Right!

[jon@gruene.social]

As I roll into Gare de Lyon I check my departures from Gare de l‘Est. All smooth so far. But SNCF is incredible - not a single long distance train from Est between 08:36 and 09:06! #CrossBorderRail

I’ll across Paris instead of taking the RER

[jon@gruene.social]

Total chaos boarding the TGV Duplex at Est

High clueless tourist % who can’t find their seats, not helped by lousy signage on board

SNCF: so many people want our high speed trains make them double deck!

Also SNCF: let’s design them so badly they need 10 minutes to board

[jon@gruene.social]

And two passengers with headscarves, and three ethnic minority people in my carriage

I can guess now who the Bundespolizei is going to go for in Kehl

[jon@gruene.social]

Also - logically - I beat the rush to get to the TGV by identifying the only TGV Euroduplex in the station and waiting by that platform before SNCF announced the platform to everyone else

[jon@gruene.social]

Very unpleasant situation in the TGV

Woman in front of me gets on, slams down the window blind that covers both windows

I - annoyed - because I want to look out, push it back and tell her in French that she’s not alone, and she should ask

5 minutes later she pushes it down again 1/2

[jon@gruene.social]

I then in French tell her she can go find another seat if she likes

She then tells me I should find another seat, and accuses me of being selfish

Adults - I tell her - negotiate to sort these things out between them

She gets even more annoyed

I tell her - still in French - her righteousness is very French

[jon@gruene.social]

And your behaviour is very German! she screams back at me

No I say, in Germany passengers would not get into an argument about this

Your wrong she then argues back. I’ve never encountered a passenger as arrogant as you she says

Trust me lady, I’ve travelled by train a bit, and I’ve seen few as arrogant as you

[jon@gruene.social]

By now the train is on the high speed line and the sun isn’t on her any more anyway

[jon@gruene.social]

Also ultimately here neither position - blind up or down - is more right or wrong. There are cases for either. You negotiate such things

But this other passenger assumed her way was the only way, and had not even thought there was another outcome

[jon@gruene.social]

Ha

Someone walks along the corridor and at the moment the person passes the lady who argued with me about the window blind the train violently shakes, and the person falls towards her (totally not that person's fault), but that pisses her off too

It's not her day

[jon@gruene.social]

#CrossBorderRail Finale Train 62 of 158
TGV 9551
09:06 Paris Est - Frankfurt (Main) Hbf 12:59
SNCF Voyageurs, DB Fernverkehr

Train type: Alstom TGV Euroduplex, 8 short double deck carriages
️ (25kV ac, 15kV ac)
: ️
🦽: (step free into train, lift down inside)
🛜: (something is weird with it though, very patchy)
️:
🧳: ️ (poor design)
🧽:

Interrail: (needs compulsory reservation, costs €19)

[jon@gruene.social]

TGV 9551
09:06 Paris Est - Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (via Saarbrücken) 12:59

Distance: 589.8km
Average speed: 152km/h

5 stops:
Forbach
Saarbrücken Hbf
Kaiserslautern Hbf
Mannheim Hbf
Frankfurt(Main)Hbf

This train, mapped: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-2025-finale_1163738#8/49.493/5.512

[jon@gruene.social]

Meanwhile via @LachAnonym news about a line I visited a fortnight ago: https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/skpl-rezygnuje-z-pociagow-do-chyrowa-kolejne-problemy-prawne--123834.html

Services through Krościenko - Smolnica to Khyriv will not start, which honestly doesn't surprise me as the infra is so bad

Malhowice - Nyzhankovychi would be a better bet, but SKPL has its depot on the other line...

Borders here: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-all-the-borders_935041#9/49.6241/22.6497

[jon@gruene.social]

Meanwhile re. the window blind argument: the blind is 80% open, because the sun is now high enough to not shine on the other passenger's laptop

(Which I knew would happen, because I know the geographic arrangement of LGV Est, and I am sat downstairs in the Duplex)

[jon@gruene.social]

Ok here we go

Forbach, last French station

Two Bundespolizei ready to board…

Unlike at Kehl are they going to be clever enough to control while the train is moving?

[jon@gruene.social]

Ah

Now another passenger with a headscarf boards at Saarbrücken

If the Bubdespolizei control her… that’s going to be interesting

(But my guess is they’ve walked through upstairs and won’t come down)

[jon@gruene.social]

And we have a posse of German retired people talking loudly. That’s very German

And we‘re moving - without further delay

These controls (or not) are weird

[jon@gruene.social]

Counting my railway lives here…

‍ ‍

Diversion via Darmstadt from Mannheim… it’s going to add 20 mins

But I should still get the connection in Frankfurt

[jon@gruene.social]

Ahhhh

Got to Frankfurt with enough time to get my onward train
🧳 Three elderly passengers couldn’t shift their bags in the heat, so I helped them - while other passengers kept an eye on my bags
ICE is here

All’s good!

[jon@gruene.social]

Americans in the next train. They exclaim when they sit down “But how were we supposed to find our seats? No one told us anything!”

Well, maybe *ask*? Just an idea. Or is asking strangers for help passé?