Welcome to today's thread - 2025 #CrossBorderRail Finale Day 7 - 14 June - Rzeszów - Berlin - Köln - Bruxelles
Today's new borders:
None
Borders map, inc. borders re-crossed:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-all-the-borders_935041#12/52.3268/14.5754
Today's trains on the routes map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2025-finale_1163738#7/51.307/13.173
Here's today's #CrossBorderRail music track
Deutsche Bahn
Wise Guys
Not the greatest work of music, but it makes you laugh! And I no doubt will face some of the problems later!
Unser neues Album "Läuft bei Euch" ist ab sofort bei uns im Shop: http://www.wiseguys-shop.de, auf Amazon: http://amzn.to/1MDvpCj, iTunes: http://www.umgt.de...
#CrossBorderRail Finale Train 33 of 152
EC 56
06:10 Rzeszów Główny - Berlin Gesundbrunnen 15:13
PKP IC
Train type: Siemens EU44 Taurus locomotive, 8 carriages
⚡️ (3kV dc, 15kV ac)
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (lift or ramp on board, not step free)
🛜: ⛔️ (installed but broken)
🍽️: ✅
🧳: 😐 (narrow doors and corridors, OK once inside)
🧽: 🙂
🎫 Interrail: 😐 (needs compulsory reservation for cross border section, costs €3 from ÖBB)
EC 56
06:10 Rzeszów Główny - Berlin Gesundbrunnen 15:13
Distance: 743.9km
Average speed: 82km/h
19 stops:
Dębica
Tarnów
Bochnia
Kraków Płaszów
Kraków Główny
Katowice
Zabrze
Gliwice
Kędzierzyn-Koźle
Opole Główne
Wrocław Główny
Legnica
Lubin
Głogów
Zielona Góra Główna
Rzepin
Frankfurt/Oder
Berlin Lichtenberg
Berlin Gesundbrunnen
This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2025-finale_1163738#8/51.179/18.273
Agggh, someone in the compartment is typing on their phone and with the tap-tap keyboard noise on, something I do not understand the purpose of.
Is is socially acceptable to ask the guy to set his phone to silent?
Jon 1 - 0 DB
No info whatsoever about connections in the EuroCity into Berlin
But a quick re-planning to change in Lichtenberg onto a S-Bahn rather than Gesundbrunnen onto a RE and I’ll get my connection at Hbf
Other passengers could have done likewise!
Ah
This ICE 554 Berlin - Köln had a strange timetable, and now I have - I think? - worked it out
It reverses in Hannover Hbf, and will go via Paderborn (not stopping) to Hagen
What the hell for?
So, assessments...
#CrossBorderRail Finale Train 34 of 152
S5
15:34 Berlin Lichtenberg - Berlin Hbf 15:54
DB S-Bahn Berlin
Train type: Adtranz, DWA 481/482 EMU, 4x 2 carriages
⚡️ (750V dc third rail)
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔
🧳: 🙂 (lots of multi use spaces)️
🧽: 🙂 (clean by S-Bahn standards!)
🎫 Interrail: 🙂 (accepted)
S5
15:34 Berlin Lichtenberg - Berlin Hbf 15:54
Distance: 9.9km
Average speed: 30km/h
9 stops:
Berlin Nöldnerplatz
Berlin Ostkreuz (S)
Berlin Warschauer Straße
Berlin Ostbahnhof (S)
Berlin Jannowitzbrücke
Berlin Alexanderplatz (S)
Berlin Hackescher Markt
Berlin Friedrichstraße (S)
Berlin Hbf (S-Bahn)
This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2025-finale_1163738#13/52.5138/13.4333
The final big #CrossBorderRail tour - to the eastern borders of the EU, and missing intra-EU borders. In June-July 2025. Each day of the project is a Layer in the map - these should be displayed by default, or if not click the three layered diamonds icon "Open browser" to the left side of the map. The icons are all for borders, roughly coloured to differentiate the borders. A cross through a track means NO TRAINS CAN RUN. A cross through trains but not track means TRAINS CAN RUN BUT NO PASSENGER TRAINS. And TRAIN AND TRACK (no crosses) means there is a passenger service.
#CrossBorderRail Finale Train 35 of 152
ICE 554
16:08 Berlin Hbf - Köln Hbf 21:14
DB Fernverkehr
Train type: AEG, ABB, Henschel, Krauss, Krupp, Siemens ICE 1, 2 power cars and 9 carriages
⚡️ (15kV ac)
🚲: ⛔️ (thanks @f09fa681 for pointing out the error!)
