Today I'm attempting #Heidelberg-#Madrid by #rail in one day. 6 trains from #tram to #TGV. Made train no 1 at 6:39. ETA in Madrid is 23:45.
Biggest challenge might be the regional train to Mannheim. Due to illness of personnel at least 1 of the 3 trains I could take simply isn't running, which means that one of the others will be crowded and hence delayed ...
1/
Made #train no 2, yes, not quite as full as expected, but with 200 ppl changing platform 5 min before departure.
Arriving in #Mannheim. 15min to catch my #ICE to #Strasbourg.
2/
Wtf #DeutscheBahn, #Mannheim is literally the 2nd stop on that #ICE. My transfer in #Strasbourg (and the rest of the trip) seriously endangered.
3/
Now in the #ICE, 20 min delay due to problems with a track switch.
Full speed towards #Karlsruhe and #Strasbourg.
5/
#Karlsruhe has passed, a friendly voice is announcing #Strasbourg and 20min delay in three languages - no word about connecting trains.
Got to search for a Zugbegleiter now.
6/
Not going to make the #Strasbourg connection. #TGV waiting for us? No way!
So I'll go to #Paris, take 2 Metros, and catch a TGV to Lyon from Gare de Lyon.
"Do I need a new ticket" "No, should be fine." "Seat reservation?" "Maybe talk to the conductor there."
We _definitely_ need a much better integrated #rail system in #Europe. And #Germany.
7/
Funny that you should mention "announcements in the train" (none about connections) bc announcements on the platform would obviously be too late if I'm supposed to stay on this train.
Anyone not deeply train-literate would stand no real chance I guess :-/
#failacrosseurope?
#railacrosseurope
8/
Ah, now comes the announcement, I can already see #Strasbourg station...
Anyway, if this alternative works then it will only cut short my planned lunch break in Lyon
9/
#Paris drawing closer, with ~35min delay. But we cracked the 300km/h (I've seen 308), which of course I will do several times again (hopefully) today.
Soon Metros 4+14 and then we'll see.
10/
Navigated #Paris Metro in no time, stood at the gate to the #TGV that would get me to Lyon Part Dieu in time and ... "go to customer service, you need a reservation".
Of course the train was gone after that. Fuckers?
Now I'm on a TGV that only runs to Lyon Airport (30min train/taxi to Lyon Part Dieu) and also stops at Valence, like my onward train to #Barcelona. But: one train stops at Valence Ville, the other at Valence TGV, 20min distance.
11/
But only about 20min changeover time in Valence. Great! ☹️
So based on delayed #ICE and bad info from the conductor plus unwillingness to let me on the only feasible train without standing in line at a "customers" center for 15min I'm probably going to not arrive in #Madrid today.
Of course there's a direct train #Paris-#Barcelona, which arrives the very same minute the last train to #Madrid leaves.
No-one in this whole chain cares, at all.
#railacrosseurope
#failacrosseurope
12/
Taxi drivers ftw! Valence Ville to Valence TGV is normally min 12 km and 17 min. Taxis can use bus routes and so my train doors opened at 14:46 and I was on the platform at Valence TGV at 15:05...
And that is the story of how I did eventually catch my booked train.
13/
Today's detour via Paris actually increased my rail travel distance by almost exactly 400km. And 42,10€ in Metro and Taxi costs. Now it's going to be 2310 km by rail today - which I think is the longest I've done so far.
14/
Dinner was had, people are sitting outside, it's still above 20°C, now off to the final 2.5 hours to #Madrid.
With an #Iryo high speed train, for 24.17€ first class...
15/
Guess which days I am _not_ travelling back? Correct 😁
(Looking at burned-out personnel and not really competitive salaries, German train people definitely need proper raises!)
👉https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/gdl-bahn-warnstreik-102.html
16/
And I made it. Punctually 23:25 I arrived where all the high-speed trains go to sleep, #Madrid-#Atocha. And I myself not too far away.
#railacrosseurope (a small part that is)
17/
That was ~1400km as the crow flies, but 2300km by train. Not more than 3.5% around the globe, but on the other hand only 29 days at this speed would wrap around Earth once.
It's a small, fragile world!
18/
Aaaand two days later, after a very worthy meeting on #ESAEuclid at #ESAC I'm now starting my way back home.
Zeroth leg: chartered bus to #Madrid (30min), then a few stations #Metro. I did bring a Metro travel card from 2019 and found 6 more trips on it...
Walk to #Atocha and now boarded a quite packed #Ouigo to #Barcelona.
