My day began at 06:00 as usual but today the trains behaved themselves and my service into Berlin was seamless. Now I’ve finished up some picture editing in the Innotrans press centre and I’m about to hit the halls. Watch out for loads of pictures today as I’m free to roam – and it’s a bright, sunny morning…
13:50.
Having spent the last several hours wandering around halls and outdoor displays I’m taking a few minutes break to download some of the pictures, top up my water levels and use the facilities. Today’s akways the quietest as many people have already left so it’s easier to get pictures. Even so, you still need patience.
The Dubai ‘Sky pod’.The new FPS PlusFPS plus interiorTrenitalia and Hitachi ‘blues’. ‘blues’ interior‘blues’ bike and luggage area. The new Siemens U-bahn car shows why you have to be patient. There’s often someone taking extreme interest in the underfloor equipment!Never complain about the hardness of UK train seats again. The Wein U-bahn trains are fitted with plain plywood ones!
17:10.
I elected to leave Innotrans before the bitter end as I’d done most of what I wanted. There’s not a cat in hell’s chance of getting around it all and it’s such a lovely evening I thought I’d explore the city’s railways. Here’s a couple of shots so far…
A Siemens built Class 182 calls at Friedrichstrasse.Alexanderplatz staion in the former East Berlin with a double-deck, loco hauled set working to Magdeburg.
22:30.
I’m now homeward bound after a great few hours exploring the Berlin S and U bahn (and the areas it passes through) before meeting up with an old friend for a couple of beers and chatting about life, the universe and everything. Here’s one of the paces I discovered, the wonderful architecture of the old Berlin Pankow station.
Strange to think I’ll be moving on again tomorrow. I’ve kinda got into the routine of being a commuter and living life in a city I really enjoy.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Miracle of miracles, my train into Berlin is actually on time today! Oh, and it’s a beautifully sunny morning to boot so all’s well with the world. Admittedly, I have a slightly fuzzy head after a night out with the ‘boys’ but it’s nothing that a couple of cups of coffee in the media centre won’t cure.
I’m looking forward to a freerer day at Innotrans now that most of my commissions are done. Well, that I know of anyway – you never know what might crop up. Either way, today should be a lot more relaxed than the past two.
I’m beginning to get used to this commuting malarky after catching the same train three days in a row. I’ve not gone for the classic commuter behaviour of always heading for ‘my’ seat but I’m starting to recognise a few regulars on the route.
13:50.
Joy of joys – my last launch is done. My services were farmed out to an EU rail organisation rebrand and launch which kept me occupied most of the morning. Now I’m off the leash and free to wander around outside. Here’s a few shots.
If you wander down to the bottom of the site, Schweerbau are fuelling a party with free beer and bratwurst!
There’s some serious kit on display here…
Liverpool Mayor Steve Rotherham at the launch of the new Stadler battery trains for Merseyrail. A bird’s eye view of some of the outdoor exhibits at Innotrans.
23:00.
The end of today turned in to a sociable one as I spent it catching up with friends from Siemens. Firstly Silke, who had tipped me off about the opportunity to get the photo shown above. We had a good catch-up on the huge Siemens stand. After the show closed I went out for dinner with Ellen and the pair of us had a great chin-wag about life, the universe and everything.
Now it’s nearly midnight, I’m back ‘home’ and ready to hit the sack before the final day of Innotrans. As yet, I’ve no commissions tomorrow so let’s see what I can get up to…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
German railways let me down again this morning. My inbound train was 25 mins late so I didn’t get to Innotrans until way after 09:00. First job was to check in with my clients and find out what’s happening today. Luckily their presentation (which is on another stand) is literally next door – I was fearing it’d be in a hall on the other side of the Messe!
Next port of call was the press centre where I’ve bumped into a large chunk of the UK trade press. Tips and gossip swapped and pictures downloaded it’s time to hit the halls…
Another busy day beckons…
13:10.
