Germany’s Deutsche Bahn and France’s SNCF terminated most of their respective City Night Lines and Intercités de Nuit pan-European night train routes by the end of 2016. The cessation of services by these two large …
Continue readingAuthor: Long Branch Mike
Smart city hype & technochauvinism (CityLab)
The vision of the technology-powered metropolis of the future is being sold with images that bear little resemblance to the real world. Suddenly, the world is awash in smart cities. Google is about to build …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 1 July 2019
• Piccadilly Circus Tube’s Sign Language staff (HydeParkNow) • TfL’s hidden dungeons (Paszkiewicz) • Commuter sells seat on crowded Tokyo train (Guardian) • Self-driving robotic boats for Amsterdam’s canals (CBCSpark) • Improving bus time accuracy …
Continue readingTube dust – another investigation (Wired)
When a London Underground train hits the brakes, its wheels grind against the tracks, throwing up tiny specks of metal and other particles. There’s concern that this ‘Tube dust,’ could be damaging the health of …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 28 June 2019
• Manchester to begin its own bus franchise (LGC) • 1876: Building a Channel Tunnel (TheEngineer) • Pedestrians pushing back in car-choked Brussels (CityLab) • Bus driver learns Punjabi from passengers (CBC) • Portland congestion …
Continue readingNoise differentiated track access charge review (RailFreight)
The effect of noise differentiated track access charges (NDTAC) in Europe is under review. Since 2015, it is legally possible for infrastructure managers to include a malus or bonus in the track access charge for …
Continue readingCoolRail cuts fresh food CO2 emissions (RailwayGazette)
Food logistics company Euro Pool System has launched a thrice-weekly CoolRail dedicated temperature-controlled service to transport fresh produce between Valencia in Spain and Rotterdam in the Netherlands. This is intended to be first route of …
Continue readingDealing with rail disasters (RailwayAge)
As long as railways have existed, the threat of disaster has never been far away. But as trains have become faster and more sophisticated, the techniques, methods and systems put in place to prevent and …
Continue readingRecycled HSTs for freight/passenger use? (RailMag)
High Speed Trains could be used for mixed-use passenger and freight trains, according to Intermodality Managing Director Nick Gallop. He told RAIL that the British Rail-style operation of newspaper trains, which also carried passengers, could …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 24 June 2019
• The search for Britain’s forgotten footpaths (NewYorker) • Early pioneer of battery-trains wants nationwide fleet (CityLab) • Bike architecture Bienniel (Forbes) • Best conversion of parked cars (PopUpCity) • Research determines financial case for …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 21 June 2019
• The architecture & history of Victoria Coach Station (NewWipersTimes) • Dick Robbins, TBM innovator obituary (TunnelTalk) • To reduce emissions, ban non-electric cars (Bloomberg) • Five promises of micromobility, based on the data (FlorentCrivello) …
Continue readingHighlights of SmartRail Munich 2019 (SmartRailWorld)
We calculate there are currently 55 million different train fares in the UK — it’s a system of bewildering complexity and bafflement by those who use it. We want to move to a new system …
Continue readingWill 5G enable railway cyber threats? (Railway-Technology)
Huawei and China Mobile recently launched 5G at Shanghai’s Hongqiao Railway Station, which will allow passengers to download a 2GB high-definition film in less than 20 seconds. However, the move has raised concerns about how …
Continue readingThe Electric Vehicle revolution will be dirty (RadicalUrbanist)
Batteries for new cars will require a lot of new mining. Politicians love to tout incentives for electric vehicles as a great climate initiative. Replacing gas- and diesel-powered vehicles, they say, will reduce emissions and …
Continue readingAre batteries or hydrogen best for electric buses? (Governing)
As transit agencies move away from fossil fuels, they are figuring out which environmentally friendly option is right for them. Public transit agencies are often among the first customers for vehicles that run on new …
Continue reading