A list is given here of all the border crossings used by trains between the various countries in the Guide, including crossings between these countries and those outside the area of review.
There is not usually any difficulty in using trains crossing borders (provided you have the necessary immigration documents) even if you only have a rover ticket for one of the countries concerned. Tickets are issued to and from the actual boundary points, even if they are not stations; for example it is possible to buy a single ticket from Thionville in France to Bettembourg (Frontière) on the Luxembourg border, although this is not a station and is indeed a different place from the station at Bettembourg (which is actually in Luxembourg). Such tickets may usually be purchased on trains if necessary.
Unless otherwise stated all of these cross-border lines are the property of the two state railways concerned (the boundary may or may not be at the actual physical border), but in a few cases (clearly indicated) the line concerned is either private or is simply a branch of the system in one country crossing into another and no change of ownership occurs.
Some stations themselves have the notional (or occasionally actual) border within their confines; thus Genève Cornavin (in Switzerland) is used by Swiss trains and French trains but the French trains run into a section separated by customs and immigration barriers from the main Swiss section. At other places parts of the station may be temporarily isolated when cross-border trains are being dealt with.
The Schengen Agreement, which came into force in March 1995, substantially relaxed border controls between France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the Benelux countries. It has since been extended to apply to Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Greece and Italy. Persons moving directly between Schengen states will not normally be subject to border controls. Free movement between the Scandinavian countries has been in place for many years. There are normally no border controls between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and citizens of these two countries need not carry passports or identity documents. Citizens of other EU countries have to carry a passport or national identity card. Persons from outside the EU also need to carry a passport and are supposed to report to border officials (if they can find them).
Border controls (immigration and customs checks) are usually carried out on board international trains. Passengers alighting at the border may not be permitted to leave the train until checks are completed. Those joining the train are usually checked before boarding.
Each pair of countries is listed in alphabetical order, for example Albania - Serbia-Montenegro, and is only listed once: so there is no section for Serbia-Montenegro - Albania. The border crossings for each pair of countries are listed in clockwise order from the point of view of the first country of the pair.
Country names are given with the normal English spelling, but place names are rendered with the local spelling.
The date of the last update of the information is shown against each country pair.
Stations given in these lists are in the order of travelling from the country whose name is mentioned first to the other. In most cases they are the passenger stations nearest the border; names appearing in parentheses are larger places further away and are inserted to help readers identify the line in question. It does not follow that trains crossing the border will call at either or both of the stations given, and indeed it may be impossible to catch a train from such a station across the border concerned.
Some border crossings feature "Corridor Trains": these are trains which travel through part of a second country in order to reach another part of the first (e.g. trains from Salzburg (Austria) to Innsbruck (Austria) which travel through Germany). Clearly such trains must use two or more border crossings. The trains are of three types, all of which remain notionally within the "starting" country throughout their journey. Some make no calls to take up or set down in the "foreign" country, while others have either completely separate sections of trains which are kept isolated while in the "foreign" country and are attached to those which do make the normal calls, or the train makes the normal calls, but only passengers who board or alight undergo border formalities. There are normally no border formalities for through passengers who remain on board, and no ticket specifically for travel in the foreign country is needed. Cross references are made, where appropriate, to the "Corridor Trains" section of the "General Information" pages of a country.
Where there is a change from running on the left to running on the right, or vice versa, this is usually done on the flat at the location where locomotives are changed.
The routes listed for each pair of countries include freight-only as well as passenger lines, and in some cases also closed lines - these are by no means complete at the moment but are being added as information becomes available. By default all known routes are displayed: however at the top of each page three tickboxes are shown which allow the listing of passenger routes, or freight-only routes, or closed routes (or any combination) to be turned off. Click on the "Submit Changes" button to register your selection.
Many border crossings have a change of electrification system nearby. For each border in the list below, where known, the electrification details are coded as follows:
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[D] = a non-electrified border crossing |
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[E] = an electrified one, with [E*] indicating a change in voltage or frequency |
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[DE] or [ED] = change from diesel to electric. |
Gmund NÖ - České Velenice is shown as ED, because the Austrian line (shown first) is electrified and the Czech Republic line is not. Conversely, Kotoriba - Murakeresztur is shown as DE, because the line from Croatia is not electrified but the Hungarian line is.
Where there is a change in traction system other than at the border or the nearest main station (for example SNCB 3kV trains working through to Luxembourg and Thalys from Paris to Bruxelles), this is noted specially.
If the interface between two electrification systems is not described herein as switchable, there is either a neutral section or a short gap between the overhead lines fed at the different voltages. If dual-voltage or dual-frequency rolling stock is used, it may be necessary for the driver to lower one pantograph and raise another as the train coasts past the changeover point. Even if a single pantograph is used, it is usually necessary for the driver to shut off power and select the new power supply manually. Relatively few electric trains switch from one system to the other automatically. Where single-voltage or single-frequency locomotives work into non-switchable stations or yards they usually coast to a halt with pantograph down, under the catenary of the other system. They are then removed by the relieving electric locomotive or a diesel shunter and are either fly-shunted or propelled back to their own end of the station.
In this text rolling stock types are distinguished thus:
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Dual-voltage: |
Able to work at two different voltages, direct current (usually 1500V and 3000V) |
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Dual-frequency: |
Able to work at two different frequencies, alternating current (usually 25kV 50Hz and 15kV 16.7Hz) |
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Dual-system: |
Able to work on one direct current and one alternating current system (3kV dc and 25kV 50Hz is the most common variant) |
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Multi-system: |
Able to work on three or more electrification systems. |
It will be noted that certain countries, particularly United Kingdom, France, Czech Republic and Slovakia have more than one electrification system and some rolling stock is dual-system. All internal changeover points are non-switchable. (In the UK the third rail dc and overhead ac systems overlap at changeover points). Although there are two electrification systems in Croatia, no dual-system rolling stock is used. Details of the internal changeover points can be found in the General Information section for the appropriate country.
Different signalling and train protection systems may prevent through running across international borders, except for limited workings to border stations.
Through workings by diesel trains may be limited by fuel capacity in some cases. Not all railways use the same grade of diesel fuel and a locomotive may need to return to its home country to refuel.
Through workings by electric trains, even where supply voltage etc. are nominally the same, may be limited by differences in pantograph requirements. Details of this are in preparation.
Where is stated that a railway works into an adjacent country, this is the usual arrangement for passenger trains. There may be exceptions. Freight is usually worked to the same changeover point, but not always, and some border crossings are used only by passenger trains. Less detail of cross-border freight train operations is given than for passenger services.
Also available is a full list of all the borders shared by these countries, and also a simplified list of railways across European Borders.
This document is part of the Enthusiast's Guide to Travelling the Railways of Europe.
Fully rebuilt in this form 5 May 2004.
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