Jon WorthSep 29

Welcome to today's thread - 2025 #CrossBorderRail Conclusions Tour Day 11 - Berlin - Aachen - Maastricht - Liège - Bruxelles

Today's re-visited borders:
Herzogenrath 🇩🇪 - Eygelshoven Markt 🇳🇱
Visé 🇧🇪 - Eijsden 🇳🇱

Borders map, inc. borders re-visited:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-all-the-borders_935041#14/50.8805/6.0867

Today's trains on the routes map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2025-conclusions-tour_1266988?scaleControl=false&miniMap=false&scrollWheelZoom=true&zoomControl=true&editMode=disabled&moreControl=true&searchControl=null&tilelayersControl=null&embedControl=null&datalayersControl=true&onLoadPanel=datalayers&captionBar=false&captionMenus=true&datalayers=ed7a897b-d17f-4a2e-b947-8775ba20c83a#8/51.621/8.866

Show threadJon WorthSep 29
To Maastricht to give a speech at the university, and taking the dreaded Drielandentrein across the border – a nice idea, but an unreliable service. And the day ends in Bruxelles where I then have 2 days of political meetings. #CrossBorderRail
Show threadJon WorthSep 29

#CrossBorderRail Conclusions Tour Train 34 of 74
ICE 1052
07:06 Berlin Hbf - Aachen Hbf 13:11
DB Fernverkehr

Train type: Siemens ICE 4, 7 carriages (short version)
⚡️ (15kV ac)
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (lift on platform, backup lift on board)
🛜: ✅
🍽️: ✅ (somehow the coffee machine was fixed after Hannover!)
🧳: 🙂
🧽: 🙂

🎫 Interrail: 🙂 (accepted)

(now gets a top score, as the coffee machine got fixed!)

Show threadJon WorthSep 29

ICE 1052
07:06 Berlin Hbf - Aachen Hbf 13:11

Distance: 624.1km
Average speed: 103km/h

10 stops:
Berlin-Spandau
Hannover Hbf
Herford
Bielefeld Hbf
Hamm(Westf)Hbf
Wuppertal Hbf
Solingen Hbf
Köln Hbf
Düren
Aachen Hbf

This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2025-conclusions-tour_1266988#8/52.022/9.838

#CrossBorderRail

#CrossBorderRail 2025 Conclusions Tour

The #CrossBorderRail 2025 conclusions tour - mainly to go to events, but adding a few new borders too. 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. All lines on the map are TRAINS, unless otherwise shown with icons along the lines - 🚲 for bike, 🚌 for bus, 🚗 for car, ⛴️ for ferry. Click each line to get basic information what it is.

uMap
Show threadJon WorthSep 29
Autumn sun on the wind turbines of Brandenburg #CrossBorderRail
Show threadJon WorthSep 29
Meanwhile some good potential #CrossBorderRail news from Portugal: Linha da Beira is open again, allowing better connections to Spain at Vilar Formoso. The question though is what / when will there be cross border border passenger traffic? https://www.lok-report.de/news/europa/item/61772-portugal-die-linha-da-beira-wird-vollstaendig-modernisiert-und-mit-neuen-strategischen-verbindungen-wiedereroeffnet.html
LOK Report - Portugal: Die Linha da Beira wird vollständig modernisiert und mit neuen strategischen Verbindungen wiedereröffnet

Mit dem 28. September wurde der Zugverkehr auf der gesamten Strecke der Linha da Beira wieder aufgenommen, mit der Wiedereröffnung des Abschnitts zwischen Pampilhosa und Vilar Formoso. Diese Investition entlang einer 190 Kilometer langen Eisenbahnstrecke garantiert schnellere, sicherere und komforta...

Show threadMartin HoffmannSep 29
@jon Are there any plans for improvements on the Spanish side?
Show threadJon WorthSep 29

@partim Yes, the line to Salamanca is to be electrified, and when I was there in Oct 2023 those works were already ongoing. But given this is Portugal and Spain I'd not be at all surprised if they renovated and then ran nothing.

EDIT: apparently some bridges at the edge of Salamanca still need completion. So December 2026 for electric trains on the line likely.

Show threadMartin HoffmannSep 29
@jon If it’s all electric, maybe Iryo is interested?
Show threadJonas Boström
@partim Even if it's broad gauge? @jon
Sep 29 at 9:24amWeb
Show threadJon WorthSep 29
@Jonas_Bostrom @partim It's all broad gauge indeed, so no, Iryo can't do it. You'd have to use a 252 and some Talgo stock, or some CP carriages.
Show threadMartin HoffmannSep 29
@Jonas_Bostrom @jon Oh, right, d’oh.