Thread by @jonworth

Welcome to #CrossBorderRail the autumn trips! This thread covers all the journeys between mid September and the end of October 2022 twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

Bit of a different start this morning!

Here’s the route map from today until Sunday

Here are the times for the 6(!) trains this morning! Were France a country with a sensible railway, Dijon-Reims would be an InterCity. But no… Just irregular TERs instead.

#CrossBorderRail Autumn 2022 Train 1
TER 91390 06:39 Nuits-sous-Ravières - Dijon Ville 07:29
Ave speed: 107 km/h
Operator: @TER_BFC_Trafic

Train type: Bombardier AGC (bi-mode version)
⚡️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free if platform allows)
📶: ⛔️
🍽: ⛔️

Early morning tristesse at Les Laumes-Alésia

#CrossBorderRail Autumn 2022 Train 2
TER 39591 07:56 Dijon Ville - Culmont Chalindrey 08:58
Ave speed: 74 km/h
Operator: @TERGrandEst

Train type: @Alstom Coradia Liner bi-mode
⚡️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free)
📶: ⛔️
🍽: ⛔️

This is one of the trains usually used on Belfort - Paris Est via Troyes. InterCity layout but running as a TER. It’s quiet, comfortable and spacious, but why does SNCF choose horrid colours and poor materials for seats?

“How about some fake wood?”
“Where should we put it?”
“How about only on the toilet doors?”

I don’t get how designers managed to make such weird choices for the interior of what’s essentially a good train

Meanwhile the Dijon - Is sur Tille - Culmont Chalindrey line is pretty slow (GPS doesn’t show more than 110km/h). It’s dual track electrified but used mostly for freight.

Culmont-Chalindrey

8 BB67200 diesel locomotives of SNCF Infra, gently rotting

And a slightly more modern yellow machine for @zugkatze was passing too

One of the melancholy aspects of #crossborderrail - I feel like I’m diagnosing forgotten places. Culmont-Chalindrey is one of those. Everything is orderly, but it’s not seen investment in a long time

#CrossBorderRail Autumn 2022 Train 3
TER 39552 09:29 Culmont-Chalindrey - Chaumont 09:57
Ave speed: 98 km/h
Operator: @TERGrandEst

Train type: @alstom Coradia Liner bi-mode
⛽️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free)
📶: ⛔️
🍽: ⛔️

Same as the previous train, only a little older. Arm rest material already fraying. And for whatever strange reason the doors are blue on this one, having been green on the other one. Did they employ a Playmobil colour palette?

Crossing the Viaduc de Chaumont. It’s more impressive from below!

#CrossBorderRail Autumn 2022 Train 4
TER 39806 10:09 Chaumont - Reims 12:25
Ave speed: 84 km/h
Operator: @TERGrandEst

Train type: Bombardier AGC bi-mode
⛽️ first, ⚡️ later
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free)
📶: ⛔️
🍽: ⛔️

Old TER carriages, parked up and rotting, Greek railways style. Outside St Dizier

Bushes growing in the ballast ✅
Bolted not welded track ✅
Knackered wooden sleepers ✅
Platform too low for step free boarding ✅

Not the best impression at Châlons-en-Champagne

Ceux sont les choses qui t’énervent comme voyageur. 3 employés @TERGrandEst SNCF ont contrôlé les billets dans le TER 39806 Chaumont - Reims. Mais aucun n’a penser à nous informer concernant les correspondances/quais à Reims 🤷

#CrossBorderRail Autumn 2022 Train 5
TER 40815 12:30 Reims - Charleville-Mezieres 13:26
Ave speed: 94 km/h
Operator: @TERGrandEst

Train type: Bombardier AGC electric version
⚡️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free)
📶: ⛔️
🍽: ⛔️

#CrossBorderRail Autumn 2022 Train 6
TER 38833 13:35 Charleville-Mezieres - Givet 14:32
Ave speed: 67 km/h
Operator: @TERGrandEst

Train type: Bombardier AGC diesel version
⛽️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free)
📶: ⛔️
🍽: ⛔️

It’s barely lunchtime. And I’m onto my 6th and final train of the day in France… When I get to Givet in an hour it’s time to get on the 🚲 and head to Dinant 🇧🇪. And from there 1 more train to Bruxelles today.

Ahhhh finally. The Meuse! And I’m on what used to be the cross border line, today curtailed at Givet (final station in France)

And the bike path on the other side of the Meuse looks so good! But sadly I’ve not got time to cycle anything other than the cross border section today where… 🥁 even part of the cycle path is missing!

Belgium is along there somewhere

Somewhere beyond the bushes

Ooops. Went into Belgium without noticing

It’s so nice here. Even on a grey day.

And the tourism and move-out-of-the-city potential is clear here. The track bed for the rail line is still useable. Now if only it weren’t at the 🇫🇷 🇧🇪 border - 2 of the most dysfunctional #crossborderrail countries - you’d hope this could be fixed…

Pont d’Anseremme

@SiemensMobility Desiro EMU in service for @sncb crossing

#CrossBorderRail Autumn 2022 Train 7
IC 2539 17:57 Dinant - Bruxelles Schuman 19:24
Ave speed: 58 km/h
Operator: @sncb

Train type: @SiemensMobility Desiro EMU
⚡️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free, but big gap!)
📶: ⛔️
🍽: ⛔️

And sure, the @SiemensMobility engineering is ok, but the interior design… This is a IC train. French TERs have more space and nicer seats. That disabled / bike area is a recipe for space conflicts when it’s busy. The v few plugs are above your head. Bad decisions @sncb!

Also I know Dinant was hit by floods last year. But this to get to the platforms? Really?

Bruxelles. That’s all for the trains for today. It’s been a fascinating day. Opportunities for Givet - Dinant were better than I’d expected!

Okay. So that was a strange cycle ride. Dude on a hire kick scooter overtakes me, brakes sharply, slides on the damp road, falls off… and skids the scooter into the bumper of a police car. No damage to person, scooter or car, thankfully!