jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Welcome to today's thread - 2024 Extra Days 26 April - Valenciennes - Quiévrain - Gussignies - Aulnoye-Aymeries - Paris - Nuits-sous-Ravières

Crossing these borders:
Blanc-Misseron 🇫🇷 - Quiévrain 🇧🇪
Bettrechies-Bellignies 🇫🇷 - Mons 🇧🇪

These borders on the borders map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-all-the-borders_935041#12/50.3640/3.7038

Today's routes on the routes map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-extra-days-2024_1030682#11/50.3036/3.6839

mule_du_pape,
@mule_du_pape@masto.bike avatar

@jon is that Quievrain crossing the standard one now rather than Quévy ?

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@mule_du_pape no. 2km track missing.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Intro video will follow shortly. Problem: it’s raining in Valenciennes. That’s not going to be nice for 50km on the bike…

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Valenciennes. New and old

Old sign Cafe Hotel Terminus. Today it’s a recruitment agency
The whole hotel building

Island_Martha,
@Island_Martha@epicure.social avatar

@jon
WOW! What an interesting looking city.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@Island_Martha It’s interesting. Rather post industrial, but charming in parts too. And the local government is doing its best!

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Here’s today’s intro video

https://peertube.netzbegruenung.de/w/mKbnziqrpCNreiHFLg14MW

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Hmm, this streamed video won’t play natively in the thread. Not for me here anyway… Need to examine this more

Rain is light enough so I’ll get on the bike!

norbert,
@norbert@gruene.social avatar

@jon Works fine here btw.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

2024 Extra Days 26 April Bike 1 of 1
Valenciennes - Quiévrain – Gussignies - Aulnoye-Aymeries

Distance: 51.1km
Est. duration: 4:00

This bike route, mapped on Komoot: https://www.komoot.com/de-de/tour/1503232610

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Here we go. Nasty bumpy road to start

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

This is still the active part of the line - from Valenciennes to the Alstom plant at Crespin. Freight only, not electrified, in a poor state.

Towards Belgium
Towards Valenciennes

timrichards,
@timrichards@aus.social avatar

@jon What a mess. Surprised it even takes freight.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@timrichards Max speed will be very low!

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Here’s the Alstom
(Ex-Bombardier) plant. Massive car park as there’s no train to get the workers here. Regio2N for AURA being built. The commune of Crespin is committed to being green apparently.

Massive car park
Regio2N trains
A sign indicating a commitment to green issues

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

And beyond the Alstom
plant the line is abandoned

Old level crossing machine
A tree growing by old tracks
Old buffers

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

No any longer either

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

This is the border. Belgium to the left, France to the right. You can just about make out the tracks. Blanc-Misseron 🇫🇷 - Quiévrain 🇧🇪

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Next: bike to Quiévrain. And cross the remnants of the line where I can.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

And in a symbol of just how much they ❤️ public transport here, half the buses from Valenciennes end right before the border

Map with blue dot showing where it is

Zugschlus,
@Zugschlus@zug.network avatar

@jon They'd probably need an international contract otherwise.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@Zugschlus they do have. Half the buses cross. Same firm.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Europe. Dead end. Quiévrain.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Quiévrain 🇧🇪

There are trains. The line is electrified. But it’s pretty desolate.

End of the lines
SNCB Siemens EMU
Election posters at the station

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

And I’ve cycled to the next line. Dismantled line via Gussignies. Now a cycle path. Here the old station Angre

New Ravel sign saying Angre

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Oh. Must be near the border. The railw… no, the cycle lane ends

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

border number 204

Bettrechies-Bellignies 🇫🇷 - Mons 🇧🇪

Long dismantled. This one won’t be re-opened.

House at the border
Roisin Autreppe station building

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

I’ve got to the golden wheel. Doesn’t apply to trains though. And not bikes either really.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

The rest of to Aulnoye

A track overgrown with mint
The long hedge col.
Forest paths

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

This wasn’t the easiest . Biking through mud. Clambering under fallen trees. Bike reflector fell off somewhere. But they all count 🙂

Muddy path
Fallen tree.
Place where the reflector once used to be

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

2024 Extra Days 26 April Train 1 of 2
TER 16458
15:54 Aulnoye-Aymeries - Paris Nord 17:41
SNCF for TER Hauts de France

Train type: Alstom Regio2N 2x10 carriages, single and double deck mix
⚡️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅️ (step free if platform allows, otherwise lift)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂 (for a partial double deck design, quite OK)
🧽: 🙂 (it’s new)

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

TER 16458
15:54 Aulnoye-Aymeries - Paris Nord 17:41

Distance: 215.5km
Average speed: 121km/h

3 stops:
St-Quentin(Aisne)
Compiègne
Paris Nord

This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-extra-days-2024_1030682#9/49.5421/3.0927

Schleifleistenbruch,
@Schleifleistenbruch@zug.network avatar

@jon for a regional train, this is a solid average speed!

