Euractiv tries to explain why rail ticketing is in von der Leyen’s political priorities https://www.euractiv.com/section/railways/news/von-der-leyens-second-attempt-at-single-ticket-rail-travel/?trk=feed_main-feed-card_feed-article-content

And I have Gell-Mann Amnesia https://themindcollection.com/gell-mann-amnesia-effect/

I’m going to have to write an explainer

It’s obvious to many people what’s broken - EU wide train ticket booking doesn’t work as well as it should

But where it’s better or worse, why this is the case, why the industry alone will not fix this, and what to do about it are all poorly understood

This is WHY the Commission should act https://jonworth.eu/note-to-the-new-eu-transport-commissioner-fixing-cross-border-rail-ticketing-will-help-millions-of-europeans-and-can-secure-your-legacy/

And in spring I wrote a detailed and long report about European rail ticketing - that has a bunch of case studies about what needs fixing https://jonworth.eu/a-report-for-jakop-dalunde-mep-and-a-follow-up-event-about-rail-and-multimodal-ticketing-in-the-eu/

The political context has changed a bit since then, but the practical issues remain the same

Back to today's project... going to find the cross border Régiolis trains parked up rusting

Rheinland Pfalz now only sees the new contract for operations in place from December 2027! 😡 https://www.zoepnv-sued.de/projekte/grand-est (right at the bottom)

That's a full 3 years later than planned, and means the trains will only run 8 years after being ordered, and 6 years after the first one was delivered. FFS

Ok, the approval of these cross border Régiolis trains

They're notionally class Z85500, can also be known as Régiolis and Coradia Polyvalent, built by an Alstom works that got taken over by CAF

But I find no approval of them in the ERA ERATV database: https://eratv.era.europa.eu/Eratv/Search

Someone who knows this better than me - @partim maybe? - is there something I am missing to find an approval?

Or could EBA still approve these for Germany?

Damn rail reporting is full of 💩

“Das Besondere an den neuen Triebwagen: Sie verfügen über eine Mehrsystemtechnik, mit der sie elektrisch fahren und nicht elektrifizierte Teilstücke mit Dieselantrieb überbrücken können. 40 Mio. Euro hat die Entwicklung des neuen Fahrzeugtyps gekostet, welche die Projektpartner gemeinsam stemmen.”

Eh come on

Geneva has Régiolis that can do 15kV
France has dozens of electro-diesel Régiolis *for a decade*

So all these FR-DE Régiolis do is combine these two

Meanwhile my trip is going to 💩 in Frankfurt

The Riedbahn is closed for works

My train was meant to take the diversion via Darmstadt

But 💥 something has hit a bridge, part closing that line… so we’re going on the even longer detour via Worms instead

I’ll get to Lauterbourg eventually 🙂

How many sides of Mainz would you like to see?

DB: yes

Ah this is what has buggered everything up https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/14915/5834425

A truck has hit a bridge on the rail line to Darmstadt

A passenger was just really rude to a DB staff member here about the delay

It was a 🛻 striking a bridge! You can’t blame DB here! FFS

#CrossBorderRail 2024 Mystery Trains Days
Train 2/10

RB 51 (12432)
14:34 Karlsruhe Hbf
14:52 Wörth(Rhein)
13.2km
44km/h
DB Regio AG Mitte

Train type: Talent DMU 3 carriages
⛽️
🚲: ✅ (lots of space)
🦽: ❓ (entry too low in Karlsruhe you’d need some ramp inside - how?)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂 (lots of space, multi use areas)
🧽: 😐 (grimy and worn)

Deluxe #CrossBorderRail

🦽 ❌
❄️ ❌

But
🚲 ✅
⏰ Stundentakt ✅

#CrossBorderRail 2024 Mystery Trains Days
Train 3/10

RB 52 (81471)
15:19 Wörth(Rhein)
15:36 Lauterbourg
12.5km
44km/h
DB Regio AG Mitte

