Stefan LindbohmMar 8

My minigolfing of regional rail branding across Europe continues, and now we show train names/brands across the Netherlands on Railfinder! And as a bonus we now also show line numbers where we have that data.

Big thanks to @partim for explaining the systems-within-systems for how NL regional rail is organised & marketed. Saved quite some research!

If you see any train branding/names/lines that’s off (in NL or elsewhere), I always want to hear that feedback for my next minigolfing session.

Show threadOliver BlanthornMar 8

@stefanlindbohm https://www.railfinder.eu/search?from=14988&to=16049&date=2026-03-09&p=A

you don't seem to know that trains are trains in the UK 🤔

is it blocked by making a narrower icon to reflect the restricted loading gauge?

(and yes i was checking for hovercraft)

Portsmouth and Southsea to Sandown, 2026-03-09

Railfinder
Show threadOliver BlanthornMar 8

@stefanlindbohm oh, also, the ferry definitely isn't operated by South West Trains and they get a bit shirty if you imply they are

and the wording on "operated by [XYZ] service" is a bit awkward :)

Show threadStefan LindbohmMar 8
@bovine3dom It’s not us implying this is the case – it’s the data sent by RDG to UIC! Same with the names of UK TOC’s (”Service” is part of the name). I have fixed some of them to have the actual current company names, but I don’t have a complete list so I kinda fix case by case when I run into something that seems wrong. Next up South West Trains, I guess :)
Show threadMartin HoffmannMar 8
@stefanlindbohm @bovine3dom In which case, “First Great Western Service” should also become “Great Western Railway.” Also with the green GWR logo added?
Show threadStefan LindbohmMar 8

@partim @bovine3dom Fixed Great Western, South Western and Wightlink (the ferry in Portsmouth).

The hovercraft seems to not be integrated in rail ticketing and use ports slightly off from the stations, or..?

Show threadMartin HoffmannMar 8
@stefanlindbohm @bovine3dom It actually is and it’s even cheaper to buy a rail ticket with at least one stop on the Island Line. They even throw in the bus from Portsmouth and Southsea station to Southsea Hoverport.
Show threadStefan LindbohmMar 8

@partim @bovine3dom Hmmmmmmmmm, where did the timetable for the hovercraft go then? What are the station/port names I should look at?

The connection we’re looking at in the results is the Wightlink catamaran as far as I can tell(?).

Show threadMartin Hoffmann

@stefanlindbohm @bovine3dom The hovercraft goes from “Southsea Hoverport” (SHV) to “Ryde Hoverport” (XRD). The shuttle bus goes from “Portsmouth and Southsea.”

The regular ferry goes from Portsmouth Harbour.

Mar 8 at 8:47pmWeb
Show threadStefan LindbohmMar 8
@partim @bovine3dom Got it! Those are not reported to MERITS so we’d have to dig them up from the NAP source and merge it in that case. That’s going to be a future-me problem for now :)
Show threadOliver BlanthornMar 8

@stefanlindbohm it's already in fahrtle 😎

```
{"source":"gb_great-britain.gtfs","trip_id":"VJ10d2eb16251fd58986cd0c100f571d1b44bcd2ea","stop_id":"9300RYH1","stop_lat":50.73262,"stop_lon":-1.1578635,...
```

Transitous are using a feed provided by an autism-friendly transport app under ODbL terms

@partim

Show threadStefan LindbohmMar 8

@bovine3dom Showoff! :)

@partim

Show threadOliver BlanthornMar 8

@stefanlindbohm you might seriously find fahrtle useful for scouting out ferry routes

i spent a stupid amount of time learning how to get transport data out of OSM and so now i have ferry data at useful zoom levels rather than only when you're zoomed in really close

it's all open source of course but learning how it works is probably less useful than the output

@partim

Show threadStefan LindbohmMar 9

@bovine3dom Oooh nice thinking. I did find a specific ferry map that I used when making some ferry research last, but I’ll use fahrtle next time!

@partim