Recent content by NicholasNCE

Obviously running in the Netherlands would require installation of the appropriate safety systems, thankfully I would add! Nevertheless, Desiros could probably run quite happily under 1.5 kV with a mere software update, if SNCB got Siemens to do the work. Nothing major like new transformers or...

Trains that can run under 3 kV DC can usually run under 1.5 kV too, with only minor tweaks, albeit at reduced power (not much of a problem in flat Holland). All 3 kV Italian locomotives run without issue under French 1.5 kV in Modane and Ventimiglia border stations for example.

No chance of loco haulage on that train, it will be either a Regiolis or an AGC.

A very interesting question, I've often wondered how NR procedures cope with rusty rails. I work in operations in France, and it's a huge issue for us. If any section of track goes 72 hours without a train, the track circuits are deemed unreliable and specific actions must be taken to allow...

Great to see them finally in service, albeit extremely late. Here's some interior pictures I took at Innotrans 2018: https://twitter.com/NicholasNCE/status/1326987062256537601?s=19

Haliç metro station in Istanbul, on a bridge bang in the middle of the Golden Horn

Many thanks for these very interesting articles, which I'm going to be reading carefully over the next few days. For someone like me who has an interest in both Iran and the railways it's great to see a mention of Iranian railways here, a very interesting system both historically and...

May I suggest you look up a travel planner ( bahn.de/en ) and Google Maps for the station location before further inquiries.

Worth mentioning there is no longer one SNCF, but three: SNCF Mobilités, the incumbent TOC; SNCF Réseau, the infrastructure manager; and La SNCF (often referred to as "EPIC de tête"), the "holding" company which is in charge of HR, strategy, etc... I put holding in brackets as all three...

No reason why not, technically there is no distinction between LGVs and conventional lines, they are all part of the RFN (Réseau Ferré National) and subject to the same T&Cs as defined in SNCF Réseau's network statement (available in English here...

All conventionné services, ie. TER, TET (marketed as Intercités) and Transilien/RER are subsidised by the relevant public authority. There are no longer any "conventionné" TGVs, the Brive - Lille service used to be, but it was withdrawn in 2016. Some individual TGV services are of course...

Marché "non conventionné" refers to all non-subsidised services, currently 99% of which are TGVs, the rest being the auto-train services, the odd Intercités 100% Eco services and obviously charters... CQFD as we say in french ;)

Interesting debate! As someone who has worked for the french railways, and has good knowledge of the British system, I would agree in some ways with the OP. The flagship long-distance high-speed are the pride and joy of SNCF Mobilités, and as such are second to none in Europe on many levels...

They did indeed, the Hellas-Express 1989 composition was made up of a mix of DB, JŽ and OSE carriages according to the archives of the ever useful vagonweb.cz website: http://www.vagonweb.cz/razeni/vlak.php?rok=1989&id=390&lang=en And here is the compostion of the Attika in 1991, complete with...

Coaches complying with the RIC (Regolamento Internazionale delle Carrozze) have been built very recently, notably the WLABmz sleeping cars for the Russian Railways by Siemens (2011-2015) and the Bmpz/Bpmz coaches for RegioJet and Astra Transcarpatic by Astra Vagoane. The standard is nevertheless...