Ford-owned micromobility firm Spin announced on Wednesday an exclusive partnership with software company Tortoise to bring teleoperated three-wheeled e-scooters to cities across North America and Europe in 2021. The Spin S-200 scooters, co-developed with Segway-Ninebot, …
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Land Value Capture for new railways (TransportTimes)
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many challenges for businesses – and the rail industry is no different. Although passenger numbers have only slightly recovered from the 85% decline seen during the height of lockdown, …
Continue readingHS2 prepares for 21km tunnels under London (TunnelTalk)
Of the 45km of twin tube bored tunnels to be constructed as part of the 225km High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project in the UK to link Birmingham and London, just under half is located …
Continue readingCatalytic converter costs converting car co’s to electric (NYTimes)
Thieves nationwide are slithering under cars, swiping catalytic converters. The pollution-control gadgets are full of precious metals like palladium, and prices are soaring as regulators try to tame emissions. Crooks with hacksaws have noticed. Michael …
Continue readingApril launch for Orion light goods fast freight (RailFreight)
Rail Operations (UK) have revealed their latest ambitions for a Britain-wide, high-speed light goods service. Of all the current plans and existing operations, RO (UK) has the most extensive intentions. The specialist freight and rail …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 15 February 2021
• Underground platforms showing door positions reduce delays 6.6% (ScienceDirect) • Germany plans integrated rail 2030s timetable to optimise high speed lines (Trains) • Amongst the creatures of the night: Halle Central Bus Station (BeautyOfTransport) …
Continue readingE-scooters getting ready for commuting comeback (CityLab)
Of all the things to look forward to post-vaccine, commuting might not be on the top of the list. But despite grand promises of a work-from-home forever, white-collar workers who went remote when the coronavirus …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 12 February 2021
• 100 Years of Tube Trains video by LU’s Head of Train Engineering (LTMuseumFriends) • 5 more bridges join illuminated Thames, for world’s longest artwork (IanVisits) • Fossil fuels caused 8.7m deaths globally in 2018: …
Continue readingCovenants, Easements & Wayleaves: Transport asset interface register (Part 2)
We now delve deeper into evolution of railway infrastructure knowledge that we started in Part 1 of this series. We look at some more recent examples of how underground railway infrastructure interfaces with its environment …
Continue readingPrototype 3D printed bus – video (Bloomberg)
When 3D printing first appeared, it may have seemed like a fad–something to keep garage hobbyists busy. But over the past few years, it’s become a mainstream manufacturing process. Now, an independent automaker called Local …
Continue readingEngland tops 3,000 shared e-scooters (Zag)
There are now more shared e-scooters than bike-share bicycles in the country (outside London). The number of e-scooters available for short-term hire in the UK now exceeds 3,000, just three weeks after breaking the 2,000 …
Continue readingHype Cycle Curve for smart mobility (SAE)
Gartner’s annual Hype Cycle plots COVID impact on R&D timetables, but remains upbeat about the potential for many to be widely adopted. Gartner Inc.’s annual Hype Cycle (below) has become a much-anticipated metric of the maturity and …
Continue readingSNCF, Bombardier convert diesel trains to battery (UrbanTransport)
The worldwide trend from diesel to battery-powered rail vehicles has now also reached France. The French state railway has announced that in cooperation with the manufacturer Bombardier Transportation, a total of five existing AGC (Autorail …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 8 February 2021
• Tube inspired map of London’s green spaces & connections (PositiveNews) • Forth rail tunnel key to Net Zero Scotland (NewCivilEng) • Grand Paris Express lines demystified (RMTransit) • Can Vancouver learn from the destruction …
Continue readingGov’t to fund feasibility of digital signalling 3 more mainlines (RailEngineer)
Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris has announced £1.2 million of new government funding to accelerate feasibility work for digital signalling on vital sections of the West Coast main line, Midland main line and East Anglia route, …
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