A major city center without cars? Madrid is going to come close sometime in the next year, says the administration of Mayor Manuela Carmena. Earlier this week, Madrid officials announced their intention to ban non-resident …
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GDPR update & Friday Reads – 25 May 2018
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads! But first, a public service anouncement: If you subscribe to our email alerts (sent when major new articles come out) then don’t forget to update your preferences in our preference …
Continue readingEversholt joins very light rail consortium (GlobalRailNews)
Rolling stock leasing company Eversholt Rail has joined the Revolution VLR consortium which is developing a new brand of very light rail vehicle. The Revolution VLR consortium is led by Transport Design International Ltd (TDI) …
Continue readingApplied psychology in Japan’s railway stations (CityLab)
The nation’s famed mastery of rail travel has been aided by some subtle behavioral tricks. It is a scene that plays out each weekday morning across Tokyo. Suit-clad office workers, gaggles of schoolchildren, and other …
Continue readingStalls and breakdowns – LA’s poor BYD electric buses (LATimes)
Problems plague push for electric buses When Chinese battery maker BYD Ltd. approached Southern California officials in 2008 touting ambitious plans to build electric cars, local politicians jumped at the promise of thousands of jobs …
Continue readingSleeping in style – branding the new Caledonian Sleeper (TransportDesigned)
The Caledonian Sleeper itself has a proud past, in fact some would say it was the first sleeper train in the UK. On 1 October 1873 the Caledonian Railway introduced a sleeping carriage, built by …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 18 May 2018
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s list: • Why fewer Londoners are taking the Tube (TheConversation) • South Bank London’s Low Line (1LondonBlog) • Brunel atmospheric railway structure halts road scheme (BBC) • A …
Continue readingVivarail D-Train to be tested in US cities (Int’l Railway Journal)
RAILROAD Development Corporation (RDC) has developed plans to take a Vivarail D-Train from Britain to the United States to demonstrate how the rebuilt former London Underground (LU) trains could provide a low-cost rolling stock option …
Continue readingAdaptable Carriage secures government funding (Rail Magazine)
Product development company 42 Technology has secured £350,000 worth of government funding towards developing a system that can turn passenger carriages into goods vehicles. The Adaptable Carriage system allows seats and tables to be stowed …
Continue readingBombardier turning a corner (RailwayAge)
The past few years have admittedly been tough for Bombardier Transportation in North America. Changing dynamics—in particular, China’s entrance into the vehicle market—combined with delivery and quality problems and highly public squabbles with key Canadian …
Continue readingWhy isn’t mobility a circular economy? (MovinOn)
The move to electric drivetrains and renewable energy to power them is important, but what happens when we reach the goal of running all vehicles on electricity? This alone won’t ‘fix’ the environment, and unfortunately …
Continue readingAirship That Never Lands (Bloomberg)
France has entered the global race to develop a viable cargo airship with a 500-foot blimp designed to lift lumber from deep woodland. Flying Whales is joining a contest that includes defense giant Lockheed Martin …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 11 May 2018
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s list: • Crossrail to generate electricity from wind its own trains (Wired) • What can London learn from Barcelona? (BanPrivateCarsinLondon) • Woolwich hybrid battery ferries in service late …
Continue readingLR Meetup at Royal Oak pub, 10th May
The second Thursday of the month brings with it our meetup, which happens next on 10th May from 6pm. As always, these are informal affairs where the beer flows, offering an opportunity to put faces …
Continue readingChina Took Charge of Electric Bus Revolution (CityLab)
In just eight years, Shenzhen became the first city to electrify 100 percent of its public buses—16,359, to be exact. Between the gleaming towers of the Chinese city of Shenzhen, some 16,000 buses shuttle commuters …
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