Jon Worth2nd day at #ConnectingEuropeDays talking “urban nodes” (aka cities) and their connections to the EU Trans European Networks. It’s a jargon soup at the start.
“Every urban node needs a SUMP by 2027” (Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan) And These 431 nodes have to submit data. This largely makes sense, but the devil is going to be in the detail here. #ConnectingEuropeDays
Certain criteria that each urban node has a multimodal transport “hub” by 2030. Not the worst idea. Is the Commission going to check it happens? Each has to have a multimodal freight terminal too. #ConnectingEuropeDays
Want to know if your city is an urban node? Here’s the PDF list: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/document/download/40f52207-d2d1-4cbf-9392-b61f37309ee8_en?filename=52022PC0384-ANNEX-2.pdf #ConnectingEuropeDays
Catherine Trautmann is a very experienced politician, now a TEN-T coordinator. But she still reads a speech *on a panel*. A panel ought to be a conversation. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Trautmann?wprov=sfti1# #ConnectingEuropeDays
I thought the rail freight stuff was abstract yesterday. This TEN-T and urban nodes stuff today is worse. I’m totally lost. #ConnectingEuropeDays
We are proud to be an urban node, and won a prize for our urban mobility plan says Elke Van Den Brandt, Minister of Mobility and Public Works of Brussels. But can Brussels better join itself up with others? Like improving sustainable links to Germany for example?
#ConnectingEuropeDays
#ConnectingEuropeDays
Give Elke Van Den Brandt her due: urban mobility in Brussels is massively improving. It’s so much better to cycle here than it used to be. #ConnectingEuropeDays
There must be some middle ground between broad brush political rhetoric and a soup of acronyms from officials. We’re definitely not finding it here though. #ConnectingEuropeDays
Some dude just tried to pitch hyperloop to me. “I don’t believe in hyperloop” I told him. I’m pretty sure I’m about the worst person he could have found. #ConnectingEuropeDays
Now SNCF Cécile Guilhaumaud is telling me passenger satisfaction is of central importance.
Through tickets are an advantage for passengers she says. Is she serious? SNCF is *terrible* at this.
To explain: I can buy a through ticket from Berlin to any rail station in NL, BE, CH, AT, CZ, DK. Some even in PL, HU, SI, HR. And *pretty much none in France*. Because SNCF makes it next to impossible. #ConnectingEuropeDays
Ha. Now someone from the bus industry saying there are few complaints about their industry. It could perhaps be that your hope is so low if you take a bus? Sorry! #ConnectingEuropeDays
I also think the premise completing TEN-T will improve passenger *rights* is incorrect. It might improve the passenger experience (speed, reliability). But things will still go wrong and operators will still be malevolent. #ConnectingEuropeDays
WHAT? SNCF now saying high speed rail is more unreliable in Spain since new operators entered the market. 1) Isn’t it SNCF operated OUIGO that’s worst? And 2) isn’t it because there are now more trains running? #ConnectingEuropeDays
Now SNCF - whose network is only about 4% ERTMS equipped - is defending ERTMS as a passenger benefit. Ok. #ConnectingEuropeDays
This presentation from Cécile Guilhaumaud from SNCF is amazing. She has no self awareness - anyone with any knowledge of this sector knows SNCF is in some of this *doing precisely the opposite* of what she is saying. #ConnectingEuropeDays
€6m cost for better info from SNCF Voyageurs as a result of 2023 Passenger Rights Regulation says Cécile Guilhaumaud. But can we know if SNCF is even fully compliant? #ConnectingEuropeDays
Might be the last time I ever hear a speech by Adina Vălean 😭 😭 😭 #ConnectingEuropeDays
Damn I’m so stuck. I’m lost in this transport policy business.
I can’t stand the flowery rhetoric of politicians not backed up by action. I can’t bear officials hiding behind jargon. I can’t tolerate industry people saying the indefensible because they have to. #ConnectingEuropeDays
“Ensure a timely completion of the [TEN-T] network”
We *all* know it won’t be complete on time. Why are we even saying we can ensure timely completion? Why are we bullshitting ourselves?
