Train - Blog Posts
Lie
the process of my baby boy
the light comes from the people on train pov
9/04/22
Going back to university to take the exams I've been dreading.
I hardly feel prepared, but I dont know if any amount of studying would've made me feel prepared. Missed my dorm, missed going to the library to study, so these are gonna be a few bittersweet days!
What do you do to prepare for exams?
7/100 days of productivity
#keepwalking #train #ticket2ride > Todavía puedo subirme a ese tren.. ☝🔋🚇 (at Cleveland Park)
The Day We Met
Copper-red hair, a face unseen,
A beauty in pixels, formed through a screen.
Your hands, your art, a black beret;
was all I knew until that day.
As the train doors parted, far and wide,
I scanned the platform, eager-eyed.
When in a sea full of eyes, I found your pair,
to fall in love, right then and there.
by Weltenasche.
Announcement coming on Monday (May 17th).
The Osaka Monorail
The final post in this mini-series on the Osaka Expo 70 Commemoration Park is the obvious: how does one get there? Considering the Expo was all about bringing together the world's shared (or non-shared) visions of the future, the Monorail seems perfect! Except this line wasn't launched in time for the Expo - it was a later project, opened in 1990.
The straddle-beam monorail links Osaka Airport to Kadoma, and is due to be extended by the end of the decade. A short branch line pops out just to the East of the Expo 70 Park station, so a visit to the park is also a chance to see some mighty impressive sets of monorail points either side of the station, as the West side (above) also connects to the depot.
Sarreguemines station
One more border station between France and Germany, with a bit of a twist. Sarreguemines in Lorraine is, as its name suggests, on one side of the river Sarre or Saar, with Saarbrücken some 17 km downstream in Germany. Between the two runs a cross-border tram-train, which serves as urban transit within Saarbrücken, and as a small regional train beyond.
The vehicles used by the Saarbahn are dual-voltage (750 V DC for city tram lines, 15 kV AC for DB train lines) Flexity Link units, made by Bombardier. It's the third type of tram-train we've come across, having seen the Siemens Avanto in Mulhouse and the Alstom Citadis Dualis in Châteaubriant. Most trams in Saarbrücken are wrapped in some kind of advertisement, this one for a former exhibit at the former Völklingen Ironworks (something I definitely should talk about someday) - not only did the exhibit end in 2024, but the wrapping is dark, making the atmosphere onboard very dull indeed, especially on a grey day! They didn't think this one though!
Only the one track for the Saarbahn is electrified, so the French trains are all Diesel units. On the day I was there, three generations of DMU were present: the most recent bi-mode Regiolis, a Diesel-only AGC set from the early 2000s (top picture), and a pair of A TER railcars which are equipped for German signalling. A few direct Strasbourg-Saarbrücken services run each day with these "saucisses" as they are nicknamed. We've seen these trains before too - the design is identical to the BR 641s DB Regio have near Basel, and these are nicknamed "Walfisch" in German.
Towers and trains at Oberwesel
Downstream from Bacharach and Kaub seen in the most recent posts, Oberwesel is a gorgeous town on the left-hand side of the Rhine, with many of its medieval walls and towers still standing. The railway was built alongside these walls near the river, and even goes between two towers, the Katzenturm (left) and Ochsenturm (right). Add the hills in the background, and it is certainly a spectacular train spot.
Here is another tower, the Haagsturm, in a view from the station platforms. (I just got off that train and failed to position myself in time to get the sign out of the way bottom left.) The two trains shown were the only types visible that day, as the intercity traffic was diverted to the other side of the river via Wiesbaden.
Further from the river, another section of town walls and towers runs through the hills. In the centre of the picture above, taken from the short but steep Elfenlay trail, is the Kuhhirtenturm (with raised drawbridge), with St Martin's Church rising behind it.
Oh alright, have a wider view from the Elfenlay.