Finally, a chance to sit down for a few minutes before the next gig. The problem with Innotrans is that there are so many launch or other events you’re always running from one to the other. I had Hitachi Energy unveiling a new transformer back to back with Talgo hosting the Spanish transport minister who was having a look at one of their new coaches for DB. Next I have a joint UK-Saudi signing. Still, it’s kept me occupied. Here’s a few phone pictures
Here’s one of two UK pavilions. This one has a Welsh flavour and a plan of the new £250m test track that’s under construction It’s not just trains either. Transport needs to be integrated (and green). Here’s a new electric bus with a 450km range.
The countdown nears its end as Hitachi Energy prepare to unveil their new transformer that’s lighter and greener.
Don’t worry, there’ll be more trains soon!…
22:11.
Yet another day where my step count is getting silly! Right now I’m sat on the (late running -surprise, surprise) RER train to Frankfurt (Oder) after another great day. I still haven’t seen anywhere near enough of Innotrans but then I’ve been busy with various assignments. Then there’s the amount of people you bump into at random or by design. Innotrans is such a seminal event in the rail industry calender that almost everyone is here. It’s difficult to explain just what a vast event it is. A map doesn’t do it justice as it doesn’t give away the fact these huge exhibition buildings have several floors. I ended up recce’ing how long it would take me to get from one stand to another in a completely different building so that I knew I could do certain launches – hence one of the reasons for my step count.
We’re half way through the event so now I’m listing the trains/stands/people I’ve still not seen. Thankfully, my work calender should thin out a bit tomortow.
This evening I bunked off before the show closed as a bunch of us UK rail people had arranged to meet in the city centre for beers and food. The beers weren’t sobering but the reminiscing could be when we counted down the time and realised we’d been involved in group trips to Europe for 17 years – and I have the website pictures to prove it!
It wasn’t all a trip down memory lane, we had some new people join us which swelled our group to 13. It wasn’t a bad place to eat and drink either. It’s a bar in the railway arches West of Alexandetplatz that brews its own beer.
And we’re off! Well, I would been much earlier if I hadn’t been kicking my heels in Huddersfield for the past hour. As I’m handicapped by a suitcase and Dawn was driving in to Huddersfield so kindly offered to give me a lift I decided to head to Harwich this way.
What I hadn’t bargained on was Trans-Pennine Express excerable timetable. Forget the 5 trains an hour of the real timetable. Leeds are now hourly. I’d actually have been better sticking to Northern via Halifax. Ho hum…
Even so, i’m in no hurry. My ferry doesn’t leave Harwich until 23:00 so I’ve plenty of time to get there. Despite running such a wafer-thin service TPE still can’t run to time. The 12:10 arrived and left 7 minutes late. It’s a 6-car service that’s an all-stopper and it’s rammed. Some people have come from Manchester Airport with humongous suitcases which isn’t exactly helping.
Suitcase? I’ll bet my ferry will be carrying smaller life rafts!
13:07.
After the schlep from Huddersfield it’s a relief to be on LNER’s 13:05 from Leeds to Kings Cross. This is another busy train but I’ve managed to blag a table – for now anyway. The reservation system’s kaput so I might get turfed out at Wakefield or Doncaster.
14:05.
All’s well that ends well. Whilst we’ve picked up a load more passengers at both Wakefield and Doncaster no-one came forward to claim my table. Now we’ve just left Newark so it looks like I should be safe as far as my destination – Peterborough – as there’s plenty of spare capacity. I note from the news that people have been told not to travel to London to join the crowds queuing to pay their last respects to the Queen, so I don’t expect to encounter anyone on any of my trains today.
15:00.
Another train, another operator. Now I’ve swapped my fancy intercity ‘Azuma’ for an example of BRs finest “garden shed engineering” as the Class 158s were once described due to the many faults that bedevilled the first examples. Mine is one of East Midlands Railway’s fleet of 2-cars with high-backed seats but no USB or power-points, which is a retrograde step in this day and age.
My train arriving at the ‘new’ island platform at Peterborough en-route to Norwich having started from Sheffield at 12:45.The high-backed seats are comfortable but they do make the unit feel claustrophobic.
15:40.
I’m now kicking my heels for an hour at the sleepy little junction of Ely. There’s not much happening here of a Sunday, so the local Starling population has found a different use for the overhead wires.
