Moof!

Recreational Trainfluencer. Currently on Sabbatical. IT and Logistics are my industries. Travel and Linguistics are my hobbies. Hats are my headgear. Tea is my drink of choice. Trans rights are my rights. Based out of Barcelona, Spain.

Pronouns: he/him, él/le, il/lui, en/es
Travel plans and past travels:: https://trainlog.me/public/Moof
Real time travel log:: https://traewelling.de/@moof
Blog: https://moof.space/

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Last Notes

2026-05-02 12:43:17 CEST

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And we change onto a SBB IC, a delightful Twindexx. I do love the interiors of these trains, for the social spaces they have in first class…
Also, this train is going through a lot of tunnels. I’m sure they are all marvels of Swiss engineering that I should probably find out all the history behind, but the notable thing is that they all have flawless 5G mobile coverage.
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2026-05-02 11:11:21 CEST

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Having just enjoyed another one, I stand by m that DB’s French breakfast is still the best French breakfast on rails, and far superior to the SNCF alternative.
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2026-04-16 17:16:24 CEST

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That is… very SNCF. An obscure reference that nobody who works on the actual service knows…

2026-04-16 17:06:20 CEST

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Not quite sure what Träwelling, or more likely Transitous, is smoking with TER numbers in France, but I can assure you they bear no relation to the numbers everyone else is using in apps and stations…
I asked the conductors, and they have no idea what it might be, it bears no relation to any internal number they’re aware of.
Edit: we have an answer. They correspond to line numbers in a TER map that SNCF has published, but nobody knows about. See: https://zug.network/@smveerman/116415031479977900
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/116/415/003/319/246/842/original/b7272f209bc545a8.png

2026-04-16 16:29:11 CEST

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At Nancy I have a 45 minute wait til my next train. I take the opportunity to look round the local grocer, and they have “Bergamote de Nancy” flavoured sweets.
I am genuinely surprised, as I thought bergamot was an Italian crop.
They’re good though!
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2026-04-16 15:43:26 CEST

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And in annoying SNCF signage, I present this wonderful specimen at Metz-Ville, letting me know how to get to tracks A-7.
Given that I was on tracks 8-9 at the time, I was pretty sure it wasn’t a sign for 10-7, but it appears that A was the only lettered platform, and thus SNCF decided to do hexadecimal wrong.
I now on my next train to Nancy-Ville, which is a Z 26500-series double decker Alstom Coradia Duplex.
[Edited to add the photo of the sign]
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2026-04-16 14:37:14 CEST

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La France: je suis dans vous!

2026-04-16 14:25:17 CEST

On the rails again… #Interrail #CrossBorderRail
Today is going to be a TER day. I am crossing into France on a cute little single-car X 73900-series diesel unit, that hops over the border to Forbach and back. I will then head off to Metz, and make my way down to Langres via Nancy and Coulmont-Chalindrey.
Today’s itinerary: https://moof.space/trip/2026-04-16
I’m not sure why it’s a diesel unit, this is an electrified line.
When I planned this trip, I thought this was the first time I had ever done this crossing, but I checked my log, and in fact my first ever crossing to Germany from France was on this line, on an ICE from Paris Est that I took as far as Mannheim.
That day’s trip: https://moof.space/trip/2024-08-10
I wasn’t as chatty about my train back then, but here is a review I made of some tea: https://cupoftea.social/@moof/112936742449351634
Anyway, time to change in Forbach!
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2026-02-12 10:19:54 CET

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And thanks to the wonders of the Taktfahrplan—the clock face timetable—I am able to change platform and get there just as my next Interregio train arrives, taking me to St. Gallen.
This is a double decker Stadler train, and I have first class all to myself.

2026-02-12 10:09:36 CET

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Schweiz, ich bin in ihr!
And this really is the landscape I’m here to see…
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2026-02-02 15:35:15 CET

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As often as I travel with @npub1ljp…g7w2, I don’t always get to do much in the way of sightseeing. It’s a running joke with us that, for example, we’ve been to Würzburg twice but not seen beyond the station and the hotel alongside it.
This trip I’m making a point of rectifying this issue. I am have picked a couple of locations we’ve been to already and I’m sightseeing in them. Today is Aachen, and later this week, I will get some time in Würzburg. I have also picked a town that will be a first time visit, which I’ll be sightseeing at between the two.

