In the wake of COP26, key stakeholders in the rail industry are coming under increasing pressure to employ more sustainable ways of providing traction power. According to the UNIFE (Union des Industries Ferroviaires Européennes) association of …
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The different types of tunnel boring machines (Forbes)
Tunnel boring machines are a key tool in urban development, which makes them anything but boring. This may be because I am fascinated with subterranean infrastructure, but I feel like tunnels have been all over …
Continue readingBeginners Guide to buying trains (Midnight-Trains)
Starting this week, we’ll take you behind the scenes of Midnight Trains HQ. And so why not start from the very top? Right now we’re going to explain how exactly we’re going about buying our trains. Without …
Continue readingBattery price declines slowing down (BloombergGreen)
BloombergNEF has just published the 2021 battery price survey, one of the most important pieces of research we carry out annually. The key takeaway: On a volume-weighted average basis across the battery industry, prices fell …
Continue readingEfficiency & the decline of US freight railroads (HomeSignal)
Over the last two years, the crisis of America’s supply chains, the push to expand public passenger rail service, and the urgency of the climate crisis have put America’s freight railroads in the limelight. These …
Continue readingHow technology can streamline rail procedures (MediaRail)
There is a ‘natural’ tendency to see railway technology as backward, inbred and both resistant and slow to adopt innovations from other industries. In fact, beyond technology, rail however must make a qualitative leap by …
Continue readingSiC semiconductor trial reduces tram noise & energy (Railway-News)
Siemens Mobility and Stadtwerke München have presented the results of a one-year test trialling silicone carbide (SiC) semiconductor technology in an Avenio tram. During the test phase, the vehicle travelled 65,000km. The test, a joint …
Continue readingJapan launches road-rail bus service (Coach&Bus)
Billed as ‘the world’s first operational dual-mode vehicle’, the ASA Seaside Railway Corporation in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, is set to launch a new vehicle into service on 25 December. The vehicle is described as ‘essentially …
Continue reading4G deal signed for Tube tunnels & stations (IanVisits)
The company rolling out mobile phone coverage on the London Underground has signed its first two commercial contracts, with Three and EE. Although Wi-Fi coverage is available in the stations for all networks except Vodafone, and …
Continue readingLA Metro trialing contactless hot gas tunneling (Wired)
IN THE 1970S, US government researchers imagined digging through rock with a nuclear-powered tunneling machine. They thought this machinery could change the world by traveling through the Earth’s upper mantle like a submarine moves through water, …
Continue readingTrain windows as information displays (GlobalRailway)
With SmartMMI technology, public transport passengers can receive up-to-date information about their journeys – directly on their adjacent train window. SmartWindows is an intelligent data integration system using situational filtering and context-based visualisation of information. …
Continue readingUK rail depot renewable energy project (RailTechnology)
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has strengthened its commitment to sustainability through a new cooperative energy project with climate action group Energy Garden. London’s Streatham Hill depot has been transformed into a local source of renewable …
Continue readingNational Robotarium unveils train cleaning robot (RailBusiness)
Scientists from the National Robotarium, supported by Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh, have unveiled the design of a new train cleaning robot to help existing cleaners. The robot, which is being funded by …
Continue readingIs the future of buses hydrogen or electric? (Wired)
Clean transport needs clean vehicles. New power developments are crucial for a mass transit revolution, and each has pros and cons. FINDING NEW WAYS to power the world’s vehicles has long been a vital component in …
Continue readingAir quality programme introduced to UK railways (RailTechnology)
The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) is helping the rail industry improve air quality across Britain’s railways. Issues around climate change, sustainability and air quality are still hot topics following the conclusion of the …
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