Jon WorthNot a full #CrossBorderRail thread today as I’m not crossing any borders 🙂
But the Birdy is with me for the trip to Nantes via Dijon and Nevers
TER 91373
08:40 Nuits-sous-Ravières - Dijon Ville 09:27
SNCF for TER Mobigo BFC
114.64 km/h average
89.8 km
3 stops
Train type: Alstom Régiolis 6 carriages
Also a quick aside…
What’s with station names in France?
My Intercités later stops at St Pierre des Corps - a station on the edge of the city Tours, but Tours isn’t in the station name
Likewise Les Aubrais is on the edge of Orléans, but Orléans isn’t in the name
But they stuck Challes-les-Eaux (popn 5600) on the Chambéry station name although the station isn’t there
And three towns are named at Le Creusot TGV…
The information system on the TER Nuits-sous-Ravières to Dijon was broken
So I wasn’t once warned about gaps between trains and platforms, or to label my bags
And the world didn’t end! 🤯
TER 93011
09:54 Dijon (Ville?) - Nevers 12:19
SNCF for TER Mobigo BFC 88.18km/h
213.1km
9 stops
Bi-mode AGC train, electric first, diesel later. 4 carriages, 4 further carriages to Clermont Ferrand
Upsides of AGC trains (if you’re in the low floor section): massive windows
And the seats are comfortable
Downside: small wheels and no yaw dampers mean a pretty bumpy ride
We’ve now been warned that we can only get out once the train has stopped, and if there is a platform there
Given this is a modern train with centrally locked doors *being able to not respect that would require a staff error*
So announcements like this are for SNCF to legally cover themselves, not actually for any purpose for passengers
Ah
“Objet sur les voies” somewhere near Montchanin
Diverted into Chagny and stuck
Glad I’m on Interrail and can re-plan all of this 🙂
Ah that’s nice
I had to show a map to the train manager to explain to her what is and isn’t blocked here. At the very least SNCF could inform its staff where blockages are
“But freight takes a different route!”
Err no. Not here. Don’t talk shit.
I’ve ended up with a bigger railway organisation f*** up here in Bourgogne than I encountered in 4 weeks in the Balkans! 😀
A reasonable railway - like DB or ÖBB - would have told passengers for Nevers, Bourges etc - to go to Lyon, and held the Intercités there 10 mins for them. Or go via Paris on a TGV.
But that’s another part of SNCF (this is TER Bourgogne Franche Comté) so they can’t do that.
And there’s little spare capacity in the system *anyway* as everyone is so obsessed maximising yield on each train, so there’s no flex in case of disruption.
France has all the disadvantages of a liberalised railway and all the disadvantages of a state operated railway, and pretty much none of the upsides of either.
It’s like “ha ha, who the hell are you, sucker, you stooped to the level of taking a TER! You had it coming for you that it’d not work out. Like why would anyone in their right mind do that? Drive a car instead!”
And to those of you going “there’s a warning light” in response to the earlier toot: it doesn’t work
Safety conscious SNCF my arse
And the point here isn’t safety only, but consistency
A rail firm that warns you with audio messages not to open the doors all the time - when you can’t because they’re locked
BUT
Has a crossing like this with warning lights that don’t work and no staff
HAS A CONSISTENCY PROBLEM
Ah. Top quality.
Due to the disruption at Chagny the train is running in reverse order (first train Clermont, second train Nevers).
I help a Dutch couple who are hence in the wrong half of the train. They ask the station manager at Montchanin who’s NOT been told the train is in reverse order…
… and it turns out I’m right and the station manager is wrong.
Number of announcements to assist passengers: none.
“To travel on this train you must have a valid ticket”
FFS. Thanks for that.
Also to those going “France has a privatised rail system for long distance trains”, NO it doesn’t.
It has a state owned railway, but for long distance services it’s supposed to be at least cost neutral. That’s a very different thing to “private”.
I’m now finally on the move, heading towards Nevers about 90 mins late.
First stop: Le Creusot
No staff on platform. Train manager doesn’t step down onto platform. Signs on the train not working. So passengers don’t know what train this is pitching up at an odd time at the station.
Meanwhile on board the train manager hasn’t bothered with an announcement or explanation of any sort.
Oh yay. A tree falling on the track: not the responsibility of SNCF says the train manager. Isn’t there some responsibility to cut back trees?
Train manager radioing ahead about connections: not my responsibility says the train manager. “You have to go to the desk in Nevers!”
What the **** is your responsibility?
And I tried explaining that the Intercités Lyon - Nevers - Nantes is +80, my Dijon - Nevers is +90, and given there was 8 mins to change… it might help me and fellow passengers…
… but yeah, you guessed it. Not the train manager’s responsibility.
orangerkater@jon when I was young ™️, the train manager in the delayed Corail went to every passenger and asked for connections, and then radioed to Dijon and instructed for the TER to wait. In similar times they even once stopped the TGV Lyria (from Lausanne if I remember correctly) in Les-Laumes because the last TER of the day would not wait for one Passenger (my dad) going there. What a downfall SNCF made in the past 20 years - amazing!
Cécile Hébert
Samy@jon Maybe too busy checking bag for proper labelling…
johan2023@jon it's lunch time
Christof Damian 💙💛@jon What do we want? A nanny or a Darwin state? No risk, no fun! 🙂
@cdamian I want a railway that’s consistent. I want a rail firm that warns me of risks because they’re risks, not because they’re doing so to cover their own arses.
🌺 Cat Pöñíçkøvā@jon i would actually know how the warning works, the situation in the picture, without any further context, does not necessarily imply a failure though
dbenzhuser@jon There is a barrier, even attached with a chain. And the guardrail prevents you from running into the sign post. Looks perfectly safe to me.
@jon why it looks like there's signalization
Sarah Wilson has moved@jon But of course it's safe. They painted yellow stripes! Safety completely assured.
Niklas@jon I'm unreasonably mad about the stripes not being symmetrical.
Walter van Holst@jon Central locking systems can, and sometimes do, fail. I do remember an incident with Dutch Railways having to announce that people should stay from the balconies because there was a central locking system failure. That was decades ago and now they probably would just cancel that particular service instead of going on.
hugo roy
Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦@jon OMG! How did you know which bag was yours!
Germain Ponpon@jon I think the logic is supposed to be: there is no station in Challes-les-Eaux, so the only station covers both towns (maybe when the station was named, both were of similar size/importance?). But there is a station in Orléans, so even though Les Aubrais is close, itʼs only a station for Les Aubrais.
Iʼm not implying itʼs clear or intelligible, or that it shouldnʼt be changed, though 😅
Iʼm not implying itʼs clear or intelligible, or that it shouldnʼt be changed, though 😅
Martijn Geerdes@jon and then there is 'Brussels South Charleroi Airport' only 80 kms from Brussels (a personal anecdote involved, i need not explain)
Oskar@jon yeah, the French naming scheme is confusing. The idea of Hbf/Centrale doesn’t seem to exist and the stations are named after the part of the town they were built in. Except where they’re not. Not even a consistent use of the suffixes centre or Ville. I guess it makes total sense if you’re born in the city.
And don’t go to Nimes Pont du Gard if you want to visit Pont du Gard near Nimes. #rant
@oskard and “Ville” isn’t even consistent. I’m now at Dijon (on the station signs, and SNCF Connect) while DB calls it Dijon Ville.
SK53@jon I give you University in the UK! Not only does it not mention the city, but even when it opened there were two universities in Birmingham.