16:45
I enjoyed my break at Ely. Even on a Sunday the station has both a shop and cafe on platform 1 that remain open so I had time for a ‘swifty’ and chance to get a few pictures before moving on. Now I’m on what’s regarded by many (including myself) as the best modern train on the UK network, the Stadler Class 755 bi-modes. Swiss engineering at its best. They’re comfortable, have level access, a variety of seating configurations and plug-sockets and USB ports at every seat. Their performance is just as good too, they shift like sh*t off the proverbial shovel!
Heading for Stowmarket…The smart, multi-level (and comfortable) seating aboard my Stadler train.
As you can see, this is a quiet train. A fair few got off at the newly reopened station at Soham which was good to see, otherwise this feels very much like a Sunday afternoon service.
18:45.
I’m getting closer to escaping…
I swapped trains yet again at Stowmarket, mainly for one purpose. I’ve always had an interest in railway architecture in general but signalboxes in particular and I’ve never managed a picture of the abandoned example at Stowmarket until now.
I only had a few minutes to wait before my next train which was a case of swapping to the Stadler 755s bigger Intercity brother to get me to Ipswich where I took another short photographic break and went from the sublime to the ridiculous. Greater Anglia has the best train fleets but it also has one of the worst. Yet it’s brand new – and units are still being delivered!
These things are bloody awful. I’m not overweight but even I struggle to make my way down the narrow aisles – not helped by the fact the grab-handles are so low they dig into your ribs and made the space even more constricted.
22:30.
Is that the time? Apologies for the blogging gap but I’ve always been on the move and sometimes it’s about experiencing things so that you can write about them later. Right now I’m sitting on the ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland waiting for departure time. I’ve not done this trip for so, so long. In fact the last time I did this the film they were showing was the then blockbuster ‘Flash Gordon’ with a soundtrack by Queen and the famous line from the actor Brian Blessed (delivered in his customary gusto) “Gordon’s alive!”. Gosh, so many things have changed since then. In those days I was hoping to make a home in Amsterdam with my girlfriend of the time. It never worked out but I’ve no regrets. It all seems like a different world. Mind you, so does this ferry. It’s massive compared to what I remember from those days. I’m on the ‘Stena Britannica’ and even have a cabin – but only because they’re mandatory nowadays. In the 1980s we used to get on as foot passengers and just curl up in a corner.
I arrived in Harwich in plenty of time and had chance to explore. It’s funny how things work out sometimes. I’d not been around this neck of the woods for years then end up here twice in the space of twelve months! Harwich Town’s a curious place that’s worth exploring because of it’s history and architecture, but like a lot of UK seaports it’s lost its mojo. The days of the train ferries are long gone. Now the port’s been eclipsed by Felixstowe due to the move to containerisation. Like this.
Looking across to Felixstowe from Harwich
Still, I’m looking forward to leaving Brexit Britain and the social and political museum the country’s fast becoming. The next week is going to be very different. And this ain’t a bad way to get there either..
One of several restaurants on board.I’ve not had a cabin on a ferry for years!
23:15.
We’ve left port and we’re on our way, so it’s time for me to sign off until tomorrow. See you on the other side as they say…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
It’s my fourth day here in Berlin and apart from the fact i’ve been having a hectic time I’m also having a fabulous one.
Sunday left me shattered after my negative experiences of Stansted airport. Whilst I’ve been here I chatted to other UK colleagues, who share the same view of the place and now refuse to use it. What was once one of the UK’s best airports is viewed as having been ruined by concentrating on wringing every last penny of of passengers. After spending a few hours exploring and getting pictures I headed out to my hotel and ended up falling asleep by 21:30!
In contrast, my experiences here in Germany have been extremely positive. After all the madness that’s going on back home because of Brexit and our mad politicians, it’s lovely to be in a confident and outward looking, stable country. Berlin’s also one of my favourite capital cities. It has a bohemian heart and it’s all the better for it. There’s also massive investment in Berlin’s railway infrastructure, like this view East from the rebuilt Ostkreuz station which shows the new flyover and dive under built for the S-Bahn.
On Monday I took time off to explore a couple of the delightful old rural tramways that link country towns with the S-Bahn. They’re rather timeless. Here’s the route out from Rahnsdorf to Waltersdorf.
