Jon Worth

Jon Worth

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How Alstom's inability to deliver trains on schedule, and Danish incompetence, will break an important regional train connection (and how to fix it)

How Alstom's inability to deliver trains on schedule, and Danish incompetence, will break an important regional train connection (and how to fix it)

As if Denmark - Germany long distance international connections were not already bad enough thanks to the Talgo saga, now the regional train connections between the two countries are getting worse as well. What follows in this post is a diagnosis only of the regional trains - long distance Hamburg - København trains

How to avoid using inappropriate stock photos of trains

How to avoid using inappropriate stock photos of trains

This week I stumbled across a story in the Bruxelles EU publication Rapporteur, arguing for a "rail revolution in Poland", illustrated using a Russian Railways RZD Sapsan train: I am pretty sure, politically, you do not want RZD as part of your revolution! Earlier this week the TRAN

Bullshit Meter: Direct Köln - London trains will depart Gleis 5 at Köln Hbf

Bullshit Meter: Direct Köln - London trains will depart Gleis 5 at Köln Hbf

A news report in the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reckons direct trains to London will depart from Köln Hbf Gleis 5 (Platform 5). I have analysed this in much more depth in this separate article, but it strikes me that while the idea has some merit, it is still a hell

Trains to London from Gleis 5 at Köln Hbf? It's bold

Trains to London from Gleis 5 at Köln Hbf? It's bold

The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger put out an intriguing article yesterday, stating that four trains a day could depart Köln Hbf for London in the 2030s, and this will be done from Gleis 5 (Platform 5) at the station, and passengers will get to the platform from a terminal building on

Want trains to continental Europe from Stratford? Here's how

Want trains to continental Europe from Stratford? Here's how

So Sadiq Khan says getting international trains at Stratford International in East London is within "touching distance" in an article in City A.M. this morning (full article here). OK, so the Mayor of London wants it, and is saying so, which is important. But the article written

"My train is even worse than your train!" and why that is quite tiring, especially from people from Great Britain

"My train is even worse than your train!" and why that is quite tiring, especially from people from Great Britain

Yesterday I was looking at the ticket cost and regularity of service of the ex-Thalys, now Eurostar, Bruxelles - Paris service. In terms of the speed of the service and the quality of the infrastructure, this route is excellent - more than 90% of the trip is on high speed lines

77 borders to go, but then what?

77 borders to go, but then what?

I have just been totalling up the statistics from this autumn's #CrossBorderRail journeys, and the total number of border railway lines I have visited now stands at 449, and there are 77 more to go - this map shows the remaining ones: As well as the record breaking trip

Your Deutsche Bahn "joke" is no longer funny (if it ever was)

Your Deutsche Bahn "joke" is no longer funny (if it ever was)

Before starting my record attempt between Kemijärvi, Finland and Lagos, Portugal, people told me over and over it would break down in Germany. So much so that I even tried to re-but (pre-but?) some of the likely critique. Now, having made the trip, and none of the total

The film of the longest train journey in the EU

Longest Journey, CrossBorderRail

The film of the longest train journey in the EU

[Update 25 September, 20:20] So it turns out Simply Railway ended up uploading the wrong version? This now seems to be better! It is directly on Youtube here. And a top tip: do not try to check Youtube videos when you are on a train across Slovakia with lousy

Bullshit Meter: NOX to launch first night train route 23rd March 2027

Bullshit Meter: NOX to launch first night train route 23rd March 2027

NOX Mobility, the new private night train company, showcased their first test carriage at Innotrans this week and opened ticket sales for their first route - 23rd March 2027 trains are to run on the Hamburg - München route, 3 times a week. Their press release here. This being the rail industry,

Bullshit Meter: New Eurostar trains to have double deck cocktail bars

Bullshit Meter: New Eurostar trains to have double deck cocktail bars

Oddly, despite it being Euronews reporting it, this one will likely be true. Eurostar's new trains are Alstom's Avelia Horizon design, known in France as TGV-M. And as you can see from the photos here from Hourrail from the launch of the French version, there

Press Release: Record Breaking Longest Train Journey in the EU to begin in Kemijärvi

Press Release: Record Breaking Longest Train Journey in the EU to begin in Kemijärvi

For immediate release At 19:00 EEST (18:00 CEST, 17:00 BST) Monday 7th September a record breaking train journey will start in Kemijärvi, Finland. Jon Worth will attempt to complete the new longest train journey in the European Union, from Kemijärvi to Lagos, Portugal, in the fastest possible

Bullshit Meter: GoVolta to run high speed trains Amsterdam - Paris

Bullshit Meter: GoVolta to run high speed trains Amsterdam - Paris

Read more about this one at Trip By Trip and Treinenweb. GoVolta's expansion plans, using classic locomotives and coaches, make sense (especially Netherlands to Paris). But the high speed plans, supposedly from December 2028, do not - due to the absence of suitable rolling stock. The only high speed

Bullshit Meter: European Sleeper & RDC Bruxelles - Malmö Sleeper in 2028

Bullshit Meter: European Sleeper & RDC Bruxelles - Malmö Sleeper in 2028

The press was jumping up and down about this one, and you can read about it on European Sleeper's website here. 3 departures a week each way from Bruxelles and Amsterdam to København and Malmö. And - unlike the seemingly ever postponed plans for a train to Barcelona - I

Bullshit Meter: Virgin Trains to run Channel Tunnel services in 2030

Bullshit Meter: Virgin Trains to run Channel Tunnel services in 2030

There was lots of media coverage of Virgin being granted paths on HS1 and into St Pancras from 2030 (see this in The Guardian for example), but the crux is this: if Virgin can get its trains delivered and running to schedule, then an October 2030 date for launch is

Bullshit Meter: Arriva NL to run international high speed trains

Bullshit Meter: Arriva NL to run international high speed trains

Here we go again. Arriva NL wants to run direct trains from Netherlands to France, as reported by De Dagelijkse Standaard (this week) and Treinreiziger (in July), and maybe from 2028. Yet in 2023 they said they wanted to do the same, from 2026. Then, as now, they have no

A rail journey to the outer reaches of the EU, and a record to set

Today, finally, the first passenger trains since 1988 have crossed the border bridge between Tornio 🇫🇮 and Haparanda 🇸🇪 (OpenRailwayMap), services finally resuming more than a year after the border bridge was repaired and electrified. When Finnish broadcaster YLE asked me about this connection back in the spring, a little idea was