Network Rail has set electrification targets as part of its new Environmental Sustainability Strategy which sets out how the rail operator will think, plan and manage railways in the coming decades. Revolving around four core …
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Friday Reads – 25 September 2020
• Atkins lead role on £1.5bn Crossrail extension study (NewCivilEng) • Diesel car pollution significantly higher in London suburbs (AirQualityNews) • Is lowering road speeds for sustainability more palatable than for safety? (PriceTags) • Secret …
Continue readingTfSE/NR partnership to shift from road to rail (RailBusinessD)
A new partnership between Network Rail and regional transport body Transport for the South East aims to encourage people out of their cars as part of a long-term plan to improve rail services, boost capacity …
Continue readingNew long distance economy seats better for trains (FlyerTalk)
Flying coach on long-haul flights is miserable. Being stuck in a cramped seat with no ability to stretch out makes it near impossible to get rest before touching down in a new time zone. Although …
Continue readingUK pax franchising is dead: What about freight? (RailFreight)
The UK government has announced this morning that it will support the passenger network for at least the next 18 months. This means that it is officially renationalising the railways, doing away with the franchising …
Continue readingMake old railheads serve future freight needs (RailFreight)
Passenger terminals and former smoke-stack sidings provide the clean, green alternative to city-wide congestion. An economical way to answer the needs of modern freight operations might be to dual-purpose passenger assets and recycle former facilities, …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 21 September 2020
• TfL to take over Crossrail this month (ConstructionNews) • Phyllis Pearsall – creator of the A-Z (GreatDesigners) • Diesel car pollution significantly higher in London suburbs (AirQualityNews) • Amtrak seat leather remade into line …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 18 September 2020
• Franchising is Dead – Long Live Concessions! (Railway-News) • Outer London road congestion now worse than pre-lockdown (Guardian) • Network Rail acquires Brunel’s Bristol Old Station (RailUK) • France considers massive airline eco-tax (OneMileAtATime) …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 14 September 2020
• Opening disused tunnel at King’s Cross for more train capacity (IanVisits) • How to travel safely on the bus, train, & Underground (BBCFuture) • White tile Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels (BeautyOfTransport) • A …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 10 September 2020
• London’s bridges are falling down (NYTimes) • Brandalism artists take over 100 UK billboards to show car danger (StreetArtNews) • Royal Station at Nine Elms (IanVisits) • The surprising physics of jamiton waves in …
Continue readingPortland competition to repurpose old light rail vehicles (ProgRail)
The competition grew out of an idea to find a way to repurpose 26 Type 1 light-rail vehicles and keep them from becoming scrap. Portland State University’s Center for Public Interest Design tomorrow will select the …
Continue readingEurostar not reopening Ashford or Ebbsfleet Int’l before 2022 (RailBusinessD)
Eurostar has revealed it will be reducing its timetable next year and will not be reopening Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International stations before 2022. The move comes following an unprecedented fall in demand, with bookings …
Continue readingUK Very Light Rail vehicle prototype started (MetroReport)
A prototype battery-powered carbon fibre and metal Very Light Rail vehicle is under construction at NP Aerospace’s plant at Foleshill in Coventry. The VLR project to develop low-cost technologies which would make light rail a …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 7 September 2020
• 180th anniversary, and history, of Brunel’s Temple Meads station (BraziersGrotto) • Vivarail’s D stock decarbonisation journey (Tangent) • The 200th anniversary, and history, of Regent’s Canal (HydeParkNow) • Dummköpfe! Audi blasted for horrendously unsafe …
Continue readingCleaning the rail head – 4 new technologies (RailEngineer)
Every Autumn, Network Rail runs Rail Head Treatment Trains (RHTT) to clean leaf debris from the rails. These trains blast the leaf debris, which by now has been firmly rolled onto the rail head by …
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