Where are we and what do we need to do next? Climate change increasingly dominates our news agenda – and for the rail industry, there is much discussion about how we best decarbonise the network. …
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Friday Reads – 17 April 2020
• The Social Distancing Machine for pedestrians (PriceTags) • New Zealand first to fund pop-up bike lanes & widened sidewalks (Forbes) • Climate Safe Streets: life without cars in 10 years (TransportXtra) • Rail station …
Continue readingPorterbrook: Modified trains have role to play (RailMag)
Repurposing older trains to keep them in service will help the railway meet the challenge of climate change, according to Porterbrook. In a statement on March 26, the rolling stock leasing company said that while …
Continue readingVaramis plans electric rail light goods service (RailMag)
Freight trains using electric multiple units could be operating on the East Coast Main Line by the end of the year, in plans unveiled by Varamis Rail. The initial plan is for trains to run …
Continue readingGetting electrification done: Net Zero (RailEngineer)
On 24 June 2019, the House of Commons unanimously passed an amendment to the Climate Change Act that committed the UK to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Previously, the target had been 80 per cent …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 13 April 2020
• Vauxhall bus station set for demolition (IanVisits) • Underground tubes used for WWII bunker (Xenophon) • Photos to vector diagrams of public spaces (UrbanNext) • Manchester rethinking zebra crossings (CityMetric) • World cities turn …
Continue readingHeritage railways ready to provide manpower (RailBusiness)
Heritage railways across the UK are on standby to provide experienced staff to Network Rail, to fill key worker shortages expected to be caused by Covid-19 (coronavirus). In response to a call from Network Rail, …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 10 April 2020
• Survey of city actions to support walking, cycling during COVID (PedBikeInfo) • Coronavirus reveals transit’s true mission (CityLab) • Free rail travel to those fleeing domestic abuse during lockdown (RailDeliveryGroup) • We need to …
Continue readingIndia converting sleeper trains to bed wards (Quartz)
Indian Railways has offered to join the fight against coronavirus. On March 28, railway minister Piyush Goyal said his team could convert coaches of some trains into isolation wards. Following a nation-wide lockdown that began …
Continue readingMail returns to West Coast Main Line (RailFreight)
Britain’s commercial backbone railway is carrying everything vital to the continued economic activity of the UK. That includes the Royal Mail. With greatly reduced passenger services now running, freight has become far more visible on …
Continue readingBART shifts to station work during slowdown (ProgRailroading)
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) crews are taking advantage of a 90 percent drop in ridership and early station closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic to work on capital improvement projects. BART moved 200 maintenance and engineering …
Continue readingNR hunts for new tunnelling methods (NewCivilEng)
Network Rail Infrastructure is asking the industry to come up with alternative tunnelling techniques that could reduce disruption to the railways. In the request for information (RFI) notice on the Official Journal of European Union, it is …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 6 April 2020
• London Review of Books reviews Tube escalators (LRB) • A lot going wrong on Ottawa’s new LRT (OttawaCitizen) • Why the US sucks at building public transit (Vice) • Map of SFO BART – …
Continue readingCOVID-19 prompts more robot usage (RobotReport)
The novel coronavirus has increased interest in robots, drones, and artificial intelligence, even as some testing of autonomous vehicles pauses on public roads. These technologies can help deal with massive staffing shortages in healthcare, manufacturing, and …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 3 April 2020
• Victoria Embankment and cholera – urban form & disease (Guardian) • The fashionable history of social distancing (TheConversation) • Dirty air, tailpipes & COVID-19 (TransportWeekly) • The Congestion Con: more lanes means more traffic …
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