Kaub
A few kilometres down the Rhine from Bacharach and on the other side, is the small town of Kaub. Its main attraction is the Pfalzgrafenstein, a remarkable, vaguely boat-shaped "castle" in the middle of the river. I use the term "castle" a bit loosely, as it wasn't a feudal lord's residence, rather a customs office on the river, with Gutenfels in the background providing a wider watch. A tollgate, basically. Sidenote, if you find other photos of this place, you'll notice how low the Rhine is right now...
While Burg Gutenfels in the hills has been converted into a hotel, not unlike Burg Stahleck discussed last time, the Pfalzgrafenstein has been preserved, and is open as a museum on some days of the week, with a small ferry allowing visitors to get there. Beside that, a car ferry runs all day between the two banks of the Rhine, so I could easily cross to quickly walk around Kaub.
Like a lot of riverside towns and villages in the area, Kaub is a charming place with many old buildings. It provides a picturesque backdrop to all the traffic going by, boats and trains, and the Rechte Rheinstrecke, the railway line between Wiesbaden and Koblenz on the right-hand side of the Rhine, was seeing more trains than usual, as the section between Mainz and Bingen on the Linke Rheinstrecke was closed. Long-distance trains, like this international EuroCity service bound for Zürich, were (and at time of writing probably still are) diverted via Kaub.
Running around Koblenz station the other evening, I couldn't resist the cute message on this local train. Instead of a deadpan "depot" or "not taking passengers", this train is "going to bed"!
We've seen these trains before, quite recently in fact, but they're back, on a much brighter day to really make their colours pop, and in a different border station between France and Germany.
This is Lauterbourg, the easternmost town in France, in the North-East corner of Alsace, and it shows the contrast between the line on the left-hand side of the Rhine, and the one on the right-hand side. The line from Strasbourg to Wörth am Rhein is not electrified to this day, and only sees local regional traffic. Nonetheless, Lauterbourg appeared to have a massive yard back in the day, now just a flat expanse of disused rails.
At the North end of Lauterbourg station, we find some old German mechanical signals, still in use!
Finally, like in the previous post on these trains, I have an amusing place name to share. It's more funny to pronounce with an English accent than anything else, but it also looks like a game of Countdown gone horribly wrong!
French and German cross-border railcars
Just on the French side of the border, Wissembourg station sees French TERs arriving from Haguenau and Strasbourg, meeting German Regionalbahn from Landau and Neustadt. When a French service doesn't cross the border itself, SNCF and DB services are often synced up, giving us the chance to see both companies' cross-border efforts side by side.
The B 85500 is a brand-new bi-mode (electric and Diesel) multiple unit from the Alstom Régiolis family. While not the first international Régiolis - a tri-voltage electric version runs between Évian and Geneva -, the B 85500 adds autonomous Diesel power. With 30 units on order, it aims to revive and/or intensify cross-border routes into Germany. I was under the impression there was a bit of a gathering at the front end of the train, maybe local politicians marking the type's first visit to Wissembourg?
On the German side meanwhile, we have a standard railcar for what DB regard as a relatively low-density non-electrified regional route, which was closed to passengers for over 20 years between 1975 and 1997. The BR 628/928 (628: power car, 928: trailer car) is a 1980s design. Besides the lack of low floor, there's not a lot wrong with them, and they have comfortable, current DB Regio interiors. More recent types have been used, and if a plan to electrify Landau and Winden stations to allow charging of battery-EMUs goes ahead, there could soon be the latest trains on the German side of Wissembourg station too.
Which brings us to our "I beg your pardon" of the week:
Retired: the E4 and 700 Shinkansen
While we were on the topic of trains which will soon be retired, here are two that are out of service today, that I got to see in 2016. These are the 700 Series and the E4 Max Series.
The E4 Max, which stands for "Multi Amenity eXpress", was the second and so far last double-decker high-speed type operated by JR East, and was withdrawn in 2021. With a top operating speed of 240 km/h, they were mainly used on the Jôetsu line between Tôkyô and Niigata. They featured some "commuter" class rooms with 3+3 seating, and two E4 Maxes coupled together could carry a total of over 1600 passengers, the highest capacity for a high-speed service.
