I'm off on a train to Zürich, two days there and then back to Australia.
St Gallen was a delight - I'd never even heard of the place before, but it's a very pleasant small city with a lot of history and some wonderful old architecture.
Travelling Stockholm - Hamburg - Cologne - Brussels for a two-day conference about public metal detecting. It'll take 24 hours, one third of which I'll spend asleep. It's the 2024 way to #travel.
Shit. Thought I saw a positive story about refurbishing and reopening a major train station...and it turns out it's just a puff piece about a rich Ford family guy buying it and turning into a "tech hub" for Ford's campus. #Trains#FuckCars#Transportation
@notjustbikes's "Haubtbahnhoftest" evaluates how easily you can walk to the city from a train station and how well is it connected to public transit. Has anyone done this ranking for a larger number of stations around the world? I'd like to find some sort of methodology I could use to judge my train station as well. I am sure it would score terribly.
“I’m making a whole city! There are roads and tracks and roads crossing over the tracks! And buildings!” There are also many bus stops and a museum. (Grateful for washable markers) #urbanism#transit#PublicTransport#trains#bike#BikeTooter
Good morning from Switzerland. A bit damp and moody in interlaken today, though picturesque.
Later today I'll be boarding the GoldenPass Express to Montreux, then joining an international media tour that's exploring the country's lesser-known scenic rail routes.
I'll be writing about the highlights for my patrons at my Patreon, so feel free to join the gang and enjoy: https://www.patreon.com/timrichards
New at my Patreon... In Switzerland, I take the GoldenPass Express from Interlaken to Montreux - seeing beautiful mountain scenery and changing gauge on the way:
Mainichi: "Texas shinkansen may not operate until early 2030s, Amtrak says... Most recently slated for completion in 2026, the project is receiving technical support from Japanese shinkansen operator Central Japan Railway Co. If it goes ahead, the railway will connect Dallas and Houston, two major Texas cities approximately 380 kilometers apart, in about 90 minutes, but planning has been repeatedly delayed due to financing concerns, among other reasons. " https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240530/p2g/00m/0bu/049000c#transportation#trains#texas
Bizarre:
"On 10 May 1931, the Schienenzeppelin exceeded a speed of 200 km/h (120 mph) for the first time. Afterwards, it was exhibited to the general public throughout Germany. On 21 June 1931, it set a new world railway speed record of 230.2 km/h on the Berlin–Hamburg line between Karstädt and Dergenthin, which was not surpassed by any other rail vehicle until 1954. The railcar still holds the land speed record for a petrol powered rail vehicle." #trains https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schienenzeppelin
GOP: still fighting against the 21st century. It’s an embarrassment that the US has less #hsr than Morocco or Turkey. Yes, you read that right — we’re behind even Morocco and Turkey in moving people efficiently and the #GOP wants to keep it that way
So, the Bellville ferry terminal in #VictoriaBC is being upgraded to have US CBP preclearance for the Coho (to Port Angeles) and the Clipper (to Seattle) but what would be awesome would be a passenger ferry to #BellinghamWa's Fairhaven terminal, which is right next to the #AmtrakCascades train station. Especially if it had code share and checked baggage going straight between the ferry and the train.
Another V/Line train trip today. I'm heading to Bendigo to have lunch with my brother. As you do. A bit easier now that the country train fares in Victoria Victoria have been capped at $10.60 per day.
Snacks aboard a TGV Lyria train from Zürich to Paris, photographed by me on this date in 2019. You can't escape those paprika-flavoured chips anywhere in Central Europe!