Öffentlicher Verkehr: Bald Italo-Fernzüge in Deutschland? Der italienische MSC-Ableger will bei Siemens eine neue Zugflotte ordern und gegen die DB sowie Flixtrain antreten – doch der neue Wettbewerber wird bisher ausgebremst.

Stuttgarter Zeitung reporting Italo 🇮🇹🚅 about to enter German Long-distance market with an an order for 25-30 Siemens Velaro Neo EMUs.

www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/inhalt.oeffe...

I was in the arena for his match this morning. Just sublime.

'Twas the night before Christmas…

I know you dislike trains... but Lakomativ Étterem delivers good food and drink via a model railway. I bloody love the place.

British Airways Fleet Update IS BACK! YouTube video by Mark’s TrainsPlanesTrams

It amuses me greatly that the managing director of Great Western Railway is an aviation vlogger in his spare time and posts regular BA fleet updates: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HNN...

Okay CTA. This is a good sign.

For BBC Travel, I'm looking to talk to families from the US, the UK, Italy, Japan, Sweden and Mexico about their summer holiday plans.

Tight turnaround on this by the end of this week for initial interest.

Cannot be in the travel/tourism industry. Photos will be needed.

#journorequest

Perhaps I'm biased as I was there but his win against Anda in Hong Kong was a different kind of gravy.

He's on another planet at the moment. I was at the Crucible for his World Championship victory, but I also saw him lift the trophy in Hong Kong in February. Not sure if you saw that match owing to the timezone difference but the second session was one of the most enjoyable sessions I've seen live.

Scott Mills removed from M3 bridge Guide to Fleet services on the M3 between J4A and J5: location of Welcome Break services at Fleet, Fleet services reviews and more about Fleet services from Motorway Services Online, the motorway…

The Scott Mills Bridge at Fleet services has quietly had its plaque removed

That's why I'm so sceptical about those jeremiads about AI slop killing good old professional journalism

I was in Wuhan in February. Genuinely nice and pleasant place.

You’ve missed the point, bot.

No wonder companies like Byway are thriving when such a simple journey is this complicated to look up & book. And while there are many things that could be improved in the UK, at least TOC - and third-party - sites display trains run by open-access operators by default.

@seatsixtyone.bsky.social

But wait, there's more! Neither company shows open-access operator RegioJet's trains (again, I wouldn't expect the average traveller to be aware of its existence) so I had to open a third tab.

What a mess.

"I wonder if MAV will sell seats for the same trains at the same prices?" I thought as I keyed in the same date and time.

Er, nope. Significantly cheaper! I only thought to look because I know MAV also sells cross-border tickets - I suspect the average traveller wouldn't know this.

I often hear complaints - rightly so in many cases - that rail ticketing in the UK is confusing. But I don't think the grass is any greener in Europe.

An example: I need to travel from Vienna to Budapest late next month. Logical thing to do is to look on the OBB site and it displays options.

Paging @davwheat.dev!

Biggest comeback of the year just dropped

Indeed! ALCS day is freelancer Christmas.

Destination Unlocked: Mountain holidays with Mountains Magazine editor Olly Beckett Quickly and easily listen to Destination Unlocked for free!

On the latest Destination Unlocked podcast Mountains Magazine editor Olly Beckett talks about his love of the mountains and the challenges of launching a magazine > player.captivate.fm/episode/f51b...

Network Rail sets out what could be done to improve Exeter-Barnstaple line Tarka Line in Devon has often had infrastructure and overcrowding problems as passenger numbers grow.

Nice to write about a local line to me for @railmagazine.bsky.social. It really surprised me the route is as busy as Cardiff-Portsmouth services!

www.railmagazine.com/news/network...

Politics UK X Admin Help manage and grow our page on X. Location: Remote | Salary: Voluntary - Unpaid Politics Global X Admin Help manage and grow our page on X. Location: Remote | Salary: Voluntary - Unpaid Politics US X Admin Help manage and grow our page on X. Location: Remote | Salary: Voluntary - Unpaid Politics UK TikTok Editor Help manage and grow our page on TikTok. Location: Remote | Salary: Voluntary - Unpaid Original Content Editor Lead our team of student writers Location: Remote | Salary: Voluntary - Unpaid UK Politics Editor Lead our team of UK writers Location: Remote | Salary: Voluntary - Unpaid Parliamentary Proceedings Editor Lead our coverage of Parliament Location: Remote | Salary: Voluntary - Unpaid

PoliticsUK, owned by former Tory MP Ben Howlett, is keeping overheads to a minimum I see (h/t Politico)

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Mountains Magazine Spring Issue is flying off the shelves and I'm about to go to the post office AGAIN. Get it while it's hot (and in stock) > www.mountains-magazine.com/Shop/SPRING-...

This is one of my favourite comments of 2026 so far:

* It is worth pointing out I did have a valid ticket in my pocket at all times as well. Not once did I need to use it though.

The "golden tickets" were able to open any barrier in the country and were scanned by staff on multiple occasions as if they were normal tickets.

The full story by myself and the ever-excellent Gareth Corfield on this fairly remarkable glitch is here: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03...

Late last week I was able to roam around the UK rail network without spending any money whatsoever*: I spent 10 hours on trains and travelled from Devon to Liverpool and back in First Class using seat reservations issued for free via GWR's website thanks to a blunder by the company.

The piece about Japan's last remaining night train went live yesterday: www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/desti...

@seatsixtyone.bsky.social

I have to pinch myself that this is happening on a main line.