Interesting transportation things

[M II A II R II K]

Seth Rogen to be the new voice of Vancouver public transit

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/seth-ro...transit-voice/

.....

- TransLink BC, the public transportation system in Vancouver, British Columbia, announced Thursday that actor Seth Rogen will lend his voice to announcements -- an initiative born from a social media request. — The campaign to get Rogen involved began in May, days before plans to have Morgan Freeman become the voice of the system were scrapped. Stephanie Ip, a reporter for The Province and the Vancouver Sun, tweeted that Rogen, a Vancouver native, was better suited to the role.

.....

[M II A II R II K]

Strait ahead: how Beijing is planning world’s longest rail tunnel to link Taiwan to mainland

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/soci...il-tunnel-link

.....

- If realised, shuttle trains could be whizzing through a 135km (84 mile) undersea section of the tunnel at up to 250km/h (155mph) by 2030. — Despite this technological progress, rising political tensions between the self-ruled island and Beijing, which regards it as a renegade province, mean that the scheme is unlikely to come to fruition any time soon.

- Politics aside, surmounting the project’s technical tests would be a huge coup for China’s scientific, engineering and construction corps, analysts said. “It will be one of the largest and most challenging civil engineering projects in the 21st century,” said a government scientist who asked not to be named because of the project’s sensitivity.

- Starting from Pingtan, a pilot free-trade zone area set up by Beijing in Fujian province in 2013 to boost trade with Taiwan, it would dive nearly 200 metres (218 yards), cut through complex layers of rock, including extremely hard granite, dodge at least two major earthquake faults and return to the surface in Hsinchu, a coastal city near Taipei.

- Two main passages would be used by trains running in opposite directions. In between them would be a smaller service tunnel that would contain power lines, communication cables and emergency exits. — The Chinese project, however, would separate itself from the pack – and the Channel Tunnel – with the breadth of its main tunnels.

- They would be nearly a third larger than their European counterparts, extending 10 metres in diameter. — A potential thorny aspect of the scientists’ plan is that it would be necessary to create a pair of artificial islands in the middle of the strait for an air treatment station that would pipe fresh air into the tunnel. That requirement might further inflame rising tensions between Beijing and the self-ruled island.

.....

[M II A II R II K]

Austrian man tries to take his horse on the train

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/austrian...e-on-the-train

.....

- An Austrian man has tried to board two passenger trains with his horse named Frieda. But train conductors refused to continue the journey with Frieda aboard.

.....

[Busy Bee]

Those Austrians love to horse around. If he wanted to trot his horse onto the train he should have to pony up the fare of like ten people. Since he didn't I can't blame the conductors for holding up the pace of the mane line. They took the reins in the situation. Also its' horseshoes were muddy. Quite a tail.

[M II A II R II K]

And what if the horse did it’s business there.

[M II A II R II K]

Japanese rail workers forced to crouch in tunnel next to tracks to feel force of bullet trains in safety exercise

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...t-tracks-feel/

.....

- Crouching down in a tunnel next to a railway track as a bullet train whizzes past at 186 miles per hour may not sound particularly educational. One Japanese rail company, however, clearly thinks otherwise, with around 190 members of staff having taken part in the unusual practice as part of their safety training. — JR West, a major rail operator, has defended the exercise as essential in showing staff at first hand how fast the nation’s legendary bullet trains can travel, according to media reports. Maintenance staff have had to take part in the unusual exercise since the rail operator first introduced it in 2016, a year after an accident occurred during which part of a train’s exterior reportedly fell off. — “The training aims to teach our maintenance staff the importance of every part of their jobs,” a JR West spokeperson told AFP.

.....

[M II A II R II K]

China cheaters use bullet train to win pigeon races

https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/91857

.....

- CHEATING to win is as old as sport itself but two Chinese pigeon racers took it to modern-day extremes when they hid the birds in milk cartons and hopped on a bullet train. It was no surprise then when their homing pigeons scooped the first four places in the race and total prize money of more than one million yuan.

.....

[SpongeG]

getting closer

• Video Link

[M II A II R II K]

Los Angeles is first in US to install subway body scanners

https://apnews.com/0277303b776445c59...-body-scanners

.....

- Aug. 14, 2018 - Los Angeles’ subway will become the first mass transit system in the U.S. to install body scanners that screen passengers for weapons and explosives, officials said Tuesday. The deployment of the portable scanners, which project waves to do full-body screenings of passengers walking through a station without slowing them down, will happen in the coming months, said Alex Wiggins, who runs the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s law enforcement division.

.....

[SpongeG]

• Video Link

[SpongeG]

oops

Cathay Pacific spells own name wrong on side of plane



https://news.sky.com/story/cathay-pa...plane-11502448

[Busy Bee]

^Sit happens...

Also:

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/new...us/1254332002/

[M II A II R II K]

Only works on computers:


https://metromapmaker.com/

[M II A II R II K]

Germany launches world's first hydrogen-powered train

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...-powered-train

.....

- Germany has rolled out the world’s first hydrogen-powered train, signalling the start of a push to challenge the might of polluting diesel trains with costlier but more eco-friendly technology. Two bright blue Coradia iLint trains, built by French TGV-maker Alstom, on Monday began running a 62 mile (100km) route between the towns and cities of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervoerde and Buxtehude in northern Germany – a stretch normally plied by diesel trains.

- “The world’s first hydrogen train is entering into commercial service and is ready for serial production,” Alstom CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge said at an unveiling ceremony in Bremervoerde, the station where the trains will be refuelled with hydrogen. Alstom has said it plans to deliver another 14 of the zero-emissions trains to Lower Saxony state by 2021, while other German states have also expressed an interest. Hydrogen trains are equipped with fuel cells that produce electricity through a combination of hydrogen and oxygen.