But of course, all people will talk about is the very distinctive conk. I didn't take as many pictures of trains at the time, so I didn't walk around to get a better view of this unique vehicle.
The original 700 Series was the first Shinkansen model that JR Tôkai and JR West cooperated on, for joint service on the Tôkaidô and San'yô lines between Tôkyô, Ôsaka and Hakata. Combining knowledge acquired by each company with the 300 and 500 Series, it has formed the basis of new models since then.
To be precise, the 700s which are now retired are the white and blue, 16-car sets, withdrawn in March 2020. Covid caused the cancellation of the type's celebratory final run on the Tôkaidô line. Eight-car trains painted in grey and branded "Hikari Rail Star" can still be found on the San'yô Shinkansen, as well as JR West's Doctor Yellow inspection train (JR Tôkai's set was recently retired).
The trains the E10 will replace
Following the announcement of a new Shinkansen type due to enter service on the Tôhoku Shinkansen in 2030, let's have a quick look at the oldest trains on the line, that will be replaced.
The E2 is the oldest high-speed train type that JR East owns, and many examples have already been retired. Built for the slower Jôetsu route to Niigata, they operate the Yamabiko and all-stop Nasuno services.
The E10s will also replace E5 sets. This sounds unreal to me, the E5 is the pinnacle of Shinkansen, still the only train running at 320 km/h in Japan (coupled with the E6, when the couplings work), and still young, having been introduced in 2011! Granted, by 2030, the first E5s will be nearly 20 years old, but they're probably not going to disappear completely in one go.
Photos taken at Utsunomiya station (as far North as I've ever been in Japan).
Châteaubriant: a regional rail hard border
Rennes and Nantes, the largest cities in the Western tip of France, could have three direct rail routes connecting them. The one via Redon has always been used in this role; a second, via Laval and Angers, was ridiculously long until the high-speed line to Laval opened and 200 km/h-capable units were adapted for use on it; and a third... has been cut off at Châteaubriant.
The irony is, the Châteaubriant route would be the shortest in distance, at just over 120 km in length, in a fairly simple North-South direction. The trouble is, the line wasn't built with the traffic between the two cities in mind, is mainly single track, and has some steep inclines (1.5% is steep for a train). As such, it has always seen modest levels of traffic, and since the 1980s, it had been falling into disrepair in parts, and become abandoned in others.
The Nantes side saw a resurrection in the early 2010s: the line was electrified and, in 2014, tram-trains began operating. We've seen a tram-train on this blog before, but this service is only technically a tram-train, as it only uses a tram line parallel to the urban tram for a few kilometres inside Nantes, and only making one stop on that stretch. The Alstom Citadis Dualis (SNCF class U 53500) units are effectively regional trains in tram clothing, and are the only tram-trains in France to have onboard toilets.
But in France, local trains are managed by the administrative regions, and Nantes to Châteaubriant is under the authority of Pays de la Loire, so the electric wires, renovated stations and new trains went no higher. Worse, the line has been cut in half by a platform link, as shown above - and a photo on this webpage seems to indicate they used to be joined. So the Rennes side, managed by Bretagne region, has remained without electric power. I remember the stark contrast between the two sides of the regional border when I visited in early 2020: to Nantes, modern infrastructure and trains; to Rennes... nothing, and tracks that were starting to be overgrown!
It turns out the line was indeed closed for repair works at the time, and in 2021, Rennes to Châteaubriant reopened, with first-generation bi-mode Bombardier AGC (B 82500) sets, which only use Diesel power on this route, operating a peak-only service.
