Jon Worth

Jon Worth

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How the gospel - the Political Guidelines - left the European Commission with a ticketing proposal both radical and unworkable

How the gospel - the Political Guidelines - left the European Commission with a ticketing proposal both radical and unworkable

Ursula von der Leyen called her disciples, the Commissioners, to gather around. Holding up a bound edition of the Political Guidelines, she conferred a great responsibility onto each of them. Beckoning disciple for transport, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, towards her, she gave him his instructions: "cross-border train travel is still too

Skopje commuter train service to start 1st September

Skopje commuter train service to start 1st September

Skopje is going to get a commuter rail service! Zelenikovo - Skopje! This year! The tracks are being repaired. That bit - from Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski - might be true. The problem is that to run a train service you, well, need trains. And the state of the

The longest train journey in the EU

The longest train journey in the EU

Anyone who has been following my work for a while knows I have long had a rather abstract discussion about the definition of the World's Longest Train Journey. I started calculating this back in 2021, after an incorrect map on Reddit went viral, and have updated my thoughts

Italo to run high speed trains in Germany

Italo to run high speed trains in Germany

Stuttgarter Zeitung had the story this week that Italian private high speed rail operator Italo is to enter the German rail market, and will likely buy 25-30 Velaro trains from Siemens to do this. There are a whole slew of hurdles Italo would have to overcome before they can launch,

Kyiv - Bulgaria trains to start in summer 2026

Kyiv - Bulgaria trains to start in summer 2026

When Ukrainian Railways decides to do something, they normally find a way. And this time we have a commitment from the Minister of Transport as well as a provisional map of the route: No one is under any illusions here - the train would have a trip time of about

I'm not that bothered if SNCF Connect is forced to sell Trenitalia tickets, but someone has to be able to offer me both

I'm not that bothered if SNCF Connect is forced to sell Trenitalia tickets, but someone has to be able to offer me both

It has been kicking off in the French Senate in the past few days on the topic of railway ticketing. The Senate wants to force SNCF Connect, the French state incumbent railway's ticketing platform, to sell tickets for trains run by SNCF's competitors on French routes

My railway work: no shortage of meaning, but for the EU institutions that can be uncomfortable

My railway work: no shortage of meaning, but for the EU institutions that can be uncomfortable

I stumbled across an excellent essay about the EU this week: "Not a messaging problem. Why institutional narratives keep failing" by Meisoon Nasralla and Lilit Poghosyan. They write: "We are told, once again, that Europe “has a communications problem.” [...] as if proximity to citizens were an issue

Monocab as a solution for rural rail lines

Monocab as a solution for rural rail lines

Another week, another Gadgetbahn. This time one from Germany - Monocab. It's supposedly so important there is even a Wikipedia page about it. This thing is a narrow monorail that is supposed to balance on a single traditional rail track, and has a gyroscope to keep it upright.

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

ÉcoTrain: €3 million to answer the wrong question

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

Direct Eindhoven - Bruxelles Train

Direct Eindhoven - Bruxelles Train

There is definitely a more positive spirit around cross border rail between Netherlands and Belgium. But could there be a direct Eindhoven - Bruxelles train, as Thierry Aartsen suggests? Don't get me wrong: this is a good idea. The question is how you do it, and indeed if

Rising fuel costs due to the Iran conflict give European railways an opportunity - can they seize it?

Rising fuel costs due to the Iran conflict give European railways an opportunity - can they seize it?

Go back a couple of short years to the months prior to the 2024 European Elections, and railways were trying to set their political direction. This was is in CER's manifesto (PDF): "the regulatory framework today is not fair, with railways carrying many costs and obligations not

Paris-Stuttgart, and Stuttgart-Budapest: two railway worlds

Paris-Stuttgart, and Stuttgart-Budapest: two railway worlds

This morning state owned railway companies trade body CER put out this on LinkedIn, stating "YES, booking international train journeys once required a crystal ball, BUT now planning ahead is much easier." Typically for me I was actually this morning trying to do this, booking seats for a

SNCF and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté: a railway that has given up

SNCF and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté: a railway that has given up

Tomorrow morning - Saturday 28th March 2026 - I had planned to make a trip I make half a dozen times a year. After a Friday evening teaching assignment in Paris, I would normally take a TER regional train from Paris back to Nuits-sous-Ravières in Bourgogne on a Saturday morning.

Zagreb-Sarajevo trains to re-start

Zagreb-Sarajevo trains to re-start

A bunch of people sent me this story - that trains between the capitals of Croatia and Bosnia will re-start. Unlike many of the stories I have assessed in the Bullshit Meter, this one is actually viable: The problems are more financial (I am pretty sure tickets are not going

Transport & Environment tries to come up with a position on rail ticketing, but it's very imprecise

Transport & Environment tries to come up with a position on rail ticketing, but it's very imprecise

Transport & Environment (T&E), the lobby organisation that works to green Europe's transport sector, has today put online a new page about its position on the forthcoming EU reform of rail ticketing. They were pushing it on LinkedIn as well. You can find everything I have

A silly idea to prove a point? The European Railway Ticketing Championship

A silly idea to prove a point? The European Railway Ticketing Championship

With Regulations to finally sort the problems with purchasing tickets for trains, Europe-wide, due to be presented by the European Commission this spring, there remains a crucial problem: do the people who are drafting this legislation (in the Commission), deciding on it (in the Council of the EU and the

Quick notes on Trenitalia's new maintenance facility at Maisons-Alfort Pompadour

CrossChannelRail

Quick notes on Trenitalia's new maintenance facility at Maisons-Alfort Pompadour

It's been rumoured for months, and finally this week there was official confimation: Trenitalia has the location for its maintenance facility for its Frecciarossa high speed trains in France. News from Railway Gazette here. And it will be at Maisons-Alfort Pompadour. Here on OpenRailwayMap. Zoom out a bit,