Here's how our journey ended up:

The trip included two ferries - one overnight - which had a small Interrail discount. In total we spent approximately 40 hours on trains over a 7 week trip.

This blog post looks at the practicalities of the journey and the experience we had while travelling. You are free to decide which cities you want to visit and which you want to skip. This worked (mostly) for us - you should write a blog post about your own experiences.

London To Brussels

Eurostar St Pancras is dangerously crowded and needs tearing down. You can use RealTimeTrains to see your departure platform before it is announced - that's useful for avoiding some of the queues.

The first-class service in Eurostar is lovely (even if it doesn't get you access to the lounge). Unfortunately, you need to book vegan meals a few days in advance - a deadline I missed. The veggie option was fine though.

Made it to Brussels where we hit our first snag.

Brussels to Hamburg

We'd booked some of our tickets months in advance. What we hadn't realised is that construction work had been announced and our train would be getting is much later than we anticipated.

Neither Interrail (who we booked the seat reservations through) nor DB (who had our contact details) thought to tell us about the change in journey. Nevertheless, we jumped on a train and had a pleasant enough trip up to Germany.

The Interrail refund form is ridiculously complicated and asks for various screenshots. There really ought to be a big "DB Screwed Up" button for an instant refund. Still, after a couple of days the refund came through.

Hamburg to Copenhagen

There's a DB lounge at the station. We received suspicious stares at our Interrail passes which then necessitated deep examination of our seat reservation by two people. Begrudgingly they let us in. There were comfortable seats and some free drinks. It was mostly quiet until various children started crying.

The train was gentle and slow. 1st class got a snack included - veggie but not vegan. For the first time since leaving the UK there were passport checks which were friendly.

At one point there was a quiet announcement in German. We didn't think much of it until everyone started getting off the train. Turns out one of the carriages had suffered a failure and we were turfed out at Nyborg. Approximately 1,000 passengers attempted to board the next available train - it looked like an utter crush. So we waited for the one after that.

We were treated to a train with spectacular panoramic windows as it went over The Bridge.

A friendly guard told us where to change. Arrived a little late and filled in the Interrail compensation form again.

Copenhagen to Göteborg

The lounge in Copenhagen was basic but fine. A few bowls of fruit and a coffee machine but nothing else. Weirdly no train display.

The train had power sockets on the ceiling - along with headphone jacks! Was a little strange seeing cables dripping down from the ceiling. The 1st class seats were a little roomier than standard, but not much in it. Ticket inspector looked confused at Interrail passes but didn't challenge us.

Göteborg to Oslo

Trains were frequent enough that we didn't bother with advance seat reservations. No 1st class, but the quiet zone was spacious enough. Again, a brief glance at the tickets rather than scanning them.

I was heartily impressed to see snack vending machines on a train! Better than someone pushing a cart through I reckon.

Oslo to Stockholm

There were no signs on seats to say reserved and the service was very full. But we got our seats without a problem. There was free fruit and tea / water in the 1st class carriage. WiFi speeds were excellent.

Stockholm to Helsinki (overnight ferry)

Annoyingly, the ferry terminal is a rather long distance from the nearest tram stop which was a bit of an arse.

The check-in to the ferry warns of extra costs if you have the temerity to use the staffed counters - but the automatic check in wouldn't work with our tickets. They wanted to check that we were eligible for the Interrail discount, so we showed them the app - we didn't have to spend a travel day though. They printed out our tickets and didn't charge us extra.

The boat itself was gorgeous. Obviously not full - many of the bars were empty and the disco was dead - but surprisingly they put on a full song and dance show as entertainment. We'd made reservations at one of the fancy restaurants, which was perfectly nice. It was breathtakingly beautiful outside.

The room was basic, but much easier to sleep in than an overnight train. Unfortunately, I fucked up with the timezones. Stockholm is UTC+1 and Helsinki is at UTC+2. I set my alarm an hour too early!

The breakfast buffet was very well stocked for veggie and vegans. Massive queue before opening but not too crowded.

Helsinki to Tallinn (day ferry)

Terminal was a short walk from the tram. It was spacious and had plenty of seating. Again we couldn't use the automated check in and had to show our Interrail apps. Ferry was small but plenty of room to sit or go shopping.

Tallinn to Riga

Slightly confusing process to buy the tickets as they only went on sale a few weeks before departure. No seat reservations for the first half of the journey - we were slightly worried by the number of people waiting for the three-carriage train. In the end there was plenty of space. Again, 1st class a bit roomier than standard but not dramatically so.

