4 January 2018
AnalysisA railway’s role in the modern Smart CityBy Eva Grey
As cities around us transform and become more connected and digitalised, the expectation for public transportation is to follow through in every respect. From cutting-edge technology to comfort, safety, reliability and sustainability, how far are we from achieving the true Smart Rail system?
http://www.railway-technology.com/features/railways-role-modern-smart-city/
Speaking of driverless trains mentioned in article:
CHENGDU Railway Corporation has awarded two contracts worth a total of €64m to Alstom, its joint venture partner Shanghai Alstom Transport Electrical Equipment (Satee), and Casco, China, to supply traction equipment for 200 metro cars and communications-based train control (CBTC) for phase one of Line 9, the city’s first driverless metro line.
I wonder how this relates to the information component;
Caterpillar subsidiary Progress Rail has completed the acquisition of global railway signalling technology provider ECM.
The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Italy-based ECM will become a part of Progress Rail’s existing signal division as part of the development, while continuing to conduct its signal production and engineering operations at its facility in Pistoia.
http://www.railway-technology.com/news/progress-rail-buys-italys-ecm/
This definitely relates;
Machine learning to customise journey planning 27 Dec 2017
UK: The University of Surrey has been awarded £230 000 from the Department for Transport through Innovate UK to create an onward journey planning assistant which would learn a user’s needs to enable it to offer tailored real-time alternative routes in the event of a delay to a journey.
The project is being supported by: CommuterHive, SnapOut, ManagePlaces and Govia Thameslink Railway.
Amtrak has launched FindYourWay, an iOS and Android app based on the Zyter platform which uses more than 400 beacons inside New York Penn station to provide real-time gate, train and boarding information as well as directions to gates, exits, cash machines and restaurants.
The beacons use Bluetooth Low Energy technology to communicate with the app, which activates when a user enters the station and deactivates once they leave the complex.
And as far as the metropolitan transit component, a bit of history,
Friday, January 05, 2018 The car that saved Toronto’s streetcars
Written by John Thompson, Canadian Contributing Editor
It was an event that few people within or outside the transit industry had ever expected to see: the arrival of a brand new streetcar in Toronto. However, that was exactly what happened on a bitterly cold but sunny December 29, 1977, when CLRV 4002 completed its long journey from Switzerland to the Toronto Transit Commission Hillcrest Shop. It was the TTC’s first new streetcar since 1951.
This unlikely and historic occurrence was the direct culmination of several related events.
http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/passenger/light-rail/the-car-that-saved-torontos-streetcars.html
Related to the environmental component;
09 Nov 2017 GERMANY: ‘Fuel cell technology has a good chance to prevail in Germany in the next 10 to 15 years, with diesel vehicles being more and more forced out of the market’, said Niedersachsen transport authority LNVG when it signed a 30-year contract with Alstom and gas supplier Linde Group for the delivery, maintenance and fuelling of 14 Coradia iLint hydrogen-fuelled multiple-units.
‘The use of hydrogen for rail vehicles is a milestone in the application of fuel cells for emission-free transport’, said Linde board member Bernd Eulitz at the ceremony in Wolfsburg on November 9. ‘For the first time, the coupling of this sector to hydrogen infrastructure will be realised with a significant scope and in an economically viable manner. This development will push the establishment of a hydrogen society and will create new solutions for the storage and transport of energy.’
and
Canadian railroads remain on track to meet greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets set by the rail industry and the federal government, according to the latest Locomotive Emissions Monitoring (LEM) Program report.
Released by the Railway Association of Canada (RAC) this week, the report summarizes the railroads’ progress in 2015 toward reducing GHGs and criteria air contaminants from locomotives operating in Canada. The document also highlights initiatives that the rail industry has taken to reach its emissions reduction goals.
Was google still functional after that in-depth search session? (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-innocent.gif)
(seriously nice set of links)
Thanks! Next to trains and kites, Google is one of my favorite toys. (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
Blame it on a train show in 1980 and Virginia Tech in 1981 - found a copy of International Railway Gazette magazine at a train show & then once at VaTech I discovered their library had it, and also had … and also had … and also …
And then the internet came, and …
