Jon WorthWelcome to #CrossBorderRail Day 10. Off to Austria and Czechia today!
PeerTube
#CrossBorderRail Train 37
RB 40 (27021)
08:16 München Ost - Mühldorf(Oberbay) 09:19
DB RegioNetz Verkehrs GmbH Südostbayernbahn
Distance: 75 km
Average speed: 71 km/h
Train type: TRAXX diesel and 5 double deck carriages
⛽️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free in 1 carriage)
🛜: ⛔️
🧳: 🤔 (double deck, not great)
🧽: 🙂
#CrossBorderRail Train 38
RB 41 (27259)
09:37 Mühldorf(Oberbay) - Simbach (Inn) 10:13
DB RegioNetz Verkehrs GmbH Südostbayernbahn
Distance: 39 km
Average speed: 65 km/h
Train type: DB class 628 DMU, 2 carriages
⛽️
🚲: ✅ (steep steps)
🦽: ⛔️
🛜: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂
🧽: 🙂
Servus Österreich 🇦🇹
The station at Braunau (Inn) is impeccable - as is now the norm in Austria
#CrossBorderRail Train 39
R 5969
11:18 Simbach (Inn) - Neumarkt Kallham 12:19
ÖBB
Distance: 60 km
Average speed: 59 km/h
Train type: Jenbacher Werke Railbus, 1 carriage
⛽️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ⛔️ (Simbach station also not accessible)
🛜: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂
🧽: 🙂
This railbus has real retro charm. These sort of armchairs are super comfortable. It’s build by Jenbacher Werke that doesn’t even make trains any more.
And it even has #fensterauf - I’m pictured with with Wilhelm Mack from Pro Bahn who joined me for part of the journey
Also I can’t quite articulate the sense of reassurance I have when crossing into Austria
Not everything is perfect with Austrian rail. This train is diesel and quite slow for example…
But you can *rely* on trains here. The stations will be in good order. The timetables well planned. That someone’s put thought into how it all fits together.
It ought to be like this everywhere, but sadly isn’t.
Also these departure boards at Simbach (Inn) 🥰
You can even operate them yourself
At Neumarkt-Kallham there’s an even smaller train - belongs to the Linzer Lokalbahn (LILO)
#CrossBorderRail Train 40
REX 1778
12:32 Neumarkt-Kallham - Passau Hbf 13:12
ÖBB
Distance: 51 km
Average speed: 77 km/h
Train type: locomotive (probably class 1144) pushing 5 single deck carriages
⚡️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (needs a lift)
🛜: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂
🧽: 🙂
And yes *of course* I could get online tickets out of Germany (Simbach-Braunau) and into Germany (Neumarkt-Passau)
Because this - unlike the border Germany-France - is a place where they speak to each other either side of the border and work out things like this
The rail border approaching Passau. I’ll let you guess which way is Germany and which way is Austria…
#CrossBorderRail Bus 05
100
13:22 Passau Hbf - Waldkirchen Busbahnhof 14:06 (departed 12 mins late)
Prager Reisen
Distance: 27 km
Average speed: 37 km/h
Bus type: Setra S 415 LE Business
⛽️
🚲: ❓(not allowed I think)
🦽: ✅
📶: ✅ (sponsored by Land Bayern)
🧳: 🤔 (no overhead racks, some space above wheel arches)
🧽: 🙂
Getting the bus in Passau was the first WTF moment of #CrossBorderRail
I followed signs for buses from the station platform. These lead to the square in front of the station… and stop. There are buses to the left, front/below, and the right. No obvious maps what bus goes from where, no live data (the bus was 12 mins late) - but had it not been it’d have been tight
And in the bus itself no live info at all
There’s so much traffic around Röhrnbach and Waldkirchen. Running regular trains Passau - Waldkirchen - Freyung would surely work?
From Waldkirchen onwards towards Czechia… I’ll be looking at that now!
Bayern 😡
This isn’t any good!
I know this Bundesland doesn’t have a problem with asphalt - as they cover too many roads with it
Could they have perhaps used a little on the cycle path Waldkirchen - Nove Udoli? Instead of this mush?
I’m only 1/3 done and I’m shattered
I’ve only seen 2 more cyclists so far, over 10km, and I understand why!
This house stands on the old rail line in Neureichenau
This one isn’t going to be re-activated
Eh EU. If you financed this, couldn’t you have made a decent cycle path instead of this mushy mess?
