The best photos from #CrossBorderRail South East Europe 2024

Finally I am done sorting and uploading photos from #CrossBorderRail South East Europe 2024

In this post there is one photo from each of the days, and a link to the full Flickr album from that day – to give an idea of this weird and wonderful journey!

Day -02 26 May 2024 – Ravières – Montbard – Paris – Köln – Hamburg – Travemünde, night ferry
Full Album on Flickr

Jon Worth, a middle aged man, standing with a red bicycle in front of a statue on a cloudy day, with a building (Montbard Station) and green lawn in the background.
Cycling to Montbard on a grey morning to start!

 

Day -01 27 May 2024 – Arrival of night ferry, Malmö C – Stockholm, onto night ferry
Full Album on Flickr

A ferry transporting trucks sails under a suspension bridge stretching across a body of water on a partly cloudy day.
The Travemünde – Malmö ferry passes under the Öresund bridge

 

Day 00 28 May 2024 – Arrival of night ferry, Turku – Kupittaa – Helsinki
Full Album on Flickr

A spacious indoor area with high ceilings, large wall clocks, seating benches, a staircase to the upper level, and a few people walking. There are several display screens and a closed concession stand.
Turku’s amazing old station hall, now succeeded by a new station

 

Day 01 29 May 2024 – Helsinki – Tallinn
Full Album on Flickr

A group of construction workers in yellow safety vests and white helmets gather on a concrete site with a few people taking photos. Wooden stairs and construction scaffolding are visible at the edges of the photo
Laying of the founding stone of Rail Baltica Tallinn station

 

Day 02 31 May 2024 – Tallinn – Lelle – Pärnu – Häädemeeste
Full Album on Flickr

A sign that reads
Kaisma. A village of just over a hundred people that will get a Rail Baltica station

 

Day 03 01 Jun 2024 – Häädemeeste – Salacgrīva – Skulte – Jūrmala
Full Album on Flickr

A dirt road runs through a forest with dense green foliage on both sides. The pathway is uneven, with scattered debris and patches of grass. An orange marker is visible on the left edge of the road.
The tiny orange pole marks where Rail Baltica will cross the Estonia – Latvia border

 

Day 04 02 Jun 2024 – Jūmala – Rīga – Vilnius
Full Album on Flickr

A construction site for the Rail Baltica project is shown, with cranes and scaffolding in action under a partly cloudy sky. A blue and white sign on a fence reads
The building site for the future Riga Airport Rail Baltica station

 

Day 05 03 Jun 2024 – Vilnius – Warszawa, onto night train
Full Album on Flickr

View from a train window showing the locomotive and first carriages of the train curving along an embankment covered with greenery. Below, a road with several yellow buses is surrounded by trees and patches of wet ground reflecting the sky. In the distance, the horizon features more greenery and a partly cloudy sky.
Finally heading towards the South East! Night train departs Warszawa for Budapest

 

Day 06 04 Jun 2024 – Arrival of night train, Budapest – Pécs – Beli Manastir – Osijek – Zagreb
Full Album on Flickr

A blue and white train with the label
DMU at Beli Manastir, first station in Croatia (border to Hungary)

 

Day 07 05 Jun 2024 – Zagreb – Vinkovci – Tovarnik – Šid – Ruma – Zvornik
Full Album on Flickr

Aerial view of a long freight train with colorful containers. It is stopped at a station surrounded by grassy fields and farmland. The train tracks run alongside a narrow road. Several buildings, including a white station building with a red roof, are positioned near the tracks amidst the countryside landscape.
Drone pic of Tovarnik station (final station in Croatia, border to Serbia) – freight crosses the border here, but no passenger trains do

 

Day 08 08 Jun 2024 – Sarajevo – Mostar – Čapljina – Sarajevo
Full Album on Flickr

Aerial view of a high, elevated concrete bridge under construction spanning a lush valley with a river below. The bridge winds through mountainous terrain with construction areas visible on nearby hillsides. Sparse constuction traffic, including a truck, can be seen on the bridge. Dense greenery surrounds the riverbanks.
EU funded, Chinese built – the motorway bridge towers above the valley near Čapljina, above the single track somewhat decrepit railway below

 

Day 09 09 Jun 2024 – Sarajevo – Maglaj – Doboj
Full Album on Flickr

Two old train cars are on parallel tracks on a cloudy day. A locomotive is just visible hauling the left one. The left train car is blue, while the right train car has blue and white graffiti on its side. The ground between the tracks is cracked and worn. Power lines are visible overhead with poles lining the tracks in the background.
The train from Sarajevo has arrived at Maglaj, but does not continue to Doboj – as that is in Republika Srpska. Tracks exist still.

