It’s a well known maxim in the tech industry that if you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product. We get to use incredible services like Gmail, Facebook and Twitter1 for free – and in …
Continue readingAuthor: Long Branch Mike
Friday Reads – 27 October 2023
• New video shows the nearly finished Brent Cross West station (IanVisits) • Reflective pavements tackle urban heat but sometimes make feel pedestrians hotter (CityLab) • Kyiv Metro vs the World: How Kyiv Metro runs …
Continue readingSTILFOLD & Alstom investigate train building with sustainable industrial origami (TheEngineer)
STILFOLD and Alstom have entered into partnership to explore how STILFOLD’s origami-inspired manufacturing technology could be used to make train building more environmentally sustainable. Dubbed industrial origami, STILFOLD’s patented manufacturing technology uses robotic arms to …
Continue readingReconnections’ Miscellany: Technical Plots – October 2023
More Autonomous People you’ll meet in Transport BDSM – Buses do so much BESS – battery energy storage system Comment Colonels – Armchair experts ready to comment to the death on their favourite topic, armed with nothing …
Continue readingZero Emission 08e shunter for sustainable depot operations launched (RailUK)
Positive Traction has launched the UK’s first re-engineered battery powered shunting locomotive – the 08e. Free from carbon, NOx and particulate emissions the 08e can fulfil day-to-day operating needs as well as meet the demanding …
Continue readingZero emission electric double-decker buses for N American market (ElectricAutonomy)
Alexander Dennis, a subsidiary of NFI of Winnipeg, is partnering with Big Rig Manufacturing to make 50 electric double deckers a year at a Las Vegas plant The UK’s largest bus manufacturer, Alexander Dennis, a …
Continue readingEx-fighter pilot, now researcher, challenges autonomous vehicle safety (BusinessInsider)
In 2021, an engineer named Missy Cummings drew the ire of Elon Musk on the social network then called Twitter. A professor at Duke University, Cummings had conducted research on the safety of self-driving cars, …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 23 October 2023
• TfL & Google Maps collaborate to make cycling better for Londoners & world (TfL) • Glasgow Subway services could soon run later (Glasgow Live) • ULEZ already raising air quality at 144 more London schools (OnLondon) …
Continue readingHealth effects of transport noise (TransportReviews)
The relationship between transport noise and health outcomes is complex, in part because of the large number of factors involved as well as the range of health impacts, both direct and indirect. To enable the …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 20 October 2023
• London Overground into London Bridge? TfL is looking into it (Murky Depths) • London’s helicopter routes (HelicopterRedeye) • The high speed railway uncoupling the Baltic states from Russia & their Soviet past (EuroNews) • …
Continue readingVAT tax benefit for night trains (BackOnTrack)
A 0% VAT rate and reduced track access charges for night trains could help Europeans save on travel costs, whilst also cutting back on emissions. In this briefing paper, Back-on-Track Europe and Transport & Environment are …
Continue readingUS FRA requiring locomotive image & audio recording for passenger trains (RailwayAge)
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Oct. 12 announced that it is requiring the installation of inward- and outward-facing locomotive image recording devices on all lead locomotives in passenger trains, as required by the Fixing …
Continue readingReal time translation display helps tourists navigate Tokyo’s Metro (EuroNews)
Sayonara language barriers! With more than two million visitors flocking to Japan last month in the wake of the country’s post-pandemic reopening, railway companies are gearing up to warmly greet the influx of global travellers. …
Continue readingElephant & Castle Tube station upgrade prepares for tunnelling (NewCivilEng)
Construction of a new integrated ticket hall at Elephant & Castle station has been completed to basement level five while preparation for new passenger tunnels is underway. The London Underground station currently has two separate …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 16 October 2023
• ‘Managed decline’: the uncertain future for British rail after cuts to HS2 (Financial Times – £) • TfL ‘no longer able to commit the funding’ to long-promised extension of tram to Sutton (New Civil …
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