Karima Delli says TEN-T as TNT 🧨 and I can’t unhear it. #ConnectingEuropeDays
Now Delli complaining 40% of rail lines are not electrified. Don’t get me wrong - *some* of those ought to be electrified, but most of those lines are marginal, especially for freight. #ConnectingEuropeDays
You need a coherent intellectual framework to know how to talk about these big long term transport topics covered by TEN-T. And how to fit details into a whole. It’s genuinely hard. That’s probably why using jargon is so common here - it’s hard not to fall into that trap. #ConnectingEuropeDays
Now Martin Kupka (Czech transport minister) talking about gaps in TEN-T. That’s you he’s talking about, Bayern. #ConnectingEuropeDays
Oh 🤦♂️ They’re now trying to talk about re-gauging railways on the panel and it’s it effing peinlich. #ConnectingEuropeDays
And now the moderator is making facile points about Turku being close to Russia is painful too. Thank goodness Minna Arve the mayor of Turku is 😎#ConnectingEuropeDays
Jos Dingjan@jon If you can dynamically re-gauge carriages, I think we should challenge ourselves and go for dynamically re-gauging railways based on the rolling stock that’s about to pass down it. *nods* Makes sense.
Jubeldoktor@jon Intell ... whatyousayin? Sounds like a chip-manufacturer to me.
🍀 Egghat НетBойне 🍀@jon They already fail in the analysis phase …
Martin Gleadow@jon in my experience there are two types of rail conferences;
* Those attended by people who have the drive, authority and perseverance to make a difference
* Those attended by people who want to be seen and heard at a rail conference
I have very little time for talking shops and hot air.
🌺 Cat Pöñíçkøvā
Braid in trains 
- solidarity with 
ordered them on broad gauge 👀 ... True, the Ukrainians could too but they'd need to modify them with other buffers and SC3 couplers too. I guess there hasn't been the demand for yet.@jon "Railways in France are not real, they cannot hurt you."
Schleifleistenbruch
Marc Haber@jon Looks like the Vectron is not French enough.
Mathias Hasselmann@Zugschlus @jon Akiem has ordered 65 of them and homologation is in process: https://www.railtech.be/fr/materiel-roulant/2023/06/07/la-vectron-de-siemens-entame-enfin-ses-tests-dhomologation-en-france/
@taschenorakel @Zugschlus Yes. It’s meant to be sorted this year.
Bruhein@jon France should be in the game
Maartje@jon please let me place a Traxx ad next to it with the exact map that is mirrored 😅
Áʟᴠᴀʀᴏ@jon SNCF is actively sabotaging Spain's efforts to connect with Europe...
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lavanguardia.com%2Flocal%2Fbarcelona%2F20240331%2F9584353%2Ffrancia-pone-problemas-trenes-nocturnos-lleguen-barcelona.html
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lavanguardia.com%2Flocal%2Fbarcelona%2F20240331%2F9584353%2Ffrancia-pone-problemas-trenes-nocturnos-lleguen-barcelona.html
@taschenorakel @jon Sure, for them to operate abroad is piece of cake, but don't try to operate in/through France. That's not fair competition.
Alexis@jon Siemens sent a Vectron in France some months ago for testing. Homologation was probably a goal too. I don't know what the status is, though.
@jon While the US obviously are not part of the EU, technically the Amtrak ACS-64 also is a Vectron.
Moritz@jon all the baltic countries! Oh wait they have no electricity 🙄 Definitely not some weird country where they eat frogs!
Rick Scott 🏳️⚧️@jon carriages
(yes, I know it's a loco ad... but still 😅)
Martin Schröder 🇺🇳
Apicultor 🐝@jon Go on, ask me about SNCF's compliance with passenger rights even _before_ June 2023. 🤬
Herbert - Antifa - Tiemens ✅🌻@jon For SNCF it is about passenger satisfaction, not non-passenger satisfaction.
MJ Ray@herbert_tiemens @jon so you can optimise passenger satisfaction by reducing the number of passengers and give the one remaining passenger an excellent journey?
@jon As long as such dudes talk to you, they don't infect officials with money.
@herbert_tiemens Ha. Thanks. I *think* 🙂
Søren Have@jon @herbert_tiemens Jon Worth. Both the Real McCoy and decoy 🤣
Pepijn@herbert_tiemens @jon There's a depressing number of government (EU, national NL, provincial) money in this already. And when I visited the site people openly admitted "yeah this of course isn't going anywhere"
Space Hobo@jon I always love asking the hard questions about loading gauge, turning radius, and headways. And then I get to shrug and go "Hm, so it sounds like they can't turn, and people have been pushing the idea since the 1950s without success, but hey at least when the pressure leaks you get a catastrophic failure that can only kill a few people since these things won't have the passenger throughput of even the worst rural bus service!"
@jon I feel like the 20th century had *some* guardrails on crackpot sci-fi "wunderwaffen" style projects. But lately we're in peak "YOU ARE THE REASON WE DON'T HAVE FLYING CARS" braying when no one will try to imagine what a traffic jam with 5000 helicopters over Denver would actually be like.
Julien W.@jon know your audience, respect your audience, talk to your audience. All of these require doing the legwork, which people put on these events are too often isolated from