🦽: ✅ (lift on platform)
🛜: ✅
🍽️: ✅
🧳: 🙂 (well designed)️
🧽: 🙂
🎫 Interrail: 🙂 (accepted)
ICE 554
16:08 Berlin Hbf - Köln Hbf 21:14
Distance: 571.6km (routing via Paderborn due to engineering works)
Average speed: 112km/h
6 stops:
Berlin Hbf
Berlin-Spandau
Hannover Hbf
Hagen Hbf
Wuppertal Hbf
Köln Hbf
This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2025-finale_1163738#8/51.779/10.197
The final big #CrossBorderRail tour - to the eastern borders of the EU, and missing intra-EU borders. In June-July 2025. Each day of the project is a Layer in the map - these should be displayed by default, or if not click the three layered diamonds icon "Open browser" to the left side of the map. The icons are all for borders, roughly coloured to differentiate the borders. A cross through a track means NO TRAINS CAN RUN. A cross through trains but not track means TRAINS CAN RUN BUT NO PASSENGER TRAINS. And TRAIN AND TRACK (no crosses) means there is a passenger service.
Pfff...
ICE is 33 mins late currently, and I have 30 mins to connect in Köln with the last ICE to Bruxelles
And another ICE that is meant to connect with that Bruxelles train is 13 mins late, and has a 9 min connecting time
There must be enough of us on these two trains to hold it a few minutes...?
I am told DB now uses a data model to calculate this, not allowing train managers to ask for trains to be held. But as I am on Interrail I assume there's no data I even need the connection...
Also when I explained the predicament to the train manager, she rolled her eyes, as if "what, are you mad, you planned in only 30 minutes connecting in Köln"
"This isn't the last ICE to connect to the last Brussels train" I told her, there is one *after* this, with just 9 minutes to connect - I planned in extra!
Aaaand it looks like I will be spending the night in a hotel somewhere, or DB organises a taxi
The delay on my train has mounted, the connecting train is waiting a bit in Köln for some others (I presume the less delayed ICE 544) but not for my train (ICE 554)
I did the right thing - took the connection with the more generous changing time in Köln - and today that has backfired and left me stuck
@jon Ouff. Good thing that. In theory from what I understood, a chain of optional reservation trains on Interrail even without reservations (as long as not crossing borders) should count as a through-ticket. Lots of qualifiers and also like you say, good luck proving that 😬
Glad it worked out somehow for you anyway! Hope the rest works out well and you get to sleep soon.
@jon replacing human decision with data is a bad idea especially on trains…
Guess DB Management thinks everyone just has a sparpreis… now I wonder if they use saves trips on DB navigator as data, if so we can build a connection guarantee army of robots 😂
@jon I've taken to making my seat reservation on that route via DB even though the ticket is an interrail pass, specifically so that my 'need' shows up in DB's data.
Side benefits are that it is cheaper and the DB app gives me progress reports etc.
Might be a bit chaotic right now. Berlin - Hamburg is closed atm.
@jon i am sure you saw this https://www.ft.com/content/6f719dcd-1df0-4b45-af3b-b08ff548537c (£)
totally bizarre that they think 1) spending billions to reduce delays on trains will keep out the far right and 2) spending tens/hundreds of millions to induce delays on trains will keep out the far right
maybe think is too strong a word
@annehargreaves i don't want to describe them as "far-right people" but people who vote for the far-right in Germany definitely take trains. In parts of the ex-GDR 40% of votes went to AfD https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-results-explained-in-graphics/a-71724186
@annehargreaves i don't have any data on it but my hunch would be that reform supporters are predominantly in the north and in the north of the UK trains are more of a theoretical construct than a useful form of public transport
the high fares are there to reduce overcrowding, fwiw, so they're more of a symptom of underinvestment and dysfunction than something that can be changed directly without causing other problems
@jon It’s definitely a surprise to be seeing you passing through all around me these last few days/week
The Wroclaw-Berlin route historically used to be one of the fastest, but all Germany/Poland connections are so so these days
@scyzoryk Right, it was one of the best ones, but then they improved everything else *more*!
But at least Germany-Poland things are happening - Szczecin-Berlin is steadily being re-built, there are trains through Guben again, more EuroCity trains Poland to Berlin. Sure, we can do better still, but there is some progress!
Jon Worth
Stefan Lindbohm
kadse 
Torben
Ben Clifford
Maartje
Tim Panton
Poupou
Emilia Jarochowska 🇺🇦🌱
Norra kommissionen
Martin Schröder 🇺🇳
NymeHess
Michael 🐸
Oliver Blanthorn
AnneH
Markus Fink
zakzak
波鉄 (Hatetsu)