Is there space for a further Channel Tunnel operator at the Temple Mills depot off the HS1 line at Stratford? The issue rumbles on, with ORR expected to make a decision on the issue by this autumn according to The Times today. But what if the extra capacity at the […]
Read MoreNewsletter
How to follow the #CrossBorderRail 2025 Finale online and offline
‼️ Important: today, 1 day before departure, #CrossBorderRail the finale is 65% funded. This means my costs are covered, but the time I invest is unpaid. Further donations would hence be very welcome – donate here ‼️ Tomorrow – 6th June 2025 – the last big tour of my #CrossBorderRail […]
Read MorePreliminary conclusions from my #CrossChannelRail project
OK, I have to face it: I bit off more than I could chew. When I conducted the research for my #CrossChannelRail Project in March and April this year I thought I would be done with the report from the project by the end of May. And it is the […]
Read MoreCrowdfunding for the final #CrossBorderRail big tour is now live
When in some post-lockdowns, post-Brexit, where-do-I-invest-my-political-energy moment of inspiration (or madness?) I thought of crossing every internal border of the EU you can cross by train in one journey to investigate how we better improve international rail connections, little did I know I was starting something that would be a […]
Read MoreNo Villa Opicina – Divača – Pivka – Rijeka trains in 2025, no re-launch date known
Launched with some fanfare in the summer of 2024 (see The Times and Kurier that covered it for example), the “Trieste” – Rijeka international train service is no more. The train will not run in 2025, and there is no known date for the resumption of the route. This was […]
Read More#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 […]
Read MoreTrenitalia to run London-Paris in 2029 – the most serious rival to Eurostar yet
As I raced around Europe during my #CrossChannelRail project for the past three weeks, it looked like there were three or possibly four private companies in the frame to rival Eurostar on high speed routes through the Channel Tunnel – Virgin Trains, Gemini, Evolyn and possibly Heuro. But today’s news […]
Read MoreHow to follow #CrossChannelRail online
#CrossChannelRail, my latest project, starts Sunday 16th March and runs until Sunday 6th April. As with all of my #CrossBorderRail projects to date there will be lots of ways to follow it online. Every day there will be a thread on Mastodon – you can follow me @jon@gruene.social there. This […]
Read MoreThe 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 – […]
Read MoreNothing beyond London? Why #CrossChannelRail is not going to Birmingham, Nottingham or Newcastle
It was inevitable the question would come: why is my #CrossChannelRail project taking me nowhere in the UK other than London, and along the HS1 line between London and the Channel Tunnel? The simple answer is that I had to draw a line somewhere – I cannot in a three […]
Read More