The Man in Seat 61
@seatsixtyone.bsky.social
Mark Smith, the Man in Seat 61, the chap who runs that train travel site http://seat61.com. YouTube: http://youtube.com/c/seat61.
ORR approves track access for Virgin Trains for up to 20 return services between London and Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam from 1 October 2030. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Virgin takes another step towards Channel Tunnel rail services
Firm wants to run up to 20 daily journeys to Europe but it must get additional approval for overseas tracks.
bbc.co.uk
Longest? What a can o’ worms THAT concept is! Start with this: jonworth.eu/the-longest-...
The longest train journey in the EU
Anyone who has been following my work for a while knows I have long had a rather abstract discussion about the definition of the World's Longest Train Journey. I started calculating this back in 2021,...
jonworth.eu
Duncan Fisher@duncanfisher.bsky.social · yesterday@seatsixtyone.bsky.social I'm thinking about combining the total eclipse in the Algarve on 2 August next year with a quick jaunt to Narvik. Is Algericas Puerto to Narvik the longest train route in Europe?
Good suggestion - newly-opened restaurant added to the Seat 61 Prague station guide, www.seat61.com/stations/pra...
Philip of Staines@philipdp.bsky.social · 4d agoI was somewhat knackered when I got back to the station, and the Wilsonka restaurant was just right there off the concourse. Good menu, good price, nice staff, good for solo travellers - one for the @seatsixtyone.bsky.social station guide?
Meanwhile, from my back garden… Are we all outside tonight?
From today, Sweden-Finland train service is restored - they last ran in 1988! 🥳
Hugo van Vondelen@hvondelen.bsky.social · last wk.For the first time in decades, a passenger train runs from Finland 🇫🇮 to Sweden 🇸🇪 The VR IC Oulu-Kemi-Tornio-Haparanda runs twice daily from now on. Norrtåg runs from Haparanda to Boden and Luleå. Sparing people a walk/bus/taxi. It was quite an event for a 6:30am arrival on a rainy Monday morning.
One of the most scenic routes in Europe. I’ll even stick my neck out and say, even more spectacular than the Bernina!
Nonstop Eurotrip 🇺🇦@nonstopeurotrip.com · last wk.Well another railway bucket list item ticked off last night - the #Belgrade 🇷🇸 to #Bar 🇲🇪 sleeper train and it certainly DIDN'T disappoint 😍😍😍 #NonstopEurotrip
Update: ICE trains 9590/9590 🇩🇪 Berlin <> Paris 🇨🇵 cancelled between Berlin and Frankfurt until a fix for Alstom's unreliable new ETCS equipment can be found. No concrete timeframe for this, so for now DB has removed the trains until December timetable change @seatsixtyone.bsky.social #CrossBorderRail
Simon Maarfield@simonmaarfield.bsky.social · 3w agoCan I suggest a health warning is placed on ICE trains 9550 and 9551 Berlin <> Paris for the rest of this year. Having looked every day for ca. 10 weeks in order to actually book it for travel on 29 July, this became possible two weeks ago. So far so "good"... @seatsixtyone.bsky.social
An interview with Chris Engelsman, one of the founders of @EuropeanSlpr: Some key background to ES's aims and future here... back-on-track.eu/in-conversat...
In April I tried out the new Scenic Plus class aboard the Northern Explorer train in New Zealand, travelling from Wellington to Auckland and eating great food along the way. I've written about the experience for Explore - you an see the article by flipping to page 6 at the following link […]
Original post on aus.social
aus.social
London-Amsterdam Eurostars will also stop at Antwerp Centraal from the December timetable change (in the outward direction only, of course)
Mike Wooldridge@mikewooldridge.bsky.social · 3w agoWell this is good news (and makes sense considering they crawl through the station anyway!) - looks like the London-Amsterdam Eurostars, in that direction only, gain a passenger call at Antwerp from December @seatsixtyone.bsky.social
The psychology behind choosing train over plane (the science behind why so many people prefer rail travel!) 👇🏻 timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/t...
Psychology reveals why some people happily choose a 10-hour train journey over a two-hour flight
For many travellers, the fastest route is not always the most appealing one. A flight can cut hours from a journey, yet some people still choose a train seat, a window view and the steady movement of ...
