European Union

#CrossBorderRail: what am I trying to find? And what’s the goal?

15 June 2022, and it is Day 2 of my very first #CrossBorderRail tour, and it is a gorgeous sunny morning in Nijmegen in Netherlands. I unfold the Birdy bike and cycle off towards the 6th border of the project at that stage, the dismantled line between Nijmegen and Kleve […]

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Podcasts and webinars galore about the future of the Channel Tunnel (thanks to #CrossChannelRail)

As I am still finalising the report from my #CrossChannelRail project in March and April, it has not stopped me getting the message out about the future of long distance through services through the Channel Tunnel, and examining the sort of lingering feeling of the tunnel somehow being an amazing […]

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#CrossBorderRail the finale 2025: route now set, journey starts 6th June

Three short years ago when planning the first tour that was known as #CrossBorderRail, little did I know this would be the start of a project that would become a good part of my professional life in the years in between. That list of 95 rail borders investigated in 2022 […]

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The accessibility problems with Alstom’s new TGV-M train – with implications for future Channel Tunnel operators

There is no way to sweeten this: my original conclusion that Alstom’s Avelia Horizon (known as TGV-M with SNCF) is not legal at higher station platforms outside France was incorrect. Because transparency and correcting my errors matters to me, you can read the original blog entry in full here – […]

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#CrossChannelRail is GO! The future of long distance services through the Channel Tunnel

For the past three summers, #CrossBorderRail journeys have happened every summer. So far I have been to 288 international railway lines in Europe, and – with a bit of experience now! – I know how to run these projects. But, I wondered, why not apply the same method to one […]

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Provisional planning: #CrossBorderRail the EU’s eastern borders June 2025

While the #CrossChannelRail project for March-April is my main short term task, I have also been wondering about “completing” the #CrossBorderRail project in 2025. There are about 80 railway borders in Europe that I have not examined yet that are worth looking at, and the vast majority of them are […]

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