The ticket inspector gave a confused look at the Interrail pass and issued us with a receipt for €0.00!

The train had an onboard ticket vending machine with contactless payments and, delightfully, some bowls of water for dogs.

We changed at Valga which was simple - literally walk across the platform to the waiting train. It was a little more crowded, but plenty of seats.

Riga to Vilnius

1st class was a bit crowded but pleasant until the boomer Brits started ignoring the quiet carriage signs. They were shut up by the guard. Complimentary sparkling water.

Vilnius to Warsaw

There is a VIP lounge in Vilnius - but it is little more than a quiet space with a loo and water fountain. All the snacks and hot drinks were chargeable. We didn't actually have access to it this trip - but the Riga to Vilnius trip did. We scanned our previous ticket reservations to get in.

We weren't able to book seats - because the service said it was sold out. However the train was half empty. No 1st class, but there was WiFi and power, so no complaints from me.

On having our tickets checked we were told that there was 1st class, but we couldn't use it with our Interrail passes. As with most European trains, announcements were in English.

The change at Mockava was easy - we walked to the next platform. We'd booked seats in a little 6 seater cabin - sadly the air con was little more than homeopathic. Even cracking open the window did nothing but waft hot air over us. Fairly full train, toilets were adequate, but the heat was stifling. Even worse, no WiFi!

The train occasionally stopped for several minutes at a time. The crew just opened the doors to let a breeze in - very little health-and-safety culture here!

Mind you, we also saw people crossing the tracks to get to their platform. Yikes!

There were passport checks by armed guards. Brief and inoffensive.

Warsaw to Berlin

Despite the extreme heat, it left on time. This 6 berth 1st class carriage was a bit bigger than the last - and the aircon actually worked.

We were treated to complementary water, juice, and a vegan snack bar! The train driver sounded their horn at every opportunity which wasn't exactly relaxing.

Berlin to München

No vegan currywurst on the DB menu any more 😭.

Annoyingly, we were kicked off at Nuremberg - despite most announcements being made in English this one wasn't, but we figured it out. A train came fairly quickly, so we weren't too late.

München to Verona

There is a 1st class DB lounge but it isn't open to OBB/Interrail scum. Luckily there were plenty of food options for vegans in station. No vegan currywurst on train but several other options.

This was one of two reservations which demanded that it be printed out onto paper and under no circumstances would it be accepted from a screen. That was a lie. Showing the code on-screen was fine.

Verona to Milan

Such a frequent service that no reservations were needed. Annoyingly, the train windows were covered with graffiti so it was impossible to see out. Ticket inspector barely glanced at our tickets. WiFi didn't work. Crowded and a bit noisy. Air con just about coped with the heat.

Milan to Basel

The Interrail app seemed certain that we had to change a dozen times for this journey. Instead, I found a direct train to Olten. The 1st class seats were massive and had a handy compartment for smaller bags. Windows were huge. Again, our passes and reservation were barely glanced at.

As we arrived in Olten there was a train a couple of platforms away which was direct to Basel. Bit of a dash to get it. No 1st class, but it was a double-decker so we got to sit upstairs, which is just as good!

Basel to Paris

The only thing better than 1st class is upstairs on 1st! Big comfy reclining seats. Packed train with not much luggage space. As ever with trains travelling to France, there were warnings about labelling luggage correctly but no one seemed to do it. Zero vegan options on board. C'est la vie!

Paris to London

What a blessing to witness so many people's first ever attempt to queue for a train 🙄

Mad queues to get in to the departure lounge - but the train departed and arrived on time. I'd remembered to pre-book a vegan option which was tasty and also included a dairy-free chocolate bar. Eurostar's WiFi is shit but 5G worked OK.

What's Next?

Doing Interrail trips like this is brilliant. The trains are usually a lot more relaxing than flying, it's more convenient to arrive in a city centre, and they're less polluting.

Would we do a trip like this again? It's certain a lot of travel. We weren't very spontaneous - most of the trip was planned out way in advance, along with hotels. Having 2-4 days in each place is like taking a series of minibreaks, which is delightful. But it can be exhausting. I don't want to complain that my diamond tiara is too tight, but there comes a point where there is such a thing a too much holiday.

We still have several more European countries to visit; although not all are easy to get to by train. Perhaps we'll fly in somewhere, take the train around, then fly back? Or spend a week only in one country?

If you have tips for further adventures - please let us know!