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@Schleifleistenbruch right. In a more sensible railway system this would be an intercity. And track and train are only vMax 160, but it does that pretty much the whole way.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

A few more drone pics from the border Crespin - Quiévrain earlier

  1. Here you can see the track into the Alstom works that is still active, while the abandoned line to the border is in the bushes
  2. The alignment through Quiévrain has been kept free
  3. The part approaching the station Quiévrain
  4. The border section - houses are in Belgium, the trees beyond in France

Point 2 in toot explains
Point 3 in toot explains
Point 4 in toot explains

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Just imagine. You’re in one of the EU’s most significant cities. Lines to the second and third cities of the country, to Switzerland, Italy and Spain start here. Both regular lines and high speed.

And what do you do?

Let half the platforms - former autorail at Paris Bercy - simply rot and not be used. There’s place for at least 6 platforms there.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

2024 Extra Days 26 April Train 2 of 2
TER 17781
19:27 Paris Bercy - Nuits-sous-Ravières 21:38
SNCF for TER Mobigo Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Train type: Alstom Régiolis, 2 x 6 carriages
⚡️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅️ (step free if platform allows, Nuits-sous-Ravières doesn’t, Paris Bercy does)
🛜: ⛔️
🍽️: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂
🧽: ☹️ (graffiti covers windows, not removed in a long time)

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

TER 17781
19:27 Paris Bercy - Nuits-sous-Ravières 21:38

Distance: 223.9km
Average speed: 103km/h

6 stops:
Sens
Joigny
Laroche-Migennes
St Florentin Vergigny
Tonnerre
Nuits-sous-Ravières

This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-extra-days-2024_1030682#9/48.2872/3.2973

jbqueru,
@jbqueru@fosstodon.org avatar

@jon Ooooh, Paris Bercy, that's an obscure train station (and dark and gloomy if I remember it correctly).

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@jbqueru the building has been improved a bit. The rest is… basic or abandoned.

bilginveperk,
@bilginveperk@piaille.fr avatar

@jon @jbqueru The station that will make you feel back to Romania !! Maybe it’s the most miserable station in all SNCF network

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@bilginveperk @jbqueru it’s not too bad. I admit I can’t think of a worse one in France, but there are plenty worse in Germany.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

And here’s the summary video for today, complete with Josette 🐈 trying to distract me https://peertube.netzbegruenung.de/w/jZbAGVUEyY9RyBY6aQjuoB

Nicovel0,
@Nicovel0@mastodon.social avatar

@jon this end of thread toot popped up in my TL and by the second line I went “oh Jon is in Paris”

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@Nicovel0 departing any moment. Back soon!

remi,

@jon Bercy is in a sorry state because the track layout beyond the station is utter garbage. Basically the current station has more capacity than what the station throat(s) can accommodate. Hence the decaying auto train platforms that couldn't be used for anything useful even if they were torn down.

There's a major €150M+ project to improve the track layout, it's been studied for 10+ years. There are some reasons to be hopeful it'll actually happen someday 🤞

📸 © https://www.atif.fr/au-coeur-de-la-modernisation-de-la-gare-de-bercy/

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@remi I’m sure the layout can handle more than the current 2 trains per hour!

remi,

@jon I'm trying to find sources but I remember reading that the station is limited to 4tph due to other constraints further down the line around Villeneuve-Saint-Georges. This area hosts a major freight yard and a massive EMU maintenance depot.

Bercy is cursed. The "M" tracks leading to it are too.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@remi Can’t be. Once you’re past the TGV depot the lines are the same as used for TGVs. Villeneuve St Georges can’t be the constraint.

grlodi,
@grlodi@mastodon.social avatar

@jon TER with 3 stops 😆 labels vs reality in French railways is depressing

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@grlodi it boils down to who pays. To the passenger it makes no sense. Ticket prices don’t either.

Island_Martha,
@Island_Martha@epicure.social avatar

@jon
Why not for bikes?

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@Island_Martha large busy road. No cycle lanes.

gregienco,
@gregienco@piaille.fr avatar

@jon I guess you might know this : in Belgium, when we talk about something happening in France, we sometimes say : "outre-Quiévrain" (further than Quiévrain)

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@gregienco Yep. I’ve been to Quiévrain before 🙂

filid,
@filid@muenchen.social avatar

@jon we are dooooomed

Tomsprints2,
@Tomsprints2@mastodon.world avatar

@jon @Peternimmo I took this photo not very far from Annecy in September 2019. I’m guessing it has become even less of a desirable place to live since then:

weddige,
@weddige@gruene.social avatar

@jon works for me; sometimes it takes a few minutes for videos to work properly with mastodon.

Crimelady,
@Crimelady@sueden.social avatar

@jon It's opening on netzbegruenung and stops after 2 minutes in mid sentence. Thank you and have a good trip.

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@Crimelady that stop might be my fault ;-)

hengymrohebwlad,

@jon Rue du Couronnement?

jon,
@jon@gruene.social avatar

@hengymrohebwlad House i am in is Av Marechal Foch

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