2026-02-02 14:32:37 CET

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We arrive in Aix-La-Chapelle Gare Centrale
Germany, I'm in it!

2026-02-02 13:57:50 CET

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We had a spontaneous and serendipitous random meet with @npub1hgh…el8y, @npub1udz…hmuh, and a couple of adorable Rosahajar on the Brussels-Welkenraedt train. We had a nice post-FOSDEM catchup.

2026-02-02 12:18:16 CET

On the rails again… #CrossBorderRail
Today I am joined by @npub1ljp…g7w2, who will be accompanying me for the rest of the week.
After a somewhat hectic #FOSDEM we are having a more relaxed day, with a short hop over the border to Aachen.
Today’s Itinerary: https://s.moof.space/trip20260202
We’re doing this on a Ticket+ discounted first class ticket, because that is way under my #Interrail threshold.
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/116/000/757/920/318/559/original/6759ecf5bcbfbdfd.jpeg

2025-12-10 13:41:18 CET

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Another reason to pick Koblenz is that this route has the added advantage of going through Bonn Station.
Bonn was the capital of Germany at the time the first ICEs went into service. In fact, the Hauptstadtbeschluss, the Decision on the Capital was voted on 20th July 1991, 18 days after the first commercial ICE service, although it took a further 8 years before the change became fully effective. In 2006, the German constitution was changed to explicitly state that Berlin the capital of the German Republic.
Given that this trip is a voyage through time, and will be ending in Berlin, it seemed appropriate to either start from or go through Bonn early on

2025-12-10 13:40:48 CET

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So, why Koblenz as a starting point?
Mostly, because the Rhine Valley Railway is the most beautiful railway in Germany, and I felt that it would be nice for any trip of this magnitude to go past this stunning scenery.
We tried to fit it in several different ways. There aren't that many ICE trains that go through Koblenz, all either :ice_1: ICE 1s or :ice_t: ICE Ts and we wanted to do it in the daytime to have a chance of seeing the river.

2025-12-05 12:10:19 CET

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One of the absolute pleasures of travelling by train on this route is being able to do the section between Perpignan and Narbonne, especially on a Duplex train.
On this section, you have a whole load of marshes and salt flats as well as a couple of larger lakes that create some delightful scenery, and the train line goes right through the middle of some of these marshes. The main road is a little further to the east, and much further away from the edge of these lakes, so you get a unique view from the train.
If you catch the right time of year you will see hundreds, if not thousands, of flamingos on the lakes. This time there were only a few dozen.
Sadly, we must give up some of the nicer things in life in the name of progress, and the Ligne Nouvelle Montpellier-Perpignan is due to replace this as the main access to Spain from France, but not til the 2040s
Definitely worth going past during the daytime, or if you can swing it, during a sunset.
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2025-12-05 11:01:23 CET

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La France… Je suis à vous!
I obviously decided to celebrate it with some slightly battered artisanal croissants… that I picked up in Spain, because I know full well how terrible the SNCF ones are. The somewhat now expected police doing the annoyingly regular and thus likely illegal border check did not object to them, so that’s something.
My train tracker over at https://viaduct.world informs me that I have now crossed the Tunel de Perthús - the main high speed link between France and Catalunya - 22 times, with a 23rd happening before the end of the year.
As such, I know that this now becomes the start of when we have decent cellular coverage, at least until the start of the high speed section at Nîmes.
(CW: some battered but delicious croissants)
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/115/666/367/694/029/909/original/5c36ed65e54568c5.jpeg

2025-12-05 10:45:28 CET

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Today’s trip is the first leg of what is planned to be over 9000km worth of trip to round off the year. It’s also likely to be the last trip of this sabbatical, so I’m trying to make it count.
This trip is going to have: Marchés de Noël, a Hot Tub Party, a ride on the last remaining Danglebahn to complete the set, Weinachtsmarkts, the #ICEAgeChallenge, a dangleway over the Rhine, Kriskindlmarkts, a new country - Sweden, a little mermaid, Junlemarkeder, Hotels that are “unfeasably close to the station”, a pod cabin on a Ferry, Julmarknader, two new Talgo 230 trains, and Saunas.
Oh, and did I mention Christmas Markets?
The full itinerary can be previewed here: https://trainlog.me/public/tag/54910132-504c-4304-a169-ef122810cf8c
Stay tuned in to see what I get up to this next couple of weeks…

