I keep seeing European advocates for decarbonizing transportation downplay the importance of big infrastructure, especially high-speed rail. To that end, I’d like to proffer one argument for why high-speed rail decarbonizes transportation even when it …
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Friday Reads – 7 March 2025
• London bus depot decimates a river (London Rail) • First cycle train enters service on the Heart of Wales line (Rail UK) • Call for Edinburgh’s south suburban rail line to reopen to passengers …
Continue readingHow Madrid’s LEZ revolutionised air quality (CitiesToday)
Madrid’s low emission zone (LEZ) has been a long time in the making. As of January 2025, it’s fully implemented and covers the entire municipal area. Madrid’s journey with its LEZ began in 2018 with …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 2 December 2024
• Edinburgh-London 4 hour rail journeys ‘to be confirmed within weeks’ (The Scotsman) • London sees dramatic 63% increase in cargo bikes (Clean Cities Campaign) • The Unbuilt Tube Line to Sanderstead: Video (Jago Hazzard) …
Continue readingSolar panels added to railway noise barrier (RailwayGazette)
LITHUANIA: A lineside noise barrier incorporating solar panels to generate electricity has been installed at Juodšiliai to the south of Vilnius. The 22·2 kW solar power plant installed by infrastructure manager LTG Infra and SoliTek …
Continue readingPollution levels fall 20% in Glasgow after launch of low-emission zone LEZ (CitiesToday)
Air pollution levels in Glasgow’s low-emission zone (LEZ) fell by an average of 20 percent last year according to a newly released report. The city council’s air quality report for 2023 also revealed an overall average drop …
Continue readingStudy finds online shopping worsens air quality in minority & low-income communities (Nature)
Regulators, environmental advocates, and community groups in the United States are concerned about air pollution associated with the proliferating e-commerce and warehousing industries. Nationwide datasets of warehouse locations, traffic, and satellite observations of the traffic-related …
Continue reading35 cities to introduce zero-emission freight zones (CitiesToday)
Clean transport group Clean Cities, has identified 35 cities which have committed to phase-in zero-emission zones for freight ahead of the introduction of the very first zero-emission zones in Europe in 2025. The majority of the cities are …
Continue readingPlanes still bad: Modern carbon-efficient models worse for climate change than older types (E+T)
A study has found that even though modern commercial aircraft emit less carbon than their predecessors, they could be contributing more to climate change due to their longer-lived planet-warming contrails. Contrails, or vapour trails, are …
Continue readingCity of London launches online air quality measurement tool (CitiesToday)
The City of London has launched a new online tool that allows residents to check air quality levels in real time. Air Aware – developed with funding from the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural …
Continue readingLiving near an airport can make you ill (Transport&Environment)
Aviation emissions are a climate concern, and also have a serious impact on air quality. Yet, this issue has not received much attention from regulators or the aviation industry. When jet fuel is burnt, it …
Continue readingSale of diesel in London falls 40% in 4 years (AirQualityNews)
Transport & Environment UK are today reporting that analysis of Department for Energy Security and Net Zero statistics shows that the sale of diesel fuel in London is falling twice as fast as the national …
Continue readingChilling Effects: The Hidden Environmental Cost of Transport Refrigeration (AirQualityNews)
Every day, thousands of trucks traverse our cities, delivering the perishable goods we rely on, from fresh vegetables to frozen dinners. However, there’s a dirty secret hiding behind this essential service: the diesel engines that …
Continue readingTire Dust Makes Up the Majority of Ocean Microplastics: Study (TheDrive)
Researchers say tire emissions pose a threat to global health, and EVs could make the problem worse. When contemplating the emissions from road vehicles, our first thought is often about the various gases coming out of the …
Continue readingMonday’s Friday Reads – 11 March 2024
• New report reveals dramatic improvements in London’s air quality since 2016 (London City Hall) • Embark on a quirky commute through TfL’s history (TfL Corporate Archives) • Designer sought for St Pancras International growth …
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