It was one of the weirder experiences of my #CrossBorderRail project last year. I had arrived in Belfort in eastern France from Besançon, and needed to get to Delémont in Switzerland. There is a line between the two, but Swiss trains mostly depart from the TGV station that is 10km […]
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Running for the European Parliament election list for the German Grüne
For most of the past two years I have poured all of my political energy into transport policy topics – the Trains for Europe campaign, and the #CrossBorderRail project. And this website that has become a kind of hub for my railway commentary. At one level that has all worked […]
If there’s to be a rival to Eurostar through the Channel Tunnel, it’s not going to be Mobico (or Evolyn) with new trains in 2025
Update 12.10.2023 – this will not now be called Mobico, but a new brand called Evolyn but with the same backers – see Sky News and Railway Gazette. The Evolyn website is very sketchy. Alstom – the supposed manufacturer of the trains – has said nothing yet. So – honestly […]
Deutschlandticket nach / à / to Strasbourg
Zur deutschen Version des Artikels | Aller à la version française de l’article | Go to the English version of the article Es gibt eine französische Großstadt mit 300 000 Einwohnern in der Stadt selbst (und 800 000 im Stadtgebiet), die europäische und internationale Institutionen beherbergt und nur 8,1 Bahnkilometer […]
Border stations in national tariff systems – a simple change with a meaningful impact
At opposite ends of Germany there are two cross border railways where tickets for the trains are wonderfully simple – from Gronau (Nordrhein-Westfalen) to Enschede (Netherlands), and from Freilassing (Bayern) to Salzburg (Austria). At two other borders – Kehl (Baden-Württemberg) to Strasbourg (France), and Forst Lausitz (Brandenburg) to Żary (Poland) […]
Where is the sense of urgency in international rail in the EU? I can’t see it
Party! From 28 July there will be 4 trains a day each way on the Figueres – Perpignan cross border high speed line! A doubling of the services! Renfe’s entry into the French market! Eh, hang on. 4 trains a day each way on a dual track electrified line capable […]