According to the Department for Transport (DfT), trains are one of the least emissions-intensive modes of passenger transport[1]. However, it’s important to note that these calculations predominantly focus on ‘direct emissions’ – the physical burning …
Continue readingAuthor: Long Branch Mike
Most Rail is Already Electric, & will be even in North America (Forbes)
North America has a railroad problem that the rest of the world doesn’t have. As a result, a lot of North Americans think it’s too expensive to electrify that mode of transportation. As we explore electrifying …
Continue readingHyperTunnel (not HyperLoop!) Wins Government Backing for Revolutionary Tech (RailTechnology)
Pioneering tunnel builders hyperTunnel have scored a major coup, securing UK government funding to showcase their revolutionary swarm construction technique at the Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) in South Wales. Their underpass project is one of …
Continue readingHow to make stations lively hubs for citizens & public transport users (UITP)
The role of stations in our cities is evolving, and it is important to ensure that they are designed and developed to meet the changing needs of society. With this in mind, UITP in 2022 …
Continue readingWhy is it so difficult & expensive to take the train across Europe vs low-cost airlines? (EnergyInDemand)
Travelling by train across European countries is hard. High costs, delays, cumbersome booking systems, “temporary” border checks and other impediments to smooth journeys are widespread. This comes with an increasing need and demand for train travel because …
Continue readingHow AI & Sensors are Transforming Depot Operations (RailTechnology)
A groundbreaking British project is using artificial intelligence to give locomotives the once-over. The aptly named DepotMATE (Multi-sensor Automated Train Examination) project, which has been backed by the Department for Transport, is developing a system …
Continue readingHitachi tests modular battery hybrid train as potential rail decarbonisation pathway (RailBusinessUK)
A Class 802 electro-diesel inter-city trainset which has been retrofitted with a battery in place of one of its three engines is being tested by Hitachi Rail, operator TransPennine Express and leasing company Angel Trains. The battery will provide top-up power …
Continue readingPrague bringing trolleybuses back, inaugurates line to airport amongst others (SustainableBus)
Prague Transport Company has 13 other urban bus lines in various stages of project preparation and, in cooperation with the Central Bohemian Region, the first suburban bus line, which will gradually be converted to trolleybuses …
Continue readingWhat is Incrementalism in Railway Infrastructure? (PedObservations)
The American conversation about high-speed rail has an internal debate that greatly bothers me, about whether investments should be incremental or not. An interview with the author of a new book about the Northeast Corridor reminded me …
Continue readingSodium-ion batteries in the USA – Beating China at their own game: Video (JustHaveAThink)
China has cornered the market in green energy transition technologies in recent years, and very effectively gained control of raw material supply chains so any other country has to go through them to get things …
Continue readingThe Hurb Is the Pop-Up Package Hub NYC Needs & Hates (Curbed)
You may have encountered this situation lately in Manhattan while making your way down a sidewalk already crowded with trash bags, pedestrians, sidewalk sheds, and the odd parked police car. A big truck or two is parked …
Continue readingPlans for London’s largest rail freight logistics hub (RailTechnology)
Network Rail Property has submitted a plan to regenerate 30 acres of brownfield land at Bow Goods Yard in East London. The scheme will deliver London’s largest integrated rail freight logistics hub and will create a …
Continue readingA Visual Survey of North American Elevated Rail Viaducts, from the elegant to the grotesque (CityBlock)
Elevated rail has a bad name; urban rapid transit requires full grade separation. These two facts are inconveniently opposed to one another. Is there a future for elevated rail in urban and suburban areas? Cheaper …
Continue readingWork starts for deep D-walls at ‘complex’ Rome metro station (GroundEngineering)
Construction work has started on diaphragm walls that will be up to 85m deep and will form the perimeter of the new Piazza Venezia museum-station in Rome. Piazza Venezia will be a new station on Rome’s …
Continue readingWires Becoming Charging Infrastructure For In Motion Charging Trolleybuses (UITP)
State-of-the-art in motion charging (IMC) trolleybuses are embracing a new technology for a new era of flexible yet high-capacity public transport. These electric buses charge dynamically while operating via an overhead contact network and can …
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