 

Day 10 10 Jun 2024 – Doboj – Banja Luka – Dobrljin – Novi Grad
Full Album on Flickr

A metallic plaque on a blue background. The plaque has raised text in Serbian:
Builder plate of the ZRS class 441 electric locomotive that hauled the Banja Luka – Dobrljin train.

 

Day 11 11 Jun 2024 – Novi Grad – Bihać – Zagreb
Full Album on Flickr

Aerial view of a green steel truss bridge spanning over a blue-green river surrounded by dense green foliage. The bridge casts a clear shadow on the water below. The natural scenery is vibrant with lush greenery and clear waters. There are no vehicles or people visible on the bridge.
Border bridge on the abandoned railway through the Una national park – Bosnia-Croatia border, south of Bihać. The line used to connect Zagreb and Split.

 

Day 12 12 Jun 2024 – Zagreb – Ljubljana
Full Album on Flickr

A tow truck with a blue crane arm is lifting a black car from the sidewalk onto its flatbed. A few workers in neon vests assist. The scene takes place on a city street lined with parked cars and trees in front of an aged beige building. A blue parking sign with white text is visible.
A BMW was so badly parked it was blocking all of the trams that needed to pass! Central Zagreb. It was lifted away, to the amusement of bystanders

 

Day 13 13 Jun 2024 – Ljubljana – Šapjane – Rijeka – Pula – Divača
Full Album on Flickr

View from a train window of a vast landscape with green hills and valleys under a sky with scattered clouds, illuminated by warm sunlight. The scene captures the rolling terrain, with some distant sparse structures and villages, reflecting a serene countryside journey.
View from the open train window near Buzet in Istria – an amazing line with only 1 international train a day each way.

 

Day 14 14 Jun 2024 – Divača – Ljubljana – Celje – Imeno – Rogatec – Đurmanec – Lepoglava – Varaždin – Čakovec
Full Album on Flickr

A blue and white train with
A SŽ Stadler DMU at Imeno, with Croatia in the distance. This line used to continue to Harmica near Zagreb, but does not any more as it crossed the border so many times so as to render it no longer viable.

 

Day 15 15 Jun 2024 – Čakovec – Središce – Kotoriba – Koprivnica – Osijek
Full Album on Flickr

An aerial view of a metal truss bridge spanning a wide, muddy river surrounded by dense, green trees. The river is high and surrounds some trees. The bridge is used for rail transport.
The railway bridge over a very high Mura river between Kotoriba (Croatia) and Murakeresztúr (Hungary) – the line is in working condition but is only used by freight trains.

 

Day 16 16 Jun 2024 – Osijek – Vinkovci – Gunja – Strizivojna-Vrpolje – Osijek
Full Album on Flickr

A vintage green and yellow diesel locomotive is stationed on railway tracks. Behind it stands a tall, rectangular, red brick tower with white Cyrillic letters reading Brčko and a clock near the top. A tree with green leaves is on the left side, and the sky is mainly clear with scattered clouds.
A lonely diesel locomotive stands at Brčko. The lines Gunja-Brčko and Šamac-Strizivojna-Vrpolje have freight trains on the cross border section (Bosnia-Croatia) but no passenger traffic.

 

Day 17 17 Jun 2024 – Osijek – Erdut – Bogojevo – Prigrevica – Apatin – Sombor – Subotica – Röszke – Kikinda
Full Album on Flickr

A wide view shows a railway construction site. On the left, heavy machinery, including an excavator and a dump truck, are parked on a dirt road. On the right, freshly laid train tracks extend into the distance, flanked by green trees and scattered houses under a partly cloudy sky.
New tracks to Kelebia at the Serbia-Hungary border at the edge of Subotica. Being built by Chinese contractors.

