Mastodawn

Today, even in the weird world of railways, has been a very odd day

"Chancers to the left of me, malevolent incumbents to the right, stuck in the middle with... what?"
https://jonworth.eu/chancers-to-the-left-of-me-malevolent-incumbents-to-the-right-stuck-in-the-middle-with-what/

Chancers to the left of me, malevolent incumbents to the right, stuck in the middle with... what?

Some days following railway news leaves me shaking my head and wondering what I am doing in this whole business. Today was one such day. First I read the news that ÉcoTrain - a French GadgetBahn - has managed to raise €3 million. But it's the track and the public

Jon Worth

muturi 3h ago

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Jon Worth 12h ago

And I can totally imagine it

Renfe goes to the Région with a *super cheap* bid, promises Neugnot that "pour le comfort de tous" they have to introduce compulsory reservation, and so they can cut back the service even more

Région saves money, passengers lose, and there we go!

muturi 3h ago

Jon Worth 12h ago

Could TERs in Bourgogne get *even worse*?

Probably!

If Renfe manages to win the contract rather than SNCF... 🤨

https://www.railwaygazette.com/passenger/renfe-pivots-to-french-regional-passenger-markets-amid-avril-authorisation-delays/70735.article

RENFE pivots to French regional passenger markets amid Avril authorisation delays

FRANCE: Spanish national operator RENFE is reportedly seeking regional passenger operating contracts after allowing an agreement for high speed paths between Paris and Lyon to lapse.

Railway Gazette International

muturi 3h ago

Jon Worth 12h ago

ÉcoTrain: €3 million to answer the wrong question
https://jonworth.eu/ecotrain-eu3-million-to-answer-the-wrong-question/

The problem with branch lines is seldom THE TRAIN. It is THE TRACK and the lack of available finance. Some autonomous Gadgetbahn is not going to fix that mundane problem!

ÉcoTrain: €3 million to answer the wrong question

It is one of the 100 startups to watch in France, according to Challenges - ÉcoTrain wants to build a new train to run on abandoned branch lines, and they have €3 million of initial funding. They even brought their prototype to the Elysée, and you can find more background

Jon Worth

muturi 3h ago

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Jon Worth 15h ago

That piece is obviously one sided, in that it basically reports the RegioJet view

A friend of mine in Poland who took it a few times tells a story of an operation fraught with incompetence

The reality is likely that RegioJet underestimated the scale of the task AND the incumbents were malevolent

muturi 3h ago

Jon Worth 15h ago

Important 🇪🇺 rail news

🇨🇿 private operator RegioJet is pulling out of Poland on 3 May, not even a year after entering the market there

Run this through machine translation:
https://zdopravy.cz/regiojet-konci-v-polsku-peklo-ktere-ohrozuje-nasi-firmu-vysvetluje-jancura-278394/

RegioJet končí v Polsku. Peklo, které ohrožuje naši firmu, vysvětluje Jančura - Zdopravy.cz

Dopravce tvrdě zkritizoval neférové podmínky na polském trhu.

Zdopravy.cz

muturi 1d ago

Holger Hellinger 3d ago

ARD: »Wie könnte man dem Wal in der Ostsee helfen?«

Ich habe da so eine Idee, dem jetzigen würde das nichts mehr bringen, aber allen anderen:

Vegan leben, Fischernetze kappen unter Millionen-Strafe stellen, Grundschleppnetze verbieten, Ölförderung einstellen, private Schifffahrt zur Belustigung verbieten.

Mich fragt aber halt niemand. Das Spannende ist ja, dass eines davon jede verdammte Person in Deutschland von jetzt auf gleich machen kann.

#wal #ostsee #goVegan

muturi 1d ago

Sven Scholz 2d ago

In wenigen Tagen müsste der letzte Tanker, der noch vor der Sperrung der Straße von Hormus losgefahren ist, an seinem Ziel ankommen (ja, die fahren so langsam, unter 30km/h). Mal sehen, wie überrascht alle sein werden, wenn die Lieferungen aus dem Golf dann _wirklich_ ausbleiben. Und wie nochmals überrascht alle sein werden darob, wie lang es dauern wird, bis die ersten Tanker, die irgendwann, wenn sie wieder fahren können, tatsächlich wieder wo ankommen. Hab ich erwähnt, wie langsam die fahren?

muturi 1d ago

MetaGer Mar 1

Auf unserer SUMA-EV-Seite werden wir unter Di.Day in der nächsten Zeit Themen sammeln, die uns in Bezug auf den Di.Day wichtig sind. Gerne mal reinschauen...

https://suma-ev.de/aktivitaeten/digital-independence-day/

Di.Day

muturi 1d ago

Street Art Utopia 2d ago