When the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was signed into law at the end of 2021, it promised to usher in a new era in transportation, energy, water, and telecommunications projects. This major increase …
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Friday Reads – 23 September 2022
• Queue Theory: How to design the perfect queue (Wired) • London’s Transport Commissioner Andy Byford to leave TfL, again (RailUK) • Free public transport in Europe: It hasn’t reduced traffic (EuroNews) • We have …
Continue readingOld Oak Common station box construction animation video (LaingO’Rourke)
Wednesday’s Friday Reads – 10 August 2022
• TfL gardens opening on disused platforms & spaces (IanVisits) • Battery equipped off-wire trolleybuses are the great, green bus solution (Guardian) • New Paris tram-train T13 reuses part of Grande Ceinture (UrbanTransport) • Liège …
Continue readingAffordable tram tracks: Very Light Rail Part 1 (RailEngineer)
Britain’s nine light rail systems compare with around 30 in France and 60 in Germany as, historically, Britain has failed to invest in its transport infrastructure. With conventional tram systems typically costing around £50 million …
Continue readingTexas Central HSR wins eminent domain case thanks to 1907 law (EnoTrans)
The Texas Supreme Court on June 24 ruled, in a 5 to 3 opinion, that the private Texas Central high-speed rail project from Dallas to Houston can use eminent domain power to take property for right-of-way …
Continue reading€338m Madrid high speed line connector tunnel opens (RailwayNews)
Adif has commissioned a new tunnel and southern entrance to connect high-speed rail services through Madrid. Both projects were technically challenging as they involved connecting signalling systems from three high-speed lines that were built at …
Continue readingWhy rail giants are battling it out in North America: video (RMTransit)
Not only are European train operators looking to expand to North America, global train manufacturing companies are looking to expand their markets there. This video looks into some of the recent trends in North America, …
Continue readingIstanbul low cost lessons from 3 yrs, 300 km of heavy rail build (TransitCosts)
Based on our study of Turkish rail construction, we found that there were four primary factors that kept construction costs low and the processes efficient. First, there was an ongoing political commitment spanning different administrations …
Continue readingHow Italian metro construction costs 57% less than global average (TransitCosts)
In this in-depth case study of Italian rail rapid transit projects, we investigate how Italian construction costs have changed over time and distill lessons learned to understand how design, procurement, and policy drive costs. We …
Continue readingHS2 trials electric drilling rig (RailwayNews)
HS2 Ltd’s construction partner, Balfour Beatty VINCI Joint Venture (BBV) is trialling an electric, high-capacity drilling rig for construction on HS2’s site in Warwickshire. This trial advances the joint venture’s plan to meet HS2 Ltd’s …
Continue readingDfT to fund East West Rail phases 2 & 3 (NewCivilEng)
The Department for Transport (DfT) is preparing to set aside almost £2.7bn to pay for contracts for the delivery of the next stages of East West Rail (EWR). EWR is a new high-speed rail line …
Continue readingItalian urban rail transit costs 57% less than global average (TransitCosts)
The Italian Case – In this in-depth case study of Italian rail rapid transit projects, we investigate how Italian construction costs have changed over time and distill lessons learned to understand how design, procurement, and …
Continue readingChina’s annual December Metro openings bonanza
It has become a popular pastime among Chinese railfans to get really excited at around the end of December, as that is the period of a slew of metro openings across the country. And being …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 6 May 2022
• Royal Mail to double Scotland mail trains (Scotsman) • To live or to park? That is the question – Whether ’tis nobler to park at the Tube station (OnLondon) • Estonia’s free public transport …
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