Flying coach on long-haul flights is miserable. Being stuck in a cramped seat with no ability to stretch out makes it near impossible to get rest before touching down in a new time zone. Although …
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UK pax franchising is dead: What about freight? (RailFreight)
The UK government has announced this morning that it will support the passenger network for at least the next 18 months. This means that it is officially renationalising the railways, doing away with the franchising …
Continue readingMake old railheads serve future freight needs (RailFreight)
Passenger terminals and former smoke-stack sidings provide the clean, green alternative to city-wide congestion. An economical way to answer the needs of modern freight operations might be to dual-purpose passenger assets and recycle former facilities, …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 21 September 2020
• TfL to take over Crossrail this month (ConstructionNews) • Phyllis Pearsall – creator of the A-Z (GreatDesigners) • Diesel car pollution significantly higher in London suburbs (AirQualityNews) • Amtrak seat leather remade into line …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 18 September 2020
• Franchising is Dead – Long Live Concessions! (Railway-News) • Outer London road congestion now worse than pre-lockdown (Guardian) • Network Rail acquires Brunel’s Bristol Old Station (RailUK) • France considers massive airline eco-tax (OneMileAtATime) …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 14 September 2020
• Opening disused tunnel at King’s Cross for more train capacity (IanVisits) • How to travel safely on the bus, train, & Underground (BBCFuture) • White tile Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels (BeautyOfTransport) • A …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 10 September 2020
• London’s bridges are falling down (NYTimes) • Brandalism artists take over 100 UK billboards to show car danger (StreetArtNews) • Royal Station at Nine Elms (IanVisits) • The surprising physics of jamiton waves in …
Continue readingPortland competition to repurpose old light rail vehicles (ProgRail)
The competition grew out of an idea to find a way to repurpose 26 Type 1 light-rail vehicles and keep them from becoming scrap. Portland State University’s Center for Public Interest Design tomorrow will select the …
Continue readingEurostar not reopening Ashford or Ebbsfleet Int’l before 2022 (RailBusinessD)
Eurostar has revealed it will be reducing its timetable next year and will not be reopening Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International stations before 2022. The move comes following an unprecedented fall in demand, with bookings …
Continue readingUK Very Light Rail vehicle prototype started (MetroReport)
A prototype battery-powered carbon fibre and metal Very Light Rail vehicle is under construction at NP Aerospace’s plant at Foleshill in Coventry. The VLR project to develop low-cost technologies which would make light rail a …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 7 September 2020
• 180th anniversary, and history, of Brunel’s Temple Meads station (BraziersGrotto) • Vivarail’s D stock decarbonisation journey (Tangent) • The 200th anniversary, and history, of Regent’s Canal (HydeParkNow) • Dummköpfe! Audi blasted for horrendously unsafe …
Continue readingCleaning the rail head – 4 new technologies (RailEngineer)
Every Autumn, Network Rail runs Rail Head Treatment Trains (RHTT) to clean leaf debris from the rails. These trains blast the leaf debris, which by now has been firmly rolled onto the rail head by …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 4 September 2020
• Consultation begins on banning pavement parking in England (Guardian) • Great Northern Railway Journey – King’s Cross & the ECML (Great Northern) • The Four Poster rail station (AnonW) • 82% want the gov’t …
Continue readingCharging electric buses under catenary (UrbanTransport)
Various charging concepts for electric buses are currently in use around the world. However, although certain standardizations could be achieved, there is up to the date when this report was written no widely accepted, predominantly …
Continue readingManchester trams could carry more than just passengers (RailFreight)
With news that freight trials are under consideration in Karlsruhe, could British tram operators follow their German counterparts and carry more than passengers on their light urban rails? Would frustrated business owners welcome the opportunity …
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