Post AhdqDXInydKNy9FuiW by deluisa@zug.network
(DIR) More posts by deluisa@zug.network
(DIR) Post #AhdqDKLs7v3ZntagC0 by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-01T11:57:33Z
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We’re changing to a 361-hauled Rychlík to Trenčin, a pretty town and future European Capital of Culture. The KISS is waiting for its next job, a REX service to Bratislava.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDLoGhpMiKFss5o by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-01T12:03:08Z
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We’re just here though to pass some time until the departure of the cute narrow-gauge electric train from Trenčianska Teplá to Trenčianske Teplice. The line is only operated on weekends and holidays, today is in fact its first day of operation in 2024.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDMrqlzpBbeZFJY by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-02T05:27:32Z
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It’s a slow ride from terminus to terminus: 18 minutes for 5 1/2 kilometers. The line is completely single-track, the level crossings are unprotected.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDNhbfZE0CAmZzE by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-02T18:20:17Z
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The little terminal station Trenčianske Teplice suits the cute little trains very well. Most passengers leave through an unmarked exit via what seems like an old goods platform because it leads directly to the city center, as opposed to the deserted station hall.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDOXMZ8comgzueu by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-02T19:29:41Z
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Trenčianske Teplice is a spa town and seems to be a popular destination for day tourists. Sadly, because the TREŽ schedule is sparse even on operating days and badly coordinated with the departure of ZSSK trains to Bratislava, we have to take its replacement - a bus taking the same travel time TREŽ would take to Teplá for the journey via Teplá to the regional center (and Express train stop) Trenčin.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDPR1ED91ZJ2MPQ by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-04T09:36:38Z
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Instead of remaining on the through train from Košice to Bratislava hlavna stanica, we decide to Change at Trnava vor a Rychlík to Bratislava-Nove Mesto, hauled by a "diving goggles" diesel locomotive.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDQGQ96GG8j5PWq by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-04T09:40:59Z
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By sheer chance, we're here on the 20th anniversary of the 2004 EU enlargement!Oh, and of course, the old classic Tatra trams are still in service.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDQshqkt03SzzCi by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-04T09:47:58Z
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The railway service within Bratislava sucks, and there seems to be zero motivation to use the infrastructure for good service within the city. Nevertheless, we start from Bratislava-Nove Mesto on the morning, where we get a chance to watch the ex :brb: LINTS now in service for :leoexpress: leo express/ :renfe: on the Bratislava - Komárno line, an empty night train being transfered for maintenance from Hlavna stanica, and a lot of other trafic, before our double-deck EMU to Bratislava-Petržalka arrives
(DIR) Post #AhdqDRUzYPVjyCuYsa by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-04T13:49:29Z
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Bratislava-Petržalka is the least ugly train station in Bratislava, which is saying something, because it’s still quite ugly. This station serves as a very decentral terminus for trains to Austria (via Kittsee) or Hungary (via Rajka).
(DIR) Post #AhdqDS7zDQhdv99hey by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-05T12:12:16Z
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There is a bit of delay in Rajka, because the :mav: MÁV Flirt has been held up on the Győr-Hegyeshalom main line. The :zssk: ZSSK train is waiting nonetheless for Bratislava-bound passengers, and we soon reach Győr, a station with a lot of old split-flap displays
(DIR) Post #AhdqDSblQiWRPV5U4e by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-05T12:28:11Z
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We depart Győr on a Graz-bound InterCity, the first significantly delayed train on our trip which is actually putting the transfer to the next train at risk - everything nevertheless worked out perfectly at Szombathély, and we spend the next hour on a MÁV Desiro (and yes, they did order them in DB livery) to Zalaszentiván, where it connects with a little Bzmot railbus serving as a shuttle to the county capital of Zalaegerszeg.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDTBZHbA7CXq4si by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-05T12:46:34Z
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Why Zalaegerszeg? Well, due to construction works, several lines in southwestern Hungary are interrupted, that means that the “Citadella” Budapest <> Ljubljana is limited to Zalaegerszeg <> Ljubljana.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDTkJCQx2wI5p20 by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-05T13:32:32Z
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The Citadella crosses the Hungarian/Slovenian border at Hodoš; we’re only here to once again circumnavigate the line closures in Hungary, which render the direct border crossing between Hungary and Croatia at Koprivnica completely unusable at the moment. We meet the train back to Hungary at the station, and get a new locomotive due to the incompatible voltage. For reasons unbeknownst to most, our train is one of the first Citadellas to be completely on time in the past few weeks - which means the 6 minute transfer in Zidani Most to the train to Zagreb works perfectly.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDUIL9uAodq104m by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-05T13:38:57Z
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During the days of the JŽ, Zagreb Glavni kolodvar used to be the only designated “main station” in all of Yugoslavia - even Beograd Glavna was always just an informal name for the station called “Beograd”. Zagreb itself is also very pretty (when it’s not raining^^).
