Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 06/10/2026Made it to Dobova on the border to Croatia where this HŽPP train will take me to Zagreb 020
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 06/10/2026I’m a little confused at Ljubljana getting on the train to Zagreb. Due to track works the full Munich - Zagreb route isn’t running so they use an SŽ flirt (very nice) for the Slovenian part. But the destination on the signs is a border crossing. Driver tells me we will change trains. 170
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 06/10/2026Thank you. I was wondering why the Civity’s had Slovenian approval but weren’t used. That explains it. 110
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 06/10/2026Or remaining on the loco-hauled train which got me from Trieste to Ljubljana. The service from Trieste to Ljubljana is seen as one train but in reality it’s a forced transfer at Villa Opicina. Both countries use 3kV DC, but they do use different signalling systems. Do you know why @jonworth.eu ? 150
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 06/10/20262+ hours on a desire with exclusively facing seats and no tables… I hoped I would get the new flirt 3140
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 06/10/2026As the crow flies it’s not too far between Trieste and Villa Opicina, but the hill is quite steep (see previous post about funicular tramway) so it takes 30 minutes to backtrack and climb the mountain. I can’t find any proof that the original Simplon Orient Express did the same. 070
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 05/10/2026The funicular is standalone and just pushes the tram cars up or or guides them down the mountain. Some switching is needed to position the trams. They look beautiful too! 0171
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 05/10/2026The Trieste tramway takes passengers up a rather steep mountain through some nice neighbourhoods. Because it’s so steep it hooks itself onto a funicular which pushes it up for a short section, it then unhooks once the tracks get flat enough. Here’s a video of both trams passing 2375
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 04/10/2026Also maybe you should log into your windows and activate it (that last one is ATM) 030
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 04/10/2026Hey Trenitalia, that font size is too small for anyone to comfortably read. A little bit more accessible graphic design would be pleasant. 1100
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 04/10/2026View of the new Verona - Vicenza high speed line 020
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 04/10/2026A point of criticism. This diagram is utter garbage and looks like the initial sketch I make in the first hour of designing a real diagram. 070
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 04/10/2026Here are some other stations. The elevated section has island platforms so they avoid mezzanines. Yet other stations (like Vittoria and Stazione FS) go all out with deep stations, long escalators, cavernous halls, and public art. 150
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 04/10/2026The way the Brescia metro has been built into the urban fabric is an example for all. Small yet well-designed stations to keep costs down, but not to the point where it looks cheap. This park station is my favourite, it almost feels like a large tram stop yet it’s a full-blown automated metro 2202
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 03/10/2026On the contrary, I’m very impressed by Brescia’s implementation of the exact same system! An imposing station at the railway station, nicely designed platforms, clean windows, and plenty of bicycle storage and rental around the smaller stations. 040
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 03/10/2026I was also not impressed with the stations. Or at least not in the sense of them having great architecture or features. But I am impressed by the cost savings such barebones stations make possible. 2100
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 03/10/2026I’m getting this strange feeling of being back in the Netherlands 1120
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 03/10/2026My favourite metro type. Driverless light-metro by Hitachi. Every small or large city should build this. Milan M4 & M5 in this case 2582
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 02/10/2026I know it’s dark but that is the point. This is the namesake of the Simplon-Orient-Express, the Simplon tunnel. Frequent trains run through this 121-year old tunnel connecting Switzerland and Italy. 010
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 02/10/2026In het stadje Aigle met een regionaal station waar drie van dit soort berg treintjes vandaan vertrekken. Deze gaat naar Les Diablorets. 120
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 02/10/2026Just look at this street side station. A small platform as if it’s a tram, but it’s not! It’s a regular metre gauge Stadler train. I also love the stop request buttons. I imagine they turn on some kind of signal. 3190
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 02/10/2026True happiness is winding through Swiss streets on a train which in every other country would always be on dedicated tracks. 3200
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 02/10/2026Opinions on these end of line buffet+catenary pole designs? 7232
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 01/10/2026Montreux is a station with three different track gauges: standard, metre, and 800mm, the latter also being a rack railway. 0130
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 30/09/2026Awesome transit accessible indoor and outdoor skate park near Vigie station 001
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 30/09/2026It’s sad to see that they could only incorporate bicycle gutters even though they redesigned the entire street for the tram. Especially on a hill where the speed difference between cars and bikes is greater. 050
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 30/09/2026I spotted the new Lausanne tram on a test run. Very long vehicles they’re quite handsome too. It parallels the railway line as well as the M1 metro but with a lot more stops to the north. 2212
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 30/09/2026Double-articulated trolleybus on a viaduct in Lausanne 1100
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 30/09/2026Bienvenue à bord du TGV Lyria reliant Paris à Lausanne. Today begins my #OrientExpressInterrail trip from Paris to Istanbul over the trackage of the famous Simplon-Orient-Express. 2121
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 30/09/2026Is the 07h46 to “universite des associes 2026” some kind of private charter train? Sidenote: it’s funny to see “Trenitalia” which is not operating to Italia at all. 080
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 29/09/2026Yes! And I’ve started it at a very aptly named restaurant. Tomorrow I’m leaving for Lausanne and then onwards to Istanbul. I’ll make a more detailed post soon. 010
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 29/09/2026Thanks for the recommendation. I’m an absolute sucker for curved architecture and wooden interiors in train stations so this hits the spot! Look at those benches! 010
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 29/09/2026The escalator count was verified with this awesome station map. I also love the crowding indicator at the platform screen doors. 1130
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 29/09/2026The future Grand Paris Express station Villejuif - Gustave Roussy is a masterpiece. It connects metro line 14 (already operating) to the future line 15 in this massive station. I counted a total of 24 escalators. It was eerily quiet since it’s not yet an interchange station. 45911
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 29/09/2026What I like most about the Val systems is the high acceleration and the speed with which it takes these banked corners. I can’t think of another driverless system which is this aggressive. 270
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 29/09/2026Another ✅ in my quest to ride every Val system in operation 1171
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 29/09/2026What about this curving travelator at Châtelet - Les Halles 110
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 29/09/2026I didn’t know the RER does express services which is really cool. The speed is slow though, 60km/h for the entire journey between Aulnay-Sous-Bois and Gare du Nord 170
Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 28/09/2026This 2024 station on line 11 could just as well have been built in the early 1900s and have been well renovated. The Paris metro design is an all-time classic 0131
