Welcome to #CrossBorderRail - Day 00, 2 May – Berlin – Kiel – Oldenburg

Today I’m not going to be crossing any borders! But there is an event in Kiel at 18:30, that will also be streamed

Taking 3 trains (total 368.3 km), and 1 bus. And two small bike legs in Berlin and Kiel

Today’s live blog page is here 👇
https://crossborderrail.trainsforeurope.eu/live-blog-day-00/

And this is the first toot of today’s Mastodon thread

Here’s the video summary
https://urbanists.video/w/pnZS1MBfFotz5tsnsvUNsK

The main project trip starts at 11:20 at Berlin Hbf, but I am in Leipzig!

I’ve finally found a second hand Birdy bike for my future #CrossBorderRail projects! So I collected it early this morning, then I’ll drop it off at home, put the panniers on the regular red Birdy, and head to Hbf to start

Every train I take will be assessed - like this:

#CrossBorderRail Train XX

RE 6 (66666)
11:20 Berlin Hbf - Bad Stadt 14:17
Ostdeutsche Bimmelbahn GmbH

Distance: 111 km
Average speed: 99 km/h

Train type: Stadler double deck EMU, 4 carriages
⚡️⛽️🔋
🚲: ✅ / ❓ / ⛔️
🦽: ✅ / ❓ / ⛔️
📶: ✅ / ❓ / ⛔️
🧳: 🙂 / 🤔 / 😡
🧽: 🙂 / 🤔 / 😡

#Deutschlandticket: ✅⛔️

This year: luggage 🧳 and cleanliness 🧽 added, and 🍽️ removed - I’m on regional trains, no dining cars 😢. 📶 is for wifi on board (I can’t assess mobile reception)

OK HERE WE GO!

CrossBorderRail Train 01

RE 8 (62015)
11:20 Berlin Hbf - Bad Kleinen 14:17
Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH

Distance: 226 km
Average speed: 77 km/h

Train type: Stadler double deck EMU, 4 carriages
⚡️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step down inside, needs a ramp or lift)
🛜: ✅
🧳: 🤔 (double deck, but Stadler’s seats have place underneath)
🧽: 😡 (grimy inside, lots of graffiti outside, covers some windows)

#Deutschlandticket: ✅

And Peter Cornelius from @PRO_BAHN came to Berlin Hbf as I departed!

Here's today's route map

And the full zoomable version: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-de-2023_835860#8/53.378/11.783

This RE 8 train Berlin Flughafen - Wismar (I am taking it Berlin Hbf - Bad Kleinen, at least 80% of its route, 226 km) shows both the upsides and downsides of #Deutschlandticket

As regional trains go it's not bad. It's quite speedy. Modern. There's wifi. But because it stops all over the place it's a lot slower than the ECs and ICs that also run here

A EC manages Berlin-Ludwigslust in 1 hour 16, this takes 2 hours 5 mins for that section

But if your budget is tight, take this!

#FirstWorldDeutschlandTicketProblems 😅

When you've only got as far as Neustadt (Dosse) and your wifi data has already run out

North of Ludwigslust the lines fork. ICEs continue north west towards Hamburg, while this RE 8 continues due north to Schwerin, Bad Kleinen and Ludwigslust

When the Fehmarn Tunnel is done (more about that tomorrow!), Berlin-København trains will route this way avoiding Hamburg. So that’s why I’m taking this line today

First observation: there’s no PZB on this part of the line, so vMax 160km/h not 200/230km/h as between Berlin and Ludwigslust

I’m in the middle of a Landeshauptstadt. And I’m on Edge

Germany manages to put money into renovating stations… and still end up with something totally without charm

Bad Kleinen is actually a semi important junction. But the roof and huts afford little protection, and it’s all bleak. And all new

Did they need to leave this *massive* wasteland in the middle? There’s space for at least 4 tracks there. And it’s covered in scrubby bushes. I’m pretty sure if Netherlands were rebuilding a station like this they’d have thought of the aesthetics a little? Bad Kleinen

😳 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahnhof_Bad_Kleinen?wprov=sfti1

Oh this is fascinating. Thanks @6d03 for alerting me! A 1993 incident at Bad Kleinen against Rote Armee Fraktion members Birgit Hogefeld and Wolfgang Grams

Please do keep pointing out things like this about the places I’m passing! The odder the better!

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSG-9-Einsatz_in_Bad_Kleinen?wprov=sfti1

#CrossBorderRail Train 02

RE 4 (5356)
15:00 Bad Kleinen - Lübeck Hbf 15:56
DB Regio AG Nordost

Distance: 62 km
Average speed: 66 km/h

Train type: Alstom Lint DMU, 2 short carriages
⛽️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free)
🛜: ⛔️
🧳: 😡 (it is single deck but mostly doesn’t have overhead racks)
🧽: 🙂 (it’s clean, inside and out)

#Deutschlandticket: ✅

The Bobitz Berlin Wall

The idea that København - Berlin trains are going to run through here once the Fehmarn Tunnel is done strikes me as… far fetched.

This Bad Kleinen - Lübeck line is a non electrified, single track branch line that serves tiny villages. You’d have to basically rebuild it all from scratch to run ICEs and 740m long goods trains through here

Given Germany’s reluctance to renovate infra… well, I’ll believe it when I see it!

Grevesmühlen

That’s more like it! Repurposed old station and a new platform

And it might be a tiny diesel train, but Bad Kleinen - Lübeck is a nice route. Gently rolling country, little villages. Feels a little old fashioned.

Don’t get too close to the platform edge… even if the platform is made of grass! Grieben

Set aside whether Germany should fundamentally reconstruct rail infra a moment.

I think Germany does rail on tiny branch lines comparatively well.

Were this line in Spain it’d have been shut. In France it’d have 3 trains a day at times no one can use, but here it’s every hour. Czechia or Poland have trains like this, but they’re slower and the ride bumpier.

So given the lack of investment, this is actually as good an outcome as is possible.

#CrossBorderRail Train 03

RE 83 (21022)
16:06 Lübeck Hbf - Kiel Hbf 17:16
erixx

Distance: 80 km
Average speed: 69 km/h

Train type: 2 Alstom LINT DMUs, each 2 short carriages
⛽️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅
🛜: ✅
🧳: 🤔 (older LINT unit, bit cramped. But better than Train 02)
🧽: 🙂 (it’s orderly)

#Deutschlandticket: ✅

And this is a bit absurd if you think about it - Kiel (246k) is the biggest city in Schleswig Holstein. Lübeck (211k) the second largest. 80km between them. And they’re connected by a single track non electrified railway…

Ok, infra in Schleswig Holstein is organised towards Hamburg, but this still ought to be better than it is!

Edit: there is some double track north of Eutin. But the basic point holds!

My bizarre tri lingual mind translates this into Bad Sick Duck

Plön. This little line is so nice.

You too can enjoy this on the #DeutschlandTicket - RE train Lübeck-Kiel, north of Plön

Live Stream aus Kiel - wir beginnen in kürze! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC1q2ZYN3kI

During #CrossBorderRail there’ll be occasional #BeerOnTrains posts. But as there’s no train here it’s #BeerOnBus to Oldenburg (Holstein).

Störtebeker Baltik Lager. Golden and caramel-ish, malty. It’s one of the best mid price beers in Germany I think (Störtebeker Pilsner is also excellent)

Kiel, earlier