This is a gloriously nerdy book. Shuichiro Yamanouchi - considered to be one of the founding forces behind Japan's "Bullet Train" system - takes us behind the scenes of its development. It's a mixture of autobiography and corporate retrospective, with a healthy dose of engineering geekery. Although originally published in 1999 there are fairly comprehensive footnotes updating the reader on facts and statistics.

Trains are an international engineering challenge, so there's plenty of comparisons with other countries networks - including some behind the scenes information about projects which never quite made it:

DB also built unusual rolling stock. In 1931, it built the Schienen-Zeppelin, a car resembling an airplane that had a propeller at its rear end and ran it over tracks. It posted speeds of 230 km/h, but of course, it was never put into actual service.

Shuichiro's prose is surprisingly honest about the failures (both professional and personal) which shaped his development and the difficult birth of a now iconic train system. At times, the book feels like a series of mini Challenger-reports as it goes over various accidents and their root causes.

You don't have to be particularly interested in trains to get something out of the book - I'd say it was essential reading for anyone interested in engineering challenges:

The Shinkansen also had a great many bugs, big ones, and small ones. It took until 10 years after the opening of the line for all the bugs to be eliminated. However, we cannot guarantee that there are no bugs left, and new bugs may show up at any time. We don’t believe that the Shinkansen is a perfect system, and we don’t believe in the ‘myth of safety.’ The important thing is to be constantly on the lookout for bugs and eliminate the small ones before they turn into big ones.

Many thanks to Katie Fenn for the recommendation.

There are lots of companies which will sell you a pre-designed package Interrailing tour - but we decided to tread our own path. We spent a few weeks poring over maps and rail planners, scouring booking.com for hotels, and working out where we would stop for laundry!

This is a practical look at our itinerary, how we booked the journeys, and the travel snags we faced. If you think you can do better, please write your own blog post.

London to Amsterdam

The Eurostar itself is the most civilised way to travel. Get on train in city centre, a few hours later get off train in a foreign city centre.

The pre-travel experience isn't great. St Pancras is, sadly, dangerously overcrowded. Tried to get into the Premium lounge but even with 1st class tickets we were rebuffed. We also had the wrong sort of Amex for access.

Also annoyingly, there are only limited 1st class seats available for Interrail passengers. So our choice was 1st class with a change in Brussels or standard direct. We went direct so we didn't have to faff with a change. The seating in modern Eurostar trains is fairly spacious.

Amsterdam to The Hague & Back

The Interrail app made this simple. Go to the journey planner, pick a train, add it to your journey.

The massive Aztec Code opened the gates, and we strolled on to a train and sat upstairs. The return was just as simple.

Amsterdam to Frankfurt

Our first attempt at buying reservations. Annoyingly, the Interrail app punts you out to their website. Even more annoyingly, they cheekily add a booking fee - we found out later that DB's website (which has an English version) is fee free.

There's also no ability to select your seats with the Interrail website.

Again, a painless journey. The vegan currywurst was more than adequate for train food. The police passed through the train at one point checking passports - so useful to keep your papers close to hand.

WiFi was free and had a bunch of entertainment services if you get bored of looking out the window.

Frankfurt to Zurich

Frankfurt station has a 1st class lounge - but not for Interrail passengers. Thankfully the main station has plenty of seating.

The night before departure, the Interrail app said seat reservations weren't necessary, but the DB website recommended them. Reservations were easy in the DB site and it let us pick our seats - only 6 were showing as available. We got on and the train was packed, so it was certainly worth the few Euro for a reservation.

No police checks but, on departing Basel's Swiss station, the guard checked passports.

Zurich to Brugg & back

A quick hop over to visit a castle. No barrier checks at Zurich's station. It is quite large, so worth leaving a few extra minutes to walk all the way down to the platforms.

Incredibly roomy 1st class on the upper deck.

We walked all the way to a minor station, hopped on a train back to the city.

After walking for an hour to a little bar where we met some friends, we found another little station to take us home. We didn't even have time to climb the stairs before we were back!

Zurich Cruise

The various benefits of the Interrail ticket aren't always obvious. We went on a lake cruise and were pleasantly surprised to discover that we got 50% off the 1st class tickets. We sat in the sunshine and took in the surrounding glamour.

Zurich to Prague Sleeper

This was one of our anchor journeys. 10 weeks before departure, we booked a private sleeper compartment.

We arrived at the station an hour early and had a slightly nervous wait for the train to appear on the departure board. Confusingly, there were two sleepers listed in the app, with subtly different routes but the same departure and arrival times.

Turns out, the train splits, with half going to Prague and the rest elsewhere. The train arrived about 15 minutes before departure, which was a little unnerving!