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
NEWS: The Belgrade-Podgorica/Bar trains can now (finally!) be booked online with Montenegro Railways at www.tickets-zpcg.me
Oh dear, the national railcard thing again! This gives existing regular users a discount - basically an £82 handout to each existing user - without lowering fares shown to non-users - so generates relatively little extra revenue or travel. So lower fares if you like, but please, not with a railcard!
Gareth Dennis@garethdennis.uk · last mo.Last week, the @neweconomics.bsky.social released a report into quick transport wins to ease the cost of living for as many as possible. The headlines are around railcards and bus fare caps, but supporting them is a heap of analysis I've done that uncovers much about the state of today's railway.
Dogs weighing up to 40kg to be allowed on all Renfe trains, as from World Dog Day July 21 (What’s that? They have to have the *window* seat???) www.catalannews.com/life-style/i...
Dogs weighing up to 40kg to be allowed on all Renfe trains
Spanish rail operator announces measure will apply from World Dog Day July 21
catalannews.com
At first I thought this was AI. But it’s real. I’m honoured! 🥰
Bram@benikbram.nl · last mo.It’s on @seatsixtyone.bsky.social
New from this week: Interrail and Eurail passes are now valid on Ouigo trains, both high-speed, classique and international Brussels-Paris, www.seat61.com/trains-and-r...
Thanks to a reply to one of my posts, I’ve discovered a story about Vichy France’s Marshall Pétain and the Hotel Terminus Nord - and couldn’t resist adding it to www.seat61.com/stations/par... Maybe Mrs 61 and I were in his and Eugenie’s room..?
This weekend I have been mostly lying in bed next to the Gare du Nord…
Making a quick research sortie to Paris in a heatwave, as you do after superb pre-Eurostar seafood linguine at Carluccios. To my surprise, all A B & C zone EES kiosks *still* out of use. No fingerprinting OR stamping in operation. Check-in remarkably fast, no queues to speak of 👍
Today I am returning from the Netherlands to London via Hoek van Holland-Harwich, in a Stena Line Captain’s Suite. Ryanair? Never heard of them…
The new Haparanda (Sweden) to Oulu (Finland) train service opens for booking today- starts 10 Aug, two per day.
Update at 33°C: Englishmen giving up following service reductions, air-con failures & advice not to travel. Mad dogs still up for it.
West Coast Railways' 'Jacobite' leading the War on Singletons here. But I'm pleased to hear that they're allowed in second class.
Someone's just pointed out that brfares' new BUY button also makes buying tickets from your local station to London International (CIV) easier, for use in connection with Eurostar: I've just updated the advice and instructions at www.seat61.com/european-tra...
European train travel from the UK regions | Buying tickets to connect with Eurostar
Advice on buying UK train tickets to London to connect with Eurostar, or how to use ferry links to reach mainland Europe by-passing London...
seat61.com
The Man in Seat 61@seatsixtyone.bsky.social · 2mo agoIt makes buying a £95.40 flexible refundable Super OffPeak ticket from London to Edinburgh easier too! This fare still exists from Enfield Town, just board at Kings Cross. Click the link & buy, no faffing wit a journey planner to try & bring that fare up! brfares.com/!fares?orig=...
It makes buying a £95.40 flexible refundable Super OffPeak ticket from London to Edinburgh easier too! This fare still exists from Enfield Town, just board at Kings Cross. Click the link & buy, no faffing wit a journey planner to try & bring that fare up! brfares.com/!fares?orig=...
The Man in Seat 61@seatsixtyone.bsky.social · 2mo agoI found out a thing: The beyond-Dublin fares (e.g. London-Galway) that exist in the fares system but no online retailer sells them (as they all INSIST on finding a timetable first, and TfW haven't input any Irish train times into the GB system). At brfares.com:
I found out a thing: The beyond-Dublin fares (e.g. London-Galway) that exist in the fares system but no online retailer sells them (as they all INSIST on finding a timetable first, and TfW haven't input any Irish train times into the GB system). At brfares.com:
Free in an hour's time? I'm on the panel at a flight-free travel surgery today at 12:00: www.tickettailor.com/events/fligh...
Select tickets – Flight-free travel surgery: your questions answered! – Zoom
Flight-free travel surgery: your questions answered! – Zoom, Wed 17 Jun 2026 - Planning a flight-free holiday? Want to travel without flying but don't know where to start? Back by popular demand, the...
tickettailor.com
