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   Jon Worth (jon@gruene.social)'s status on Thursday, 19-Dec-2024 21:55:26 JST Jon Worth

   Good morning from a rainy, windy Brussels

   Off to the event to launch the new OUIGO cross border service this morning

   Once I’ve cycled through the rain ☔️

   • Embed this notice
     Jon Worth (jon@gruene.social)'s status on Thursday, 19-Dec-2024 21:55:17 JST Jon Worth

     in reply to

     We’re still at this way of thinking: national rail is a crucial public service of last resort

     #CrossBorderRail is - at many borders - instead just a “nice to have”

   • Embed this notice
     Jon Worth (jon@gruene.social)'s status on Thursday, 19-Dec-2024 21:55:18 JST Jon Worth

     in reply to

     I explained it to him like this: imagine your grandmother falls ill and you need to get to Genk (other end of Belgium) right now to see her

     SNCB would get you there

     Imagine your grandmother were in Aulnoye (France, one of the stops on OUIGO) and there are no seats left - you’d be stuck, and wouldn’t be allowed to stand

     Peter Krefting repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Jon Worth (jon@gruene.social)'s status on Thursday, 19-Dec-2024 21:55:19 JST Jon Worth

     in reply to

     And I asked SNCB’s spokesperson why the train is compulsory reservation, and he looked confused. “It’s a partnership” he eventually said.

     In other words: SNCF imposed this.

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     Jon Worth (jon@gruene.social)'s status on Thursday, 19-Dec-2024 21:55:20 JST Jon Worth

     in reply to

     The line that really rankled: OUIGO is the service that will persuade young people to take the train again

     From the boss of OUIGO at the event

     Sorry France but that’s because you’ve made your entire offer outside Paris too expensive and complex to use!

   • Embed this notice
     Jon Worth (jon@gruene.social)'s status on Thursday, 19-Dec-2024 21:55:21 JST Jon Worth

     in reply to

     And when I’m no longer cold and damp (from cycling in the rain earlier) I’ll post more about this train

   • Embed this notice
     Jon Worth (jon@gruene.social)'s status on Thursday, 19-Dec-2024 21:55:23 JST Jon Worth

     in reply to

     In the messed up world of French railways this OUIGO makes sense

     But it’s still stupid, and some of the rhetoric at the launch made me want to scream

   • Embed this notice
     Jon Worth (jon@gruene.social)'s status on Thursday, 19-Dec-2024 21:55:24 JST Jon Worth

     in reply to

     Now at what feels like the 6th last rail speech from Gilkinet

   • Embed this notice
     Jon Worth (jon@gruene.social)'s status on Thursday, 19-Dec-2024 21:55:25 JST Jon Worth

     in reply to

     OUIGO launch at Midi

   • Embed this notice
     Peter Krefting (nafmo@social.vivaldi.net)'s status on Thursday, 19-Dec-2024 22:00:50 JST Peter Krefting

     in reply to

     @jon Indeed.

     I live in Oslo, but am from Sweden originally, and often take the train because of convenience. For several years in the early 200s, there was no train between Oslo and Stockholm except weekends, because of politics. During to the pandemic, we had no trains over the border at all for a year and a half. The service to Stockholm has to trail behind slow local trains, so takes two hours to get to the border. The service to Gothenburg is a Norwegian regional train with just a crappy vending machine (but it's only just over three hours, so that's fine), with no proper connection onwards to Copenhagen. SJ's Swedish trains often have to turn around in Malmö due to reasons, having to switch to the commuter train to Copenhagen.

     The latest scandal is the electrification of the Trondheim to Sweden line, which is delayed so that it will still be closed during the Trondheim cross-country skiing championship, missing on the opportunity to transport Swedish fans by train...

     #CrossBorderRail #SJ #Vy #DSB #Norway #Sweden

   • Embed this notice
     Sebastian Wilken (sebwilken@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 19-Dec-2024 22:31:23 JST Sebastian Wilken

     in reply to

     • Peter Krefting

     @nafmo @jon Hei! Do you have more info about Meråkerbanen? I've been wondering for some time what has happened to the project and the promised Stockholm–Trondheim night train.

     By the way: SJ trains are now scheduled to terminate in Malmö, there's no longer a continuous service to Copenhagen for the time being.

   • Embed this notice
     Peter Krefting (nafmo@social.vivaldi.net)'s status on Thursday, 19-Dec-2024 22:31:23 JST Peter Krefting

     in reply to

     • Sebastian Wilken

     @sebwilken @jon The electrification works are taking longer than expected. They were supposed to be done by this year, but are now projected by end of next year:

     In Norwegian:
     https://www.banenor.no/prosjekter/alle-prosjekter/elektrifisering-av-tronder-og-merakerbanen/2024/tronder--og-merakerbanen-blir-elektrisk--i-2025/
     https://www.tog24.no/ski-vm-i-vasken-for-ny-togforbindelse-mellom-trondheim-og-stockholm/

     There are hopes of a direct connection between Stockholm and Trondheim when this finally is finished, but according to SJ they need some financial support for it, as they do not think it will be commercially viable.

     As to SJ to Copenhagen: Yes, I know they have now officially resigned to not advertise as going there. It's sad. You can get from Oslo to Copenhagen with only one exchange, but then it is two commuter trains, neither with proper food on-board, which is not very nice for an eight-hour journey.