A blog about trains, cycling, and taking bicycles on trains. More on https://cycling-on-rails.com.
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The most infuriating section is at the start, between Oslo and Hønefoss. The cities are distant of about 60km, but the line makes a detour in the North, it's the slowest section (often limited to 80km/h) and long waiting times are scheduled at passing loops due to the high regional traffic.
Outcome: it takes more than 2 hours for intercity trains to do Hønefoss -> Oslo. That kind of speed could be Romania (Bucarest - Ruse)... Meanwhile the E16 road is direct and takes about 1h to drive.
I was talking about railway capacity: it seems saturated with only 4 daily + 1 nightly round-trips between Olso and Bergen, and these sell out (at least now in high season) at high prices (a good place to #Interrail). On top you get regional services with a regular Takt around each of the ends (good!).
And of course although many stations have been upgraded to be accessible with high platforms and elevators, a single old station with 1 platform was enough to add an extra 15 min to our delay...
A little #CrossBorderRail improvement: from tomorrow on there will be 5 daily round-trips on the high-speed line between France and Spain.
However, the timetable is terrible, especially in the Spain -> France direction: not only did you get 2 trains 10 minutes apart in the evening so far, now you'll get 3 trains within an hour, after a 6h gap in the middle of the day...
It's slightly better in the France -> Spain direction, but still a 5h gap in the middle of the day. #Interrail @jon
Sometimes, there is a proper cycling path too! But don't rejoy too fast: it's often shared with pedestrians, and in any case interrupts after at most a few km. Such as this half-finished round-about leading nowhere.
If the gambit is "you'll get cycling lanes if we got more roads to put on the side of", that's not a very good proposition...
15/
Let's talk about cycling infrastructure in Northern Spain. Most of the time, it's inexistant, simply a sign warning about the possibility of cyclists, with a fine print to overtake with a 1.5m distance written in microscopic font that no driver will ever be able to read. Which wasn't too bad as traffic is low outside of urban areas: after all, despite being clearly a car-first country, Spain isn't densely populated. #CyclingInfrastructure
14/
As we're in the Basque Country, let's talk about local traditions. One of them is the Basque pelota, a sport played on a dedicated court named fronton. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_pelota
We notice some differences across the border. In France we mostly see an outdoor wall with a characteristic red color and rouded shape. In Spain the front wall is often squared and there is a perpendicular side wall, generally indoors but sometimes in more curious places such as directly using the wall of a church!
13/
As we're in the Basque Country, let's talk about local traditions. One of them is the Basque pelota, a sport played on a dedicated court named fronton. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_pelota
We notice some differences across the border. In France we mostly see an outdoor wall with a characteristic red color and rouded shape. In Spain the front wall is often squared and there is a perpendicular side wall, generally indoors but sometimes in more curious places such as directly using the wall of a church!
13/
Let's talk about cycling infrastructure in Northern Spain. Most of the time, it's inexistant, simply a sign warning about the possibility of cyclists, with a fine print to overtake with a 1.5m distance written in microscopic font that no driver will ever be able to read. Which wasn't too bad as traffic is low outside of urban areas: after all, despite being clearly a car-first country, Spain isn't densely populated. #CyclingInfrastructure
14/
Sometimes, there is a proper cycling path too! But don't rejoy too fast: it's often shared with pedestrians, and in any case interrupts after at most a few km. Such as this half-finished round-about leading nowhere.
If the gambit is "you'll get cycling lanes if we got more roads to put on the side of", that's not a very good proposition...
15/
@spmrider I think we agree! Perhaps I didn't analyze the causes well, but there was very little traffic on the roads pictured here, most cars went to the parallel highway instead. So lack of infrastructure didn't feel bad as a cyclist in the countryside, unlike in denser populated countries :)
However, periurban areas weren't as nice, as a mix of more traffic & no cycling infra (or 30 zones) that (some) cities have in the center.
100% agree on foreign tourists driving worse.
Oliver Brandmüller