Today’s live text updates
Also if you live in Aulnoye-Aymeries, taking this to Paris is much nicer than the TER train, as these Belgian carriages cope with the bumpy French track at 160km/h much better than the Regio2N that SNCF uses for TERs here
Now you may say “hey, how about allowing even those with more limited incomes to use high speed trains from Bruxelles to Paris?" and I would be 100% with you
But there is a block: Eurostar (and its 60% owner, SNCF)
In the meantime this is the best you can get
And ultimately credit to SNCB for forcing this issue, and for doing this
If I were designing this service I’d not have designed it this way. I’d have run a regular IC/EC train, with none of the compulsory reservation and Ryanair-isation
But this train will work, it’ll get people out of cars and diesel buses, and SNCB tried something. That is very welcome!
The amazing thing about this OUIGO: the type of people taking it
Younger, more ethnically diverse, more children than you would ever see on Eurostar (ex-Thalys)
To those who wondered - will this improve Eurostar? I doubt it.
The company that has most to fear from this? Flixbus
This OUIGO has 598 seats in 8 carriages, a Eurostar (ex-Thalys) 399 in 8 shorter carriages. So this thing is 1.5x a Eurostar.
OTC 54
13:38 Bruxelles Midi - Paris Nord 16:44
Distance: 308.3km
Average speed: 99km/h
4 stops:
Mons
Aulnoye-Aymeries
Creil
Paris Nord
This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-extra-days-2024_1030682#8/49.868/3.340
#CrossBorderRail Timetable change days Train 31 of 32
OTC 54
13:38 Bruxelles Midi - Paris Nord 16:44
SNCB, SNCF – branded OUIGO
Train type: Siemens class 18 locomotive, 7 I11 carriages
⚡️ (3kV dc then 25kV ac)
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (lift on platform)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 😐 (doors a bit narrow, ok once you’re on)
🧽: 🙂
Today's thread - #CrossBorderRail Timetable change days - Bruxelles - Paris - Ravières
Crossing these borders:
Maubeuge 🇫🇷 - Quévy 🇧🇪 (crossed before)
These borders on the borders map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-all-the-borders_935041#13/50.3296/3.8877
Today's routes on the routes map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-extra-days-2024_1030682#8/49.307/3.343
This is both great and awful. At least 75% of seats are full here - on day 1 of the #CrossBorderRail OUIGO. There’s so much potential here that’s been untapped for years.
We’re still at this way of thinking: national rail is a crucial public service of last resort
#CrossBorderRail is - at many borders - instead just a “nice to have”
I explained it to him like this: imagine your grandmother falls ill and you need to get to Genk (other end of Belgium) right now to see her
SNCB would get you there
Imagine your grandmother were in Aulnoye (France, one of the stops on OUIGO) and there are no seats left - you’d be stuck, and wouldn’t be allowed to stand
And I asked SNCB’s spokesperson why the train is compulsory reservation, and he looked confused. “It’s a partnership” he eventually said.
In other words: SNCF imposed this.
The line that really rankled: OUIGO is the service that will persuade young people to take the train again
From the boss of OUIGO at the event
Sorry France but that’s because you’ve made your entire offer outside Paris too expensive and complex to use!
And when I’m no longer cold and damp (from cycling in the rain earlier) I’ll post more about this train
In the messed up world of French railways this OUIGO makes sense
But it’s still stupid, and some of the rhetoric at the launch made me want to scream
Good morning from a rainy, windy Brussels
Off to the event to launch the new OUIGO cross border service this morning
Once I’ve cycled through the rain ☔️
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.
