Two #CrossBorderRail borders done today already

Lanžhot 🇨🇿 - Brodské 🇸🇰
was at 3am, and I’ve been there before anyway

Štúrovo 🇸🇰 - Szob 🇭🇺
I’ve only been to before #CrossBorderRail so that is now added - border number 211. Pic is of the border bridge

Hungary: country with the second best railway jingle!

Dhhh-duddleoo-duddelloo!

https://youtu.be/kLk_Gt3KIro?si=-OhM7KvhVueECP2Z

Quick ride across Budapest under threatening skies…

#CrossBorderRail South East Europe 2024 Bike 15 of 38
Budapest Nyugati - Budapest-Kelenföld

Distance: 7.4km
Est. duration: 0:45

This bike route, mapped on Komoot: https://www.komoot.com/de-de/tour/1522123426

#CrossBorderRail South East Europe 2024 Train 12 of 68
IC 812
10:12 Budapest-Kelenföld - Pécs 12:43
MÁV

Train type: MÁV V63 "Gigant" locomotive, 6 carriages
⚡️
🚲: ✅ (Hungarian railways are SUPER for bikes)
🦽: ✅ (needs ramp, it’s on board I think)
🛜: ✅ (in my carriage yes, but not all)
🍽️: ✅
🧳: 🙂
🧽: 🙂

It gets a top score, just about!

IC 812
10:12 Budapest-Kelenföld - Pécs 12:43

Distance: 222.2km
Average speed: 88km/h

4 stops:
Sárbogárd
Dombóvár
Szentlőrinc
Pécs

This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-south-east-europe-v9-draft_1053482

Hmmm

This train to Pécs isn’t great

Between Sárbogárd and Dombóvár it’s single track and quite slow and bumpy. The modern IC+ carriage has nice seats but lots of things rattle. I’d somehow sooner have a real branch line train than this quasi InterCity!

#CrossBorderRail South East Europe 2024 Train 13 of 68
R 7305
12:50 Pécs - Beli Manastir 13:53
MÁV

Train type: MÁV Bzmot railbuses (3 coupled)
⛽️
🚲: ❓(not officially but there’s space)
🦽: ⛔️
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 😐 (high narrow entrances, on board it’s ok)
🧽: 😐 (grimy)

R 7305
12:50 Pécs - Beli Manastir 13:53

Distance: 53.1km
Average speed: 51km/h

12 stops:
Pécs-Külváros
Pécsbánya-Rendező
Pécsudvard
Szőkéd
Áta
Kistótfalu
Vokány
Palkonya
Villánykövesd
Villány
Magyarbóly
Beli Manastir

This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-south-east-europe-v9-draft_1053482#11/45.9227/18.4103
6211

Pécs-Külváros

Pretty sure no one got on or off here. Cool font though

Pécsbánya-Rendező

A hive of activity. But trees obscure the building

Pécsudvard

More bus shelter than train station. A couple get on. The Bzmot’s engine scares a cat

Szőkéd

Brutalist station has seen better days. A dude with funky sunglasses gets on

Áta

A neat station building. A second track. But no people.

Kistótfalu

The tiny station was on the other side. So here’s what was on my side

Palkonya

Neatly painted hut

Villánykövesd

An even better painted hut

Villány

This is where everyone was going. There’s even freight

Magyarbóly

So yes the train did end here today. Then it’s a bus across the border… But it’s waiting.

#CrossBorderRail unexpected bus

Magyarbóly - Beli Manastir

This is border 211
Beli Manastir 🇭🇷 - Magyarbóly 🇭🇺

#CrossBorderRail South East Europe 2024 Train 14 of 68
6211
14:25 Beli Manastir - Osijek 14:56
HŽPP

Train type: Macosa 7121 DMU, 2 carriages
⛽️
🚲: ❓(no official space but you could make it work)
🦽: ❓(pretty sure there’s no ramp, although platform is ok)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 😐 (narrow doors, no space for large luggage)
🧽: 🙂

6211
14:25 Beli Manastir - Osijek 14:56

Distance: 27.3km
Average speed: 53km/h

4 stops:
Čeminac
Darda
Osijek Dravski Most
Osijek

This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-south-east-europe-v9-draft_1053482#11/45.6594/18.6541

These Macosa DMUs in Croatia might look ok outside, but they’re *grim*

The motors are insanely loud

Some have air con - a little less loud, but the air is very bad. This one doesn’t - air is better, but noise is deafening

Pro tip: the very front is the quietest there is. Still not great, but passable!

Overall though the infra here is better than I’d expected - on the whole Pécs - Beli Manastir - Osijek route

Replace the Macosa DMU with something better and run some fewer stops InterRegio trains and this would be pretty good

The reason I had a bus was some engineering works - so totally legitimate

Osijek

Croatia’s 4th city

And *nothing* happening at its station!

So that was an effing mess

Typical HŽPP

I went towards what I thought was my train (the only train there was) and asked. It wasn’t my train because my train was replaced by a bus between Osijek and Đurđenovac

And then the HŽPP guy got annoyed by my Interrail pass in a bus so cramped my knees are crushed in

Another passenger told me the reason: “emergency track maintenance” 🤷‍♂️

And really the zeal with which this HŽPP guy is checking tickets on this bus is quite something.

Generally when DB runs a Schienenersatzverkehr bus they don’t check tickets, a sort of “we know this is inconvenient, we’ll leave you in peace”. But not here.