iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

What a massive Gleisvorfeld at Milano Centrale

060

Nou zie ik op het vertrekbord wel Frecciarossa staan dus weet ik het ook niet meer

111

Frecciargento, maar alsnog Trenitalia. Vgm betekent dat dat ze 250 kunnen ipv 300, maar weet ik niet zeker.

220

I 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 · 21h

I’m getting this strange feeling of being back in the Netherlands

A V250, now ETR700, at Milano Centrale station. This train used to run in the Netherlands on the high speed line but was taken out service after a few weeks due to faulty construction.

1110

Air conditioning was the number two reason I didn’t take flixtrain after the schedule (it just didn’t line up). Glad to see they’re introducing these IC1s and the Talgos soon.

Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 21h

My favourite metro type. Driverless light-metro by Hitachi. Every small or large city should build this. Milan M4 & M5 in this case

2552

Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 03/10/2026

If they could book me a reservation only for a high speed train in a few days in a completely different region than I am now. And a window seat of course.

000

Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 03/10/2026

I always feel bad asking the ticket counter attendant if they speak English and then ask the most obscure interrail reservation question in a language that isn’t their first. Kudos to all attendants this trip, they managed my requests very well every time.

1100

I 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.

Window view in a tunnel, it’s pitch dark outside. Inside are blue empty seats

In het stadje Aigle met een regionaal station waar drie van dit soort berg treintjes vandaan vertrekken. Deze gaat naar Les Diablorets.

120

Aigle Place du Marché on the Les Diablorets line

TU Delta @tudelta.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Reposted by Hugo von der Thüsen

Interest rates on student loans are rising to nearly 2.7 per cent, according to last year’s interest rate figures. This is higher than the maximum rate the government intends to apply.

delta.tudelft.nl

Interest on student loans hits 17-year high - Delta

Interest rates on student loans are rising to nearly 2.7 per cent, according to last year’s interest rate figures. This is higher than the maximum rate the

013

Just 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

True 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 · 01/10/2026

Opinions on these end of line buffet+catenary pole designs?

Catenary poles at the terminus of the Les Diablerets Glacier 3000 line at Aigle station. They look a little like the Erasmus bridge main tower with a bend in the middle and a taper towards the end. Buffers are integrated into the tower base

7232

Montreux is a station with three different track gauges: standard, metre, and 800mm, the latter also being a rack railway.

A rack railway train on 800mm tracks which are currently out of service

0130

Hugo von der Thüsen @hugovdthusen.com · 01/10/2026

This must be why those seats where blocked when I was flying Lufthansa to Shanghai this summer. They probably didn’t have approval yet to use those airbags.

Ik merk dat er enorm veel nieuwe woningen gebouwd worden aan de tramlijn omdat er langs het spoor veel oude industriegebieden liggen. Ik verblijf zelf bv in een nieuw studentencomplex op loopafstand van een halte.

Awesome transit accessible indoor and outdoor skate park near Vigie station

001

It’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

I 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

Double-articulated trolleybus on a viaduct in Lausanne

1100

No but Switzerland does apparently. “Vieh” means farm animals

020

Alkinoos @alkinooskanaris.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Bienvenue 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

Reposted by Hugo von der Thüsen

Things you can (apparently) pay for in a ticket machine in Graubünden (Switzerland). Apparently you can top it up in your smartcard too.

1203

That’s cheap too! 2CHF to transport 100kg of construction materials? And farm animals? A dog ticket in the Netherlands is more expensive than taking your cow on board here.

280

It’s crazy to me that in a post about democratic elections the main metric in this image is money.

110

Is 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

I didn’t have the time! Next time I will make sure to visit

32 escalators! I made a mistake and didn’t count the 8 from the mezzanine down to the line 15 platforms. That has to be some kind of record, I don’t know which, but some.

1100

Yes! 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.

Wow that’s crazy slow. That can’t be Bombardiers doing as their monorails in Bangkok worked just fine. Must be some dumb internal rule.

110

Thanks 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!

Just after departing Porte de L’Essonne on tram 7 south of Orly

The escalator count was verified with this awesome station map. I also love the crowding indicator at the platform screen doors.

1120

The 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.

45811

Heb hem geactiveerd 5 minuten voor vertrek, dus echt zo laat mogelijk gelaten

110