2025-11-06 14:27:27 CET

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And I made it on time. I would have just about made the original 14:04, but I would have had to walk through most of the train in order to get to my carriage.
As it is, I am going to make it to Gare de Lyon around the same time as I was timetabled to with my original direct TGV, which is apparently also arriving on time.
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2025-11-06 13:49:20 CET

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…this is what I mean… why does DB know about this train that is leaving Lyon late, but not about the train I’m currently on arriving late?
(That gives me a little more time for the change, though)
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2025-11-06 13:43:54 CET

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Such a difference in weather compared to this morning… honestly, the fact that we have machines capable of outrunning weather fronts and this is a relatively normal thing to do these days is still something that amazes me.
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2025-11-06 13:32:41 CET

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*looks out the window* but it says “Valence TGV” on that sign!
One of the problems that was talked about at #OpenTransport2025 was quality and availability of data, especially with regards to #CrossBorderRail.
DB Navigator does have some real time data for French trains, but this Spanish train has no live data that DB can access, whether from Renfe or the various SNCF subsidiaries, despite the fact that 80% of this train’s run is in France.
As such, it doesn’t know I’m late and is running per the published timetable.
SNCF Gares et Connexions is showing us as running +30 mins late.
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/115/502/762/608/572/300/original/0e8eaaecfec8bf62.png

2025-11-06 12:10:09 CET

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That being said, another issue to keep in mind is booking fees. Getting reservations is a bit of an art, as not every ticket seller sells reservations for every country, and some will add a "booking fee" on top of the reservation, which is usually non-refundable. This is the case of the #Interrail Reservation shop, which is the default option presented to you when using the Rail Planner app.
A good option to check is @npub1g74…ka2t's excellent site, that will tell you which of the various websites sell which reservations, and whether you can pick them from a seat map or not. In the case of SNCF trains, https://RailEurope.com/ are who I use. There's no seat map, but also no reservation fee, so I will receive a full refund on whichever reservations I cancel today.

2025-11-06 12:00:02 CET

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These reservation fees are not necessarily that good elsewhere. Eurostar's terms mean that if I need to modify or cancel's today's Paris-Amsterdam train, I am only able to exchange it for a different reservation, and that will incur a £10/15€ fee, and I cannot cancel it, as it's less than 7 days before the train leaves. This is why I'm still trying to make that 6pm train in Paris.
Also, Eurostar seriously limits the number of #Interrail reservations on their trains, and it's notoriously difficult to get a reservation on them without a lot of advance. It's likely that there are none left for any trains today, and haven't been for weeks.
Both Renfe and DB don't allow you to cancel. So picking this Renfe train was a financial risk to the tune of 15€, and I have in the past lost many DB reservations, which are around 5-7€.
ÖBB seems to allow cancellation of their 3€ and 15€ reservations with a 1.5€ fee, but not on the day of travel. I've been stung by this before.

2025-11-06 11:51:07 CET

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For those of you wondering, given I've been doing many off-the-cuff reservations today, the story is two-fold:
Reservations are mandatory on TGV services in France. This supposedly allows them to ensure everyone has a seat. When you buy a ticket, it comes with a reservation.
However, for #Interrail, there is no separate ticket, and so you can instead purchase a reservation for a train for a reservation fee. This can vary depending on the route, the class, and the distance on the train, and can be between 10 and 40€ per train. It's a bone of contention with Interrailers, as it adds a significant cost to travel, sometimes as much as the actual ticket itself.
On the upside, standard SNCF terms for reservations are flexible: they are fully exchangeable and refundable up to 30 minutes after the train has left. Which means that as long as I stay on top of it, I can cancel them with no financial penalty. So whilst I have put more cashflow into the problem, I'm not going to lose any money.