 

Day 18 18 Jun 2024 – Kikinda – Jimbolia – Timișoara – Stamora Moravița – Vršac – Beograd
Full Album on Flickr

A small single carriage railbus is traveling along a railway track surrounded by lush green fields. To the left, there is a fenced soccer field with two goals and scattered hay bales. At the top of the picture there is a cluster of houses. A road runs parallel to the railway on the right side.
A CFR Malaxa railbus (built 1935) departs Stamora Moravița towards Timișoara. There is no passenger service on the railway line from Stamora Moravița in Romania to Vršac in Serbia

 

Day 19 19 Jun 2024 – Beograd – Požega – Kraljevo – Rudnica – Kraljevo
Full Album on Flickr

A red and grey train is stationary on a track surrounded by greenery and mountains under a clear blue sky. The train has the number
Srbija Voz Rudnica-Kraljevo train waits to depart Rudnica. South of Rudnica the line crosses into Kosovo – a border that cannot be crossed by train any more. No freight runs there currently either

 

Day 20 20 Jun 2024 – Kraljevo – Stalać – Niš – Pirot – Dimitrovgrad – Dragoman – Sofia
Full Album on Flickr

An elderly man and woman sit on a metal bench under a covered platform at a train station, gazing into the distance. The platform is empty and has a tall trees on it in the distance. The sky is clear, and train tracks run parallel to the platform, leading to a partially visible underpass.
An elderly couple waits for their train in Stalać, Serbia. This is on the main Beograd-Niš mainline which is in a poor state here, although upgrades are due

 

Day 21 21 Jun 2024 – Sofia – Kjustendil – Kriva Palanka – Skopje
Full Album on Flickr

Aerial view of a large, rectangular railway station with a red-tiled roof, surrounded by greenery and trees. The building is adjacent to a railway track. Several small houses with red rooftops are visible in the background, separated from the building by the railway and open green space.
Gyushevo station, finished in 1913, and planned as the border station between Bulgaria and today’s North Macedonia. But the line onwards to Kriva Palanka was never built, although with EU money it might now finally be completed by 2030.

 

Day 22 23 Jun 2024 – Skopje – Hani I Elezit – Skopje
Full Album on Flickr

Aerial view of a residential area with rows of houses featuring red-tiled roofs. Two trains are stationary on the train tracks parallel to and in front of the houses. The smaller 2 axel train is yellow, the larger 6 axel one is dark red. An industrial complex with smokestacks is visible in the background, set against a backdrop of green hills and clear skies.
Han I Elezit station – North Macedonia-Kosovo border. The rail infrastructure is being completely re-built here, and a GM-NOHAB diesel locomotive, ex-NSB, built in 1958, stands at the station to be used on works trains

 

Day 23 24 Jun 2024 – Skopje – Gevgelija – Tabanovce – Skopje
Full Album on Flickr

Aerial view of a train in the middle through a green agricultural landscape. The train is hauled by a red electric locomotive, and comprises numerous freight cars, and some assorted freight cars from other trains are visible in front of it. A small station building and a level crossing are visible near the tracks. Rolling hills and a distant town are seen under a cloudy sky.
Tabanovce station – North Macedonia-Serbia border. Theoretically there are passenger trains from Skopje to Tabanovce, but they have not run for more than three years – much to the annoyance of the station manager here who was happy to chat to me!

 

Day 24 25 Jun 2024 – Skopje – Bitola – Bilisht – Struga
Full Album on Flickr

An aerial view of a vast rural landscape with large, segmented agricultural fields of various shades of green and brown. A single track railway line cuts through the fields, leading towards a distant town. Hazy mountains can be seen in the background under a light blue sky.
Drone pic of the phantom railway between Bitola and Florina. Picture is taken in Macedonia, and the border to Greece is where the colour of the sleepers change. The line was reconstructed in 2019, but no trains have ever run since

 

