I’d rather be a prisoner of a gentleman than a free man in a world gone mad. • Bunker reuse ideas (BusinessInsider) • London’s original zero-emissions buses (TheEngineer) • Disused rail stations comeback plans (LiverpoolEcho) …
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Friday Reads – 5 April 2019
• Designing wayfinding for the 2012 Olympics (CityWayfinding) • LNER 1939 suburban lines map (MappingLondon) • Paris’ 1900 moving sidewalk (TreeHugger) • Historic & modern transit system maps compared (Guardian) • Seattle’s Waterfront, minus expressway, …
Continue readingHS2 plans waste heat recovery scheme (ConstructionIndex)
Engineers for HS2 Ltd are looking at tapping heat from the brakes and engines of high speed trains for a district heating scheme. Under the plans, hot water and central heating for 500 new homes …
Continue readingWhy Tube tunnels don’t have WiFi (Wired)
Want a quick digital detox? In London, all you need to do is take the Tube. But, from next year, Transport for London (TfL) says it will roll out 4G coverage on the Underground. It’s …
Continue readingBerlin giving women public transport discount (CityLab)
The German capital is celebrating Equal Pay Day with the Frauenticket, a discounted fare that reflects the gender pay gap. Women traveling around Berlin on Monday will find that public transit costs them quite a …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 15 March 2019
Ides of March edition • Decluttered Tube and Rail map (EveningStandard) • Quirky solution for feets on seats (GoNorthEast) • Emitted but omitted: runaway runways (Isonomia) • Cities & transit can fail the most vulnerable …
Continue readingAutonomous surprises in Boeing 737 MAX & in cars (Slate)
Pilots usually have to understand their autonomous planes. We should understand our autonomous cars. Recently, I asked my colleagues if they had ever been startled by a robotic driving feature. One described the unpleasant sensation …
Continue readingIntercontinental commuting in Constantinople (DailySabah)
Connecting Istanbul’s east and west, Marmaray suburban rail line officially opens. The long-awaited Marmaray project, revamping the existing suburban rail line with a tunnel connecting the sections separated by the Bosporus, finally came into service …
Continue readingDrones to scout for rail incursions (SunSentinel)
You may one day see drones flying over railroad tracks across South Florida: Tri-Rail plans to adopt this technology to spot trespassers and prevent suicides as well as accidents on the railway. The South Florida …
Continue readingSneak preview of NYC robot UWB comms (SignalProblems)
The New York City MTA IT department hosted an “executive demonstration” to show the installation of ultra-wideband sensors on the 42nd St shuttle track “via a robotic arm”. As a refresher, ultra-wideband, or UWB, is …
Continue readingWhy the best projects face the strongest blowback (MobilityLab)
During a recent event, Houston-based transit planner and author Christof Spieler succinctly described the best way to design new rail and bus routes: identify the places people live, work, and play, then draw lines between …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 8 March 2019
Welcome to Reconnections’ Fridays: • London’s most stressful Tube stations (MappingLondon) • Ongoing saga of Berlin-Brandenberg airport (OneMileataTime) • Aerial views of the world’s oldest metros (QuickQuid) • Latest developments in mapmaking event (SchematicMapping) • …
Continue readingHow & when we work is changing podcast (AgileMindset)
In Episode Five of the Agility Mindset Podcast, Fiona Cannon meets: • Reconnections’ Nicole Badstuber, Doctoral Researcher in Transport Policy and Governance at UCL’s Centre for Transport, and • Christine Foster, Managing Director for Innovation, …
Continue readingIceland invests in electric ferry (CleanTechnica)
Global electrical product and solution and provider ABB has been selected to supply the drive and energy storage technologies that will underpin Iceland’s first electrified ferry. The 70-meter long vessel will be powered by a …
Continue readingBerlin to spend €2 Bn a year to improve public transport (CityLab)
The German capital plans to make major investments to expand bus and rail networks, boost frequency, and get ahead of population growth. When it comes to public transit, you can’t accuse Berlin of holding back …
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