By train through Europe: 6,000 kilometers of rail

Five days, four nights, two of them on night trains, the others in hotels. This is the travel plan of Jon Worth, who is a British-German citizen and lives in France. Since Monday evening, the 46-year-old has been on a special journey that takes him through seven countries from Kemijärvi in ​​the north of Finland to Lagos in the south of Portugal. Ten different train providers. 18 changes. With his adventure he wants to set a new record: the longest train journey across Europe. Over 6,000 kilometers of rail, 4,000 kilometers as the crow flies.

The undertaking was only made possible by the reopening of the border bridge between Tornio in Finland and Haparanda in Sweden. In August 2026, the route, which had not been passable since 1988, was reopened to rail traffic. Worth has been drawing attention to himself and the European rail network for years with similar campaigns. In the interest of climate protection, he traveled a lot by train himself and noticed where there was a problem. Over the years he developed expertise in the subject of railways.

He had to abandon the carefully prepared schedule that Worth published on his website on the first day of the trip. The overhead line broke on Swedish soil and Worth was stranded in Haparanda shortly after passing the new border bridge. He had to wait there for 24 hours for the next train. “The entire infrastructure in the north of Sweden is very old, many routes only have single tracks,” he says. Switching to the bus is not an option for him.

When Worth talks about his experiences so far on the phone, he is stuck again: this time at the Danish-German border. He speaks rushedly with a British accent. “The German train crew and the train driver from Deutsche Bahn are not there,” he says. It is now uncertain whether he will get his planned connecting train in Hamburg. Despite the wait, he doesn't allow himself to be carried away into a tirade about Deutsche Bahn at this point. There are a lot of delays in Germany, but this can be partially compensated for by the dense rail network. “Germany really has one of the best rail systems in Europe,” says Worth. Despite all the problems.

He asked Guinness World Records but never received an answer. So he decides the rules for his record attempt himself. No rail replacement service. Before Worth can list any more self-imposed rules, he interrupts himself. “The staff is here, it starts now, I’ll call back later!” There's already a buzz on the line.

Worth's enthusiasm reflects the actual motivation for his trip: "I wanted to prove how beautiful rail travel can be." Then he has to laugh: “So far I don’t have that much evidence for it.” But he also wanted to point out the difficulties. “Planning a trip like that…” the connection breaks down. “…problems with the European rail system,” Worth continues. According to him, there are problems with timetables, booking and timetable coordination in border regions. The conversation breaks off again. Instead, a text message comes from Worth: “Cell phone networks in Germany are worse than the trains!” Plus an angry emoticon with a bright red face.

In May, the European Commission made its first attempt to make rail travel across intra-European borders easier. It should be possible to book trips with several providers from different countries at the same time with just one ticket. This would make traveling abroad by train much easier. “The core of the European Commission’s idea is good,” says Worth. But for him it still falls short: “In general, we need a new legal framework, not just for booking, but for timetable data and real-time data.”

In Hamburg his train arrives only 8 minutes late instead of the expected 20. On the subsequent ICE towards Mannheim, he is cautiously optimistic: “It could actually be that I will reach Geneva this evening,” he says.

Worth finds planning to be the biggest challenge in his undertaking. “You have to think in advance about where something could go wrong and then plan enough buffers at the transfer stations.” Of course, very short transfer times should be avoided. That's also the reason why he wants to drive as far as possible on Thursday. “I really want to avoid a three-minute transfer time at the Spanish-Portuguese border on Saturday,” says Worth. Otherwise it could be tight.

When Worth arrives in Portugal, unfortunately there will be no vacation for the time being. After the longest train journey in Europe, he goes to Andorra to another railway line that needs his attention. Worth hopes to arrive in Lagos on Saturday evening.