Calling all you #rail and #CrossBorderRail experts in the Fediverse!
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Calling all you #rail and #CrossBorderRail experts in the Fediverse! I am walking the Camino de Santiago, and plan to leave it at or near Leon. How do I get to France and then to Brussels? Should I aim for the Euskotren from San Sebastian to Hendaye? RailEurope wants me to go through... Madrid, but that can't be right.
@alberto_cottica DB Navigator (or bahn.de) now has Euskotren timetable data, so they should be able to show you a good routing.
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@alberto_cottica are you familiar with https://www.seat61.com ?
Super useful train site
@akareilly yes, but thanks. Seat61 recommends Euskatren.
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@alberto_cottica I haven't been there but I'm planning my own trip to the area. Do you know that Euskotren doesn't appear in journey planners?
What I've read suggests that Hendaye is usually the faster route for north west Spain, and I'm not surprised planners are sending you via Madrid on the high speed lines. I did get routes further north with some effort and searching different sites, but AIUI Renfe doesn't show journeys with more than one change, and some journeys I found include Avlo.
@trantion understood. Sounds complicated!
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@alberto_cottica I haven't been there but I'm planning my own trip to the area. Do you know that Euskotren doesn't appear in journey planners?
What I've read suggests that Hendaye is usually the faster route for north west Spain, and I'm not surprised planners are sending you via Madrid on the high speed lines. I did get routes further north with some effort and searching different sites, but AIUI Renfe doesn't show journeys with more than one change, and some journeys I found include Avlo.
@trantion you seem to be right. I can get to Hendaye from Leon in about 8-9 hours. I doubt I would save much time if I headed to Madrid and then Barcelona instead
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@alberto_cottica Euskotren is slow but beautiful. There is an alternative link by bus. From Hendaye, you then have the superfast TGV. No need to go via Madrid.
While you are in San Sebastián, take your time and visit the center, it is one of the most enjoyable cities in Spain, I once lived there 3 years.
@benchmark thanks for the tip!
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@alberto_cottica DB Navigator (or bahn.de) now has Euskotren timetable data, so they should be able to show you a good routing.
@partim thank you! So does railfinder.eu.
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Calling all you #rail and #CrossBorderRail experts in the Fediverse! I am walking the Camino de Santiago, and plan to leave it at or near Leon. How do I get to France and then to Brussels? Should I aim for the Euskotren from San Sebastian to Hendaye? RailEurope wants me to go through... Madrid, but that can't be right.
@alberto_cottica Looks like you can reach San Sebastian from León with 1 change in 5 to 7 hours depending on the timetable. There aren't many connections a day, but doable with a bit of planning.
From there you could:
- sleep overnight in the area,
- directly catch a TGV Hendaye-Paris if you're early enough and sleep in Paris,
- catch the night train to Paris from Bayonne (many changes so plan some buffer time),
- catch a regional train up to Bordeaux and sleep there.
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@alberto_cottica Looks like you can reach San Sebastian from León with 1 change in 5 to 7 hours depending on the timetable. There aren't many connections a day, but doable with a bit of planning.
From there you could:
- sleep overnight in the area,
- directly catch a TGV Hendaye-Paris if you're early enough and sleep in Paris,
- catch the night train to Paris from Bayonne (many changes so plan some buffer time),
- catch a regional train up to Bordeaux and sleep there.@alberto_cottica There is also a direct train from León to Bilbao using the slow narrow-gauge railway network winding through the mountains. Similar to Euskotren, but older and not electric.
Critically: it only runs once a day! And Google Maps doesn't have reliable timetables there (as I also experienced last year).
This train looks like this, i.e. no amenities apart from a bathroom: https://cycling-on-rails.com/train-bicycle-guide/spain/#feve
The main advantage is that it makes 54 stops, so you can take it if you hike nearby.
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@alberto_cottica There is also a direct train from León to Bilbao using the slow narrow-gauge railway network winding through the mountains. Similar to Euskotren, but older and not electric.
Critically: it only runs once a day! And Google Maps doesn't have reliable timetables there (as I also experienced last year).
This train looks like this, i.e. no amenities apart from a bathroom: https://cycling-on-rails.com/train-bicycle-guide/spain/#feve
The main advantage is that it makes 54 stops, so you can take it if you hike nearby.
@alberto_cottica About Google Maps being unreliable in practice on this narrow-gauge "FEVE" network: https://mastodon.social/@cycling_on_rails/114721001159450498
And some more info here: https://www.happyrail.com/en/feve-narrow-gauge-network
It's honestly not really worth it unless you really like trains and visiting every railway line, or you happen to hike along the way and hop on for some stops (and, for the León area, happen to pass by at the same time as the daily train).
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@alberto_cottica Euskotren is slow but beautiful. There is an alternative link by bus. From Hendaye, you then have the superfast TGV. No need to go via Madrid.
While you are in San Sebastián, take your time and visit the center, it is one of the most enjoyable cities in Spain, I once lived there 3 years.
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R relay@relay.infosec.exchange shared this topic
