How can the government attract the country’s best minds to work for them? How do we know when a private sector contract is a good one? And what can we learn from NASA about business …
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Manchester rail plans rethought after 9 years of promises weren’t delivered (RailwayGazette)
Network Rail has withdrawn a planning application for rail infrastructure works in Manchester, Rail Minister Huw Merriman confirmed during a visit to the city on May 25. The plan included additional through platforms 15 and 16 …
Continue readingHAROLD, THOMoS, & PANTHER in Huddersfield (RailEngineer)
In 2019, a network of universities and industry partners concerned with railway research was formed. The UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) was built on three Centres of Excellence formed by a consortium of …
Continue readingHigh subway & metro construction costs are not about precarity (PedestrianObvs)
I’ve seen people who I think highly of argue that high construction costs in the United States are an artifact of precarity. The argument goes that the political support for public transportation there is so …
Continue readingPop Art tunnel Michelangelo – Dragados & the Art of Tunnel Scanning
On July 20, 2022, the heat from an exploratory drill inside Montréal’s century old Mont-Royal railway tunnel, advance work for the city’s modern Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) automated Métro line, caused an explosion. It was …
Continue readingNASA tech converted for Northern to revolutionise track monitoring (RailTechnology)
A collated talent pool of more than 60 national and international rail sector professionals have had access to a sneak peek of pioneering NASA technology converted for the train operator Northern. The implementation of this …
Continue readingJakarta’s Transport & Urban Planning – Progress?
Jakarta, the (current) capital of Indonesia and home to over 10 million inhabitants, has long been plagued by choking traffic and air pollution. It spent the previous decade developing integrated public transport to increase modal …
Continue readingROMIS Mobile Maintenance System for track: overview (RailwayNews)
The ROBEL ROMIS Mobile Maintenance System 69.70 is a self-sufficient track maintenance “workshop on wheels” which reduces the outlay in logistics and labour. Its unique design allows access to the track and allows quality maintenance …
Continue reading$16B Hudson tunnel project to begin construction in late 2024 (SmartCitiesDive)
The long-delayed, $16 billion project to repair the existing Amtrak tunnels under the Hudson River and build a new two-track tunnel is about to move forward under the control of the Gateway Development Commission, which became the project …
Continue readingHow Genoa will ease congestion on its cramped rail network (MediaRail)
The Terzo Valico project is a new high-speed line that strengthens the connections of the Genoese port complex with the main railway lines of northern Italy and Europe. It is complemented within the city of Genoa by …
Continue readingCalling out sandbagged costs before they become real (PedestrianObsvs)
Sandbagging is the practice of making a proposal one does not wish to see enacted look a lot weaker than it is. In infrastructure, this usually takes the form of making the cost look a …
Continue readingBehind Stockholm’s low metro construction costs (TransitCosts)
Stockholm County is a region of 2.5 million people. Despite its modest size, it has one of Europe’s busiest urban rail networks: in 2019, on the eve of the corona crisis, the 104 km Stockholm …
Continue readingBank Station used novel solution to intercept foundation pile (GroundEngineering)
A bespoke load transfer solution was developed to solve a tricky pile intercept on the Bank Station capacity project, delegates heard at GE’s Basements and Underground Structures conference. Continue reading
Continue readingNordic metro construction costs & institutional knowledge (PedestrianObs)
Institutional knowledge at agencies that build infrastructure shapes up to be an important factor behind how well they handle projects. Good agencies build up a knowledge base over time that lets them see what works …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 10 October 2022
• The Sidings: Waterloo’s deserted new shopping mall under ex-Eurostar Terminal (IanVisits) • HS2 London tunnelling begins (NewCivilEng) • London’s early Ringway motorway plans (Roads) • Budapest’s Children’s Railway was initially operated by children (EuroGunzel) …
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