Jon WorthMar 9

Welcome to today's thread - #CrossBorderRail 2026 Tour Day 10 - 9 Mar - Beograd - Osijek - Beli Manastir - Drávakeresztúr

New borders:
Baranjsko Petrovo Selo 🇭🇷 - Beremend 🇭🇺
Donji Miholjac 🇭🇷 - Drávaszabolcs 🇭🇺
Terezino Polje 🇭🇷 - Drávasztára-Zaláta 🇭🇺

The Hungary-Croatia border was set in 1920 in the Treaty of Trianon, and that cut many railway lines. I am going to check out 3 of them today.

Today's routes on the routes map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#9/45.231382/19.000854

Show threadJon WorthMar 9

#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Bus 3 of 11

06:30 Beograd - Osijek 10:08
Šid Ekspres

Bus type: VDL Berkhof coach

🚲: ⛔ (not officially, but the hold is massive - you might manage)
🦽: ⛔️
🛜: ⛔
🍽️: ⛔
🧳: 🙂 (loads of space)️
🧽: 🙂 (it's old, but it's well looked after)️

Funny

I have a ticket with a barcode on my phone

The driver has the same ticket, printed 🙂

That’s not how digital ticketing is meant to work!

Show threadJon WorthMar 9
I've not been able to film a #CrossBorderRail intro this morning. At some point once I am off this bus I will manage 🙂
Show threadJon WorthMar 9

Šid #CrossBorderRail

Third time I’ve been here in less than two years

Show threadJon WorthMar 9
There’s a huge line of trucks at the border. My bus is overtaking them. #CrossBorderRail
Show threadJon WorthMar 9

Leaving Serbia. I’m the only no local on the bus.

Border guard, very snappy, looking at my bicycle pannier (in the bus, the bike is underneath in the hold)

What inside?

I open it. There are sandwiches, water. A laptop

Where you go?

Osijek (which is the destination)

Why?, accusingly

I have a bike

And then he doesn’t even check the hold!

#CrossBorderRail

Show threadJon Worth
Now the Croatian side. It’s a more modern border station but no less inefficient.
Mar 9 at 8:02amWeb
Show threadJon WorthMar 9

#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Train 33 of 86
R 6208
11:47 Osijek - Beli Manastir 12:17
HZPP

Train type: Bombardier 612 tilting DMU, 2 carriages
⛽️
🚲: ⛔️
🦽: ✅ (theoretically but I don’t know how)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ❓(there’s a fridge on board, but I suspect not operational)
🧳: 😐 (high steps)
🧽: 🙂
Interrail: 🙂 (accepted)

Show threadJon WorthMar 9

R 6208
11:47 Osijek - Beli Manastir 12:17

Distance: 27.3km
Average speed: 55km/h

4 stops:
Osijek Dravski Most
Darda
Ceminac
Beli Manastir

This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#12/45.659287/18.654442

#CrossBorderRail

#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.

uMap
Show threadJon WorthMar 9

Why we have a tilting train here is anyone’s guess

The track is quite straight. The terrain flat.

Show threadJon WorthMar 9

That’s

Baranjsko Petrovo Selo 🇭🇷 - Beremend 🇭🇺

The railway ran to the right of the road border station

Show threadJon WorthMar 9

That is

Donji Miholjac 🇭🇷 - Drávaszabolcs 🇭🇺

Any signs of the rail bridge that used to run alongside the road bridge are long gone

Show threadJon WorthMar 9

And that’s

Terezino Polje 🇭🇷 - Drávasztára-Zaláta 🇭🇺

Hungarian side, was too hard to get to the river here

Show threadJon WorthMar 9

That was along:

#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Bike 7 of 14
Beli Manastir - Drávakeresztúr

Distance: 97.1km
Est. duration: 7:15

This bike route, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#11/45.774468/18.174133

Yes you can do almost 100km on a Birdy

Show threadJon WorthMar 9

Here's today's #CrossBorderRail summary

https://peertube.netzbegruenung.de/w/bmCdsW8ajVJEUtqTqMEB2L

Nice cycling, good day, hopeless for the future of #CrossBorderRail

#CrossBorderRail live stream - 3/9/2026, 6:44:58 PM

PeerTube
Show threadjslMar 9
@jon Congratulations for riding a self-supported audax on your Birdie!
Never ridden one, but quite a capable machine by the looks of it.
Show threadRomanMar 10
@jon Wait, I thought you have a Brompton folding bike? Nice travels! :-)
Show threadJon WorthMar 10
@rom4n no I’m a Birdy devotee. @mejs I’m touring with has the Brompton
Show threadAndresMar 10
@jon @rom4n @mejs What do you like about Birdy?
Show threadJon WorthMar 10
@Andres4NY it's an amazing bike for what I do (I have just done 140km on it, over 2 days) - it rides well, uses more standard components than a Brompton, has full suspension. I'd NOT commute every day with a Birdy, but for the tours I do it is perfect. It folds well enough. @rom4n @mejs
Show threadAndresMar 10
@jon @rom4n @mejs Interesting, thanks! I hadn't heard of them before.
Show threadJon WorthMar 10
@Andres4NY @rom4n @mejs the original manufacturer Riese + Müller just sold the design to Pacific Cycles. They might do more with it!
Show threadRomanMar 12
@jon @Andres4NY @mejs Hi Jon. interesting. Amazing that you do such trips with folding bike. And you bypass all headache with bike in TGV etc? I traveled with the bike a lot in Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Italy - all fine but countries like France are a headache with my "normal" bike.
Show threadJon WorthMar 13
@rom4n @Andres4NY @mejs it sort of evolved a bit. When I started #CrossBorderRail the bike was an add-on, the way to get places the train didn’t go. A folding bike made sense for this. As the project has gone on the bike has become more important - as the borders I’m missing are increasingly remote!
Show threadNedžad BeusMar 9
@jon HŽ tends to send whatever they have on hand, which often ends up with situations like this. Additionally they've removed them from the Zagreb-Split service a few years ago so they have some to use for nonsensical routes.
Show threadCycling on RailsMar 9
@jon "Diseases don't respect borders" hence checking goods at a foot border. Security theater? 😜
Show threademilianosandriMar 9
@jon When I came back to Italy after the last EuroBSDCon we might have spent more time in border checks than in actual travel.