• Traffic & plane noise is a silent killer (Atlantic) • Necropolis Railway station to be turned into flats (IanVisits) • Crashes cut by a third after 20mph limit introduced in Edinburgh (EdinburghNews) • France …
Continue readingAuthor: Long Branch Mike
Why did renewables become so cheap so fast? Wright’s Law (OurWorldInData)
For the world to transition to low-carbon electricity, energy from these sources needs to be cheaper than electricity from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels dominate the global power supply because until very recently electricity from fossil …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 19 February 2021
• Air pollution in US subway systems stuns researchers (Guardian) • Reopening disused King’s Cross Gasworks tunnel for ECML boost (RailEngineer) • Fancy driving an HS1 train? Javelin train simulator launched (IanVisits) • Uncovering history …
Continue readingScooter hailing is on the horizon (SmartCitiesDive)
Ford-owned micromobility firm Spin announced on Wednesday an exclusive partnership with software company Tortoise to bring teleoperated three-wheeled e-scooters to cities across North America and Europe in 2021. The Spin S-200 scooters, co-developed with Segway-Ninebot, …
Continue readingLand Value Capture for new railways (TransportTimes)
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many challenges for businesses – and the rail industry is no different. Although passenger numbers have only slightly recovered from the 85% decline seen during the height of lockdown, …
Continue readingHS2 prepares for 21km tunnels under London (TunnelTalk)
Of the 45km of twin tube bored tunnels to be constructed as part of the 225km High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project in the UK to link Birmingham and London, just under half is located …
Continue readingCatalytic converter costs converting car co’s to electric (NYTimes)
Thieves nationwide are slithering under cars, swiping catalytic converters. The pollution-control gadgets are full of precious metals like palladium, and prices are soaring as regulators try to tame emissions. Crooks with hacksaws have noticed. Michael …
Continue readingApril launch for Orion light goods fast freight (RailFreight)
Rail Operations (UK) have revealed their latest ambitions for a Britain-wide, high-speed light goods service. Of all the current plans and existing operations, RO (UK) has the most extensive intentions. The specialist freight and rail …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 15 February 2021
• Underground platforms showing door positions reduce delays 6.6% (ScienceDirect) • Germany plans integrated rail 2030s timetable to optimise high speed lines (Trains) • Amongst the creatures of the night: Halle Central Bus Station (BeautyOfTransport) …
Continue readingE-scooters getting ready for commuting comeback (CityLab)
Of all the things to look forward to post-vaccine, commuting might not be on the top of the list. But despite grand promises of a work-from-home forever, white-collar workers who went remote when the coronavirus …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 12 February 2021
• 100 Years of Tube Trains video by LU’s Head of Train Engineering (LTMuseumFriends) • 5 more bridges join illuminated Thames, for world’s longest artwork (IanVisits) • Fossil fuels caused 8.7m deaths globally in 2018: …
Continue readingCovenants, Easements & Wayleaves: Transport asset interface register (Part 2)
We now delve deeper into evolution of railway infrastructure knowledge that we started in Part 1 of this series. We look at some more recent examples of how underground railway infrastructure interfaces with its environment …
Continue readingPrototype 3D printed bus – video (Bloomberg)
When 3D printing first appeared, it may have seemed like a fad–something to keep garage hobbyists busy. But over the past few years, it’s become a mainstream manufacturing process. Now, an independent automaker called Local …
Continue readingEngland tops 3,000 shared e-scooters (Zag)
There are now more shared e-scooters than bike-share bicycles in the country (outside London). The number of e-scooters available for short-term hire in the UK now exceeds 3,000, just three weeks after breaking the 2,000 …
Continue readingHype Cycle Curve for smart mobility (SAE)
Gartner’s annual Hype Cycle plots COVID impact on R&D timetables, but remains upbeat about the potential for many to be widely adopted. Gartner Inc.’s annual Hype Cycle (below) has become a much-anticipated metric of the maturity and …
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