Using our holiday we look around NorthWest Europe and see public transportation how it works in west part of Europe:
- Germany
Provider is NRW (DB and KVB).
A daily ticket for Nord Rajna-Westfalia is 30EUR. For this price you can travel across NRW with any kind of public transportation with 5 person group in the subject day, except the DB and SNCF IC/EC trains.
You can pay with creditcard the reserved seat in the IC. Dark side is the reserved seat is no guarantee. You can fight for the seat.
The intercity public transportation is good. The train is comfortable and air conditioned. We meet with older traincars only in rush hours. All of the traincars are very fast, and handle passenger with carefully. Not harm it with mechanical shocks, and the tracks are adjusted fine.
First problem is the out of timetable trains handled very badly. The express train wait behind the normal trains, only the IC and EC has priority.
The second problem the air condition equipment suck air of lavatory if a train standing, producing very strange smell inside.
The DB and the regional train company are separated, so both are required separate ticket.
Warning one local trick! Sometimes two regional trains start in rush hours from a same track but to the different direction.
In ICE (like their name) have cold in summer, and have enough place in second class.
- Germany (Köln)
Provider is KVB.
Only less tramcar are air conditioned, but all of this cars are fine.
All track are in excellent state. In night the technicians repair all defect of isolation in RAFS. They know this is the most economic way.
In rural areas the use overhead railway like track for tram.
Round line is T13. Some very important linked think, tram in the high.
All of the buses are modern.
- Germany (Bonn)
Provider is KVB.
We not found any air conditioned tramcar.
The 80kmh speed is very strange in old technology based tracks.
Round line is T68+T62.
The tram 16 is run trough Bonn and Köln.
All of the buses are modern.
- Belgium
Provider is SNMB.
The tracks and infrastructure is very poor. Good sign some building operations are run based on EU money. The fastest result is the of this the most better quality TGV track between Paris and Brussel is in Belgium. Here the track adjusted fine.
The passenger information system is unacceptable.
Here we found the world longest IC train assembled with individual cars.
- Brugge (Belgium)
The small town is beautiful.
The air is fine because most of the traffic are based on bike.
All of the bus driver work in service-uniform.
In the core of city the traffic of all motor vehicle are hardly limited. For the narrow streets fit the hybrid or fuel cell bus instead of currently used diesel engine.
- Brussel (Belgium)
Provider is MIVB/STIB.
The Midi and Süd train station are same, but different track.
At first time we say two metro line less than required, but the way of selected carefully. Where tram line is possible this city never think about metro. This is very economic.
The tram is fit to the narrow street, and the track is in excellent state.
The passenger information system is little bit strange. Sometimes the name of stop is different in tramcar and in stop.
Power is 900VDC, and use leg controller, in the oldest car has small door.
If necessary the tram line go down to underground for more kilometers.
The ticket is stripe type.
Round line is T90.
The bus has enough power for the hills.
- France
Provider is SNC
TGV is fast, even is two coupled together. If run parallel with highway nobody think go with car (much faster than car). In France the track are not maintained, so have poor quality .
In the first class have enough place for passenger, but the place in second class too small.
- Paris (France)
Provider is RTAP.
You cannot buy ticket trough internet because ticket is stripe type.
The metro network work over their planning limit, so the service level is low.
The metro line M1 is some experience with rubber gear). The result is a noisy line and the passenger get mechanical sock in every 10 sec. For me this is unacceptable.
The RER network is comfortable. This is based on new principles. In core of city is overloaded because of overload of metro network.
The tram is curiosity, they have only three. The cars are developed by Alstom. All car are comfortable, air conditioned, and running in border of the city. The track and the stations fine. The control of the tram is not too carefully, so the passenger got sometimes mechanical shock.
Round line is B73+T2+B72+B75.
The timetables in may hidden information in Paris.
The bus line closed in too early.
- Amsterdam (Netherland)
Provider is GVB.
Photos about some important think.
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- Rotterdam (Netherland)
Provider is RET.
Photos about some important think.
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Europe