(DIR) Post #AhdqDUzwXn3Gp4Pp2W by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-05T13:51:22Z
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:hzpp: HŽ Putnički prievoz offers a quite frequent commuter service for Zagreb along the east-west axis from Harmica on the Slovenian border to Dugo Selo. It’s mostly served by locally-produced Končar low-floor EMUs, but there is the occasional old grafitti-covered Ganz EMU.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDVbsGlOQiiA7A8 by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-05T15:09:12Z
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The Zagreb - Rijeka train is agonizingly slow, extremely uncomfortable, and offers remarkably boring views for most of the 4 1/2 hour journey. No wonder it’s mostly empty, except for some local traffic around Karlovac.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDWQZEHwVFvsbB2 by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-06T09:29:00Z
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Our departure from Zagreb is slightly delayed, because some random diesel engine is attached to our train - probably just in order to transfer it efficiently to Ogulin, where it's getting detached again. The steep descent down the Adriaric coast to Rijeka is quite spectacular though, with beautiful views of the island of Krk and the Kvaner Gulf.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDXInydKNy9FuiW by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-06T10:43:22Z
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Rijeka is a pretty seaside town with a terrible lack of cozy cafés^^ But I'll focus on the trains here. We're leaving on the evening train to Ljubljana on classic :sz: SŽ stock hauled by a :hzpp: HŽPP locomotive up to Šapjane.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDY515NtONfoPrc by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-06T11:36:59Z
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Originally, the Šapjane - Rijeka - Zagreb line was electrified with the Italian 3 kV DC system, but when Yugoslavia decided to electrify more of their network, they opted for 25 kV AC. The line near Zagreb was switched to the 25kV system in the 80s, and since 2012, the system change takes place in the Croatian-Slovenian border station of Šapjane. Like many other stations with this function (including Hodoš and Spielfeld-Straß), half of the station is electrified with each of the different systems, with a short neutral stretch inbetween. That means a monocurrent locomotive lowers its pantograph entering the station, rolls into the other half, stops. A second locomotive is attached to the first one, which is removed from the train, shunted onto a different track, and then gently pushed to roll back on its own into the right part of the station. The second locomotive then returns to the train, is coupled, and pulls it out of the station.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDYrEC8SOnCMv0i by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-06T11:51:05Z
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:sz: Slovenske železnice has its own little high-speed service: three Pendolino units, composed of three cars each, offer a InterCity Slovenija services between Maribor and Ljubljana, making the most out of the winding line in narrow valleys through their tilting capability.In Maribor, we change to a Zagreb - Graz service composed only of a single Slovenian and Croatian car each.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDZUvoWDSmKwctc by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-06T12:00:00Z
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From Spielfeld-Straß, we continue on a regular :sbahn: -Bahn service to Graz, and after meeting up with @timstrutzi there, having a stroll around the pretty town and getting some lunch, we head eastwards to Feldbach. It's Saturday, and that means the Lokalbahn Feldbach - Bad Gleichenberg is in operation! It's a tiny local line operated by :stb: Steiermärkische Landesbahn which used to provide daily service up until a couple of years ago, when it was reduced to weekends and bank-holidays only. The future of the line, which still uses its inaugural set two of cars from the 1930s, is extremely uncertain beyond next year.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDbRSaOcyo9KslM by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-06T12:28:35Z
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From Feldbach, we continue down the line to the Hungarian border at Szentgotthárd, where we change from a cityjet :oebb: Desiro to a :gysev: GySEV/Raaberbahn Flirt all the way to Sopron. Sopron is the main hub of the GySEV, which is owned jointly by Austria and Hungary, and operates quite extensive infrastructure especially within Hungary, where it functions as the main "competitor" (but more like in a BLS-SBB sense) to :mav: MÁV. We take the remarkably international REX6 service from Sopron, which starts in Deutschkreutz, crosses into Hungary to Sopron, then back to Austria, continuing via Wulkaprodersdorf, Ebenfurth, Wien, Bruck an der Leitha, Kittsee, to Slovakia, terminating at Bratislava-Petržalka.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDdZgemOfQFCTrc by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-06T12:38:03Z
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Last day of the tour: Bratislava hl.st. - Brno hl.n. with :regiojet: Regiojet, as usual, a funny composition of used and new cars, all yellow from the outside, but none alike from the inside. We chose the pretty okay-ish Astra car built specifically for Regiojet.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDfNLxbif0ZReuu by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-06T12:54:05Z
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Our original plan was to travel via local lines to Žďár nad Sázavou and take a Rychlík to Praha from there, but that was foiled by our :cz_esko: Esko train being stuck behind the delayed Railjet. Instead, we took an :cd_panter: InterPanter to Ústí nad Orlicí, :leoexpress: leo express Tenders to Letohrad, and a cute class 854 from there to Hradec Králové hl.n.A Rychlík gets us to Praha hl.n., where we get a chance to say hi to the new :european_sleeper: European Sleeper service Praha - Bruxelles. And that's it - the way back home on the ČD railjet is a bit delayed, but otherwise absolutely uneventful.
(DIR) Post #AhdqDh6lWFdgNhhRL6 by deluisa@zug.network
2024-05-06T13:10:07Z
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All in all:- Slightly north of 3200 km in 5 1/2 days- 38 trains- ~ 47h travel time- :db: :pkpic: :cd_b: :zssk: :trez: :mav: :sz: :hzpp: :oebb_pflatsch: :stb: :gysev: :regiojet: :leoexpress: 13 operators- Border crossings at Frankfurt Oderbrücke, Chałupki, Horní Lideč, Rajka, Hodoš, Dobova, Šapjane, Spielfeld-Straß, Szentgotthárd, Baumgarten-Schattendorf, Kittsee, Kúty, and Schöna- Zero missed connections, the one at Szombathely was a bit tight but the connecting train waited- Three trains delayed > 10 minutes (Rajka - Győr, Győr - Szombathely, Praha hl.n. - Berlin)- 21 individual tickets (not counting purely bus or tram tickets), and I only made a single mistake worth about 15€ (for two people)- an undetermined but likely worrisome amount of coffee from Polish, Czech, and Slovak station coffee vending machines