2025-11-06 11:07:40 CET

We have been told the train is running at a reduced speed as a result of the rain. However, I also think it may be due to an issue from the Pantograph, as we've audibly switched pantograph a couple of times on this trip, and you can definitely hear it dragging. Let's see what happens and whether I make my next train. I have a 44 minute transfer window at Lyon, and a 2 hour window in Paris, with a change from Gare de Lyon to Gare du Nord. I'm currently around +40, but my train isn't even showing on the arrivals board at Lyon in the Ma Gare SNCF app...
As it is, I'm booking a seat on a later train, to Paris, just in case.

2025-09-13 13:27:17 CEST

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Happy to report that the lesbian trans catgirls have the best viewpoint in the square. #TramWM

2025-09-13 11:06:16 CEST

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Of course, we have ample representation at #TramWM :QueerCat_Lesbian: :QueerCat_Trans:
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/115/196/190/546/461/163/original/45595459912e6c8e.jpeg

2025-09-13 11:00:04 CEST

Servus and welcome to #TramWM in Vienna, an event described by an American friend of mine as “The most European thing I’ve ever seen. Period. And that includes Eurovision”
You can watch it at home on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/smp0voLUgk8

2025-07-14 11:10:55 CEST

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That being said, topical both to #InternationalNonBinaryPeoplesDay and to my own current railway journey: how do Italian Non-Binary folk get into trains, given their general aversion to platforms?
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2025-07-14 11:07:11 CEST

Today is #InternationalNonBinaryPeoplesDay, and having many non binary people in my life, I stand in support of them, their rights, which are human rights that affect all of us, and their desire to be accepted.
Being trans is choosing to live against social conditioning, and expressing yourself for who you are. But being openly non-binary is especially challenging, as not only are you constantly having to justify your existence, you also have to constantly break people out of their binary mental moulds, as Western society still has trouble accepting that gender is a spectrum.
I admire the persistence and perseverance my non-binary friends have.

2025-05-28 13:31:05 CEST

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Looking across at @npub1ljp…g7w2 from the comfort of first class as they languish in the obviously inferior depths of the second class section of this single-carriage train.
We’ve got headrests and red seats over here in first, don’t you know!
#ClassWar
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2025-05-28 12:10:39 CEST

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We’ve just gone over the Hochbrücke Hochdonn, Germany’s fourth-largest bridge, which runs over the Kiel Canal.
The bridge itself is a marvel of engineering, being built in the 1910s, already in a double track configuration and only needing reinforcing in the mid-2000s. As part of those works they replaced the 143.1m central span in an operation that lasted only 12 hours, as that was how long they could close the canal.
This bridge was embroiled in a legal battle in the 90a, as residents under the bridge were literally being shat upon by the people on the trains above, as DB still operated toilets that dumped onto the tracks. DB thankfully lost and were forced to replace the trains going on that bridge.
I also note that in 1978, the bridge was damaged when a GDR heavy-lift vessel called Karl Marx collided with it.
I am amazed that we are capable of building canals that can take modern deep sea ships, like the one this bridge crosses.
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2025-05-28 11:14:17 CEST

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Yesterday it was Bad Bentheim. Today’s dubiously named station you can all make your own jokes about: Itzehoe.
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2025-05-28 11:03:06 CEST

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Rate our work setups, featuring an industrious @npub1ljp…g7w2 . This table is more cramped than yesterday’s, but we can still do our thing.
Observe how my phone charging situation is superior to theirs.
This is a Dell train for Srs Bsns. None of this modern MacBook liberal nonsense 😉
https://cdn.cupoftea.social/media_attachments/files/114/584/619/439/062/850/original/c374406ae845867f.jpeg

2025-05-18 11:48:37 CEST

On this day 35 years ago, TGV unit 325 set the land speed record at 515.3 km/h on the LGV Atlantique.
This beat the previous record set by the same train on the 5th December 1989 of 482 km/h on the Hannover-Würzburg line
Both these records managed to surpass the record set by an experimental ICE prototype in West Germany in 1988, thus establishing French engineering as superior to the German, at least on speed.
This record stayed current until 2007, when SNCF topped this with a TGV POS setting the new record at 568 and then 574,8 km/h.
TGV 325 is now decommissioned, and is kept at the Cité du Train in Mulhouse.
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2025-02-20 08:22:59 CET

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where can we find this archive online?