Passenger train from Lille to Saint-Quentin

First time between Somain and Cambrai

On a sunny day, motivation is high and the travel time seems short to the north of France. Also on July 4th of 2024, when I had a day off to spend chasing trains. The time before noon I spent in Belgium, but in the afternoon I ended up along the Somain – Cambrai line, were the blue sky was. I started in Thun-Saint-Martin on … Continue reading First time between Somain and Cambrai

First time around Tergnier

Since a couple of years now, Belgian rail freight operator Lineas is building up a network of train services around Tergnier. I’ve wanted to check this out for a while, and on August 7th of 2020 I finally made it there. We left before sunrise and started the day at Couvron-et-Aumencourt, between Tergnier and Laon. Lineas, Europorte and SNCF Infra made for a good start … Continue reading First time around Tergnier

A railfan’s dream house

This is the last spot of the afternoon already: freight train traffic was scarce. A northbound intermodal train runs through the town of Braubach. “through” has to be taken literally here: it passes right in front of the houses. Considering this is one of the busiest freight lines in Germany, you can understand why inhabitants of the villages are complaining about noise. Let’s hope authorities … Continue reading A railfan’s dream house