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 …
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A 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 readingSan Jose’s Single Bore Tunnel & Station Costs rise billions (PedObservations)
The BART to San Jose extension always had problems, but somehow things are getting worse. A month and a half ago, it was revealed that the projected cost of the 9.6-kilometer line had risen to $12.2 …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 3 May 2024
• ‘Nervous of its own boldness’: the (almost) radical rebirth of King’s Cross lands (The Guardian) • This TfL AI experiment reveals how Tube station capacity could be increased – without building anything new (James …
Continue readingOptimism about New York Subway Construction Costs? (PedObservations)
This year, there have been some positive signs about things changing in New York on subway construction – and yet, I’m uncertain about them. There are some signs that construction costs for Second Avenue Subway …
Continue readingVenture Capital Firms Shift to Green Infrastructure (PedestrianObservations)
Several Bay Area major venture capital firms announce that they will shift their portfolios toward funding physical green infrastructure, including solar and wind power generation, utility lines, hydroelectric dams, environmental remediation projects for dams, and …
Continue readingLA Union Station overhaul plan scaled back as costs soar (Urbanize)
Since acquiring the Union Station in 2011, Metro has sought to overhaul the historic passenger rail terminal’s appeal as both a transit hub and a real estate asset. The planned makeover – called Link Union Station – …
Continue readingSpanish gauge-changing technology to integrate Ukrainian railways with Europe (RailwaySupply)
The Spanish railway infrastructure operator, Adif, and Ukrzaliznytsia will develop a pilot project using the technology for automatically adjusting the gauge of freight wagons to different tracks for western transitions, this is reported by the …
Continue readingHow building more urban rail could slash CO₂ emissions (WorldBank)
The climate crisis is getting worse, with both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and COP28 in its final agreement emphasizing the urgency of steep greenhouse gas emissions reductions to keep global warming below 1.5°C as …
Continue readingGlobal Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) reveals 15 rail innovations it’s funding (NewCivilEngineer)
The Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) has revealed the 15 rail innovations that will be made reality at the facility, including an underpass made with hyperTunnel’s swarm construction. GCRE was established by the Welsh …
Continue readingNYC Subway State of Good Repair to Cost $43B over 5 Years, 80% of budget (CityLab)
New York City’s public transportation system will need an estimated $43 billion for capital repairs during the next five years, according to a new analysis by the state’s comptroller. Thomas DiNapoli’s projection comes as the Metropolitan Transportation …
Continue readingThe Explosion in Costs & Timelines for US Transit Projects: Video (Nandert)
Costs have been rising and timelines lengthening to infuriating extremes for transit projects in the US. What’s causing this, and how can it be solved?
Continue readingCovenants, Easements & Wayleaves: Mind the Gap of London Infrastructure Knowledge (Part 3)
This series has revealed a hitherto unknown complex and often murky relationship between London’s underground railways and its environment. Unsurprisingly in the twenty-first century, with so much of London having been tunneled, excavated, bombed, developed, …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 15 January 2023
• Woolwich Elizabeth station much busier than predicted, to test escalator decrowding ideas (IanVisits) • Alstom signs €500m contract for Saudi catenary-free tramway system (Railway Technology) • European cities don’t regret 30 km/h speed limits …
Continue readingFuture of tunnelling means more risk management on ‘undervalued’ events (NewCivilEngineer)
While techniques, practices and resources in tunnelling are continually improving, risk will never be eliminated and the ways to manage it must be updated and maintained alongside them. Tunnelling is one of the most complex …
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