Recent content by danshrimp

The email I received from ES advertising the Malmö route was followed an hour and a half later by an email advertising a "new bond opportunity coming soon". I thought this is why they might be keen to get the word out about the new route as early as possible!

Looks like the article's been taken down now, but good news if true. I did idly speculate about such a thing a few months ago when RDC took over Berlin-Stockholm but reduced the frequency. (And I see we finally have details of that train composition now.) Running the stock to a different...

It's made by an employee of ES (https://blahaj.social/@maartje), albeit in a personal capacity, so I suppose they have a headstart in finding the right data. Supposedly it's based on open data though, and it's fully open source, so if anyone fancied doing some digging they could probably find...

The below is one explanation I've heard from ES staff, but I haven't seen a definitive answer anywhere.

A few weeks ago CrossCountry announced that they'd brought in a new menu for First Class, which somewhat buries the lede: they're now doing hot meals during the day (on all except the ex-Avanti Voyagers.) Microwaved, sure, but it's a step up in quality and the menu looks the part - more like...

Nothing actually new here, according to Jon Worth. But good to hear their intentions restated I suppose.

I do Paris-Barcelona frequently and I would absolutely say that the majority of passengers are using it end to end. Leaving Barcelona the few seats that are still empty are usually full by Perpignan. And it's always sold out or thereabouts. Varies a little with the season (in summer it's a sea...

Still happens. I've even known northern English MPs to use it, doubling back as necessary, to be back in their constituencies first thing in the morning after a late night sitting.

Agreed. I'd be interested to know if downgrades have reduced by a significant amount since they switched from using the old AB30 sleepers to the ex-NJ AB33s on the Brussels-Prague route (in addition to Paris-Berlin). I certainly hope so. Personally I think a downgrade from a sleeper to a private...

Well that's one interpretation of the unreliability, and I'm not saying it's wrong. The other is that they're operating challenging routes (into France for example) that others are unwilling to operate, and are attempting to run their services in some form every day come hell or high water...

Last time I booked a trip across Spain (Barcelona-Lisbon, not for the faint-hearted) I ended up privately messaging Renfe on Twitter/X and asked them why some of the journeys I expected weren't listed. They gave me some kind of explanation about needing approval from the infrastructure manager...

I see Eurostar are going public with disagreements with London St Pancras Highspeed over St Pancras capacity: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/07/12/eurostar-locked-in-passenger-row-with-st-pancras/ In short, Eurostar want LSPH to commit to moving arrivals upstairs (costing an extra...

Mine too. For what it's worth, I think the problem of the carriages being numbered out of order could be helped a great deal if they just drew a lot more attention to their train composition page. When I've travelled with ES I've checked it beforehand and have been able to find my carriage very...

Indeed. I'm starting to get quite fed up of them. Comparisons to the new Nightjet have been made in this thread, but when they were first introduced they likewise inspired what felt like an endless succession of "The DISASTEROUS new train I will NEVER ride again" videos - where the main...

The coach numbering has always been a problem with ES. Sure, it's not the end of the world and I'm sure people aren't routinely left behind, but it's not a great way to start to a journey. Not ideal to have your passengers confused and angry at you before you've even left the station, every...