Welcome to today's thread - #CrossBorderRail 2026 Tour Day 07 - 4 Mar - Almere - Utrecht - Arnhem - Duisburg
New borders:
None
Borders already crossed:
Emmerich 🇩🇪 - Zevenaar 🇳🇱
Speech at RailTech Utrecht, followed by a meeting of European Rail Passengers Union. And then onwards to Germany to end the day, to be able to make a early start tomorrow towards Hungary.
Today's routes on the routes map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#10/51.901068/5.962185
Here’s today‘s #CrossBorderRail intro video, sorry for loud train noise behind!
#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Train 18 of 80
RE 4925
08:24 Almere Muziekwijk - Utrecht Centraal 09:05
NS
Train type: Bombardier SLT 2400 EMU, 2x 4 short carriages
⚡️ (1.5kV dc)
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 😐 (not the best - poor racks, needs more space in vestibules)
🧽: 😐 (windows grimy)
Interrail: 🙂 (accepted)
RE 4925
08:24 Almere Muziekwijk - Utrecht Centraal 09:05
Distance: 42.4km
Average speed: 69km/h
6 stops:
Almere Poort
Naarden-Bussum
Hilversum
Hilversum Sportpark
Utrecht Overvecht
Utrecht Centraal
This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#11/52.228827/5.129720
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.
My workshop about #CrossChannelRail is first, at 10:10
There aren’t many people in the hall yet. And do people who care about track fastenings care about this? We‘ll see 🤔
No live stream though sadly
Quick escape from RailTech and walk into Utrecht
Utrecht Centraal is both rather uncharming and amazing. The amazing passenger/rail/bike capacity here is impressive
#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Train 22 of 83
IC 3075
20:54 Utrecht Centraal - Arnhem Centraal 21:29
NS
Train type: Talbot VIRM EMU, 4 double deck carriages
⚡️ (1.5kV dc)
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (ramp on platform)
🛜: ✅
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 😐 (not the worst design, but still a mess with big bags)
🧽: ☹️ (covered in grime)
Interrail: 🙂 (accepted)
IC 3075
20:54 Utrecht Centraal - Arnhem Centraal 21:29
Distance: 56.7km
Average speed: 97km/h
3 stops:
Driebergen-Zeist
Ede-Wageningen
Arnhem Centraal
This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#10/52.095961/5.431366
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.
#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Train 23 of 83
RE19 (21235)
22:45 Arnhem Centraal - Emmerich 23:05
VIAS Rail GmbH
Train type: Stadler EMU, 6 short carriages
⚡️ (1.5kV dc, 25kV ac, 15kV ac)
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free)
🛜: ⛔️ (installed but broken)
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂
🧽: 🙂
Interrail: 🙂 (accepted)
RE19 (21235)
22:45 Arnhem Centraal - Emmerich 23:05
Distance: 30.9km
Average speed: 93km/h
3 stops:
Zevenaar
Emmerich-Elten
Emmerich
This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#12/51.910073/6.077843
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.
#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Train 24 of 83
RE19 (20043)
23:08 Emmerich - Duisburg Hbf 00:15
VIAS Rail GmbH
Train type: Stadler EMU, 6 short carriages
⚡️ (15kV ac)
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free)
🛜: ✅
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂️
🧽: 😐 (end of the day, quite a lot of rubbish inside)
Interrail: 🙂 (accepted)
RE19 (20043)
23:08 Emmerich - Duisburg Hbf 00:15
Distance: 68.2km
Average speed: 61km/h
13 stops:
Praest
Millingen(b Rees)
Empel-Rees
Haldern(Rheinl)
Mehrhoog
Wesel Feldmark
Wesel
Voerde(Niederrhein)
Dinslaken
Oberhausen-Holten
Oberhausen-Sterkrade
Oberhausen Hbf
Duisburg Hbf
This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#11/51.632411/6.555390
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.
Ah, problems ahead #CrossBorderRail
What do I do?
Change in Nürnberg, get the diverted ICE via Ingolstadt and Passau instead?
Stay on, assuming they will add a Betriebshalt in Ingolstadt, and still get the ICE to Wien there?
Stay on to München and hope it all works? 🤔
Est delay: 1 hour in München. 💥go my #CrossBorderRail connections.
Let’s re-plan this then…
Depart Plattling
4 guys, plain clothes, stand by the door
That'll be police I thought
They come through the train
The control first a guy with his neck covered in tattoos (there are no ethnic minority passengers in view)
And then they control ME
(Translated here into English, but discussion was in German)
First, to make it clear, these were Polizei Bayern, NOT Bundespolizei
Police, showing his ID: "Gruß Gott!" (Bavarian hello, means Greet God! - always makes this atheist annoyed). "Identity check!"
Me: "Could I ask, why are you controlling?"
P: "This is a train to Austria!"
M: "Yes, we are LEAVING Germany!"
P: "Yes, but it is still a border!"
M: "But sorry, I am leaving. Why are you checking?"
P: "But we are checking for illegal migration! As the Bavarian police law allows us!"
M: "So is this a border control then?"
P, stumbles a bit, realises what I am trying: "It is, errr, an identity control"
M: "OK, that was the right answer." and I hand him my ID.
His colleague: "We are allowed to control"
M: "Yes, I know, and this is not your fault - this is decided by Berlin and to some extent München, it's not your decision."
P colleague: "But why is this a problem?"
M: "Look, I work on railway policy, and my background is in EU politics, and I see this over and over. In the EU I find this annoying."
P: "But the controls are only temporary, so they are legally compliant"
M: "Yes, temporary for six months, renewed every six months. How many times do we have to renew before they are permanent?"
He realised he was not going to win this, and it was all impeccably civil.
P: "But why are these controls actually limiting your freedom of movement?"
M: "Well, to give you your due you are doing this in a moving train. That is not the case at every German border!"
P looks confused.
M: "At Kehl for example, they stop and delay every train for 15 minutes - that is a limit on freedom of movement."
P nodded.
Jon Worth
Fab Ataqe
Enola Knezevic