The first train. Despite it only arriving 5 mins late from Cluj (where it starts), CFR is incapable of putting the locomotive on the other end in less than 20 minutes. So we’re late departing…
And CFR really makes SNCF look customer friendly. The station is empty. The locomotive is here. And they’ve managed to *increase* the delay just through the process of putting the locomotive on the other end of the train. And no announcement or info.
And we’ve just been routed out of Simeria like this. Why?
This one’s for you @FloEllebrecht - the outposts of DB Cargo! Calan Bai, on the line Simeria - Petrosani 🇷🇴
Standing to attention
#CrossBorderRail Train 120
IR 1836 11:18 Simeria - Craiova 16:30
Ave speed: 46 km/h
Operator: CFR
Train type: Electroputere electric locomotive and 4 carriages
⚡️
🚲: ✅ (one carriage is part baggage car)
🦽: ✅ (labelled as possible, not sure quite how!)
📶: ⛔️
🍽: ⛔️
A cute little works machine at Subcetate - pic for @zugkatze
One carriage here seems to be the CFR version of the TGV Lacroix design!
This used to be a dual track electrified line. One track has fallen into disrepair… to ever be re-opened I wonder?
The answer: yes it will be re-activated. A bridge is being re-constructed, necessitating a single track section.
Ok. If @vorortanleiter recommends a route, trust the recommendation! Simeria-Craiova is *wonderful* south of Petrosani
And how about this out of the back window! 🥰
Passengers straying across the tracks as the train approaches? Just hoot!
Now we’re south of the mountains it’s insanely hot. The air in the 3 air conditioned carriages is grim and people are coughing. I’m in the only #fensterauf carriage but the air coming in feels like from a hairdryer…
The listed line speed. And the speed the train actually does here - on the main line approaching Craiova.
So the train to Calafat was long gone when I got to Craiova almost an hour late. No minibuses going on a Sunday. So it’s the first use of the #CrossBorderRail emergency fund - to get driven to Calafat. There in 75 mins or so, then 🚲 to Bulgaria (Vidin)
And as my driver races through Craiova glimpses of some wonderful old houses out of the window. I think I need to do a Central Europe secondary cities tour… Varazdin, Szeged, Subotica, Craiova…
So this is actually proving to be useful. This is the main road to Calafat. It’s in good condition, but it’s not even a dual carriageway. The Calafat-Vidin bridge isn’t much use to locals. The train is awful. This road isn’t great. Who does it serve?
Did I just detour to Dover? 😜 Border queues ahead at Calafat - Vidin. But I might manage to go ahead a bit by bike!
Trucks. As far as the eye can see! 🤯
Passing some trucks
Currently stuck. The tool booth operators have a shift change. And the Romanian border guard is there but his Bulgarian counterpart is not. So I can’t go onto the bridge even though the bike path has no toll 🤷♂️ Calafat-Vidin bridge
I’ve been through some pretty awful borders in my time, but this tops the lot. Nothing is moving *at all*. The tailback grows… And as far as I can tell it’s all something with the Bulgarian border people. The Romanian guy is here…
And the Bulgarian side: trucks as far as the eye can see… I’m leaving the main road now and taking small roads into Vidin.
Yay. Puncture 2km from Vidin. Had to push. But I’m at the hotel in 1 piece. Damned shattered.
And one final tweet from a long day… due to these crazy temperatures I’m running out of clean clothes
How do I pack light and still have clean clothes each day?
The so called burrito technique
This hotel in Vidin has extra large towels - helps demonstrate!
1) Hand wash clothes in the sink. Shower gel is fine as detergent. Rinse and wring items
2) Lay items on a towel on the floor
3) Roll it up, then trample on it for a minute. You’ll feel towel getting damp
4) Hang items
Dry enough to wear tomorrow!
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This morning I’m one of the first new regional trains Maubeuge 🇫🇷 - Charleroi Central 🇧🇪 #CrossBorderRail
It was a bit of a #fail at the station. I needed a ticket to Erquelinnes, the first station in Belgium. But prior to today trains from Maubeuge didn’t stop there!
Ticket machine ⛔️
Ask at the ticket office. “Le train ne s’arrête pas à Erquelinnes!” I politely told the SNCF employee that yes, it did stop at Erquelinnes. I explained the situation to the SNCB train manager and he laughed, confirmed it did stop there, and I bought the ticket online!
Delays in my favour. Maybe? S-Bahn to FFM Flughafen. Get a late running ICE to Köln Messe/Deutz there. Then try to blag my way onto a Thalys Köln Hbf to Bruxelles? It’s a long shot but it might work…
ICE 612 Frankfurt Flughafen to Köln Messe/Deutz.
This is why accurate live running data in apps matters. Were this not running 10 min late I’d not have caught it… but live data allowed me to plan a connection that’d otherwise not work
Already on the 2nd train of the day: TGV Montbard - Paris. All being well I’ll be in Denmark tonight… but that feels a long way off just now! #EGPCongress#crossborderrail
Across Paris RER Gare de Lyon to Gare du Nord, walk to Gare de l’Est (faster than changing into a Métro to Est) and it’s onto the TGV to Mannheim. So far so good, but I banked on this bit working 🙂 #EGPCongress#CrossBorderRail
Franco-German train service. Very French prices! And no, it’s too early (and expensive) for #beerontrains 😉
Jeez. It could take until 2025 until TGVs are approved for the line.
And the whole effing point of Stuttgart21 - of which this line is a part - was to create a Paris-München high speed corridor!
Really, how can everyone mess up *so badly*?
And to those going “yeah but there are few TGVs anyway” true, but so it goes on and on. International services are the lowest priority - even when *they were the stated rationale for building the line*