MAV's (Hungarian Railways') IT contractor forgot that the clocks went forward on Saturday night... Result? MAV ends up paying automatic 1 hour delay compensation for Sunday morning trains that were on time. Lucky passengers can keep their compensation!

Worth mentioning I used a 4-day Interrail pass for that Paris-Berlin-Hamburg-Basel-London trip. Bought in a recent sale, it justified itself even for a 3-day trip with the flexibility I needed compared to restrictive advance-purchase tickets. Plus you get a nice map… 😉

Basel SBB is a lovely station. No Basel-Paris TGV-Lyria trains today, so it’s TER Basel-Strasbourg & TGV to Paris. Oh what lovely soft seats Corail cars have (if only the headrest didn’t stick out into my shoulders!)

Now leaving Hamburg for Basel on ÖBB’s new-generation Nightjet, in a sleeping-car ‘comfort’ room…

A quick (well, fairly) zip up from Berlin to Hamburg for a chance to inspect DSB’s new Hamburg-Copenhagen trains built by Talgo…

Tonight @EuropeanSlpr is launching their new Paris-Berlin sleeper train. Founder Chris Engelsman: “Demand is there” “Sleepers *can* be profitable”. “European Sleeper is now an established operator, no longer just a startup”. 🥳 Train details at www.seat61.com/trains-and-r...

Back in, well, y’know…. 10:31 Eurostar to Paris. My destination? Berlin!

So here at St Pancras the new European Entry System kiosks are in, but not yet in use. Signed ‘Pre-registration’, zone A is opposite the national rail ticket office, zone B opposite the Eurostar check-in gates, zone C upper level inside a retail unit.

Portugal loses HALF its international trains for a year Well done everyone! 🎉 https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2026-03-23/portugal-train-service-to-be-replaced-with-bus/995015 Buses from Valença to Vigo #CrossBorderRail

An update on EES (European Entry System) kiosks at St Pancras:

Change in Nightjet policy: Sleepers have always been single-gender unless you book all berths in a compartment. From this year, Nightjet sleeper compartments are treated the same as couchettes, mixed-gender with an option for women to book a bed in a ladies-only compartment.

Will the new iPhone incorporate a printer?? 112.ua/en/ukrzalizn...

Centenary Lounge at Birmingham Moor Street as delightful as ever. And I’ve lucked out with the 10:45 home from Brum to Bicester…

New operator GoVolta launched a lo-cost Amsterdam to Berlin today, will launch an Amsterdam to Hamburg train tomorrow. Both will initially run 3 times a week. nltimes.nl/2026/03/19/g...

Who left the tap on..?

B*gg*r! 4 centimetres too big... "SNCF to use TGV-M trains in Italy that won't fit conventional network tunnels" www.trenvista.net/en/news/sncf... via @trenvista

BOOKING NOW OPEN!! You can book tickets for the new Brussels-Milan @EuropeanSlpr which starts running from 9 September, 3 times a week (I've just booked myself on the first southbound Brussels-Milan sleeper on 10 Sept!) For details & tickets see www.seat61.com/trains-and-r...

Wonder why they bother showing connections like this? True, I *did* get to see the 15:49 leave in front of me, by the time I fought my way over the footbridge, which was nice. But realistically, the 16:19 is the Oxford-Bicester train you’re *actually* going to end up on, innit? 🤷‍♂️

Ooh! Nice! (Even though as an ex-BR man, the lack of yellow ends is giving me palpitations…). Heading into Town.

INTERRAIL SALE NOW ON: 15% off most interrail passes until the morning of 31 March (be aware that promo passes become non-refundable 7 days after buying). Buy passes and check sale T&Cs at prf.hn/click/camref... How do Interrail passes work?https://www.seat61.com/how-to-use-an-interrail-pass.htm

European Sleeper confirms that their new Paris-Berlin sleeper will also stop at Aulnoye, Mons & Liège, see www.seat61.com/trains-and-r.... All being well, I'll be attending the launch event in Paris and riding the first departure from Paris on 26 March. Tune in for live updates! 🥳

Awful news about Glasgow Central, I'm still hoping the station itself escaped serious damage. But while we're here, can anyone spot the problem with the news photo below, from thetraveler.org/glasgow-cent...? We've really got to STOP using AI to fake things.

BREAKING: @EuropeanSlpr's new sleeper train from Brussels & Cologne to Zurich, Como & Milan will start 9 September. Tickets go on sale from 17 March with couchettes from €49.99, single/double/triple sleepers also available. 🥳 Press release: mcusercontent.com/5ffbd133c9ab...

So how do we deal with this? I gather that pressure for this change has come from overly-basic digital ticketing that has left significant scope for fraudulent refunds. But we don't have to solve it by putting honest passengers at risk. There's a better way...

