Jon Worth

Ah

Dreilandentrein doesn't work well

SHOCK!

https://www.aachener-zeitung.de/lokales/region-aachen/aachen/dreilaenderzug-kommt-nicht-ins-rollen-re18-laesst-fahrgaeste-am-bahnsteig-stehen/30619188.html

(The whole development of this has been a saga, and is mostly the fault of the Belgians. Everyone was too busy crowing that it runs in three countries and couldn't fix the operational and ticketing dysfunction)

#CrossBorderRail

Dreiländerzug kommt nicht ins Rollen: RE18 lässt Fahrgäste am Bahnsteig stehen

Ausfallende Züge, schlechte Kommunikation: Der RE18 war als Leuchtturmprojekt für die Dreiländerregion gestartet, hat mittlerweile aber das Vertrauen der Pendler verspielt. Gibt es noch eine Zukunft für die Verbindung?

Aachener Zeitung
Jan 6, 2025 at 1:51pmWeb
Show threadQuixoticgeekJan 6, 2025
@jon I've used it a couple of times for liege to Maastricht using an interrail pass. And I've used it to Aachen using an OV chipkaart. The ticketing on the Belgian end is a mess. They need to roll out some OV chipkaart posts on the Belgian side asap. Would solve a lot of the problems. Also every time I used it it was full. They could go to every half hour or even every 15 mins. The demand is there. But SNCB suck.
Show threadJon WorthJan 6, 2025
@quixoticgeek And SNCB sort of wants this to fail as it's Arriva and they see this as the wedge for others to muscle in on their network. But Arriva's maintenance is also crap - that does not help.
Show threadQuixoticgeekJan 6, 2025
@jon i misread that as SNCF at first. The fact it made perfect sense for it to be SNCF says a lot about SNCB. Both need a giant kick up the arse and to start trying to run a proper train service. If SNCB really wanted to be useful they would add their own service on the same line using OV chip...
Show threadJon WorthJan 6, 2025
@quixoticgeek They’d blame the Belgian state for preventing them doing it. And the Belgian state would be too dysfunctional to fix it.
Show threadTorstenJan 6, 2025
I suppose we can count ourselves lucky that we’re now at a place where the line sucks for mostly “normal” reasons (not enough personnel, trains breaking down, busy infrastructure around Aachen) instead of cross-border bureaucracy. Except for ticketing of course.
Show threadKrist van BesienJan 6, 2025
@jon in Belgium, just like in France the main product of the railways is not "transportation" but "jobs".
Show threadMartin HoffmannJan 6, 2025
@jon Mind you, the fact that SNCB insisted on using their own staff means the Liège to Maastricht leg is the only portion of this service operating fairly reliably.
Show threadMatthew FullertonJan 6, 2025
@jon we wanted to get from Aachen to Maastricht yesterday and the reverse today. Absolute mess, especially with information when things aren't running, short notice cancellation, ticketing in general and especially with children. Yesterday my son and I took the bus, today a relative rescued us from Heerlen to get to where we needed to be. Train driver for our train at Heerlen was pissed too, that his train was cancelled. He said the old system of two trains and 1hr frequency worked better 🤷‍♂️
Show threadJintro PaulyJan 6, 2025
@jon I travel on the RE18 between Maastricht and Herzogenrath once every few months and unfortunately recognise this too. Reliability was never great but got worse since it officially became a "drielandentrein."
Show threadJintro PaulyJan 6, 2025
@jon My last experience was 1,5 weeks ago (27-12). RE18 was cancelled and replaced by two trains with an extra change in Heerlen the evening before. On the morning itself the Maastricht-Heerlen train was also cancelled and replaced by a bus that arrived too late to connect to the train to Aachen, forcing me to take an earlier train to Heerlen. Of course, no info at all was provided on the train about how to get to Herzogenrath/Aachen, presumably leaving less-experienced travellers in the dark.