Welcome to #CrossBorderRail Day 14

The final day of the Germany borders project

Today I’m off to Guben, Żary and Forst (Lausitz)

Here’s todays intro video https://urbanists.video/w/5JESqCiQPYnJPqPCV2NB5d

#CrossBorderRail Train 63

RE 1 (91762)
09:29 Berlin Ostbahnhof - Frankfurt (Oder) Hbf 10:30
Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH

Average speed 80 km/h
Distance 81 km

Train type: Siemens Desiro HC mixed single and double deck EMU, 6 carriages
⚡️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free if platform allows)
🛜: ✅
🧳: 🙂 (lots of multi use spaces, overhead racks good, space under seats)
🧽: 🤔 (not cleaned inside since at least yesterday)

#Deutschlandticket: ✅

Here’s today’s route map

And the full zoomable map
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-de-2023_835860#7/49.088/10.371

Today I’m following the route of the Niederschlesisch-Märkische Eisenbahn that used to be the main line Berlin - Wrocław. It opened in 1846.

Today Berlin-Frankfurt(Oder)-Guben, and Żary-Wrocław still run, but the section between Guben and Żary has been dismantled. That’s where I’ll take to my bike today…

Here’s Wikipedia about the line: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niederschlesisch-M%C3%A4rkische_Eisenbahn?wprov=sfti1

Grumpy old Berliner dude has just given a passenger who’s coughing here a look of death. She deserved it. And my 😷 is on tight here!

Today I’ll go to the only 🇵🇱 🇩🇪 active railway line I’ve not yet visited (Żary - Forst (Lausitz))

Next week I’ll manage the same for the 🇨🇿 🇩🇪 border (Kraslice - Klingenthal)

I’ve been to all the 🇩🇰 🇩🇪, 🇧🇪 🇩🇪, 🇳🇱 🇩🇪, 🇱🇺 🇩🇪, 🇫🇷 🇩🇪 and 🇨🇭 🇩🇪 lines

Which means I’m only missing a few 🇦🇹 🇩🇪. But Mittenwald and Reutte (Tirol) have rail replacement buses at the moment…

#CrossBorderRail Train 64

RB 43 (18187)
10:36 Frankfurt (Oder) Hbf - Guben 11:17
DB Regio AG Nordost

Average speed 71 km/h
Distance 49 km

Train type: Siemens Mireo EMU, 3 carriages
⚡️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free if platform allows)
🛜: ✅
🧳: 🙂 (overhead racks small, but otherwise excellent)
🧽: 🙂 (it’s brand new and is spotless)

#Deutschlandticket: ✅

Credit to Siemens

These Mireo trains are *almost* as good as Stadler single deck EMUs

Quiet. Well designed. Decent seats. Good acceleration. The only downside: steps to the higher floor sections over the wheels, rather than the sloping floors in a Stadler design, and overhead racks for bags a little small…

But in the regional EMU market it strikes me Siemens and Stadler are ahead of the rest

Guben

I have this kind of melancholy in Guben/Gubin. It’s great that this is pretty much one town in 2 countries. But the German side in particular is very empty, lacking vitality. Although it’s impeccably looked after.

The Neiße rail bridge south of Guben

The Berlin - Wrocław main line used this until 1945…

Pics tricky with the drone today - windy…

Take your pic of bald dudes with shirts, no ties, and jackets to vote for

A modern and desolate border, south of Guben. The bridge is new. They built new border posts. And hectares of concrete. Then came Schengen and now it’s empty… except for a Go-Kart track

Lubsko

Brutalist bungalow. And an overgrown railway line. Leaving Lubsko.

Żary. An orderly station, quite retro feeling, and a place that feels rather oversized for the number of trains that now use it!

🤦‍♂️

No ticket office open in Żary, so I try to get an online ticket to Forst (Lausitz)

It’s in Germany. So it doesn’t work.

But to Zasieski it *does* work online.

It’s a couple of km more!

Online tickets beyond Forst I don’t expect. But to Forst is surely possible? #CrossBorderRail

And really I get that international through ticketing is complex

But *just put the first station after the border in your national ticketing system*. Job done

Koleje Dolnośląskie should be able to sell me a ticket to Forst. They run the train

Same at Aachen-Hergenrath 🇧🇪 and Weener-Bad Nieuweschans 🇳🇱 - the few km across the border are a mess…

#CrossBorderRail Train 65

RB 93 (67003)
17:36 Zary - Forst (Lausitz) 18:10
Polregio for Koleje Dolnośląskie

Average speed 66 km/h
Distance 37 km

Train type: Pesa Link DMU 🦈
⛽️
🚲: ✅ (but space quite limited)
🦽: ✅ (but Żary Station not accessible)
🛜: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂
🧽: 🙂

But ❄️ broken. It’s baking!

#Deutschlandticket: ⛔️

Brought my own #BeerOnTrains and then got told off by the guard - that it’s not allowed…

I went through Sy 🇧🇪 the other day. Now I’ve been through Sż 🇵🇱

The border bridge at Forst (Lausitz)

One final border marker

Now back to Forst station by 🚲 and then trains via Cottbus to Berlin - and the trips for #CrossBorderRail Germany’s borders 2023 are done

#CrossBorderRail Train 66

RB 46 (68911)
19:33 Forst (Lausitz) - Cottbus Hbf 19:51
Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH

Average speed 74 km/h
Distance 22 km

Train type: Siemens Desiro Classic DMU, 2 carriages
⛽️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free)
🛜: ⛔️
🧳: 🙂 (Siemens Desiro - the best designed small DMU!)
🧽: 🤔 (It’s been in service all day I assume. Bit grimy inside)

#Deutschlandticket: ✅

#CrossBorderRail Train 67

RE 2 (95104)
20:04 Cottbus Hbf - Berlin - Ostbahnhof 21:23
DB Regio AG Nordost

Average speed 89 km/h
Distance 117 km

Train type: Taurus electric locomotive and 5 double deck carriages
⚡️
🚲: ✅
🦽: ✅ (step free if platform allows)
🛜: ✅
🧳: 🙂 (double deck, but plenty of multi use areas)
🧽: 🤔 (in service all day, by now not super clean inside)

#Deutschlandticket: ✅