The private carriage had four free bottles of mineral water and some slippers, which was a nice touch.

Beer and wine was available to buy. There was a vegetarian breakfast, but nothing vegan other than a bread roll and a bottle of fruit juice.

Sleep was possible, although the starting and stopping of the train is quite disturbing.

No border checks. So we stepped off into the city centre.

Prague Public Transport

We paid about £11 for unlimited trams, buses, and metro for 3 days. Well worth it!

Prague to Bratislava

Annoyingly the Interrail app doesn't let you select seats, so it is always a hop off to the provider's website to select from a seating map. I wouldn't mind, but Interrail have the temerity to charge an inflated price for seat reservations plus a booking fee.

I found it was cheapest to book reservations directly on https://CD.cz - note that they have shitty customer service for when things go wrong.

For example, our 1st class carriage was cancelled! We received an email after we had boarded changing us to 2nd class. Not ideal but we eventually battled through the crowds to get to our seats. Well, somewhere close to our seats.

No border inspection, but the ticket checker wanted to make sure our IDs matched our tickets.

WiFi was a bit rubbish, kept disappearing, but I was eventually able to submit a refund request for our seat reservations.

Bratislava to Budapest

A 10 minute delay in departure led to a 20 minute delay in arrival, but the 1st class carriage was available. We each got a free bottle of water. No toilet paper or hand driers in the loos. No passport checks at the border.

Budapest Public Transport

An utter failure! Despite the machine being in English, we just couldn't work out how to buy a single bus ticket. So we walked.

Budapest to Vienna

Slightly confusingly there are multiple stations which go to Vienna. Neither of which were the station we arrived at!

The Interrail app, once again, wouldn't let us book seat reservations - so I registered for yet another train provider's website.

Keleti station has a 1st class lounge. Basic drinks and snacks available - although the only vegan food was pistachios 😆

The lounge was right next to the Vienna train's platform, which made for a relaxing wait.

At seat dining service, although the web-based ordering system was a bit slow. Had a surprisingly decent tofu curry and beer.

No passport checks and only 5 minutes late.

Vienna Public Transport

Very easy to buy a 24 hour pass - all the machines spoke English. Tickets were pre-validated so we could jump on and off throughout our stay.

Vienna to Graz

The OBB lounge is available to 1st class Interrail holders. So a relaxing wait for the train. Some snacks and drinks available.

Departed and arrived on time. Only thing of note was that a couple of the toilets were out of order.

Graz to Ljubljana

Graz station also has a 1st class lounge. Our Interrail tickets didn't work on the automatic scanner, but the ÖBB agent took pity on us and opened the door. Plenty of snacks and drinks available.

One of the few journeys where we couldn't choose our seats when reserving. As a result, we were assigned to seats at opposite ends of the only 1st class carriage. Luckily, it wasn't very full so we grabbed two free seats next to each other.

No WiFi on the train, which was odd. That said, the quality of WiFi has been highly variable on these journeys.

The dining car was cute but cash only. The only vegan thing on the menu was a salad.

Train was old and rickety, came in a few minutes late.

Long wait at the border and a couple of ticket checks - but no passport inspection.

Ljubljana to Zagreb

Train arrived on time, but no 1st class compartments. A fair few disgruntled Interraillers. No WiFi on the fairly decrepit train. But the 2nd class carriage had little compartments of 6 seats, so it wasn't too bad.

No power sockets, so glad I had my big battery with me. No air con, although the windows could be dragged open. No food or drink that I could see either. Primitive toilets.

Tickets were checked once we were over the border, but no passport control.

Czech railways, who sold us the 1st class reservation, refused a refund because we couldn't prove there was no 1st class! They refused to check with the train operator. So I filed a credit card dispute.

Zagreb Public Transport

Like other cities, there's a 24 and 72 hour pass for unlimited rides. We got the Zagreb Card which also came with entry to a bunch of museums.

Trams were plentiful. No need to show your ticket unless an inspector appears. Stops were announced in Croatian and English. Some trams were clean and modern, others ancient and filthy.

Zagreb to Stuttgart Sleeper

Another "tent-pole" journey booked weeks in advance. We managed to get a private berth for two - but without a toilet / washing facilities.

Zagreb station has left-luggage lockers which were big enough for our massive packs.

Train arrived 40 minutes early. Unfortunately, there was a problem without our coach so, after much shunting, a new one was procured. Rather than a 2 person berth, we got a 6 person couchette - albeit all to ourselves.

No WiFi, but plenty of phone signal along the line. One toilet didn't have soap, the other had no paper. Choose wisely!

