The Palo Alto Research Centre (PARC) uses the industrial internet of things and artificial intelligence to develop new predictive rail maintenance and performance management technologies. Passenger rail services in Japan have become a byword for …
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VW predicts traffic collapse in cities (Forbes)
The car brands in the Volkswagen Group–VW, Škoda, SEAT and Audi–are promoting last-mile ‘micromobility’ solutions including e-scooters. Why? Because the car era is coming to an end, at least for cities. That is the obvious conclusion from a July 3 posting from the group which states: “Answers …
Continue readingThe Schleswig-Holstein (battery) Question (AnonWidower)
Battery-powered Stadler Flirt trains will operate in Schleswig-Holstein, with a range of 150 km under optimal conditions, although the longest non-electrified route they will operate on is around 80 km. The batteries will be recharged …
Continue readingUber’s Path of Destruction (AmericanAffairs)
Since it began operations in 2010, Uber has grown to the point where it now collects over $45 billion in gross passenger revenue, and it has seized a major share of the urban car service …
Continue readingSmart city hype & technochauvinism (CityLab)
The vision of the technology-powered metropolis of the future is being sold with images that bear little resemblance to the real world. Suddenly, the world is awash in smart cities. Google is about to build …
Continue readingTube dust – another investigation (Wired)
When a London Underground train hits the brakes, its wheels grind against the tracks, throwing up tiny specks of metal and other particles. There’s concern that this ‘Tube dust,’ could be damaging the health of …
Continue readingNoise differentiated track access charge review (RailFreight)
The effect of noise differentiated track access charges (NDTAC) in Europe is under review. Since 2015, it is legally possible for infrastructure managers to include a malus or bonus in the track access charge for …
Continue readingCoolRail cuts fresh food CO2 emissions (RailwayGazette)
Food logistics company Euro Pool System has launched a thrice-weekly CoolRail dedicated temperature-controlled service to transport fresh produce between Valencia in Spain and Rotterdam in the Netherlands. This is intended to be first route of …
Continue readingDealing with rail disasters (RailwayAge)
As long as railways have existed, the threat of disaster has never been far away. But as trains have become faster and more sophisticated, the techniques, methods and systems put in place to prevent and …
Continue readingRecycled HSTs for freight/passenger use? (RailMag)
High Speed Trains could be used for mixed-use passenger and freight trains, according to Intermodality Managing Director Nick Gallop. He told RAIL that the British Rail-style operation of newspaper trains, which also carried passengers, could …
Continue readingHighlights of SmartRail Munich 2019 (SmartRailWorld)
We calculate there are currently 55 million different train fares in the UK — it’s a system of bewildering complexity and bafflement by those who use it. We want to move to a new system …
Continue readingWill 5G enable railway cyber threats? (Railway-Technology)
Huawei and China Mobile recently launched 5G at Shanghai’s Hongqiao Railway Station, which will allow passengers to download a 2GB high-definition film in less than 20 seconds. However, the move has raised concerns about how …
Continue readingThe Electric Vehicle revolution will be dirty (RadicalUrbanist)
Batteries for new cars will require a lot of new mining. Politicians love to tout incentives for electric vehicles as a great climate initiative. Replacing gas- and diesel-powered vehicles, they say, will reduce emissions and …
Continue readingAre batteries or hydrogen best for electric buses? (Governing)
As transit agencies move away from fossil fuels, they are figuring out which environmentally friendly option is right for them. Public transit agencies are often among the first customers for vehicles that run on new …
Continue readingOptimised curbs of the future (Medium)
A year ago, Uber and the City of Cincinnati announced the Cincinnati Mobility Lab, a multi-year partnership that seeks to develop innovative transportation strategies in collaboration with the City of Cincinnati and local transit and …
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