This is a public transport blog by Camiel van Altenborg (he/him, born 1993) with a focus on Europe and a particular focus on long-distance rail. The blog name comes from a lifetime of being teased that my name sounds like “camel”, with a nod to the historical role of these majestic animals for transport!
I am not a transit or mobility professional, in fact I am an electrical engineer specialising in power grids. Public transport however has always been a hobby and a passion for me.
I was born and raised in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and currently live in Brussels, Belgium. In between I have also lived in various places around the Arnhem/Nijmegen area which made me realise the urgency of improving public transport outside the major city centres.
I’m interested in degrowth and sustainability and try to put my ideals into practice. For example I have not been on a plane since 2019 and never intend to get on one again, and I haven’t owned or regularly driven a car since 2024. I recognise I’m in a very privileged position: I have the money and time to make longer trips by rail; I can afford to live somewhere where I don’t need a car; and I don’t have relatives living across oceans. All the more reason: if I don’t practise what I preach, how can I expect anyone else to? This hard commitment has taken me on rail and ferry journeys from the Benelux to various parts of Europe, such as Finland, Scotland, Poland, Austria and southern Italy.
The maps and analyses on this blog, then, are an attempt to combine my lifelong passion for trains, trams and transit maps with my green idealism, and present my thinking as a humble layman about questions like: how and where can public transport best contribute to a more sustainable society; what can be done to make it more attractive; and how can better information be provided about timetables and transit options?
All header photos taken by me.