At 0415 we crossed the border to Germany. Whereupon the police boarded, knocked loudly on our door, and demanded to see our passports.

I'll be honest, it wasn't the best quality sleep I've ever had! Breakfast was a pre-packaged chocolate croissant. No vegan option, but we did get some bottled water.

Given the reservation was over €200, we were somewhat underwhelmed!

Stuttgart Public Transport

Find a machine at the U-Bahn, select English, pay a few € for a day pass. As with every other country there are no ticket barriers and you don't have to present your ticket to the driver.

Stuttgart to Ludwigsburg & back

Cheeky little day-trip on our last full day. Trains every 10 minutes. 1st class available on the way out, but not the way back. But, for a 13 minute journey on a clean and modern train, it was hardly noticeable.

Stuttgart to Paris

The trip I'd been dreading. Given Deutsche Bahn's reputation for poor timekeeping, I was worried we'd miss our connection in Paris.

We reserved the seats before we started the whole adventure as Interrail said they were selling quickly. Fair enough for a peak time morning service and, indeed, the train was crammed.

The TGV 9576 was a bit shabby. Even in 1st class some seats were torn and there were mystery stains on the ceiling. The luggage rack had just about enough space for everyone's bags.

The Interrail app was pretty good at keeping us informed of the likely arrival times. Although it thought the train would arrive late into Stuttgart instead it came early and departed on time. It also said there could be mandatory bag inspections and to allow an extra 20 minutes for boarding. That didn't happen though; we just strolled straight on.

On train WiFi worked once the train departed. There were some locally hosted podcasts, movies, train information, and food ordering.

Literally the only vegan option was grated carrot. Bienvenue en France!

Some of the toilets had no paper so, just like China, remember to carry your own!

Paris to London

Much like the journey out, this was booked months in advance. That allowed us to get first class seats for the journey back.

A quick walk in the rain from Garre L'Est to Nord. The standard route takes you up a flight of stairs, which isn't ideal with luggage. The walkway between the stations isn’t yet complete. Luckily there is an alternative route.

The Eurostar terminal only lets you in 2 hours before departure. The lounge is only for Premier Mega Extra Special customers, so we sat in the main station.

Once on the train the "Plus" seats aren't noticeably more comfortable than the standard seats although they are a bit larger.

Departure was on time. As we were travelling in "Plus", we got a complimentary meal. There wasn't a vegan option, so I spooned the yogurt off my salad bowl. The cabin crew found me some margarine for my bread. Wine was nice!

Train arrived perfectly on time. But disembarking was delayed because of another train on the opposite platform.

Statistics

The Interrail Android app has a nifty little summary of all the journeys you've taken. I'm not sure if that time accounts for delays (probably not) - but the rest seems accurate.

Here's what I want the caption to say:

OK, one more time: Get here at least 30 minutes early because the queue barely moves and you'll inevitably be stuck behind someone trying to pay for their season ticket using pre-decimal coins. The person behind the counter either won't understand your accent or will have an accent you can't understand - so be sure to repeat everything a couple of times. No, sorry, we don't speak your language so you'll just have to hope your phrasebook is good enough. No, we don't have anyone who understands sign language either. Get given several flimsy bits of paper with tiny writing on them that you'll have to squint to read. One is your receipt, one is your seat reservation, one is your ticket - but they all look basically the same. Oh, and they'll demagnetise as soon as you put them anywhere near a phone or wallet, so don't put them in a pocket. But if you lose them you won't have any proof of your reservation or ticket. When the train is late, you won't get an automatic refund - so be sure to keep the ticket and post it to us if you need to make a claim. That's assuming the ticket barriers don't eat it.

Oh, we're out of £10 notes. So you'll need to take your change in assorted shrapnel.

Just what part of "helpful and less confusing for people" don't you get?

Here's the thing, I've been using ticket machines at train stations since the early 1990s. People have had over 30 years to get used to them by now. They aren't new and confusing. And they're usually pretty well designed (my gripes about the non-QWERTY layout notwithstanding). Modern ones even let you video-call someone if you can't figure them out.

We visited Berlin a few weeks ago. Rocked up to der Bahnhof and needed to buy a ticket for a train that was departing in 30 seconds time. I hit the large 🇬🇧 button on the screen, followed the instructions, selected the ticket, tapped my contactless card and I was done⁰. Quick and easy - even for someone who was tired from a long flight, in a new city, and didn't speak the language.

