SNCF Archives - Jon Worth

Fixing France’s railways – what would I do?

This morning I gave a presentation about solving the problems of Europe’s railways at an event organised by BEUC and hosted by UFC Que Choisir in Paris. Plenty of the debate centred on the problems of rail in France (and Spain) I documented during my #CrossBorderRail project. “Have you ever[Read More…]

27.01.2023 16 comments

Why Interrail is structurally incapable of fixing the seat reservation problems with its passes

During my #CrossBorderRail project in the summer of 2022 I needed to take regional trains Badajoz-Merida and Merida-Madrid in Spain, and these trains require compulsory seat reservations. Buying a combined ticket and reservation online for these trains is no problem, but Interrail pass holders need just a seat reservation. At[Read More…]

02.12.2022 4 comments

Skyscanner for rail? Before we can even build such a thing we need a European rail timetable

In as far as there is a debate about the problems of cross border railways in Europe, one question crops up over and over: “why is there no Skyscanner for rail?” If one website can aggregate all the flights in Europe and allow a customer to compare prices and book[Read More…]

14.01.2022 4 comments

Analysis

A trip to Wendisch Rietz – an example of car-free mobility

One of my lockdown pastimes has been to explore Brandenburg, the Land that surrounds Berlin. One such trip took me to the village of Wendisch Rietz (population: 1620), south east of Berlin, and at the southern end of the lake Scharmützelsee – to walk along the edge of the lake was[Read More…]

14.07.2021 1 comment

France’s PM Castex takes the re-introduced night train Paris-Nice, but it’s hardly comfortable!

After a three year absence, the Paris-Nice Night Train is back. The first service ran last night with an important passenger on board – French Prime Minister Jean Castex. He even made the welcome on board announcement to passengers: Longue vie au Paris-Nice ! pic.twitter.com/POHhMZ51wB — Jean Castex (@JeanCASTEX) May[Read More…]

21.05.2021 2 comments

RailPro diagnoses the challenges for new operators trying to enter the long distance rail market

Dutch Publication RailPro has written an interesting piece entitled What are the biggest barriers for new entrants on the international train market? There is also a version of the same post in Dutch here. The piece does not distinguish between daytime and night-time trains, but focuses on the challenges common[Read More…]

20.05.2021 0 comments

Analysis

If there’s demand for a night train on a route, and a night train could be profitable, how can it be that no-one runs it?

One of the questions I am often asked when discussing rail travel in the European Union is why there is no night train on a given route. “People would take it!” I am told, and I do not doubt that. It is not the demand side that is necessarily the[Read More…]

04.05.2021 7 comments

The EU should place a blanket ban on trains being scrapped

This week we learned that part of Europe’s night train renaissance is going to be built on… some couchette carriages that date from 1965. Yes you read that right – some 56 year old carriages are going to be deployed by ÖBB for its new Wien-Paris night train. This further[Read More…]

30.04.2021 8 comments

Analysis

How could the EU solve the night train conundrum? Procure a massive fleet of night train carriages and lease them to operators

From the doldrums of a few years ago – when Deutsche Bahn left the business of running night trains completely – this mode of transport is back. Or at least in terms of public attention it’s back. Snälltåget has bold plans for Sweden to Germany services in 2021, and the[Read More…]

16.09.2020 10 comments

Analysis

Don’t be distracted by ÖBB’s shiny night train to Brussels – the problems of EU-wide rail run far deeper

Hey journalists! I’m glad to see you’re writing about trains! ÖBB running its first NightJet to Brussels seems to have got you into a particular frenzy. It’s amazing what a bit of red carpet at Gare du Midi, and Martin Selmayr on board, can do to generate a bit of[Read More…]

20.01.2020 0 comments

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Jon Worth

Tag: SNCF

Fixing France’s railways – what would I do?

Why Interrail is structurally incapable of fixing the seat reservation problems with its passes

Skyscanner for rail? Before we can even build such a thing we need a European rail timetable

A trip to Wendisch Rietz – an example of car-free mobility

France’s PM Castex takes the re-introduced night train Paris-Nice, but it’s hardly comfortable!

RailPro diagnoses the challenges for new operators trying to enter the long distance rail market

If there’s demand for a night train on a route, and a night train could be profitable, how can it be that no-one runs it?

The EU should place a blanket ban on trains being scrapped

How could the EU solve the night train conundrum? Procure a massive fleet of night train carriages and lease them to operators

Don’t be distracted by ÖBB’s shiny night train to Brussels – the problems of EU-wide rail run far deeper

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Recent Analysis

Explaining complexity in my usual way – with a diagram! This time: Deutschlandticket

DeutschlandTicket as a tourist? Buy it from mo.pla

New trains for France-Germany regional services to be delayed 2 years – now 2026 not 2024

Recent Guides

A diagram to explain EU cross border rail passengers rights – and to push for political change

Germany’s 49 Euro Ticket Deutschlandticket – a FAQ

How to use Deutsche Bahn’s De Connect tickets for train trips between Germany and London

Recent Quick takes

Toute l’Europe – a future night train map that’s very, very bad

TimeOut makes a right hash of the new Milano-München trains story

Viral rubbish about railways, this time about trains in Italy

Recent In the media

Quoted in the FT “‘We are full’: the rebirth of Europe’s sleeper trains”

Meeting Michael Peterson with Die Zeit, and quoted by CNN about shift from planes to trains

Quoted in Berliner Zeitung about the Brenner pilot project

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Tag: SNCF

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Recent Analysis

Recent Guides

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