Covered steel wagons – codenamed BYA and probably dormant since prehistoric times, have been brought back to life by scientists at DB Cargo UK, working in their secret facility deep in the tropical jungles of …
Continue readingAuthor: Long Branch Mike
Delivery drones a failing business, even DHL’s & Amazon’s (TechRadar)
Delivery drones have long been thought of as a reasonable next step towards humanity’s robot-filled future. Not quite as ambitious as flying cars but leagues ahead of the humble mailman, cargo-carrying quadcopters once seemed an …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 16 August 2021
• Is TfL proof that public transport should be run by local government? (CityMonitor) • The hidden tunnels beneath King’s Cross station (LTMuseum) • Motor City Birmingham to throttle short car journeys (Forbes) • Inside …
Continue readingTurning coffee waste into car parts (GreenBiz)
One for the road: Ford and McDonald’s to turn coffee waste into car parts Waste coffee from McDonald’s is to be turned into new, lightweight car parts under a new partnership announced between the fast …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 13 August 2021
• Race to save Underground from flooding (Wired) • How safe do women feel travelling in London: prelim survey results (LondonTravelWatch) • New Highway Code: motorists to cede priority to pedestrians & cyclists (Forbes) • …
Continue readingBacteria can help to recycle EV batteries – AirQualityNews
Researchers at the University of Coventry have established a new method to use bacteria to recover precious metals from electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The method, called bioleaching, also known as bio-mining, uses microbes to oxidise metals …
Continue readingReconnections’ Miscellany: Codes for Living – August 2021
What do those Underground station codes mean? Every LU station room, lobby, corridor and stairway has small blue Station Identification Demarcation (SID) signs with white lettering in the following format level/number: Numerators 1 to 13 …
Continue readingIn Motion Charging for buses: Knowledge Brief (UITP)
Battery electric trolleybuses with In Motion Charging (IMC) are highly effective technology with huge economic and environmental potential: with passenger capacity, an infinite range, uninterrupted 24/7 operation, the flexibility of off-wire service and energy-efficient emission-free …
Continue readingNetwork Rail digital headset trials successful (RailTechnology)
Network Rail and The Central Railway Systems Alliance (CRSA) have successfully finished trialling brand new digital headsets which will help to log data, paving the way for future frontline maintenance teams. The test was carried …
Continue readingCrossrail is a £21B test of virtual modeling (IEEESpectrum)
Every component in Crossrail, London’s new underground train network, will be digitally tracked via an intricate 3-D model. As the River Thames meanders eastward through London, it horseshoes around a lobe of land called the Isle of …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 9 August 2021
• The challenges of building Crossrail’s Liverpool Street Station (NewCivilEng) • Tram wires don’t ruin Vienna, they won’t ruin your city (HumanTransit) • The future of the 2nd Avenue Subway (Vanshnookenraggen) • Unreported & undetected …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 6 August 2021
• Hitachi Rail to acquire Thales ground transportation (IntlRailJ) • Appeal Justices: original Bishopsgate LTN ruling “seriously flawed” (Standard) • New National Disability Strategy released (RailTechMag) • UK’s historic Victorian bridges may be saved in …
Continue readingIndia to Finland rail alternative to Suez Canal (RailFreight)
The corridor from Russia to India was supposed to be the rail alternative to shipping via the Suez Canal. What happened to this International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC)? Is it finally complete? In this latest …
Continue readingHS2 concrete printing technology (RailwayTech)
The 3D concrete printing removes the need to develop logistical plans that are usually expensive. HS2’s London tunnels contractor Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture (SCS JV) is set to deploy on-site 3D reinforced concrete printing …
Continue readingWill Lane Rentals solve roadworks congestion? (Freewheeling)
I was talking to a regional bus company MD recently and they told me that their roadworks log typically stacks up 1,000 entries every year. Roadworks are bad for drivers but terrible for buses. Where …
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