I'm a fully paid-up member of the O'Malleyist agenda - in that I think we should close all of the train ticket offices (actually read the piece before arguing in the comments, please). But, more than that, I hate that some people feel the need to always romanticise the past at the expense of the future.

Do you want to go back to slam-door trains, with smoking carriages, and paper tickets? Do you want easily misplaced railcards, ticket sellers who deliberately sell you the wrong fare if they don't like the look of you, and being stuck behind someone buying the most complicated route possible?

No.

So stop with the phony nostalgia for a bygone time which wasn't nearly as bucolic as you remember.

End Result

An eInk screen which displays the trains I can catch from my local station.

It shows the next few available trains, and whether they're delayed. It also shows how long until the next local bus to the train station.

Updating the Nook

Before doing anything, manually update the Nook's firmware. You can download the latest version from Barnes and Nobel

Copy the .zip file to the root directory of your Nook via USB. Unplug the Nook and turn it off. After a few minutes, it should detect the file and perform the update.

Sadly, it's only Android 2.1 - and the TLS implementation is artificially restricted. More on that later!

It's worth deregistering your Nook and then resetting it. You have to press a few buttons to use the Nook without a B&N Account.

Rooting the Nook

Download Nook Manager (or compile it yourself from the open source code).

Unzip the file. It should just contain NookManager.img. Write the disk image to a microSD card. Follow the instructions on XDA Developers to root the device.

Changing the Launcher

I used ReLaunchX which is an eInk optimised Android launcher. Download the latest Android version from F-Droid.

With the Nook connected to your computer by USB, run:

adb install com.gacode.relaunchx_200105000.apk

That will install the launcher. When you hit the Nook's home button, you will be able to select it as the default launcher.

Electric Sign

Running a modern web browser on the Nook is close to impossible. So I recommend using Electric Sign. It's an open source Android app which periodically calls a URl, turns it into an image, and then uses it as the Nook's screensaver.

You can download the latest version from APKpure.

Again, install it using:

adb install Electric\ Sign_v1.0.3_apkpure.com.apk

Launch it from ReLaunchX and follow the setup screen. I set it to reload every 5 minutes from 7AM until 9pm.

TLS Woes!

Here's where life gets complicated. The World Wide Web is changing to become more secure. Sadly, this means older browsers simply cannot access modern web servers. Even though B&N have updated the Nook to use TLS 1.3 - it only works with their own servers. Trying to access modern https:// sites just won't work.

So, you will need to point Electric Sign to an unencrypted website.

Train API

UK trains have an open API, the snappily named Live Departure Boards Web Service (LDBWS). You need to register for an API key, which is pretty much instant.

There's a great PHP library for OpenLDBWS. You can also find libraries in most popular programming languages.

I created a quick little page which displays the trains that either my wife or I can catch to get to our jobs. When we're sat eating breakfast, we can see if our regular train is delayed.

Bus

I have an Alexa skill to tell me the bus times - but listening is much slower than reading. So I also added bus times.

You can also see that I've only included trains we can actually catch. There's no point showing a train leaving in 5 minutes if it takes 10 minutes to walk to the station. The train API shows the departure time of delayed trains, so the code takes that into account.

Physical Install

I used a double-sided 3M sticky pad and plonked it on the wall. No fancy hooks, screws, or magnets. Just glue.

It's conveniently close to an electrical socket. But having a trailing wire looks messy. So we'll only plug it in when it needs a top up. I replaced the Nook battery a few years ago so it should last several days without a recharge.

Code

All the code - plus backups of the binaries - are available on GitLab.

What next?

I don't really care about the weather or the news, and there's limited screen space. But if you have any suggestions for what it could display, do let me know.

Hope you found that useful!

Terence Eden is on Mastodon

@edent

Replying to @edentI declare this project complete!
We now have a passive display showing us bus & train times.
Blog post coming up this weekend. pic.x.com/m2emF5rq3e

---

If so, Dan Pope, has created trntxt.uk just for you!

I am a long-suffering passenger on First Great Western. The line between Oxford and London regularly suffers from delays. According to their own statistics, journeys on that line miss their punctuality targets 20% of the time.

So, I've taken to emailing a complaint to them every time my train is delayed. Whether it is by one minute or one hour, I fire off a quick email and include a photo of my ticket. For the last year or so, I've regularly received "Rail Vouchers" as a "goodwill payment". However, since July, train companies now have to give refunds in cash.

By coincidence, FGW have now stopped their goodwill payments for minor delays!

Earlier this month, I dropped a mail to them saying "I would like a full refund for this delay. If I was £1 short when paying for a ticket, you would refuse to let me on your trains. I am not interested in excuses, or how your goodwill payments are not guaranteed, or how you plan to improve the service in the future. I want a refund."

