Today’s live text updates
I also think I need a better way to count transiting lines
Example
Valul Roman 🇲🇩 – Tabaky 🇺🇦 - 208km 🇲🇩 - Vulcănești 🇲🇩 - Etulia 🇺🇦 - Giurgulesti 🇲🇩
It’s basically a Moldovan line, that transits Ukraine territory twice, but neither time any connection to the rest of the Ukrainian rail network
I ought to then simply count this as 1 #CrossBorderRail line?
Falciu 🇷🇴 – Prut-2 🇲🇩
Not active, bridge currently impassable. Prut-2 to Basarabeasca active, line to Giurgulesti currently not used
Railways again
Today’s borders
Basarabeasca 🇲🇩 – Serpneve 🇺🇦
Active, freight only, to Ukraine
Basarabeasca 🇲🇩 – 121 km 🇺🇦
Active, freight only, could be passenger, but just transits Ukraine
Basarabeasca 🇲🇩 – Abcalia 🇲🇩 (loop into Ukraine)
Not used - is I think just a less inclined line than the parallel one
Valul Roman 🇲🇩 – Tabaky 🇺🇦 - 208km 🇲🇩
Active, freight only, just transits Ukraine
Vulcănești 🇲🇩 - Etulia 🇺🇦 - Giurgulesti 🇲🇩
Active, freight only, just transits Ukraine
[…]
Damn sometimes mother tongues are a pain
Stopped to get food on the way back to my hotel in Chișinău and there’s a man and a women speaking English on the neighbouring table
It’s a first date, I think, or he’s trying to flirt anyway. And oh he’s such a terrible nauseating finance guy and he’s mansplaining the poor woman
And because it’s in English I can’t blend it out!
Lots of decrepit infra examined
I don’t know what to make of this yet
Plus Prut and Giurgulesti were impossible to get close (enough) to, so I’m not sure what to make of those at all (will examine more on the Romanian side)
Btw I do own the book 😀 https://fuel-design.com/publishing/soviet-bus-stops/
Today it’s getting to #CrossBorderRail borders by car. Too far to cycle, and pretty much no passenger trains in Moldova
Welcome to today's thread - 2025 #CrossBorderRail Finale Day 33 – 19 July – Chișinău – Basarabyaska – Cantemir – Hînceşti – Chișinău
Today's new borders:
Falciu 🇷🇴 – Prut-2 🇲🇩
Basarabeasca 🇲🇩 – Serpneve 🇺🇦
Basarabeasca 🇲🇩 – 121 km 🇺🇦
I’ve got some tech issues this morning - will update with links when I can!
This is a sort of everything getting to Chișinău video
Tomorrow I’m off to more borders - by car! It’s too far to cycle
Having delayed Swedish night train flashbacks here
Stuck in Călărași
Should I just hop out and take a bus? Cycle? I’m meant to be in a meeting in 90 mins in Chişinău, it’s looking questionable…
And given the only railways I’ve not tried in Europe are
🇻🇦 (it has 100m of Italian track, doesn’t count)
🇸🇲 (it has a tiny bit of heritage railway, doesn’t count)
🇧🇾 (I’m sure the east west mainline through Minsk will be better than this)
And 🇬🇪 🇦🇲 🇦🇿 I don’t know. But even those some main lines ought to work ok I presume?
Let’s keep Turmantas the best known railway village in the Baltics! 🎉 #CrossBorderRail https://zug.network/@_Hemmschuh/114873219679251233
Only Albania is worse than this, based on the railways I’ve tried so far in Europe
Agggh now on Moldova’s most important line Ungheni - Chişinău and we’re not doing even 40km/h
I’d wrongly hoped this one would have been better!
Ungheni
Border station 🇲🇩 🇷🇴 and important rail junction
Today I’m not crossing the border, but going onwards to Chişinău
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.
