2018 saw the last Long Term Passenger Rolling Stock Strategy (LTPRSS). Yet with the UK’s rolling stock fleet comprising of 14,000 vehicles and costing £3 billion per annum, there is clearly a need for the …
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Train operators propose 32 000 km high speed rail ‘Metropolitan Network’ (RailwayGazette)
Proposals for a huge expansion of the high rail speed network have been drawn up by Deutsche Bahn working in partnership with nine other major European operators. This would be necessary to achieve the Green …
Continue readingEarth Friendly Concrete foundation for HS2 (RailEngineer)
As one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the UK, HS2 is set to transform the country’s transport network. Concrete is an essential component of this project. From the foundations of the track to …
Continue readingThe digital twin tech turning the Piccadilly line underground green (ERPToday)
It might not be the longest or busiest line of the underground network, but the Piccadilly line has a fascinating history – it made London the first city in the world with an underground railway …
Continue readingHow Montréal’s REM learnt from the Paris RER – Automatic for the People
Move over RER, Montréal’s new fully automated Réseau express métropolitain (REM)’s first segment has opened. Once fully completed, the REM line will link directly across Montréal Island north, south, and west. Essentially, a Regional Express …
Continue readingThe impacts of capital investment in London’s Underground: Long-term analysis (TransportationResearch)
Abstract The deferred repair of infrastructure is often a pressing issue since infrastructure failures can have severe economic consequences for both operators and users. Although the benefits of non-expansion capital spending are well-known within the industry, …
Continue readingDeutsche Bahn’s Europabahn study (PedestrianObservations)
Deutsche Bahn released a study three days ago proposing to build a Europe-wide network of high-speed trains. There aren’t too many details – the fully study PDF is corrupted – but we can already learn a lot …
Continue readingMitigating the effects of tunnelling under Euston Bridge 7 (EarningLegacyHS2)
HS2 tunnels will pass below an existing main line railway intersection bridge near Euston, known as Bridge 7, constructed in the early 20th century. An assessment of tunnelling induced ground movement predicted potential adverse effects …
Continue readingPublic transport consultants gone wild, escalating rail costs (Slate)
The real reason it costs so damn much to build new subways in America. For the past decade, as the cost of building American mass transit has soared to world records, advocates have found themselves …
Continue readingWhen capital becomes interested in high speed rail (MediaRail)
[This industry blog post has noticed an interesting trend that we are LR Towers have also noticed – large financial investment firms investing in constructing, purchasing, and/or operating railway infrastructure. This article looks at the …
Continue readingThe consulting industry has infantilised governments (Channel4News)
How can the government attract the country’s best minds to work for them? How do we know when a private sector contract is a good one? And what can we learn from NASA about business …
Continue readingManchester rail plans rethought after 9 years of promises weren’t delivered (RailwayGazette)
Network Rail has withdrawn a planning application for rail infrastructure works in Manchester, Rail Minister Huw Merriman confirmed during a visit to the city on May 25. The plan included additional through platforms 15 and 16 …
Continue readingHAROLD, THOMoS, & PANTHER in Huddersfield (RailEngineer)
In 2019, a network of universities and industry partners concerned with railway research was formed. The UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) was built on three Centres of Excellence formed by a consortium of …
Continue readingHigh subway & metro construction costs are not about precarity (PedestrianObvs)
I’ve seen people who I think highly of argue that high construction costs in the United States are an artifact of precarity. The argument goes that the political support for public transportation there is so …
Continue readingPop Art tunnel Michelangelo – Dragados & the Art of Tunnel Scanning
On July 20, 2022, the heat from an exploratory drill inside Montréal’s century old Mont-Royal railway tunnel, advance work for the city’s modern Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) automated Métro line, caused an explosion. It was …
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