Of the 45km of twin tube bored tunnels to be constructed as part of the 225km High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project in the UK to link Birmingham and London, just under half is located …
Continue readingYear: 2021
Catalytic converter costs converting car co’s to electric (NYTimes)
Thieves nationwide are slithering under cars, swiping catalytic converters. The pollution-control gadgets are full of precious metals like palladium, and prices are soaring as regulators try to tame emissions. Crooks with hacksaws have noticed. Michael …
Continue readingApril launch for Orion light goods fast freight (RailFreight)
Rail Operations (UK) have revealed their latest ambitions for a Britain-wide, high-speed light goods service. Of all the current plans and existing operations, RO (UK) has the most extensive intentions. The specialist freight and rail …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 15 February 2021
• Underground platforms showing door positions reduce delays 6.6% (ScienceDirect) • Germany plans integrated rail 2030s timetable to optimise high speed lines (Trains) • Amongst the creatures of the night: Halle Central Bus Station (BeautyOfTransport) …
Continue readingE-scooters getting ready for commuting comeback (CityLab)
Of all the things to look forward to post-vaccine, commuting might not be on the top of the list. But despite grand promises of a work-from-home forever, white-collar workers who went remote when the coronavirus …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 12 February 2021
• 100 Years of Tube Trains video by LU’s Head of Train Engineering (LTMuseumFriends) • 5 more bridges join illuminated Thames, for world’s longest artwork (IanVisits) • Fossil fuels caused 8.7m deaths globally in 2018: …
Continue readingCovenants, Easements & Wayleaves: Transport asset interface register (Part 2)
We now delve deeper into evolution of railway infrastructure knowledge that we started in Part 1 of this series. We look at some more recent examples of how underground railway infrastructure interfaces with its environment …
Continue readingPrototype 3D printed bus – video (Bloomberg)
When 3D printing first appeared, it may have seemed like a fad–something to keep garage hobbyists busy. But over the past few years, it’s become a mainstream manufacturing process. Now, an independent automaker called Local …
Continue readingEngland tops 3,000 shared e-scooters (Zag)
There are now more shared e-scooters than bike-share bicycles in the country (outside London). The number of e-scooters available for short-term hire in the UK now exceeds 3,000, just three weeks after breaking the 2,000 …
Continue readingHype Cycle Curve for smart mobility (SAE)
Gartner’s annual Hype Cycle plots COVID impact on R&D timetables, but remains upbeat about the potential for many to be widely adopted. Gartner Inc.’s annual Hype Cycle (below) has become a much-anticipated metric of the maturity and …
Continue readingSNCF, Bombardier convert diesel trains to battery (UrbanTransport)
The worldwide trend from diesel to battery-powered rail vehicles has now also reached France. The French state railway has announced that in cooperation with the manufacturer Bombardier Transportation, a total of five existing AGC (Autorail …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 8 February 2021
• Tube inspired map of London’s green spaces & connections (PositiveNews) • Forth rail tunnel key to Net Zero Scotland (NewCivilEng) • Grand Paris Express lines demystified (RMTransit) • Can Vancouver learn from the destruction …
Continue readingGov’t to fund feasibility of digital signalling 3 more mainlines (RailEngineer)
Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris has announced £1.2 million of new government funding to accelerate feasibility work for digital signalling on vital sections of the West Coast main line, Midland main line and East Anglia route, …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 5 February 2021
• You are invited to a 360 virtual tour of Farringdon Station (Crossrail) • Elephant & Castle Tube station rebuild to include Bakerloo Extension (IanVisits) • What’s that London smell?? Mostly exhaust it turns out …
Continue readingNew railway digital research centre 1st phase completed (RailBusiness)
A new purpose-built centre designed to deliver specialist research in digital railway engineering has been opened at the University of Birmingham. The Centre of Excellence for Digital Systems showcases successful collaboration between academia and industry, …
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