In conclusion, the Rennes-Châteaubriant-Nantes route has always been in the shadow of the slightly longer route via Redon, as the latter provided good connections to other major towns on the South Brittany coast: Vannes, Lorient and Quimper. The Châteaubriant route was never double-tracked, and today is a striking illustration of regionalisation, with different levels of investment on either side of the border, and through service now impossible.
I sighted this Vectron at Karlsruhe: a Dual Mode, which can move either with its Diesel engine or getting its energy from the overhead wires (German 15 kV AC only for now). However, it only delivers a third of the power of a standard all-electric Vectron, and is therefore not designed for main line hauling, and is expected to be more at home near sorting yards. Deutsche Bahn have also bought some of these as ICE rescue locomotives, serving when a train breaks down.
For Vectron!
Produced since 2010 by Siemens, the Vectron is a modular locomotive platform with various engine options - AC electric, quad-voltage for use across Europe, "last-mile Diesel" option for parking, Diesel motors, dual mode/hybrid... It hauls both freight and passenger trains. But the main reason I've wanted to mention the Vectron is...
this Mitchell and Webb sketch!
This is from series 3 of That Mitchell and Webb Look, which was aired in 2009. The Siemens Vectron was officially launched in 2010, so it's fair to say that the name appearing in both is a coincidence. However, when I see a Vectron, it reminds me of this sketch, so it's harder for me to take this train seriously!
But it is serious business, as it is one of the most common locos in continental Europe. Only Iberia (due to using a different gauge) and France (because if it ain't Alstom, they'll oust 'em) don't see much of them. The examples shown here are from Germany, Switzerland and Slovakia, and were all pictured in the same area of Germany. The quad-voltage version in particular allows companies to carry freight all over Europe, they're virtually borderless.
Yet here I am, still snickering at the name, by Vectron's beard!
ICE 3 (Gen.1)
After visiting Karlsruhe Palace, I had a bit of time while waiting for a (packed) regional train South to wander around the station. There was quite a lot going on, as on top of the local traffic from S-Bahns to REs, busy intercity lines to Freiburg and Basel, Stuttgart and Munich, Mannheim and Frankfurt meet here. A chance to see my favourite German high-speed train: the Baureihe 403 ICE 3.
Entering service in 2000, over 10 years after the first InterCity Expresses, the ICE 3 was a revolution in European high-speed rail. These were the first 300 km/h-capable trains that weren't of a "power car & carriages" layout, using distributed traction (motors all along the unit) like Shinkansen trains. And a sleek shape to boot! They were designed by Alexander Neumeister, who also penned the 500 Series Shinkansen. Hmm, maybe that's why.
The ICE 3 would be the first example of Siemens's Velaro series, which would be an export hit: the Netherlands, Spain, China and Russia purchased this model. The type received a redesign in the late 2000s that I could only describe as "more beefy": the Velaro D was taken up by Germany, Turkey and Eurostar.
Ichibata Dentetsu
The only train to Izumo Taisha is operated by private company Ichibata Dentetsu, or Bataden. Twas not always thus, as the JNR had a short 7 km branch line from Izumo-shi to Taisha until 1990. It was served by direct expresses from Nagoya and Kanazawa (11-hour day express Taisha) and night expresses from Ôsaka (Daisen).
But Bataden is no upstart, they've been around for a long time. They've been connecting Matsue Shinjiko-Onsen, Dentetsu Izumo-shi (neighbour to JR Izumo-shi) to Izumo Taisha-mae since the 1920s. On of their trains of the time was the DeHaNi 50, left in its refurbished DeHa 50 form. On the right is the 7000 Series, the company's newest model... and their first new train since the DeHaNi 50!
In the 90-year interim, Ichibata has relied on second-hand trains (yes, that's a thing in Japan), mostly from Tokyo-based Keiô. A rather nice retreat for these vehicles, from the crowded suburban lines around the capital, to scenic moseys around Lake Shinji... There are some special liveries and trains, such as Shimane-no-ki below, with some nice wooden decking inside, and single-seat semi-compartments! "Wait, is this First class?", I remember thinking to myself.
