Welcome to today's thread - #CrossBorderRail 2026 Tour Day 18 - 14 Apr - Budapest - Praha - Ústí nad Labem - Heidenau - Dresden - Berlin

[cycling_on_rails@mastodon.social]

@jon @rail It doesn't pass by Salzburg but goes straight to Graz via Schwarzach, like the EC Transalpin. So no Germany.

[jon@gruene.social]

@cycling_on_rails @rail it most definitely doesn’t go to Graz normally. It did last year when there were Tauernbahn works. This is tonight’s route but there are two possible options Wörgl - Schwarzach so we can’t conclude.

I’m on it on 21st April so we’ll see

[ingalovinde@embracing.space]

@rail @jon even without that, it's easy to do more even in a single day, not 24 hours.

E.g. a completely ordinary journey from Innsbruck to Amsterdam via Zurich and Paris takes only 12 hours (7:47-19:50 or 9:47-21:50) with two changes, and visits 6 countries (Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands).

Even without changes: there are at least several direct daytime trains (let alone night trains) that visit four countries (e.g. Berlin to Budapest taking 11 hours, or München to Zagreb taking 9).

[partim@social.tchncs.de]

@jon @cycling_on_rails @rail The Austrian open data shows it as going across the mountains via Zell.

[konsonantenboy@mastodon.online]

@jon The landscapes on the way to Pardubice are beautiful, enjoy!

[jon@gruene.social]

@konsonantenboy right, exactly! Close to Praha now, but I have Elbe routes to come next.

[jon@gruene.social]

#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Train 68 of 115
RJ 176
12:31 Praha hl. n. - Usti nad Labem hl. n. 13:41
ČD

Train type: Siemens Vectron locomotive, 9 ComfortJet carriages
️ (3kV dc)
:
🦽: (lift on platform)
🛜:
️:
🧳: (very high steps at Praha hl.n.)
🧽:
Interrail: (accepted)

[jon@gruene.social]

RJ 176
12:31 Praha hl. n. - Usti nad Labem hl. n. 13:41

Distance: 112.4km
Average speed: 96km/h

2 stops:
Praha-Holesovice
Usti nad Labem hl.n.

This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#10/50.371744/14.254761

#CrossBorderRail

[jon@gruene.social]

Let’s do some #CrossBorderRail

#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Bike 17 of 25
Ústí nad Labem hl. n. - Chlumec and back

Distance: 24.8km
Est. duration: 1:40

This bike route, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2026-spring-tour_1361108#14/50.679981/13.985167

[orangerkater@troet.cafe]

@jon uh, there are two RJ176 🤯

[jon@gruene.social]

So it rained. And now there’s no rail replacement bus ‍️

[jon@gruene.social]

#CrossBorderRail 2026 Spring Tour Bus 7 of 11
SEV 10174
15:50 Ústí nad Labem hl. n. - Dresden Hbf 17:20
DB Fernverkehr

Bus type: MAN Lion’s Coach 2 axle

: ️ (but hold is big - would they let you put in a bike?)
🦽: ️
🛜: ️
️: ️
🧳: (big hold)
🧽:

[jon@gruene.social]

There’s method in this The motorway crosses the border more or less where the future tunnel will! #CrossBorderRail

[jon@gruene.social]

Ah. That worked well. Lots to see #CrossBorderRail

[jon@gruene.social]

So the SEV bus got controlled by the Bundespolizei

I could SEE the road, not a single car was checked

In German I asked the policeman: “Why are you controlling buses not cars?”

[jon@gruene.social]

“We can control more people in one go this way!”

Me: “Hang on. Shouldn’t you treat everyone equally and do this based on risk?”

“But we have lots of people of lots of nationalities on a bus!”

[jon@gruene.social]

Me: “So you’re basically doing this to fill a stupid quota set by the interior ministry?”

Him: “What else can we do? We don’t have enough people to control everything!”

[jon@gruene.social]

The guy was friendly, young guy. I can’t blame him. And another passenger joined in, likewise considering the controls stupid.

And on went the bus.

[jon@gruene.social]

There is *not even the pretence that this makes sense*

🤬🤬🤬

[jens@social.finkhaeuser.de]

@jon That's IMHO better than them stomping around all self-important and pretending they're doing it for YOU.