Welcome to #CrossBorderRail Autumn 2023 Day 24, 23 Oct, Madrid - Sevilla - Huelva - Vila Real - Faro - Lisboa
Today I’m crossing these borders
Vila Real de San António 🇵🇹 - Ayamonte 🇪🇸
Map of today’s route
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Today’s Live Blog
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Live Blog - Autumn 2023 Day 24, 23 Oct, Madrid - Sevilla - Huelva - Vila Real - Faro - Lisboa - #CrossBorderRail
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.Jon (#CrossBorderRail)
Jon Worth
in reply to Jon Worth • • •#CrossBorderRail Autumn 2023 Train 97
AVE 2070
07:00 Madrid Atocha - Sevilla Santa Justa 09:52
Renfe
Distance: 471km
Average speed: 164km/h
Train type: Renfe Series 100 AVE (Alstom) 8 carriages
⚡️
🚲: ⛔️
🦽: ✅ (lift on platform)
🛜: ⛔️ (only Renfe ticket holders can use it - stupid)
🍽️: ✅
🧳: 🤔 (poor space for large bags)
🧽: 🙂
Jon Worth
in reply to Jon Worth • • •Hell knows what I’m going to get in Sevilla
The train to Huelva is an Interregio but is theoretically compulsory reservation. But I’ve not got time to go get a reservation while changing and the train doesn’t even show in Interrail’s app
I think some blagging it is going to be necessary
But what the hell is a compulsory reservation Interregio slow train anyway? 🤔
Jon Worth
in reply to Jon Worth • • •Renfe is weird
In some ways impeccable - trains spotless, staff dressed impeccably, excellent attention to the on board experience
But we’re 10 mins late. Any announcement? Anything on the screens about it? No. Because they’d sooner show a film on the screens instead
It feels they’re trying so hard to be like an airline they’ve forgotten how to be a rail company
Jon Worth
in reply to Jon Worth • • •Sevilla Santa Justa is weird
Massive station. The trains stop a long way from the main exits. There’s an employee *standing with a sign* to tell us where the Huelva train is
How about *designing your station with information and passenger flow in mind*? Just an idea…
Jon Worth
in reply to Jon Worth • • •And passengers for the Iryo train to Madrid don’t do a bag scan, but AVE passengers do
So this isn’t some kind of obligation?
That AVE does this because they think queuing for security theatre is a positive thing for customers? Or is this some kind of exception at Sevilla just now?
Edit: they later started it. But that’s then not very secure!
Jon Worth
in reply to Jon Worth • • •Renfe *****
I have to pay €4 Interrail supplement for a seat on this crappy regional train. That will be replaced by a bus for half the trip, but it’s not announced when boarding
DO NOT INTERRAIL IN SPAIN. IT’S SHIT
Jon Worth
in reply to Jon Worth • • •France’s two class rail system - TGVs for the rich, TERs for the disadvantaged - annoys me
Spain is like that, on steroids
This regional train to Huelva is crap. Bumpy track. Poor timetable. Useless information. Ah that’s for the poor people, sod them
Make a train system *that works for your whole society*