Comprised of former SpaceX, Google and Tesla engineers, Parallel Systems is aiming to develop autonomous and electric freight train cars that would make the American shipping industry greener and more efficient. Parallel Systems’ technology relies …
Continue readingAuthor: Long Branch Mike
Battery assisted trains gather speed (Wired)
BATTERY ELECTRIC POWER is commonplace in cars and trucks and is being tested in planes, helicopters, and container ships. Now, battery power is coming to trains, in place of the diesel-fueled generators that have powered locomotives for more than a century. Last week, Union Pacific …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 7 February 2022
• New TfL gov’t long term funding deal delayed again, short reprieve (OnLondon) • London’s phantom station: London International CIV (IanVisits) • New York MTA retires 1960s era subway cars (MassTransit) • Indian railways to …
Continue readingArctic tundra ‘polar bear bus’ goes electric (ElectricAuto)
In the northern community of Churchill, Manitoba (Canada), thosands of tourists come every year to catch a glimpse of the polar bears that convene along the shallow waters of Hudson Bay. For the bear watchers, …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 4 February 2022
• TfL funding crisis will leave the disabled stranded (BylineTimes) • What comes after London’s Congestion Charge? (CityLab) • Sense of place: White Hart Lane station updated (BeautyOfTransport) • Paris starts test runs of new …
Continue readingRubber could be key to future EV batteries (ElectricHybridVeh)
For electric vehicles to become mainstream, they need cost-effective, safer, longer-lasting batteries that won’t explode during use or harm the environment. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology may have found a promising alternative to …
Continue readingThe surreal Métro of Charleroi
Noted surrealist painter Réné Magritte was Belgian. It is perhaps appropriate that Belgian politics produced a surreal Métro line, that is neither a metro nor operational. But that is about to change, in Charleroi. This …
Continue readingLondon shared e-scooter journeys pass 500,000 annually (Zag)
The London shared e-scooter trial passed a milestone last month with over 500,000 rides recorded, split across the three operators involved. The milestone was passed almost exactly six months after the launch in early June. …
Continue readingNew tech to battle catenary theft (RailFreight)
Polish rail infrastructure manager PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe has begun testing an anti-theft device for the railway catenary system. The tests in cooperation with Poland’s National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) are expected to …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 31 January 2022
• Crossrail design & architecture overview video (Crossrail) • Evolution of tram traction in Paris (FabricOfParis) • Malta publishes light metro vision (T&UT) • Vancouver Translink uses hockey sticks to keep SkyTrains moving (TheBuzzer) • …
Continue readingHS2 testing building pile heat pumps (IanVisits)
A test is being carried out by an HS2 contractor that could see heat being extracted out of the ground to heat buildings and railway stations. Extracting heat from the ground is not a new …
Continue readingNew terminal for French produce to make large modal shift (RailFreight)
The Paris-Rungis wholesale market is eyeing significant growth in train-borne fresh fruit and vegetable shipments with the development of a 25 million euros intermodal terminal. The facility will not only serve the Rungis market, but …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 28 January 2022
• Tie a Crossrail ribbon round the Old Oak scene (HydeParkNow) • New station proposed for National Arboretum (AnonWidower) • Chance meeting on train platform rocked the world (MidnightTrains) • How cable cars could boost …
Continue readingNew system to instantly detect leaves on rails (RailTechnology)
Engineers from Loughborough University and the University of Sheffield have partnered up to develop a new on-board system which allows trains to instantly detect leaves on the line. The new system developed in partnership with …
Continue readingVehicle Battery Report development 2021 (BatteryBrunch)
The Battery Report summarises the most significant developments in the battery industry. This [detailed] report seeks to provide a comprehensive and accessible overview of the latest battery research, policy and business landscape. Continue reading
Continue reading