Day 25 26 Jun 2024 – Struga – Bitola – Skopje – Prishtinë
Full Album on Flickr

Aerial view of a lush, green landscape with a lake on the right. A white house with a red roof sits near the lake, surrounded by dense vegetation and farmlands. An abandoned railway line, single track, runs through the centre, flanked by trees and fields. Rolling hills in the background are covered in greenery.
The abandoned line at Lin, Albania, on the edge of Lake Ohrid. Albania theoretically wants to build a new line from here to Kičevo in North Macedonia, and re-activate this line to Elbasan to the west, and to Pogradec south along Lake Ohrid

 

Day 26 27 Jun 2024 – Prishtinë – Pejë – Tirana
Full Album on Flickr

View from a train running through an urban area with tall grasses and weeds along the tracks. On the left, a busy street runs parallel, with several vehicles passing by. Modern apartment buildings and a shop or mall with a visible Silvio sign are in the background. It's a cloudy day.
Passengers wait for the train to pass as it slowly trundles out of Pristinë en route to Pejë

 

Day 27 28 Jun 2024 – Tirana – Durrës-Plazh – Elbasan – Tirana
Full Album on Flickr

View through a train window with a cracked upper pane. The landscape outside features lush green fields, dense vegetation, and distant mountains under a clear blue sky. Red and green marks are visible on the window. The train interior includes a small table handle and a corner of a seat.
Fields and hills of central Albania in the evening sun approaching Elbasan. The bottom part of the window is not open – instead the glass is simply missing. Good job it was not raining!

 

Day 28 29 Jun 2024 – Tirana – Shkodër – Podgorica, onto night train
Full Album on Flickr

Aerial view of a railway construction site with large concrete slabs for future platforms and equipment on site, surrounded by urban buildings. To the left are unfinished structures and to the right, dense residential buildings with red roofs. A clear demarcation of vegetation and bare land is visible to the left centre of the picture
Site of the new “central” station in Tiranë, which is not very central and not very complete. Theoretically trains to the airport and Durrës should run from here in 2025

 

Day 29 30 Jun 2024 – Arrival of night train, Beograd – Zagreb, onto night train
Full Album on Flickr

Jon Worth, a middle aged man, stands on a train platform smiling, holding a red foldable bicycle. Behind him is a red train with
That’s the smile of someone almost at the end of an epic trip! Jon in front of the Zagreb-Zürich night train, at Zagreb. With the Birdy bike.

 

Day 30 01 Jul 2024 – Arrival of night train, Zürich – Lausanne – Dijon – Nuits-sous-Ravières
Full Album on Flickr

Side of a train with a
Quick detour on the way home – via the Vallorbe-Frasne border, a TGV route that has existed for 40 years.

 

Extra Album – Sarajevo
Full Album on Flickr

Aerial view of a large building complex next to multiple railway tracks, with several parked white Talgo trains and a parking lot filled with cars. Surrounding area includes greenery and additional buildings.
ŽFBH bought modern Talgo trains a decade ago. These were meant to be used on international routes, but for the moment are mostly deployed on Sarajevo – Mostar services. 5 of them are here at the Sarajevo depot

 

Extra Album – Skopje МЖ Depot
Full Album on Flickr

Aerial view of a train yard with rusted and overgrown railway tracks featuring multiple old electric and diesel locomotives. The diesels are mostly green, the electrics either orange or blue. Trees and vegetation grow through the tracks.
Railways in North Macedonia are in a terrible state, and the main МЖ depot on the edge of Skopje is testament to this – dozens of locomotives parked up rusting and in various states of disrepair

 

Extra Album – Ilinden memorial Makedonium – Kruševo
Full Album on Flickr

Aerial view of the Ilinden Monument in Kruševo, Macedonia, a large, white, abstract molecular shape structure with circular windows, surrounded by trees and pathways.
The Illinden Memorial at Kruševo was such an amazing place it deserves an album of its own! Nothing to do with railways here!

 

Extra Album – Skopje brutalism & more
Full Album on Flickr

Central Post Office Skopje. A large, unique, concrete building structure with multiple pointed, curved supports on its roof. Surrounding concrete buildings and overcast sky are also visible.
Skopje was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1963. Some of the brutalist architecture from the period it was rebuilt, especially the central post office building, is amazing. Also nothing to do with railways!

 

And the map of where I went in South East Europe – with all the routes and borders marked – can be found here (Zoomable)


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