Jon Worth
Made it across Paris in one piece
The city might have solid bike infrastructure, but damn many cyclists here are annoying, or have death wishes, or both
And while Paris Nord is often associated with nasty train boarding experiences, it is an amazing station if you have time and calm to appreciate it
#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Train 14 of 80
TGV 7025
10:12 Paris Nord - Lille Flandres 11:18
SNCF Voyageurs
Train type: Alstom TGV Duplex, 8 short double deck carriages, 2 power cars
⚡️ (25kV ac)
🚲: ⛔️
🦽: ✅ (step free, then lift down inside)
🛜: ✅
🍽️: ⛔️ (there is a dining car but it’s not open)
🧳: 😐 (it’s empty today, so it’s passable)
🧽: 🙂
Interrail: 😐 (needs compulsory reservation, costs at least €10)
TGV 7025
10:12 Paris Nord - Lille Flandres 11:18
Distance: 225.2km
Average speed: 205km/h
1 stops:
Lille Flandres
This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#8/50.097679/2.449951
#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour
Tours in Spring 2026. 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.
I meanwhile wondered if SNCF Connect has finally put their problem of their lack of international booking right... so I tried Paris - Mainz
Type Mainz into DB and it gives you Mainz Hbf as the first option in the search
SNCF Connect calls Mainz Hbf "Mayence (Mainz)" but drops Hbf. Put Hbf and it gives you Hbf (Ersatzverkehr). What? 😳
And if you put Mainz and choose "Ville" from the list, not "Gare", it gives you routes to Mainz Römisches Theater, changing at Bad Munster am Stein
Obviously 🤷♂️
I presume because Römisches Theater is closest to the geographical centre of Mainz?
But weirdly it does give prices... and even sort of Sparpreis. But with €15 price difference.
Why?
How?
Oh and this is an interesting one
SNCF Connect *will* give me a 13 min connection in Mannheim, off the France-Germany ICE
DB will NOT give me that connection, I presume because they know that Dobrindt's illegal non- #Schengen compliant border controls will almost certainly mean the connection is missed in Mannheim. DB puts you on a later ICE in Frankfurt instead
Also the other day I found a Germany-France case where SNCF would not give me a tight connection in Strasbourg, but DB would
Now here is a case where SNCF will give me a tight connection in Mannheim, and DB will not
Vive la coopération !
Es lebe die Zusammenarbeit!
But back to what I was *trying* to work out, before SNCF Connect's weird takes on German stations confused me...
SNCF *CAN* sell a bunch of connections in Germany again
But it *CANNOT* sell a Paris - Brugge 🇧🇪 or Marseille - Genova 🇮🇹. There it tries to sell me half the journey
I also really appreciate that - although it cannot sell me a ticket for it - SNCF *can* show me the Bruxelles - Brugge train, but does not know what type of train it is, so just puts EMPTY in the result
Like DB has been able to do this correctly in a web search since I did I first Interrail trip in 2001 (and yes that is not a typo)
SNCF Connect cannot do what DB search has been doing for at least 25 years
Right then
Calm and on time TGV to Lille Flandres
Finally getting close to today's target: the border north of Orchies 🇫🇷
And the Ma Gare SNCF App - about the only SNCF app with a passable UX - tells me my next train is on Platform 6
And passengers can share electric plugs 🔌
#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Train 15 of 80
TER 41911
12:05 Lille Flandres - Orchies 12:20
SNCF for TER Hauts de France
Train type: Alstom 2N NG EMU, 3 double deck carriages
⚡️ (25kV ac)
🚲: ✅ (well designed space)
🦽: ✅ (step free)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂 (ok for a commuter service)
🧽: 🙂 (bit worn, but orderly)
Interrail: 🙂 (accepted)
TER 41911
12:05 Lille Flandres - Orchies 12:20
Distance: 22km
Average speed: 88km/h
1 stops:
Orchies
This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#12/50.556961/3.159943
#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour
Tours in Spring 2026. 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.
This is the type of #CrossBorderRail that’s great. I’ve never been to Orchies. I’ll likely never go again. But I’m sure I’ll stumble on some interesting things between there and Tournai 🇧🇪
#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Bike 6 of 15
Orchies - Tournai
Distance: 26km
Est. duration: 2:00
This bike route, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#12/50.552816/3.310318
The #CrossBorderRail line used to run where this house is located. This one isn’t returning.
Whoosh #CrossBorderRail
(This was the boring option I didn’t take!)
And I got to Tournai. Nice cycling. Hopeless for #CrossBorderRail
No hope for
Bachy 🇫🇷 - Tournai 🇧🇪
Too long gone
Ah great. Stuck in Leuze, just one stop beyond Tournai, due to some problems with a level crossing. Connection in Bruxelles missed… This‘ll be a long #CrossChannelRail trip to Almere this afternoon.
Now moving.
And there’s a… Siemens Velaro for Egypt parked up beside the HSL between Ath and Silly.
#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Train 16 of 80
IC 3214
15:04 Tournai - Bruxelles Midi 16:12
SNCB
Train type: Bombardier/Alstom M7 Power Car, 5 double deck carriages, driving control car
⚡️ (3kV dc)
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free if station allows, Tournai isn’t)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 😐 (large vestibules, but no good space for large bags)
🧽: 🙂
Interrail: 🙂 (accepted)
IC 3214
15:04 Tournai - Bruxelles Midi 16:12
Distance: 81.1km
Average speed: 72km/h
6 stops:
Leuze
Ath
Silly
Enghien/Edingen
Hal
Bruxelles Midi
This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#11/50.713635/3.868561
#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour
Tours in Spring 2026. 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.
So the line Mechelen - Antwerpen is blocked, near Duffel
I could wait for it to clear, OR go to Antwerpen via Gent… 🤔
Must be said information provision from SNCB has been quite horrible today
Yes they tell you what is/isn‘t running
But what to DO instead, there’s nothing
I’m risking this via Gent myself and it might save me…
These are the ways
❌ is what’s blocked
Going via Gent (what I’m trying) is map 1. You could try via Leuven (map 2). Bruxelles - Lokeren or St Niklaas take longer
OK, some assessments, now everything has also been re-mapped!
#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Train 17 of 83
IC 8008
16:47 Bruxelles Midi - Gent St Pieters 17:15
SNCB
Train type: Siemens Class 18 locomotive, 6 M5 double deck carriages
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (needs lift on platform)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 😐 (really massive step up to get in)️
🧽: 🙂
Interrail: 🙂 (accepted)
Maartje
Suzanne ‘bionic’ Veerman