.....

[ssiguy]

That Hydrail is a real game changer.

It`s effects on Europe won`t be too great as most of Europe`s passenger railways are already electrfied. In NA however the potential is immense where very little of intercity or commuter rail systems are electrfied and few have plans to do so due to the huge upfront infrastructure costs. Toronto is looking at Hydrail as it wants to electrify it`s core 200km commuter rail turning it into regional rail similar to `surface subways`. The cost of the project is over $1.5 and climbing and saving that $1.5 billion on electrification would buy an entire fleet of these trains. It`s also based on a Toronto area technology firm........Hydrogenics.

[M II A II R II K]

Uber for buses? How some Canadian cities are using technology to tackle transit troubles

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/ube...nsit-1.4842699

.....

- A small city in eastern Ontario is running an experiment that could one day have a big impact on public transit operators across North America. Belleville Transit has launched a new service allowing customers to summon a bus to their nearest bus stop and the ride won't take the scenic route to their destination. — "This is a brand new system that has not been used by any other transit service in North America," says Paul Buck, Belleville's manager of transit operations. The city of 50,000 is moving its late-night bus route to this ride hailing model. It plans to test the concept for a year, and if the "Uber for buses" idea works, it will also be integrated into Belleville's daytime service.

- Using Belleville's new app, riders schedule a ride, indicating whether their pickup or drop-off time is more important. The software processes that data constantly updating itself to optimize all scheduled rides and maps the best route to get all riders to their destinations as quickly as possible. — The app also sends riders confirmation notices,"to let you know that it's a done deal," says Buck, and simultaneously sends the pickup information to the bus driver via a tablet. Buck a public transit veteran who keeps a Lego model of an old-fashioned double-decker London bus on his desk says he loves the app so far. He said he finds that some public transit ideas are dated, especially his city's traditional late-night route a loop that takes about an hour to complete.

.....

[SpongeG]

Countdown on for world's longest non-stop flight

By Sarah Porter
BBC News, Singapore
11 October 2018

The battle to offer the world's longest non-stop flight steps up a gear on Thursday, when a new Singapore-to-New York service takes off.

Singapore Airlines is relaunching the service five years after they withdrew it because it had become too expensive.

It will cover more than 15,000km and is scheduled to take just under 19 hours.

Qantas launched a 17-hour non-stop service from Perth to London earlier this year, while Qatar runs a 17.5-hour service between Auckland and Doha.

Have passengers been snapping up the tickets?
The flight from Changi Airport to Newark's international airport in New Jersey will be taking off amid much fanfare and with barely a seat to spare.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said there was demand for customers for non-stop services which help cut travelling times compared with flights which have a stopover.

The airline told the BBC that business class seats for the flight were fully booked.

However, there were "a very limited number" of premium economy seats left.

The airline is not planning to offer any economy bookings on the route.

A business class ticket will entitle passengers to two meals, and the choice of when they are served, plus refreshments in between. They will also have a bed to sleep in.



...

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45795573

[SpongeG]

priestmangoode reveals full-scale hyperloop passenger capsule capable of reaching 760mph



hyperloop transportation technologies has unveiled its first full scale capsule designed to carry passengers at 1,000 kilometers per hour, offering a glimpse at what could be the future of travel. the capsule, 105 feet (32 meters) long and weighing 5 tons, was shown in spain and will be moved to toulouse, france, for additional assembly before it’s used on one of the first commercial tracks.

• Video Link

https://www.designboom.com/technolog...ed-10-07-2018/

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

Countdown on for world's longest non-stop flight

By Sarah Porter
BBC News, Singapore
11 October 2018

The battle to offer the world's longest non-stop flight steps up a gear on Thursday, when a new Singapore-to-New York service takes off.

Singapore Airlines is relaunching the service five years after they withdrew it because it had become too expensive.

It will cover more than 15,000km and is scheduled to take just under 19 hours.

Qantas launched a 17-hour non-stop service from Perth to London earlier this year, while Qatar runs a 17.5-hour service between Auckland and Doha.

Have passengers been snapping up the tickets?
The flight from Changi Airport to Newark's international airport in New Jersey will be taking off amid much fanfare and with barely a seat to spare.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said there was demand for customers for non-stop services which help cut travelling times compared with flights which have a stopover.

The airline told the BBC that business class seats for the flight were fully booked.

However, there were "a very limited number" of premium economy seats left.

The airline is not planning to offer any economy bookings on the route.

A business class ticket will entitle passengers to two meals, and the choice of when they are served, plus refreshments in between. They will also have a bed to sleep in.



...

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45795573

I was on the Dallas to Sydney flight. It sucked. Especially because the plane didn't have enough fuel to make it to Sydney (due to wind or something) that we had to stop in Brisbane to refuel. At least they let Brisbane-bound passengers deplane (but funnily enough, not Gold Coast-bound passengers).

[ssiguy]

The idea of the HyperLoop is a sound one. It simply gets rid of the barriers that cause trains to slow down in the first place...…..the resistance of air and of tracks. The technology seems very doable and by being grade separated and enclosed the chances of major accidents with other trains and/or vehicles is greatly diminished as well as the concerns of trains becoming drailed at curves.


The issue to me isn't the trains or the technology but rather the extra and brand new infrastructure needed to get the system up and running. By the time these costs are included, it makes you wonder if the system will ever be competitive in price or ever come close to recoping the huge infrastructure investment.


The issue no longer seems to be the technology but rather the economic of it.