91–100 of 428 posts
If you now could just book a train between these cities on a common european platform (or local transportation provider...)... one could dream... just booking a train and getting a quote crossing multiple borders (without interrail) is just a nightmare :(
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There are things that can be done about people jumping in front of trains. Making sure the rails are not accessible with fences around them. Putting camera's at spots where people can get past the fences. In high risk stations you can put walls and gates in that only open when a train can be boarded. It's all just a lack of investment. If the budget for rail and other infrastructure matched the budget for car infrast…
> In high risk stations you can put walls and gates in that only open when a train can be boarded. That is only possible with fully standardized train units. Which is why you will see this in subways and dedicated high speed networks, but not on the common rail net. Platforms on a larger railway station have to accommodate a range of trains, from metro services (many doors at shorter intervals), to intercity trains (…
I agree that there will always be spots where the rails can be reached. As with many parts of human behavior, if there is more friction less people will do the thing. Since there are many instances where this is a temporary state and seeking and finding help can always be difficult I think creating that frictions is also worthwhile. Making sure people are prevented from feeling suicidal and being happier is something I also fully support.
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Agreed. Learn the lesson from the UK, who did privatisation first* and have witnessed things much worse than the current state of German trains (which are still *excellent* in comparison, and I say that as one who moved from the UK to Germany in 2018). * or "harder", to the extent that German rail privatisation never went as far as in the UK. I understand there's a constitutional requirement here in Germany for gover…
To be fair though, it's not like the trains were exactly great in the UK before privatisation.
And like, if one's model for maintaining a system depends on having a sensible government in power, _regardless of which particular political party you think is least competent_ you are going to have a rail system being run incompetently at least half the time. That's also what we got with "privatisation", of course; why would we expect any different?
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Focus moves after first click. Second click shows route from first click to second click. You have to clear both "where from" and "where to" box on left top to return to heatmap mode.
Yeah - this UX has the potential to be dramatically improved. I also went through that investigational phase. Needing to do that is a very clear sign of a UX that's suboptimally designed, IMO.
I haven't seen the site you're describing, but that's a brilliantly optimistic spin of a line!
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Unless you don't happen to live within the city center. Train stations frequently have zero long term parking, while airport frequently have cheap or even free long term parking. If you need to take the train where I live, then you're better of driving to the airport and park there. Then take a train or bus to the city center and the train station. I did like to take the train more often, but travel times are just to…
> airport frequently have cheap or even free long term parking Airport parking in Europe is pretty expensive. It could quite possibly be more than the flights for all passengers combined. A week at Brandenburg is about €150 Euros and at Heathrow is roughly the same (and needs a shuttle bus to the terminal, or it is over £250 plus for the short stay). That is, however, still likely cheaper than a train to the airport…
If you now could just book a train between these cities on a common european platform (or local transportation provider...)... one could dream... just booking a train and getting a quote crossing multiple borders (without interrail) is just a nightmare :(
Why isn't there a Google flights for trains? Do the operators hoard their data?
About 20 years ago, I visited most of Europe’s major cities over the course of a two-month trip, traveling primarily by night train. Each overnight ride saved me the cost of a hostel or guesthouse, and I’d arrive in a new city each morning feeling refreshed because of the train’s sleeping accommodations. There used to be a similar service between Toronto and Montreal (both directions), where the train would pause for…
The state railways have large exited night trains as a form of transport, due to economics, although it’s a much more sustainable form of transportation compared to aviation. Since Europe has a liberalized market in the rail sector, some startups are trying to fill the gap. European sleeper operates a night train on the route Brussel-Amsterdam-Berlin-Prague, using old rented rolling stock. I’m involved with Luna Rail…
The situation is a lot better today than 10 years ago or so, largely thanks to ÖBB Nightjet. But yep, it's not only state railway companies anymore, as can be seen on the map
Nowhere[1], if you're in Norway. I jest a little, but it's so bad here we've started to call it "bus replacement service" when the train is not cancelled, rather than "rail replacement service" when the train is cancelled. [1]: https://www.nrk.no/norge/full-togstans-i-hele-norge-grunnet-...
Is that a recent thing? I’ve taken trains several times of the last few years and always had an overwhelmingly positive experience.
The gov't hasn't allocated enough for maintenance for several decades, and we're paying the price now.
The National Audit Office recently released[1] a scalding report about it.
[1]: https://www.riksrevisjonen.no/rapporter-mappe/no-2023-2024/s...
In Germany not so far because the train will be 2+ hours late
Literally happened to me yesterday on the way back to Berlin. I arrived 2 hours late. In fairness there was what was labelled "a personal accident" on the track, which is a euphemism for somebody jumping in front of a train. Which unfortunately happens and needs to be dealt with properly and is not really something anybody can do much about. But delays are fairly common on that particular route (Berlin-Amsterdam). Th…
Removing a body from the track shouldn't take long, of course. The problem is if you need to do detailed forensics because it might have been a murder. At least, I am guessing that's the reason that sometimes a line stays closed for a long time with a lot of police vehicles parked in the vicinity (here in England), whereas on other occasions there is a death but only a few trains are delayed and for only 10-30 minutes.
Interestingly, I have on at least one occasion heard about trains being held up because of a dead body on the track that wasn't hit by a train. That definitely sounds suspicious. But of course no further information is given to the general public. (Body placed by criminals but reported before it was hit or the train happened to be slow enough to stop in time? Or suicidal person drugs themselves before placing themselves on the track?)
> not really something anybody can do much about
Good video surveillance might help eliminate the need for a detailed investigation of the (perhaps) crime scene. But, yes, not an easy problem.