This one is the route nearby, from Friedrichshagen to Rüdersdorf.
Right now I’m commuting in from Ludwigsfelde, a town just to the South, which is where I’m staying. It takes 30 mins to get to the amazing Berlin Hauptbahnhof. Hotel prices go crazy when Innotrans is on, so unless you book months (or years) in advance you can pay silly prices.
Commuting, Berlin style. This is my ODEG service out to Ludwigsfelde from the magnificent Birlin Hauptbahnhof.
I’m heading to day two of Innotrans, the world’s biggest rail trade fair. Around 160,000 people will visit over the four days, after which it’s opened to the public for another two days after that. I’m expecting another hectic day as one of the magazines I’m working for has a shortlist of stuff for me to get and today the British Transport Minister, Chris Grayling is touring the show. He’s tipped to be signing some contracts…
Oh, did I mention the weather? Innotrans is renowned for always getting the sun. Yesterday we baked in the heat, today’s expected to hit 26 degrees! I’m just glad us photojournalists are allowed to dress down!
Right now I’m in the Press centre, where I can grab a coffee, use the wifi and all the other facilities provided for Journalists before hitting the stands. It’s quiet at the moment, but here’s what the place looks like.
If you want to see pictures from the show, take a look at this gallery on my Zenfolio website as that’s where I’m putting them. I’ll flesh this blog out more when I have time.
18:51.
I’ve finally left the show and begun my journey home, but first there’s time to stop of at the Alkopole Bar at Alex, have a quiet beer and catch my thoughts. The day was busier than I thought for the simple reason that Chris Grayling visited a lot of trade stalls. We may fundamentally disagree over politics but I can’t fault him for keeping such a busy schedule. David Davis he ain’t!
I did manage to take up a certain train builders invitation to visit their version of platform 9 & 3/4, which was an mock English pub hidden on the back of one of their trains, but I’ll say no more.
The rest of my time was spent flitting between trade stands and the press centre with the occaisional foray to have a look at some new train interiors. The problem was that some of the ones I wanted to check out had a shore supply. This meant they were extremely popular as the air-conditioning worked – a real blessing in this heat!
I’m not sure what the temperature is now but it’s a lovely evening for sitting outside with a beer.
The ‘press pack’ has scattered to the four winds this evening due to a multitude of receptions and events to go to, which has spared my liver, so I’m not complaining. Besides, I have another 05:50 start in the morning…
It had to happen sooner or later, the the past few days have seen me pretty much stuck at my desk. Admittedly we did get to nip over to Southport for a gathering of the Bigland clan on Saturday, but the rest of the time’s seen me on household duties or trying to deal with a rather large backlog of paperwork. The good news is that I can now get into my office without worrying about being crushed by unstable piles of magazines and bumpf which were reaching Himalayan heights.
It’s not before time as the next month or so are going to be rather busy. I’ll be embarking on my bi-annual round-Britain trip for RAIL magazine shortly so I need to clear the decks for that and the time to write it up before I head off to the National Rail Awards, which is going to be a little different this time. I’ve been at the awards every year since 2003 as the event photographer. Now Dawn and I will be VIP guests, instead of being on duty with a job to do I’ll be able to chat and enjoy the company of the many people from the rail industry I’ve got to know over the years, like this bunch!
Thankfully, the NRA doesn’t clash with another important event in the railway calendar as it has in the past: Innotrans.
This massive bi-annual event is the largest rail trade show in the world. It’s held in Berlin and it’s an absolute must for anyone who wants to see what the railway industry’s up to. I’ve arranged to be there for 4 of the 5 days. The show’s so massive you need that amount of time to get around the place! Outside at the Messe Hall there’s acres of trains on display, inside there’s even more as the event takes over dozens of buildings on several levels. Here’s a link to pictures from the last time I was there in 2014 which will give you an idea of what to expect.
The next few weeks are going to be rather interesting. Obviously, my work for RAIL will be restricted to being published in the magazine, but I’m sure I’ll be publishing a few teasers! In the meantime, there’s a few other trips to do…
Paul Bigland 