19/
Btw, #Madrid has the most colourful selection of high-speed trains: #renfe, #Ouigo, #Iryo, #Avlo
They are leavin towards #Barcelona every about 15min
#railacrosseurope #rail #trains #ZugBubble
21/
Queues at security check in #Barcelona Sants, makes people nervous, because it's not clear if this will take 5 or 25 minutes. Took 5 in the end.
Then queueing to get to the platform - not without ticket check!
Also note: huge ads for heat pumps. Probably not the worst audience for this.
22/
Up to now the return leg has been so much more relaxing than my outbound leg ("ida y vuelta" so much more concise and elegant in Spanish).
It's pretty clear advice (which I knew before): if you have #international #rail connections that are crucial, plan 45+min for transfer. I think planning for 1h delays and more isn't really useful, but 10-20min can always happen.
Oh: and have some breakfast before boarding, onboard #coffee usually isn't that good...
23/
Route-wise I can only recommend the coastal passage between #Montpellier and #Perpignan. #Pyrinees, #Etangs with lots of wildlife including, yes #Flamingos!
25/
And after nature and the #Mediterranean sea, scenic places like #Beziers and #vinyards directly off the waterfront, I've now arrived in #Nimes, after which this sight-seeing trip will turn into a high-speed ride - with the #AVE to cover the remaining 40% of distance to #Lyon in 25% of the travel time.
26/
#Lyon - and it's not a good sign if upon arrival my continuing train is 30min late due to an "unaccompanied object" and me having only 60min in #Paris to connect. Incl. transfer from Gare de Lyon to Gare del Est using 2 Metros.
#SNCF staff here didn't even consider checking alternatives directly via Strasbourg. "Talk to someone in Paris". Customers? Never heard of.
27/
I did already buy a #Metro ticket for this transfer on my outward leg. That will save about 2 min on that route...
28/
And #trainline, #SNCF, and local loudspeakers have been announcing delay information of 30, 40, and 45min, alternatively, and in no perceivable order. 🤔 🚂
(Anyway...)
29/
Passing rainbows at 300km/h. 🌈
Indeed, in the end of course the +45min faction won. Which means I will transfer across #Paris, but without stress, because nominally there's no way I'll still reach the train. The metro is fast and running frequently, but a 14min transfer between Gare de Lyon and Gar del Est is impossible. 👎
But there is still the off-chance that the next train is delayed for some reason. So let's see.⌛
30/
Indeed, I missed my train by 5min. 20min in the ticket office brought me that the 17:54 train was fully booked, but at least they gave me an explanatory "E-Billet - Rupture de correspondance". I would have to see if the train manager let me on.
The gate gave me trouble, holding me back until most people were in, then let me through as well to find the train manager. Seat? Just anywhere, wherever someone didn't turn up.
Now I'm on the #TGV to #Karlsruhe, yay!
31/
Btw, "train fully booked". I'm sitting at a block with 6 out of 6 seats empty - and the doors have closed... That system is not useful.
They are scanning every ticket, so SNCF in principle knows who checked in and who didn't. They could literally provide people with exact reservations at the train. #sig
But my transfer from doors open at Gare de Lyon to standing in Gare del Est was 25min. Not bad. Just didn't help.
32/
While I can't get a bearing on where I am from Google Maps and location tracking, due to being in the middle of nowhere, I found a map with real-time positions and velocities of all french trains:
https://carto.graou.info/48.89587/6.14311/8.6619/0/0
Which I think I shouldn't trust, because according to it we are not on the high-speed route to Strasbourg, but are doing 280km/h on a track with a 160km/h limit. Hmm...
#railacrosseurope #sncf #zugbubble
32/
Just tracked the flight 🛬 of some of the colleagues I was conferring with yesterday - I was also attending today, by video from the train, which worked rather well. Now they overtook me and just landed in Frankfurt, while I'll be soon in #Strasbourg and then get off in #Karlsruhe
If you think about it, they were flying at ~800km, I was riding at ~300km/h 🚆 . Not that much of a difference. The main difference is the directness of travel. 2300 instead of 1400km.
33/
#Karlsruhe, 10min delay, but I'll call this expedition completed, because the local trains will just run today.
So, 4600km by rail in 4 days, that's about 50km/h average...
Summary: if you want to do inter-country, long distance #rail trips, then plan with buffers, have a look at alternatives, and assume that DB is delayed.
Thank you for reading. Pointing to @jon for further cross-border rail impressions :-)
34/34
True, but it was definitely not the route we took - the map even claimed we took a track that is only planned but actually doesn't exist yet.
Yes, absolutely. But then again, as you said, it's not real real-time position data. It's the predicted position according to a nominal route and time of day, so if the route is listed wrongly, one gets a phantom train on that map. I noticed velocities, though, that probably were true.
Knud Jahnke
Martin G
Lu 🇦🇲
Braid in trains 
- solidarity with 