Nové Údolí
A slightly strange place. The world’s shortest international railway (that’s sort of fake). A duty free shop. And a station with trains into Czechia. And that’s about it…
I think this must be the most 🇨🇿 branch line train experience possible
Second hand train, carefully renovated ✅
Step free access at stations ✅
On board wifi ✅
Loads of space for bikes ✅
Going at a low speed on bumpy track ✅
Stopping at tiny villages in the middle of nowhere ✅
And I even have a Pilsner Urquell 🍺 #BeerOnTrains
Also there’s not a hope in hell Waldkirchen - Nové Údolí ever gets re-opened
The alignment is blocked in 2 places by buildings, including this at Haidmühle
And Jandelsbrunn, Neureichenau and Haidmühle on the line are all pretty small…
#CrossBorderRail Train 40
GW 18015
18:13 Nové Údolí - Číčenice 20:16
GW Train Regio
Distance: 70 km
Average speed: 34 km/h
Train type: Duewag RegioSprinter
⛽️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free and on board ramp - very good)
🛜: ✅
🧳: 🙂
🧽: 🙂
Never have I been happier to see an old Škoda locomotive 🙂
ČD held the connecting train in Číčenice, so I’ll make it to Horažďovice predm. tonight
#CrossBorderRail Train 41
R 660
20:25 Číčenice - Horažďovice predm. 21:07
ČD
Distance: 48 km
Average speed: 68 km/h
Train type: Škoda locomotive and 6 carriages
⚡️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ❓ (dedicated carriage, but useable at all stations? I don’t know)
🛜: ⛔️ (not in my carriage)
🧳: 🤔 (high narrow steps - hard with luggage)
🧽: 🤔 (bit grimy)
Damn. There’s a rail replacement bus between Horažďovice and Klatovy tomorrow 😡
I’m going to have to route via Plzen after all
Frustrating…
Here’s today’s video summary
#CrossBorderRail Day 10 summary
gregor herrmann
Movement of the People
ĸurth@jon greetings to where Pilsner comes from! ;)
Edmund Lauterbach@jon That's what I often saw in CZ: There are many delays due to single track lines, but connections are hold.
Martin Hoffmann@jon I’m assuming Interrail ain’t valid either?
@partim doubt it. But I don’t have anyone to check with. Driver only operation!
@jon The Interrail app shares your doubt. Doesn’t help convincing me to go back that way again.
Norra kommissionen@partim @jon Correct. Interrail is valid on Česke Dráhy trains only.
Mind you, Czechia only just invented nation-wide cross-carrier ticketing with OneTicket (which can be more expensive than buying split tickets from the different operators directly), they certainly don't have Interrail compensation high on their agenda...
@nordkommission @partim I got it to work on Arriva, quoting some paragraph of the terms of travel that Adam Vanting sent me. That might work here too… Also GW Train here is one person operation - no ticket checks. You could play dumb and risk it.
@nordkommission @partim I’ll check when I’m not on a train!
@jon @nordkommission Arriva not accepting it (not just in Czechia) irks me. They are flippin’ DB, for Christopher’s sake.
@jon Some older photos from there: https://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?30,7965361
And continued with GW Train on https://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?030,7965361,9031717#msg-9031717
DavidPetraitis@jon Love the bucolic look. Loos like a good place for a picnic.
Moof! 🔜 #JetLagTheGame NL@jon looks like Nové Údolí got its very own British educational YouTuber video now: https://youtu.be/qqMOmnwKjWg
(Of course my first thought was to wonder if you’d come past it… did you get to ride the “train” though?)
The World’s Shortest International Railway Is The Best Thing Ever
Kate 🎀@moof Oh and FWIW there is not a hope in hell the line gets re-opened German side. Too few people, and buildings constructed on the old alignment. That one is hopeless.
Timo Hetzel@jon that sign wasn’t cheap
@jon Or better: invest the money into a rail track. 😉
Adalwin@jon Nennt sich Neureichenau und kann sich noch nichtmal einen ordentlichen Radweg hinbauen 🤔 Sehr schade
Johanonthetrain@jon maybe a tunnel?
And if your response to this is “I like mud / gravel”, sure, that’s fine. But this is meant to be a long distance cycle path - style of the Vennbahn, and listed as such. And it’s not good enough for that. I have a folding bike, so I’ll prioritise decent surfaces *which is my prerogative*. If you want mud, fine. But list mud as mud.
@jon Ok, I should have warn you.
@elba013 it’s in a really bad condition this path. No one has done any repair work. It’s the worst one of these paths I’ve taken. Very frustrating.
embix@jon Vorsicht ist geboten, wenn im Reiseführer von "romantischer Radweg" geredet wird.
Tobias Merkendorf@jon all in support of the local gravel bike industry.
@t_mkdf if only this was actually a strategy ;-)
Knud JahnkeNono, you misunderstand that: cyclist *love* gravel and sand. It's not a proper inter-town bikeroute if it's paved!
Stripymoggie@jon Flip, that's a red carpet compared to what I cycled across this morning, coming down from Divis towards Glencairn in Belfast.
billheywood@jon
Disappearing signage is so frustrating, why bother if you are going to give up half way?
Disappearing signage is so frustrating, why bother if you are going to give up half way?
@jon Could be worse. There is also a bus station some hundred meters away, and bus lines, that start only there.
@elba013 it’s got good connections. But the info provided is very poor.
@jon Bus 100 is the one in the area that is ok. Others are on demand and you have to call fridays for the whole weekend.
btw. https://www.passau.de/Dox.aspx?docid=7dea34a3-3dd5-4381-939f-6600df04732d
btw. https://www.passau.de/Dox.aspx?docid=7dea34a3-3dd5-4381-939f-6600df04732d
@elba013 still gets stuck in Passau traffic!
🇪🇺 Wolfgang Sprick 🇺🇦@jon situations like this happen often to me when changing from rail to other public transport. It seems everyone has got a "not my. business" attitude being responsible for the travelers itinerary from A to B. See you in Barcelona.
Marco Bereth 
🇪🇺
Tachibana Kanade@jon I’d wondered why ÖBB were taking on so many night services that other operators were abandoning; I hadn’t considered it could just be “Austria actually cares about trains”
@h0m54r yeah it’s pretty much that. Transporting as many people as possible by train actually matters in Austria.
KarlE@jon I'd rather have some weeds - it shows that they don't sink an abundance of toxic glyphosat into the ground all the time. (I bet that's 🇩🇪 here)