Japan's biggest shimenawa: Izumo Taisha Kagura-den
We've seen larger and larger sacred ropes in our previous posts, and here's the largest of all: the shimenawa adorning the Kagura-den at Izumo Taisha. It is 13.5 m long and weighs 5 tons!
Shimenawa ropes are made with hemp or rice straw. This shot shows just how densely packed Izumo Taisha's shimenawa is - it's almost like a tree trunk, truly an impressive and imposing feature.
Here and in previous examples, we can see folded paper shide streamers, another symbol of sacred items in Shinto, on the first picture. Knots also appear, particularly on the ropes on the Meoto Iwa at Futami, as paper would not fare well by the sea... These ropes and streamers indicate a demarcation line between our world and the realm of kami spirits.
The Kagura-den is a hall just outside the main compound of Izumo Taisha, to the West. It was built to house kagura rituals, traditional dances which retell the stories of the early gods. As Izumo, formerly in Iwami province, is one of the most ancient shrines in Japan, Iwami Kagura is one of the major forms of the dance.
As a bonus, here's a train decorated with characters of Iwami Kagura.
I'm a bit low on inspiration and time today (work starting to pile up), so here's a train in the snow from the recent trip to Mulhouse and Thann. The train itself is a bi-mode Regiolis B84500 set, waiting at Mulhouse as the Sun sets.
Out of service: the Trieste-Opicina tramway
While the reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris is making big news, and while I'm in a bit of a tram phase on the blogs, spare a thought for the tram line between Trieste and Opicina, closed following an accident in 2016. And it's a real pity, because it was a wacky one.
Trieste is a city by the Adriatic Sea, surrounded by steep hills - and I mean steep. Opicina is 300 m higher, and the tram line features gradients as steep as 26% - link to the Hohentwiel hike for scale. Steel wheels on rails weren't going to be enough...
Initially, the steepest section was built as a rack-and-pinion railway, but in the late 1920s, it was replaced by a funicular system. Cable tractors would be coupled to the streetcars to push them up the hill, and control their descent on the way down - that's the curious boat-like vehicle in the photos (at least I'm getting boat vibes from it). The picture below shows just how steep the climb is.
In the later years of operation, these cable tractors were remotely controlled from the tram. The streetcars themselves date back to 1935, with wooden doors and fittings, making the Trieste-Opicina tramway a charming and technically unique heritage system.
Sadly, the line is not running. Two streetcars collided in 2016, they were repaired, but service has not resumed. One vehicle, coupled to the cable tractor, remains stationary at the foot of the climb, near where the second photo was taken. A look on Google Street View shows that cars are now habitually parked on the disused tracks. The number 2 tram route between Trieste and Opicina is currently served by the number 2/ bus.
Strasbourg's tramway's 30th anniversary!
On this day in 1994, Strasbourg inaugurated - or rather, resurrected - its tramway network. Like many cities in France, Strasbourg had a streetcar system until the late 1950s, when it was decided that cars would take over. 30 years of worsening congestion and pollution later, the town chose a tramway, which had made a successful return in the mid 1980s in Nantes and Grenoble, over an automatic metro to revitalise its transit service.
Unlike Nantes and Grenoble, Strasbourg looked to foreign streetcar manufacturers Socimi and ABB, who designed a fully low-floor tram with generous windows. The Eurotram was at first a 33-metre vehicle (original form seen above), which quickly proved insufficient. A lengthened version, with an extra motor module and carriage, appeared in the following years.
Personally, I quite like this tram for the massive windows, the very mechanical sounds as it runs, and the fact that the warning bell is a real bell (later models have an electronic bell which... just sounds worse). A downside I have noticed, though not for me specifically, is that it has a low ceiling.