Simple, eh?

I then received this epic 1,000 word reply from one of their customer service team:

Thank you for your additional email of 14 August 2015, and for providing the additional details. It really is of concern to us whenever any valued customer remains so utterly unhappy with us. To this end, I do apologise.

With regard to your specific question, you’re quite correct – insomuch that if any passenger is short of the required fare, we would not issue a ticket. This is simply because every ticket printed in the UK is classed as an individual retail product, with an inherent commercial value. Just like any high street retailer, the rail industry does have auditing requirements to adhere to, whereby we cannot sell such items for less than their designated value. It’s standard retailing practice.

Of course, I recognise your point here, in that why should our customers not hold us as rigidly to our performance/timetables?! But really, performance and retailing / auditing requirements are two quite distinct business considerations. As such, direct comparisons are not as straightforward as they can initially seem.

We’re very much of the same opinion as our customers here – insomuch that we’d genuinely love to run all of our trains to-time on every occasion. Indeed, as a commercial entity there’s really no benefit to our doing otherwise, especially when there are financial penalties involved for delays. Unfortunately, running to schedule 100% of the time just isn’t a reality that is allowed by modern rail operations; as realistically challenges will arise as part of day-to-day operations. This is certainly not something unique to First Great Western, but applies nationwide to all the Train Operators.

It’s to this end that disruptions are recognised within the legal stipulations set-out by the Government within the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. This document presents obligations on both the behalf of the rail industry, as well as with individual passengers. That way, both parties are clear on their standing.

When considered alongside the individual ticket terms and conditions, and the specific compensation guidelines of our own Passengers Charter, each passenger does have the resources to be fully aware of their standing prior to travelling, insomuch as what to expect from us. This includes entitlement to compensation, should the passenger then be delayed. But, no-where does it state that the pre-determined, fixed retail cost of the ticket is something related to ever-fluctuating performance levels – as the two areas are quite distinct.

Of course, even a single minute of disruption is of genuine concern to us. Indeed, it’s why we have dedicated teams to analyse such problems on the network. They look to see if there is any common theme and will always look at what we could do to prevent a reoccurrence. Ad-hoc delays are more difficult to tackle of course, but we very much want you to be able to rely on us; and I hope we get to show you more tangible evidence of the improvements we’re committed to making.

As part of our disruption response, we have to have clear-cut policies in-place towards compensation, and to consistently apply these on the whole. As a commercial entity with such a large customer base, it’s the only way we get to offer a fair and reliable service overall. That said, we’re certainly not unreasonable in these matters, so we will also consider discretionary awards on a case-by-case basis too.

Unfortunately, it’s just not a commercially viable way for any Train Company to Operate – if we were to somehow start offering compensation or easements on a minute-by-minute basis. Of course, this isn’t said to negate our responsibilities at all, as even the slightest delay is of concern, especially if it’s recurrent. As such, the lack of compensation certainly doesn’t negate the legitimacy of your concerns in any way, and you have got good and understandable reason to challenge us to do better.

But, back to the question at-hand, it’s not such a simple comparison to make between ticket prices and compensation, albeit I certainly understand the expectations involved. The fact that disruptions realistically happen is already built-in to the retail product itself, being covered by its terms and conditions and the likes of our compensation policy. It’s something the customer effectively agrees to whenever they purchase a rail ticket in the first instance – whereby the possibility for delays is recognised in advance by a pre-established compensation policy.

That said, I do feel we’re getting off-topic by making comparisons between the compensation rules and ticket cost; as in all truthfulness rationales could be presented from either perspective ad infinitum. Rather, I feel the main point here remains that you feel we’re failing on our commitments to our customers, and that you’re not getting the level of service you’ve got every right to expect. This honestly isn’t a position that we want any regular traveller to find themselves in at all, nor to feel so utterly disenfranchised with us. To this end, I do hope that you’ll feel able to accept my sincere apologies.

I feel the likes of the ticket costs and compensation guidelines are quite clear. But equally, I do hope we’ve been able to show just how committed we are to making real improvements in the field of performance. Indeed, at the time of writing the major works at Bath are evidence of this. Coupled with the likes of the Crossrail project, a radical change to the signalling system, and the introduction of 369 brand new 800-series EMU carriages etc, we are determined to run a service that our customers rightly deserve.

The problem remains that such drastic changes to the fundamental changes to the running of the railways does not come overnight – but represents longer-term and multi-organisational efforts within the industry. But the point remains, we are actively working on things, albeit I do appreciate why it may not seem like it from your perspective at the moment.