Train type: 628 DMU, 2 carriages
⛽️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ⛔️
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂
🧽: 🙂 (it’s old but neat)

And yes, a knackered non disabled accessible DMU is being used for the #CrossBorderRail service here - because the new trains ordered… aren’t running yet

And might well not run for some time

Which is exactly why I’m here

So…

13 (of the 30) 4 carriage brand new Régiolis trains for France-Germany #CrossBorderRail operation found parked up at Lauterbourg

#CrossBorderRail 2024 Mystery Trains Days
Train 4/10

TER30735
17:40 Lauterbourg
18:38 Hoenheim
c 50km
c 52km/h
SNCF for TER Grand Est Fluo

Train type: Régiolis bi-mode 4 carriages
⛽️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ❓ (train is fine but stations barely have platforms)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂
🧽: 🙂

And I know why it’s called Bienenwaldbahn 🐝

There are lots of bees in the flowers on the track! 🙂

#CrossBorderRail

Edit: oops it’s the Bienwaldbahn. Not Bienen. My name is better 🙂 Thanks @giggls for the correction though!

#CrossBorderRail 2024 Mystery Trains Days
Train 5/10

TER830568
21:10 Strasbourg
21:47 Haguenau
33.9km
?km/h (wasn’t meant to take it!)
SNCF for TER Grand Est Fluo

Train type: Régiolis Bi-Mode 6 carriages
⚡️initially, ⛽️ later
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂
🧽: 🙂

Today and tomorrow for #CrossBorderRail I’m using my spare Birdy

It’s in better condition than my main one, the expedition rack with Vaude bags works well, but it has hub gears and back pedal brakes - not my favourite for touring

But given it cost me just €150 I can’t complain (I added extras costing probably €80)

And damn I’m tired and annoyed

How the HELL do France and Germany manage to spend €376 million of public money on 30 #CrossBorderRail trains but LEAVE THEM SITTING AROUND - and possibly for another 3 and a half years! - rather than RUNNING THEM?

Ok. New day. Calm morning. So I’ll cycle Haguenau - Reichshoffen instead of taking the train #CrossBorderRail

Let’s see how many Régiolis I find today! 🙂

The Régiolis hunt continues

I need to check all the pics but I think I’ve identified 7 more here in Reichshoffen

So that’s 2/3 of the 30 strong fleet I’ve located

Edit: no, there was 1 more. 8 in Reichshoffen. So that’s 21 total I’ve located

#CrossBorderRail 2024 Mystery Trains Days
Train 6/10

TER32911
09:47 Reichshoffen Ville
10:06 Haguenau
18.2km
61km/h
SNCF for TER Grand Est Fluo

Train type: Régiolis bi mode 6 carriages
⛽️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂
🧽: 🙂

#CrossBorderRail 2024 Mystery Trains Days
Train 7/10

TER30521
10:18 Haguenau
10:45 Mundolsheim
?km
?km/h
Change of plan - wasn’t meant to take this!
SNCF for TER Grand Est Fluo

Train type: AGC DMU, 4 carriages
⛽️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂
🧽: 😐 (grimy and worn)

And there are 2 #CrossBorderRail Régiolis in Strasbourg (1 in the middle of this pic)

This brings the totals to
13 Lauterbourg
8 Reichshoffen
2 Strasbourg

So I’ve located 23 of the 30 strong fleet of these trains

That’s enough for my purposes now…

And here’s the current #CrossBorderRail service Strasbourg - Offenburg

3 🐋 rail buses when run by SNCF (1/3 of services), just 2 RS1 rail buses when run by SWEG (2/3 of services)

And today it was *packed* with Interrailers

Ah #CrossBorderRail tariffs

My Grand Est Carte Fluo ISN’T valid to Kehl (first German station) and Deutschlandticket ISN’T valid to Krimmeri or Strasbourg French side

And Strasbourg or Krimmeri Meinau to Kehl is €4,90. Krimmeri - Kehl is just 6.7km…