DON'T BUY TRAIN TICKETS IN ADVANCE! On 1 April, the government is quietly changing the rules. Off-Peak & Anytime tickets become non-refundable after 23:59 the day BEFORE you travel. If you wake up & find your event cancelled, NO REFUNDS, even on £100+ tickets. www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/far...

From tomorrow, new Westbahn trains will link Vienna, Graz, Klagenfurt & Villach in competition with ÖBB. See a virtual tour of these new trains at www.kaemena360.com/360/Westbahn...

Me too!

Unfortunately, @snalltaget 's Oslo-Malmo train seems restricted to daytrippers with briefcases & small daypacks. International travellers with a normal long-haul 79cm suitcase or 67cm backpack seem unwelcome. As a result, I won't be showing this train on Seat61.

Fancy a holiday to Europe by train in 2026? (1) Discount code SEAT61OFF gets £61 off a Byway rail holiday booked before 31 March, travel any time. www.byway.travel?utm_source=s.... (2) Free 1st class upgrade on some trips if booked by 26 March - panel at the top of Byway home page has the details.

In The Times travel section today, by yours truly: “My nail-biting journey to Orkney by train and ferry.” www.thetimes.com/travel/desti...

Good news for travellers on Naples' Circumvesuviana - a 5th new Stadler train has arrived from Stadler, Spain - left pic. By summer they should be in service & improve on 30% fleet availability of 1975/99 era trains. How similar to UK’s Tyne & Wear Metro!

I'm sure Sofia to Bucharest could previously be sold as a .pdf e-ticket with CFR Romanian Railways, but now only collect-at-a-Romanian-station is offered, useless for a one-way from Sofia or (coming from Istanbul) Dimitrovgrad to Bucharest. They've slid backwards!

Japan’s last sleeper train!

About time! Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina discuss reopening of Zagreb-Sarajevo: www.railwaygazette.com/infrastructu...

It's finally happened! The Sofia to Istanbul (or Dimitrovgrad to Istanbul, if coming from Bucharest) sleeper train is finally bookable online, at the Turkish Railways website! 🥳

I've just released a short video showing the journey to Orkney, by Caledonian Sleeper to Inverness, the scenic Far North Line to Thurso (Britain's most northerly station) and Northlink Ferries from Scrabster to Stromness on the excellent m/v Hamnavoe. Take a peek! youtu.be/8TpQJS-a4EM?...

World’s fastest sleeper train? Chinese, of course!

In the news this week: It's reported Ljubljana's historic station has been entirely demolished and is now a hole in the ground. Surely not? Maybe they just mislaid it...

A thread on India’s newest sleeper train:

Facepalm... On Facebook where so many AI images are used to illustrate clickbait stories, I now click the 'X' then 'I don't like the creator' *every time*.

Came across this in Stromness last week, I expect there’s a story here (obviously, decided to carry on up it…)

'Tis done! First draft of the Seat 61 guide to taking train & ferry to visit Orkney now published, www.seat61.com/places-of-in.... Comments welcome - I'll review/revise it tomorrow when I've had a break from it!

JELLICOE EXPRESS! Orkney to London in under 24h: My morning ferry cancelled, a retimed afternoon ferry to Scrabster is due to sail at 14:00. Slightly iffy plans in place to reach Inverness just in time for tonight’s @CalSleeper, arriving London tomorrow morning. Will I make it?

Having made it to Orkney Tuesday night, yesterday I had an excellent tour with @JP_Orkney. Though I could have picked a day with better weather! Below: Scapa Flow. 70-odd warships of the WW1 German high seas fleet lie underwater in this part of the anchorage, scuttled in 1919…

Smoke me a kipper, I’ll be back for breakfast! Kirkwall Hotel, Orkney.

OPERATION SCAPA FLOW: Boarding the @CalSleeper at Birmingham International (only its fourth departure from this new calling point), heading for Inverness, Thurso, Stromness & Scapa Flow. The Far North in January - am I crazy..?

On my way to Birmingham International to pick up tonight’s Birmingham to Inverness Caledonian Sleeper (the full-size one) 👇🏻

As it happens, I'm booked from Birmingham to the Highlands on Monday night. But where am I going? Somewhere special! Somewhere I've always wanted to go. Where braver men than me sleep deep within their regal tree. Any guesses? 🤷‍♂️

From tonight, Caledonian Sleeper's London-Inverness/Aberdeen/Ft William sleeper will pick up at Birmingham International at 22:42 northbound, and set down southbound at 06:20. A useful link for the West Midlands! www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

Politicians: don't use AI to make your maps.