@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

DiegoBeghin

@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social

Docteur en physique, data scientist, belgo-brésilien. Vélo et transports publics.

Blog: metrovelododo.wordpress.com

I speak: EN-FR-PT-ES. Learning DE, but it's still bad.

Fan of Paradox games since EU3.

Migration depuis https://masto.bike/@DiegoBeghin

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

jon, to random
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Welcome to today's thread - South East Europe Day 02 31 May 2024 - Tallinn - Lelle - Pärnu - Häädemeeste

Crossing these borders:
None – only crossing Estonia, getting close to Latvia

These borders on the borders map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-all-the-borders_935041#8/58.744/24.192

Today's routes on the routes map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-all-the-borders_935041#8/58.744/24.192

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@pony @jon Isn't the population in the region falling though? Why would we expect growth here?

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@pony @jon For technical reasons? Is the line single track or something?

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@pony @jon True that long empty stretch between Paris and Lyon still has Le Creusot TGV and Macon TGV. But French empty doesn't even approach Estonian empty

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@Alon @pony @jon The French literally call it la Diagonale du Vide, it's quite empty on absolute terms too (much like Teruel).

Alon, to random
@Alon@mastodon.social avatar

35 years ago, nothing happened in Beijing. Here's a serene photo of a city center attraction.

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@Alon May 35th truly feels like the end of spring.

jon, to random
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Welcome to today's thread - #CrossBorderRail South East Europe Day 01 29 May 2024 - Helsinki - Tallinn

Crossing these borders:
Sea border Finland - Estonia and possibly Narva rail border to Russia (not crossing!)

These borders on the borders map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-all-the-borders_935041#8/59.738/24.648

Today's routes on the routes map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-all-the-borders_935041#8/59.738/24.648

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@jon First time I see a grade separated bike trail below street level!

DiegoBeghin, to random
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

Today was the first time I seriously planned traveling by night train, and it became clear that they can't seriously compete against high speed rail or planes.

Prague is about as far away from Brussels as Marseille. The Eurostar to Marseille (when it runs) is 5h, the night train to Prague is... 15h, with a more unreliable schedule. Even giving an 8h sleeping discount to the night train, it's quite a bit longer.

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

There are various comfort options on a night train:

  • Coach, where you sleep seated. Like hell I'm gonna do that when I have any kind of alternative. Even as a student, those seats would need to be very cheap indeed.

  • Couchettes, where you're in a kind of room mate situation with up to 5 stangers. You need to collectively agree on a sleepy time. I have vague memories of doing that as a child, but it was always in a group travel situation. It would feel awkward traveling alone or as a couple.

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

Then there's the private compartment. Comfortable, but still less comfortable (and more expensive!) than flight+hotel, or high speed train+hotel. The only people riding this are rail enthusiasts, who are willing to pay more just because it's a train (that might be me).

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

Except for the private compartment, those are all an inferior service to a shorter HSR ride or flight. But the operating costs are higher, maybe you find some beat up old train cars that cost 1/3 of high speed rolling stock, but you still need to pay 3x the crew wages for the same trip (or more, since it's the night shift).

That's why it remains such a niche market, the service is just too expensive for what it is. And I would be uncomfortable subsidising a travel mode that scales so poorly.

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

And yeah, I know, most of the time the high speed rail doesn't exist. Let's spend public money building it then, it's a better use of it than subsidising Nightjets.

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@pony And immediately to the West you have Bavaria, right? Which isn't very interested in modernising their rail network.

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@Alon I'm only considering it now because the alternative is flying or no trip. My real destination is a wedding in Budapest, stopping in Prague and Vienna is already breaking up the trip. Trains to central Europe are so slow...

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@25kV @jon @seatsixtyone I do follow them! I haven't seen an argument detailing how the cost structure of a night train would be lower than that of a much faster day train.

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@Colinvparker @Alon In the old days flying was expensive and there was no HSR, so the choice was night train or no trip (mostly no trip if you look at passenger numbers today).

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@Alon @Colinvparker Wonder if night trains nowadays are retro enough they'd allow it.

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@25kV @jon @seatsixtyone TGVs are profitable, and so is DB Fernverkehr. @Alon

jon, to random
@jon@gruene.social avatar

Welcome to today's thread - South East Europe Day -01 27 May 2024 - Arrival of night ferry, Malmö C - Stockholm, onto night ferry

Crossing these borders:
Only sea borders

These borders on the borders map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-all-the-borders_935041#6/57.534/15.535

Today's routes on the routes map:
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-all-the-borders_935041#6/57.534/15.535

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@jon Do we get this "which door to use" information in the DB app? I know I always end up running a bit in the platform if I don't want to board in the opposite door.

capntransit, to random
@capntransit@urbanists.social avatar

New blog post: There's an approach to climate change that focuses on "Making Polluters Pay" for the cost of carbon pollution. But who counts as a polluter? Why are they so insistent that it's just a handful of corporations?

https://capntransit.blogspot.com/2024/05/making-all-polluters-pay.html

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@capntransit And gas price increases are unpopular with a large share of the population. Doesn't matter how the increase happens, if it's by chance or explicit policy. If punishing oil industry execs increases fuel prices, there will be a backlash.

We need to accept this inevitability and confront the backlash head on. You get the impression many advocates get uncomfortable if climate policy triggers Gilets Jaunes-like riots, and think there's a rhetorical trick to prevent that.

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@Colinvparker @capntransit My point with the heat pumps is that even when the change is minimally disruptive, this can still trigger a reactionary backlash. Resentment is a powerful force on the right nowadays. So, expect a backlash, because there will often be one.

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@capntransit @Colinvparker Superficially, blaming the corporations is attractive populist rhetoric which is en vogue nowadays (I said resentment was popular on the right, but there's some of it on the left too).

But from many people you'll only get the shallowest of agreements ("down with the corporations") which will turn hostile as soon as they realise what will change in their lives.

Alon, to random
@Alon@mastodon.social avatar

Pedestrian Observations: Militarized and Other New Capital Cities https://pedestrianobservations.com/2024/05/24/militarized-and-other-new-capital-cities/

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@Alon Horrified by everything I read about Naypyidaw. There was that article saying it's hard to convey in photos how desolate the area is, you can't show the nothingness, you have to experience it yourself. The scale is monstrous even if you're driving.

Gurre, to random Swedish
@Gurre@mastodon.nu avatar

The Gaza Strip is less than 2/3 the size of the City of Chiacgo.
It has about 89% the population of Chicago.

What should be going on there is debate on which metro lines to build next. Not where to hide from a war forced upon them by corrupt fascists (on both sides. oh, and are fascists ever not corrupt?).

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@Alon @Gurre Were there trains going to West Berlin in the Cold War?

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@Alon @Gurre My Dad has a tale of changing trains in Friedrichstraße. He was visiting Berlin and left literally the day before the wall fell.

jon, to random
@jon@gruene.social avatar

starts Sunday 26 May - 5 weeks investigating international railways, predominantly in South East Europe

Here's how to follow the project:
https://crossborderrail.trainsforeurope.eu/crossborderrail-south-east-europe-starts-26-may-how-to-follow-the-project/

And for the non-rail people among my followers: there are going to be a lot of railway posts from me (more than usual - really!) - so maybe you mute the tag 🙂

DiegoBeghin,
@DiegoBeghin@mastodon.social avatar

@jon That will be a rough one. I imagine there'll be lots of opportunities to point out things that can be improved.

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