Scientists from the National Robotarium, supported by Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh, have unveiled the design of a new train cleaning robot to help existing cleaners. The robot, which is being funded by …
Continue readingYear: 2021
Is the future of buses hydrogen or electric? (Wired)
Clean transport needs clean vehicles. New power developments are crucial for a mass transit revolution, and each has pros and cons. FINDING NEW WAYS to power the world’s vehicles has long been a vital component in …
Continue readingAir quality programme introduced to UK railways (RailTechnology)
The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) is helping the rail industry improve air quality across Britain’s railways. Issues around climate change, sustainability and air quality are still hot topics following the conclusion of the …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 13 December 2021
• TfL funding deadline gets one week extension (IanVisits) • TfL to ban private eScooters & eUnicycles from its premises (CityAM) • London cabbies’ Knowledge brains study may help diagnose Alzheimer’s (MapRoom) • Manchester buses …
Continue readingTube Financial Crisis: Why Closures Rarely Save Money
We take a look at the financial situation on the Underground in general and consider whether closing the Bakerloo line merits serious consideration. One of the more dramatic effects of Covid19 in London has been …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 10 December 2021
• Alstom-Hitachi to build 2bn HS2 train fleet (ModernRailways) • What we can learn from London Zoo’s deserted penguin pool (99%Invisible) • Northern Powerhouse Rail needed as North has UK’s worst connected cities (NewCivilEng) • …
Continue readingA third of eScooter trips replaced car trips (Forbes)
A survey of e-scooter riders has found that a third of the trips on the micromobility vehicles operated by Neuron Mobility replaced car journeys. The survey was carried out in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Outside …
Continue readingNone of UK’s top 5 congested roads have cycleways (Forbes)
Traffic congestion is caused not by cycleways but by too many cars, trucks and vans. This, one would assume, is blindingly obvious. But not according to many trusted news sources which are today running with …
Continue readingUK rail freight booming due to lorry driver shortage (RailNews)
THE shortage of HGV drivers is causing more businesses to start using rail freight, while existing users are stepping up their requirements. Tesco has been sending 65,000 containers a year by train but is planning …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 6 December 2021
• Inside the Elizabeth Line’s Tottenham Court Road station (HiddenLondonHangouts) • How serifs lost the road war but won the streets (BeautyOfTransport) • Netherlands’ trains work well for the visually impaired (ReasonsCheerful) • Old Danish …
Continue readingWhen is new tech ahead of its time or just doomed? (OneZero)
When a bunch of techies are beavering away on a new tool, it can be tricky to figure out: Is this a genuinely useful new thing? Or is it just some expensive prototype, a pipe …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 3 December 2021
• Reconnections’ 2021 Christmas Quiz (LR) • Best Tube lines on which to put on make-up (EveningStandard) • HS2 restoring one of world’s oldest railway stations (HS2) • Study finds a third of EU’s busiest …
Continue readingThe low regrets EV charging network approach (TheEngineer)
We need to make a start on ‘low-regrets’ actions that will make sense on any pathway to net zero, whatever the details of the final plan. In the UK, building an electric vehicle (EV) charging …
Continue readingLondon Reconnections 2021 Christmas Quiz
2021 has been another year affected by Covid and, as in 2020, the LR team have not got out and about as much as they normally do. So in the 2021 London Reconnections Christmas Quiz …
Continue readingCoventry Very Light Railway technical talk (Ry&CanalHistSoc)
A talk given at a Railway & Canal Historical Society (RCHS) West Midlands Group meeting on 2nd November 2021. Nicola Small describes plans and progress with a new type of urban rail system which could …
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