Network Rail are set to carry out experiments this autumn to trial new ways of braking designed to reduce delays for passengers caused by ‘leaves on the line’. The pioneering testing will take place during …
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ATO on the main line (RailEngineer)
Automatic Train Operation (ATO) is nowadays a given technology for metro operation and, although it is still in its infancy when applied to main lines, it is often a chosen option for self-contained industrial or …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 23 September 2019
• Plans to reopen Brentford to Southall railway (IanVisits) • Why fewer people are riding the Underground (TheDeveloper) • The tale of two Underground posters (20thCPosters) • Mexico City’s trolleybus revival for clean air (UrbanTransport) …
Continue readingKLM replaces plane with high speed train (RailwayGazette)
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is to replace one of its five daily flights between Brussels and Amsterdam Schiphol with reserved seat capacity on a Thalys high speed train service from March 29 2020. This is …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 20 September 2019
• Decommissioned double decker conversions (Buses4Homeless) • West Midlands Metro’s tram extension program (MetroAlliance) • Union Station dig down doesn’t disrupt trains (CBC) • Federal program to help US cities demolish highways (StreetsBlog) • Meteor …
Continue readingRobot boats to form dynamic bridge (ArchPaper)
A joint team of researchers at the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolis Solutions (AMS) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Senseable City Lab have developed what they’re calling “the world’s first dynamic” bridge. Powered by a …
Continue readingUnderstanding noise propagation (RailwayGazette)
Baden Württemberg-based software specialist SoundPLAN has developed a noise mapping tool intended to help railways better understand and mitigate lineside noise emissions. This takes information on the types of rail and rolling stock on a …
Continue readingMetro tunnel heat recovery research (TunnelTalk)
Research by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) is currently working on systems whereby heat generated in metro systems is captured and utilised, effectively turning the tunnel into a large geothermal heat-recovery system to …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 16 September 2019
• Experience London transport in a wheelchair, without working hands (CityMetric) • CR Mackintosh’s Gothic railway terminus design (MackintoshArch) • How safe is the air in five major cities? (FT) • How developers are remaking …
Continue readingHow city fleets lead on green vehicles (GreenBiz)
Public fleets — often managed by cities, counties or ports — are the invisible transportation infrastructure that keeps society running, from picking up our garbage to helping workers fix power outages. There are over 38,000 …
Continue readingToronto LR Meetup – 21st September 2019
In a first, a number of transport commentators and writers will be meeting in Toronto later this month for a social evening. Like the London LR meetups, these are informal affairs where the beer flows. …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 13 September 2019
• Depressing lesson of west London’s lost cycle route (Guardian) • Gare du Nord addition ‘une grave offense’ to passengers (CityLab) • Senate moves temporarily to old rail station (OttawaMag) • ‘Smart’ Cities – not …
Continue readingFreight adaptable carriage concept (RailwayTech)
Railway companies today have a myriad of challenges – from ensuring punctuality and giving a good service for passengers to managing stock and creating enough space for freight. 42 Technology aims to solve some of …
Continue readingReflections on overheating metros (TunnelTalk)
As summer temperatures rise, concern rises also over the rising temperatures in the underground environment of overcrowded metro systems that include above and below ground sections and have no sub-surface cooling systems. Following on from …
Continue readingEurope’s dream for a single railway (RailwayTech)
Since the early 1990s, Europe’s political leaders have sought to standardise and integrate the transport network – including air, road and rail. A decade later, regulations had been drafted, amended and implemented with member states …
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