Welcome to today's thread - #CrossBorderRail 2026 Tour Day 03 - 18 Feb - Ravières - Dijon - Culmont Chalindrey - Paris – Genève
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@jon Looking forward for a potential future holidays of yours in Trenitalia
@rafa_font it’s not as stupid in Italy. Not quite.
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@jon you’ve probably heard a million similar stories, but I was an a TGV International and a Swiss Interrail user was there with no reservation. There was this long back and forth of
“But the Interrail is a valid ticket? On every train I’ve taken before I can just get on and ride, I don’t care about reserving a seat, just being on the train”
“The contract says a reservation is required! Didn’t you read the contract!? You’re lucky I’m not throwing you off!”Went on for 5–10 minutes
@h0m54r Right. Exactly. Leaving Switzerland for France is a shock!
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@wnd because everyone drives instead?
@jon I do wonder what the most motonormative country is here? I had always gone with the UK or Germany but the French are making a strong claim here. Certainly outside of the major urban centres.
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@jon I do wonder what the most motonormative country is here? I had always gone with the UK or Germany but the French are making a strong claim here. Certainly outside of the major urban centres.
@wnd Outside Ile de France it’s MUCH worse in France than Germany. I think it’s worse here than the UK too.
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And discovering this sort of total ridiculous shit is why there’s no substitute for going to the places and testing the trains on #CrossBorderRail
You only *get this* once you’ve experienced it
@jon We're getting to a point where SNCF employing staff for pre-boarding ticket/reservation checks on regional trains doesn't sound completly unrealistic. 🫣
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I’m too German. I can’t tolerate this sort of bullshit
Rail in Germany: we have a solid idea about what trains we’d like to run, we welcome people taking them. But it might all break down because we didn’t invest
Rail in France: why would you possibly take a train other than between big cities? And the state knows better than you do when you want to go, and where. And in fact it’d all work better if you just drove instead. But if you do get a ticket to go, you will get a seat
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@jon I do wonder what the most motonormative country is here? I had always gone with the UK or Germany but the French are making a strong claim here. Certainly outside of the major urban centres.
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@jon We're getting to a point where SNCF employing staff for pre-boarding ticket/reservation checks on regional trains doesn't sound completly unrealistic. 🫣
@onterof why not? Creates jobs and is passenger hostile. Perfect!
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@jon We're getting to a point where SNCF employing staff for pre-boarding ticket/reservation checks on regional trains doesn't sound completly unrealistic. 🫣
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Rail in Germany: we have a solid idea about what trains we’d like to run, we welcome people taking them. But it might all break down because we didn’t invest
Rail in France: why would you possibly take a train other than between big cities? And the state knows better than you do when you want to go, and where. And in fact it’d all work better if you just drove instead. But if you do get a ticket to go, you will get a seat
@jon but if you didn't plan far enough ahead, there may be no seats left so you can't go...
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@wnd Outside Ile de France it’s MUCH worse in France than Germany. I think it’s worse here than the UK too.
@jon in France I have only spent time in Ile de France and Hauts-de-France and was pleasantly surprised. Even if the UBahn in Lille has rubber tyres. But this is very much observer bias on my part.
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@jon in France I have only spent time in Ile de France and Hauts-de-France and was pleasantly surprised. Even if the UBahn in Lille has rubber tyres. But this is very much observer bias on my part.
@wnd Hauts de France is trying. It’s one of the better Régions.
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Rail in Germany: we have a solid idea about what trains we’d like to run, we welcome people taking them. But it might all break down because we didn’t invest
Rail in France: why would you possibly take a train other than between big cities? And the state knows better than you do when you want to go, and where. And in fact it’d all work better if you just drove instead. But if you do get a ticket to go, you will get a seat
On point, unfortunately.
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Rail in Germany: we have a solid idea about what trains we’d like to run, we welcome people taking them. But it might all break down because we didn’t invest
Rail in France: why would you possibly take a train other than between big cities? And the state knows better than you do when you want to go, and where. And in fact it’d all work better if you just drove instead. But if you do get a ticket to go, you will get a seat
@jon Regional trains, the unloved child between bullet trains and urban trains...
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@jon Regional trains, the unloved child between bullet trains and urban trains...
@suihkulokki not sure the urban trains get much love either tbh!
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Rail in Germany: we have a solid idea about what trains we’d like to run, we welcome people taking them. But it might all break down because we didn’t invest
Rail in France: why would you possibly take a train other than between big cities? And the state knows better than you do when you want to go, and where. And in fact it’d all work better if you just drove instead. But if you do get a ticket to go, you will get a seat
Taking a TER tomorrow, Strasbourg to Colmar. 30min, 6€. My ticket tariff binds me to that specific train. Gah!
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Taking a TER tomorrow, Strasbourg to Colmar. 30min, 6€. My ticket tariff binds me to that specific train. Gah!
@knud that line has a Taktfahrplan. You can’t complain there!
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@knud that line has a Taktfahrplan. You can’t complain there!
I'm German, of course I can complain!
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I'm German, of course I can complain!
@knud there’ll be so much grime on the windows you can’t look out though
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Rail in Germany: we have a solid idea about what trains we’d like to run, we welcome people taking them. But it might all break down because we didn’t invest
Rail in France: why would you possibly take a train other than between big cities? And the state knows better than you do when you want to go, and where. And in fact it’d all work better if you just drove instead. But if you do get a ticket to go, you will get a seat
@jon The SNCF just hates the train and everybody taking it, so they try really hard to make it a really bad experience.
For me, the main problem is that they just don't give a s**t if you arrive or not when your train has a problem: Train complet, you can't just upgrade, you can't just downgrade, no replacement transport,...
Zero trust in them!