After losing out in the 90s, national constructor Alstom won the next round of contracts for Strasbourg's trams in the 2000s. The Citadis model, fully low-floor and taller than the Eurotrams, entered service in 2005. More Citadis trams arrived in 2016, with a new design that I really like, and with special adaptations to allow it to run in Germany, as the network crossed the border to Kehl in 2017, a first for a French tram operator.
Today, the network consists of 6 lines, crisscrossing the city centre and heading out into the suburbs. A 7th line is in the planning stages, due to head North towards Bischheim and Schiltigheim. Despite refurbishment, the Eurotrams won't be around forever, and new trams are on order - more from Alstom.
The Mulhouse-Thann tram-train
Combining a suburban train service with the ability to navigate city streets sounds amazing. People can live nearer to the countryside, get frequent service into town, and, if everything lines up, commute straight into work without changes and avoiding the main station. The complementarity and opportunity to revitalise a branch line all sounds appealing... but a real challenge to implement. In France, only Mulhouse has truly achieved it.
Tram-trains aren't exactly rare in France: there are several lines around Paris, Nantes and Lyon have them (and many more had tram-train projects at some point). But, while the vehicles are capable of running in both modes, they are mostly used as a cheaper way to operate a line. The Nantes-Clisson and Nantes-Châteaubriant tram-trains, for example, which I have ridden, are just regional trains, running on heavy rail nearly all the way, and only stopping where the trains always used to.
Mulhouse is the only place in France to have true tram-train operations as described in the introduction: the tram-trains add traffic to line 3 between Mulhouse central station and Lutterbach, before switching to train mode and continuing on the branch line to Kruth as far as Thann.
The vehicles themselves are remarkable, as they need to be equipped for both streetcar and heavy rail operations, and each has its own requirements: lighting, horns, power supply, safety features... Mulhouse's vehicles are Siemens Avanto S70s, built in 2009-2010, and operated by SNCF as class U 25500. Similar units were introduced near Paris as early as 2005.
On the JR Nara line
Uji city and the the building on the 10-yen coin can be accessed by train from Kyôto by going roughly a third of the way to Nara. Other famous sites near the line are Fushimi Inari Taisha (Inari stop), and the studios of Kyoto Animation, famous for the music and sports anime K-On and Free! (Kohata stop).
The most recent type on the route is the 221 Series, and it's already getting on a bit, introduced in 1989. It won one of the Japan Railfan Club's two main new train design awards, the Laurel Prize, the following year. The 221 is used on the fastest Miyakokji Rapid services, which do the Kyôto to Nara run in under 45 minutes.
Green 103 Series sets can also be seen. This is the oldest type still in active JR service (if not, it's close), as it was introduced in 1963. In 2016, when I first visited Japan, I was living near Paris, and some Métro and suburban lines were running trains of a similar age, if not older, and these were atrocious in hot weather - no air conditioning, and ventilation only provided by opening windows! The RATP MP 59 used on Métro line 11 was stinky to boot; it was withdrawn just before the Games, no wonder! Point is, the 103 doesn't have air con either, but is at least trying...
Hakone Ropeway
The gondola lift up the Schauinsland is very good, but my favourite so far is definitely the Hakone Ropeway. After the train into Hakone, another train to Gôra, and a funicular, the last leg up the mountain is covered by this funitel, on which cars are suspended by two cables rather than one.
The Ropeway carries passengers up to Ôwakudani through the forest... at least as far as that ridge.
Mount Hakone is an active volcano and "Ôwakudani", 大涌谷, literally means "great boiling valley", featuring bright yellow sulphur deposits and gas vents. Going from lush green slopes to the mineral hellscape of the crater in an instant is a breathtaking contrast, and one of my all-time favourite moments from my travels.
The Ropeway can obviously only run when the volcano isn't too active. When I first rode it in 2016, staff handed out damp tissues for passengers to cover their nose and mouth and protect themselves against the gases. After traversing the crater, the Ropeway continues down the other side of the mountain to the North end of Lake Ashi, where one would continue a tour by boarding one of the "pirate ships" that cruise on the lake.