Thank you again for your correspondence, and for your continued input. Such customer correspondence really is invaluable to us.

Yours sincerely

...

WHAT?!?! I had to read that several times to fully comprehend the majesty of the reply. Having Googled the author, it seems he has a habit of writing extremely long and confusing replies to escalated queries. One might wonder if he is FGW's secret weapon? A Gatling Gun of words designed to beat customers into submission.

Here is my reply to him. Incidentally, have you ever tried to write in as convoluted manner as possible? It really is quite tricky!

My Dear Mr ...,

I must firstly congratulate you on producing one of the finest examples of excess verbiage I have encountered in many years of working with direct customer service representatives for the consumer and retail industry in the UK. I cannot truly fathom when I last received a missive with such bewildering sentence structure, archaic grammatical nuances, and convoluted logic. Insofar as your authorial talents have achieved a Flesch Reading Ease score of 47.2 (albeit only one of many way by which ease of reading can be readily calculated) I am drawn to the inevitable conclusion that you are engaged in a deliberate ploy to bamboozle and confuse unsuspecting customers by means of making your replies torturous to comprehend.

It is incredibly difficult to know how one should respond to your mystifying "answers" - being that I am a reasonable fellow, and utterly committed to clarity within my writing, I shall take great pains to correspond with you in a plain and simple fashion, without boondoggles or idle diversions. It is my sincere hope that your comprehension will be aided by my precise and direct observations.

According to details that your company has taken upon itself to publish on its own web site - located at http://www.firstgroup.com/uktrain/kpi/gw/recent-performance.php - your punctuality can only be considered as atrocious.

Insofar as the statistics you publish are an adequate reflection of reality, it would appear that only eighty percent of your trains on the route between London and Thames Valley (which includes the journeys I regularly travel) are punctual!

One fifth of all journeys are late - by some degree or other! In my not inconsiderable experience I am surprised that this number is not higher. It seems the vast majority of journeys I attempt on this line are delayed for a variety of reasons. Even if we accept your statistics - is there any possible way you can defend to your paying customers a service which is inadequate nearly a QUARTER of the time?

I do not believe any reasonable business decides that its corporate interests are best served by under-performing to such a disastrous degree. Therefore I can only conclude that your company is simply unable to withstand the rigours of running a train company. Perhaps it would be in you best interests to relinquish your franchise and partake in an industry which requires a substantially less intensive commitment to delivering on expectations from customers and regulators alike?

But, again, we are drawn off topic. Over the last year, you have on multiple times given me goodwill payments for all the trifling delays I have encountered. Sadly, and to my great regret, these have been in the form of "Rail Vouchers" which can only be used in part payment for further rail journey and - for some ridiculous reason - cannot be used online or at ticket machines. As I understand it, the Government Regulator responsible for ensuring your compliance with the law has now instructed you to cease payment in vouchers and insists that compensation be paid as monetary refunds.

Perhaps this is the very reason you are now so unwilling to provide goodwill payments to customers you have inconvenienced?

I should very much like you to continue paying me - and, indeed, if it were possible, all other customer similarly affected by your lackadaisical approach to timekeeping - goodwill reimbursements.

You have considerably delayed and annoyed me over the last several months. I buy a ticket, I expect you to run on time. If you are unable to do that, I expect a part refund.

If you yourself are unable to authorise such restitutions, please will you escalate this chain of correspondence to someone in your organisation who has sufficient responsibility to provide such recompense as part of their ambit.

Yours,

If you've made it down this far, I salute you! I've no idea whether FGW will pay compensation or if I'm about to be prosecuted for crimes against the English language!

sigh A non-mobile site. With an Adobe Flash plugin in the top right which won't work on any iPhones. Why on Earth do marketing companies insist on pointing phones to non-mobile sites. It really bemuses me. Stations rarely have good signal (too many people leads to local network congestion) and, besides, large sites are a right pig to use on a small screen.

Stats

I've blogged several times about using Bit.ly links in QR codes. With a little bit of hacking (adding at + character to the end of the URL) we can see how many people have been scanning the code.

I don't know how many of these tickets have been printed. That might be a really good conversion rate - but I doubt it. I only noticed the QR code because someone had dropped their ticket and it landed face-down. Realistically, how many people look at the back of their tickets?

The best campaign in the world would fail if it's not put in front of an audience.

Looks like the displays don't understand the underscore character. I wonder if anyone tested this before it went live?

You can watch the full video