Jump to: Text updates | Summary videos | Latest photos | Today’s background | Today’s route The best way to follow #CrossBorderRail as the trip develops is on social mediaThere are always posts on Mastodon (@jon@gruene.social & #CrossChannelRail) Today’s live text updates Link to the archive of today’s […]
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Live Blog – #CrossChannelRail Day 0 – 16 March – Montbard – Paris – Massy TGV – Tours
Jump to: Text updates | Summary videos | Latest photos | Today’s background | Today’s route The best way to follow #CrossBorderRail as the trip develops is on social media There are always posts on Mastodon (@jon@gruene.social & #CrossChannelRail) Today’s live text updates Link to the archive of […]
Read MoreNew Channel Tunnel entrant? You need a plan for what happens if you fail, so you can actually succeed
No company wants to enter a market thinking they are going to fail. But what happens were they to fail might have a bearing on whether they succeed in the first place. It was with this in mind that I read this morning that Virgin Trains is looking for money partners. […]
Read MoreHow to follow #CrossChannelRail online
#CrossChannelRail, my latest project, starts Sunday 16th March and runs until Sunday 6th April. As with all of my #CrossBorderRail projects to date there will be lots of ways to follow it online. Every day there will be a thread on Mastodon – you can follow me @jon@gruene.social there. This […]
Read MoreThe accessibility problems with Alstom’s new TGV-M train – with implications for future Channel Tunnel operators
There is no way to sweeten this: my original conclusion that Alstom’s Avelia Horizon (known as TGV-M with SNCF) is not legal at higher station platforms outside France was incorrect. Because transparency and correcting my errors matters to me, you can read the original blog entry in full here – […]
Read MoreNothing beyond London? Why #CrossChannelRail is not going to Birmingham, Nottingham or Newcastle
It was inevitable the question would come: why is my #CrossChannelRail project taking me nowhere in the UK other than London, and along the HS1 line between London and the Channel Tunnel? The simple answer is that I had to draw a line somewhere – I cannot in a three […]
Read More#CrossChannelRail is GO! The future of long distance services through the Channel Tunnel
For the past three summers, #CrossBorderRail journeys have happened every summer. So far I have been to 288 international railway lines in Europe, and – with a bit of experience now! – I know how to run these projects. But, I wondered, why not apply the same method to one […]
Read MoreWant to rival Eurostar on Channel Tunnel routes? How do you differentiate yourself?
For three weeks in late March and early April I am running a project called #CrossChannelRail that is looking at the future of long distance high speed train services through the Channel Tunnel. The future of Eurostar and any of its potential rivals if you like. A whole lot of […]
Read MoreA story of two tunnels: Kriva Palanka to Gyushevo, and the Channel Tunnel
When I went to Kumanovo in June of 2024 and found a railway station half complete, I must admit I did not think trains would run there any time soon. But this week I was proven wrong – the first part of the line that will eventually connect Skopje ion […]
Read More#CrossBorderRail looks at the Channel Tunnel – #CrossChannelRail will be the first project for 2025
A full project page about #CrossChannelRail is now available here! Little did I know when I wrote it! My long analysis of through trains through the Channel Tunnel written a year became an unlikely hit – it’s the most read blog entry I have ever written. However there is […]
Read MoreThe future of long distance train services through the Channel Tunnel
This blog post has remained unchanged since it was written in 2024. It has largely been superceeded by my #CrossChannelRail Project Final Report TL;DR – whatever you read in the press about future long distance train services through the Channel Tunnel is at best only part of the truth, because […]
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