Today’s live text updates
Here’s today’s #CrossBorderRail summary even though I’m not there yet https://peertube.netzbegruenung.de/w/7KqDsnkKDfqUj2ng2NfHkn
Damn I’m tired of Europe’s railways today
My RE4 was 12 mins delayed, waiting for another delayed regional train in Mönchengladbach
Does the RE18 from Aachen to Maastricht then wait 3 mins for us in Herzogenrath? NO
So I’m now stuck an hour
And the RRX National Express train manager blamed me for not informing him in time. What?
And my part of this RRX train has only 5 other passengers in it, but 3 are coughing and spluttering incessantly
My FFP2 is on tight here!
Ho hum
Bust up between passengers is delaying our departure at Mönchengladbach
The guy got kicked out and is now punching the train as we depart…
“Why is this so difficult?”
Because you live in Spain and want to go through France. Sorry. Were this anywhere else in Europe it’d work https://cupoftea.social/@moof/113499288400853219
Josette is likely curled up in the warm at home, and I’ve still got a couple of hours to Maastricht ahead of me…
But I’m glad tomorrow (after my teaching at University of Maastricht) is the final day of this trip. November is never the nicest time to travel!
Now switching to take anything going vaguely the right direction mode
And yes, this is where knowledge of geography and rail routes comes in
OpenRailwayMap is a saviour here: https://openrailwaymap.org/
I know this train I’m on takes the southern Ruhr route Hamm-Hagen-Wuppertal, and I can work out routes west from each of those
Connection missed in Hannover
The next ICE I’m on (to Hagen, probably) is so full it can’t leave
The knock on effects of everything through Osnabrück being closed on a busy Sunday for rail travel are pretty significant…
Further Hamburg tip: if you can’t avoid Hbf (some trains e.g. to Lübeck don’t stop Dammtor or Altona), AND your train is going west, south or east (Bremen, Hannover, Berlin, Rostock, Lübeck) then use Steintorbrücke to cross the tracks - see https://www.deutschebahn.com/de/presse/presse-regional/pr-hamburg-de/aktuell/presseinformationen-regional/Hamburg-Hauptbahnhof-Weitere-Treppe-zur-Steintorbruecke-eroeffnet-12883904 It’s much less crowded than the steps and bridges inside the hall
Elderly couple sat opposite me worried about their connections somewhere more than an hour south of Hannover (this is a Hamburg-München ICE)
We don’t even know when we’re going to reach Hannover! Predicting anything further south, well that’s optimistic!
Agh. Seats are showing “ggf. freigeben” - you might have to give up this seat
This (mostly) means reservations in DB’s system were not correctly saved in the system in the train, or seats were reserved last minute. It’s always annoying, as passengers never know how to behave when it shows
ICE 689
12:54 Hamburg Dammtor - Hannover Hbf 14:22
Distance: 179.7km
Average speed: 123km/h
3 stops:
Hamburg Hbf
Hamburg-Harburg
Hannover Hbf
This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-extra-days-2024_1030682#8/53.193/10.146
#CrossBorderRail 2024 Extra Days Baltic Circuit Train 31 of 38
ICE 689
12:54 Hamburg Dammtor - Hannover Hbf 14:22
DB Fernverkehr
Train type: Adtranz, Siemens ICE 2, 7 carriages
⚡️
🚲: ⛔️
🦽: ✅ (lift on platform)
🛜: ✅
🍽️: ✅
🧳: 😐 (complaining at a high level here - but more modern ICEs have better spaces for large luggage)
🧽: 🙂
Pro-tip: if you can, always board at Dammtor or Altona in Hamburg, not Hbf. Hbf is *always* packed. Today it’s going to be a mess for my train there as extra high passenger volumes are expected!
Here’s today’s intro video - the line through Osnabrück is closed due to discovery of a WWII bomb. That makes my trip a little tricky… https://peertube.netzbegruenung.de/w/596TvsuNJhVZszStWZPYCW
It’s on days like today that a cover for the folding bike when putting it in a train is a good idea. Bike covered in grime from fallen leaves on wet cycle lanes in Hamburg. #CrossBorderRail
Welcome to today's thread - #CrossBorderRail 2024 Extra Days Baltic Circuit - Hamburg - Hannover - Düsseldorf - Herzogenrath - Maastricht
Crossing these borders:
Herzogenrath 🇩🇪 - Eygelshoven Markt 🇳🇱 (visited before)
These borders on the borders map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-all-the-borders_935041#13/50.8827/6.0950
Today's routes on the routes map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-all-the-borders_935041#13/50.8827/6.0950
Text updates are auto-generated from Mastodon – follow me on Mastodon @jon@gruene.social
Some updates will also be occasionally be posted on Bluesky – follow me @jonworth.eu
Today’s introduction and summary videos
All the #CrossBorderRail daily videos are on my Peertube channel
Today’s photos
Today’s background
A day of transition from north east Europe to central Europe! The daily InterCity train to Warszawa arrives too late to connect with the night train from there to Budapest, so it’s instead a coach for the cross border section, and then after a few hours in Warszawa onto the night train across 4 countries to Budapest.
Borders examined on this day:
Zebrzydowice 🇵🇱 – Bohumín 🇨🇿
Distance covered:
1407.9km
Transport modes:
🚆 1
🚌 1
Today’s route
The full zoomable and scrollable map, including today’s route, is on uMap here.
