Right then.
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The problem with these Albanian railway plans: nothing being built here is qualitatively going to be good enough to get people out of cars
Beograd - Novi Sad, Tallinn - Tartu, even Vilnius - Kaunas all ARE
These Albanian plans are only good enough to rival buses
@jon I took the train a lot during my 3 months in Serbia and it's a interesting experience, with most actual stations derelict and offering no services. I think there is only a handful of the stations that I visited where the towns took any pride in their old station and kept them freshly plastered and painted. Throughout from Belgrade up to Novi Sad is one of the few routes that are up to what I consider European standards.
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@jon I took the train a lot during my 3 months in Serbia and it's a interesting experience, with most actual stations derelict and offering no services. I think there is only a handful of the stations that I visited where the towns took any pride in their old station and kept them freshly plastered and painted. Throughout from Belgrade up to Novi Sad is one of the few routes that are up to what I consider European standards.
@jon All that said, I took the train a lot because I prefer the ride quality, seating and ability to maintain positive eyes on my bags the whole time. Serbian buses can be quite bad and I was on a couple routes where people were left to stand in the aisles of coach buses. I think the longest ride I took was from Belgrade to Niš, which took a little over 6 hours. It's the opposite of an express, and stops briefly at every little village platform along the whole route.
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@jon All that said, I took the train a lot because I prefer the ride quality, seating and ability to maintain positive eyes on my bags the whole time. Serbian buses can be quite bad and I was on a couple routes where people were left to stand in the aisles of coach buses. I think the longest ride I took was from Belgrade to Niš, which took a little over 6 hours. It's the opposite of an express, and stops briefly at every little village platform along the whole route.
@jon Another major issue with most Serbian rail routes, is that the rail lines are not in protected corridors and the the automated crossing guards where they exist cannot be counted upon, so the trains have to keep to a relatively low speed in order to be able to slow down and blare their horns at every crossing. They're also running much bigger trains than they actually need compared to the number of passengers I typically saw.
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@jon Another major issue with most Serbian rail routes, is that the rail lines are not in protected corridors and the the automated crossing guards where they exist cannot be counted upon, so the trains have to keep to a relatively low speed in order to be able to slow down and blare their horns at every crossing. They're also running much bigger trains than they actually need compared to the number of passengers I typically saw.
@jon Most of the routes would probably be much better serviced by the sorts of single car trains that are common on a lot of rural French routes. They stop quickly. They accelerate quickly and they're much cheaper to operate than the sorts of big trains I saw in Serbia.
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Parking, Albanian style
Most of the cars parked in this street are for sale (labels in windows)
So that means everyone double parks, alongside the for sale cars
️And then goes to the cafe
@jon Loved the chaos of it the long weekend I was there a couple of years ago
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@jon I took the train a lot during my 3 months in Serbia and it's a interesting experience, with most actual stations derelict and offering no services. I think there is only a handful of the stations that I visited where the towns took any pride in their old station and kept them freshly plastered and painted. Throughout from Belgrade up to Novi Sad is one of the few routes that are up to what I consider European standards.
@Infoseepage to Subotica too. Šid and Valjevo also passable. The rest is falling apart indeed.
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@jon Most of the routes would probably be much better serviced by the sorts of single car trains that are common on a lot of rural French routes. They stop quickly. They accelerate quickly and they're much cheaper to operate than the sorts of big trains I saw in Serbia.
@Infoseepage when were you there? The 4 car Stadler EMUs they use have masses of power - they’re not accelerating well because of the infra, not the train itself.
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@Infoseepage when were you there? The 4 car Stadler EMUs they use have masses of power - they’re not accelerating well because of the infra, not the train itself.
@jon I've been in North Macedonia about a week and before that most of three months in Serbia.
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@jon I've been in North Macedonia about a week and before that most of three months in Serbia.
@Infoseepage then sorry you’re off. There’s nothing about their trains that stops fast acceleration. (This stuff is my job)
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@Infoseepage then sorry you’re off. There’s nothing about their trains that stops fast acceleration. (This stuff is my job)
@jon This was the train to from Belgrade Center to Nis. Maybe it's not ultimately the equipment that is limiting, but the need to keep a low speed due to the crossings and frequent stops. Train took over 6 hours to make the journey. A car could do it in 2.5 hours.
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@jon This was the train to from Belgrade Center to Nis. Maybe it's not ultimately the equipment that is limiting, but the need to keep a low speed due to the crossings and frequent stops. Train took over 6 hours to make the journey. A car could do it in 2.5 hours.
@Infoseepage the track is absolutely knackered. I’ve taken that line. The train shown is Swiss designed, Polish built, max 4 years old and can do 160km/h.
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@jon This was the train to from Belgrade Center to Nis. Maybe it's not ultimately the equipment that is limiting, but the need to keep a low speed due to the crossings and frequent stops. Train took over 6 hours to make the journey. A car could do it in 2.5 hours.
@jon I think they do have a direct service, but it still takes in excess of 5 hours, so it is just a slow, slow service. On the day I was taking it, it left later and arrived later, basically following along behind the non-express service.
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@Infoseepage the track is absolutely knackered. I’ve taken that line. The train shown is Swiss designed, Polish built, max 4 years old and can do 160km/h.
@jon I downloaded a Serbian railway map from the official operator before I left for my visit and a fair number of the branch lines are listed as freight only and a some of the main passenger lines are currently closed and being rebuilt. Not sure how long that has been the case. Had to take the bus across the border, because the train doesn't run down from Nis to Vranje and across the border atm.
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@jon I downloaded a Serbian railway map from the official operator before I left for my visit and a fair number of the branch lines are listed as freight only and a some of the main passenger lines are currently closed and being rebuilt. Not sure how long that has been the case. Had to take the bus across the border, because the train doesn't run down from Nis to Vranje and across the border atm.
@Infoseepage at least since pre Covid it’s been like this. Years since there was a Skopje - Niš passenger train. For two decades maintenance has been terrible. Now the only option is close, rebuild and re-open.
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@ajinkyapdahale @jon bc of the cows? India has way better train service I suppose. I mean over 90% electrification rate is quite something
@vermeer @jon yes, the cows part. But also the half completed towers part.
Trains are fairly good here, even with the regular delays and a host of issues due to cost constraints. Hopefully the going stays in a positive direction.
I think the electrification is well over 95%, but then our main source of electricity is coal. Leaves possibility for other sources, of course.
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Parking, Albanian style
Most of the cars parked in this street are for sale (labels in windows)
So that means everyone double parks, alongside the for sale cars
️And then goes to the cafe
So I’m off to the airport
Don’t worry. I’m not flying anywhere. I’m checking the state of the railway
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So I’m off to the airport
Don’t worry. I’m not flying anywhere. I’m checking the state of the railway
I’m happy to confirm the airport bus is inefficient. This provides an opportunity for the future railway
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Cows grazing in front of half completed tower blocks
Tirana
@jon
It looks like it's browsing the rubbish instead of eating the grass. -
Also there are lots of things you can do with a former railway. Park cars on it. Vans on it. Make a footpath along it. Hang your washing along it...
@jon No, no, no!!! Each and every former railway should be converted to a bike path!
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