Welcome to today's thread - #CrossBorderRail 2026 Tour Day 10 - 9 Mar - Beograd - Osijek - Beli Manastir - Drávakeresztúr

[jon@gruene.social]

Leaving Serbia. I’m the only no local on the bus.

Border guard, very snappy, looking at my bicycle pannier (in the bus, the bike is underneath in the hold)

What inside?

I open it. There are sandwiches, water. A laptop

Where you go?

Osijek (which is the destination)

Why?, accusingly

I have a bike

And then he doesn’t even check the hold!

#CrossBorderRail

[jon@gruene.social]

@meganL it was the only one on this route today! I found it on Bus Radar that works ok in the Balkans. I’m no fan of buses, but as there are no trains here it was my only option!

[meuwese@mastodon.social]

@jon he left before you started explaining the benefits of cycling and your itinerary... very wise.

[jon@gruene.social]

Now the Croatian side. It’s a more modern border station but no less inefficient.

[cycling_on_rails@mastodon.social]

@jon "Diseases don't respect borders" hence checking goods at a foot border. Security theater?

[emilianosandri@mastodon.bsd.cafe]

@jon When I came back to Italy after the last EuroBSDCon we might have spent more time in border checks than in actual travel.

[jon@gruene.social]

#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Train 33 of 86
R 6208
11:47 Osijek - Beli Manastir 12:17
HZPP

Train type: Bombardier 612 tilting DMU, 2 carriages
️
: ️
🦽: (theoretically but I don’t know how)
🛜: ️
️: (there’s a fridge on board, but I suspect not operational)
🧳: (high steps)
🧽:
Interrail: (accepted)

[jon@gruene.social]

R 6208
11:47 Osijek - Beli Manastir 12:17

Distance: 27.3km
Average speed: 55km/h

4 stops:
Osijek Dravski Most
Darda
Ceminac
Beli Manastir

This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#12/45.659287/18.654442

#CrossBorderRail

[jon@gruene.social]

Why we have a tilting train here is anyone’s guess

The track is quite straight. The terrain flat.

[nedzad@chaos.social]

@jon HŽ tends to send whatever they have on hand, which often ends up with situations like this. Additionally they've removed them from the Zagreb-Split service a few years ago so they have some to use for nonsensical routes.

[jon@gruene.social]

That’s

Baranjsko Petrovo Selo - Beremend

The railway ran to the right of the road border station

[jon@gruene.social]

That is

Donji Miholjac - Drávaszabolcs

Any signs of the rail bridge that used to run alongside the road bridge are long gone

[jon@gruene.social]

And that’s

Terezino Polje - Drávasztára-Zaláta

Hungarian side, was too hard to get to the river here

[jon@gruene.social]

That was along:

#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Bike 7 of 14
Beli Manastir - Drávakeresztúr

Distance: 97.1km
Est. duration: 7:15

This bike route, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#11/45.774468/18.174133

Yes you can do almost 100km on a Birdy

[jon@gruene.social]

Here's today's #CrossBorderRail summary

#CrossBorderRail live stream - 3/9/2026, 6:44:58 PM

Morning previews of the day ahead, and evening summaries of what I learned during the day. During Jon Worth's #CrossBorderRail Spring Tour 2026.

Netzbegrünung PeerTube (peertube.netzbegruenung.de)

Nice cycling, good day, hopeless for the future of #CrossBorderRail

[jsl@hachyderm.io]

@jon Congratulations for riding a self-supported audax on your Birdie!
Never ridden one, but quite a capable machine by the looks of it.

[rom4n@sueden.social]

@jon Wait, I thought you have a Brompton folding bike? Nice travels!

[jon@gruene.social]

@rom4n no I’m a Birdy devotee. @mejs I’m touring with has the Brompton

[andres4ny@social.ridetrans.it]

@jon @rom4n @mejs What do you like about Birdy?

[jon@gruene.social]

@Andres4NY it's an amazing bike for what I do (I have just done 140km on it, over 2 days) - it rides well, uses more standard components than a Brompton, has full suspension. I'd NOT commute every day with a Birdy, but for the tours I do it is perfect. It folds well enough. @rom4n @mejs