Jon Worth

For immediate release At 19:00 EEST (18:00 CEST, 17:00 BST) Monday 7th September a record breaking train journey will start in Kemijärvi, Finland.

In the Newsletter this week Follow the record attempt live - from Monday 7th September European Rail Passengers Union - now open for membership!

Read more about this one at Trip By Trip and Treinenweb.

In the Newsletter this week Analysis: Passengers can't complain about trains they cannot take because they don't exist: in defence of German rail Bullshit Meter: European Sleeper & RDC Bruxelles - Malmö Sleeper in 2028 Good week: Cross-border link Daugavp…

The press was jumping up and down about this one, and you can read about it on European Sleeper's website here. 3 departures a week each way from Bruxelles and Amsterdam to København and Malmö.

In the Newsletter this week Analysis: The end for Freiburg-Colmar?

There was lots of media coverage of Virgin being granted paths on HS1 and into St Pancras from 2030 (see this in The Guardian for example), but the crux is this: if Virgin can get its trains delivered and running to schedule, then an October 2030 date for…

In the Newsletter this week Analysis: The #CrossBorderRail method Bullshit Meter: Arriva NL to run international high speed trains Good week: Leo Express manages to run to Przemyśl (but there's a catch) Also a good week: Italy and Austria able to do what…

Here we go again.

Today, finally, the first passenger trains since 1988 have crossed the border bridge between Tornio 🇫🇮 and Haparanda 🇸🇪 (OpenRailwayMap), services finally resuming more than a year after the border bridge was repaired and electrified.

There's a higher chance that Scotland becomes independent, and joins the EU and Schengen, than the Caledonian Sleeper is extended through the Channel Tunnel under the current political framework.

In the Newsletter this week Analysis: After years of frustration, suddenly progress with France - Spain rail connections Bullshit Meter: Direct trains Trieste - Beograd Good week: A little summer holiday pause Also a good week: Electrification at Fuentes…

Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini went to meet President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, and promised there would be Trieste - Beograd direct trains.

Today should have been simple enough.

In the Newsletter this week Analysis: Praha - Berlin - København: well at least the carriages can complete the entire journey Bullshit Meter, retrospective: Lisboa-Madrid to be a bit less painful Good week: Andorra to get a railway (well, a tram, maybe) A…