderRail Finale tour was the first I did without using Komoot as my bike mapping tool. Read the post I wrote before the tour for the background as to why I wanted to switch. Now after having been using Mapy.com as my alternative for more

Analysis

Replying to the European Commission's call for evidence on revision of Rail Passenger Rights

On 20th August the European Commission heavily promoted (Bluesky, LinkedIn, Mastodon) its public consultation on the revision of the Rail Passenger Rights Regulation. As a few people asked me what I thought of this process, here's my response - part analysis of the problem, and part list of

Belgium

Deciphering the "Virgin Trains to order 12 Alstom trains for Channel Tunnel" stories

OK, we have three pieces of "news" to go on - a story from The Times, a Richard Branson column in The Times, and this from Rail Magazine - that Virgin Trains is to order 12 high speed trains from Alstom. The central point: Virgin Trains is one