When discussing the future of long distance services through the Channel Tunnel, we generally talk of 400 metre long trains composed of one unit, and 2x 200m trains composed of two units coupled together. But when you drill down to the detail, these numbers are approximations. Eurostar’s original Class 373 […]
Quick takes
Constraints on future Channel Tunnel operators
Sometime this autumn the UK’s Office of Rail and Road (ORR) will adjudicate on capacity allocation at Temple Mills depot in east London. Responses to ORR from Eurostar and the four other companies that seek to also enter the market for long distance trains through the Channel Tunnel can be […]
Rough notes about the longest train journey in the world – in 2025
When I had time on my hands sometime during a COVID lockdown and started digging into the longest train journey in the world, I did not know what a saga this one would become. Within a few months of publishing this long post about the topic, war in Ukraine meant […]
8am on the slow train to Paris
It’s just past 8am. I’ve been on the slow train to Paris Bercy from rural Bourgogne for an hour an a half. The sun has just about burnt off the fog of the morning along the Yonne and now the Seine. We are rumbling along the line somewhere between Montereau […]
Railway work: what I am doing has some ethical purpose, but is anyone listening?
This summer will be my last big #CrossBorderRail tour – 80 more borders, mostly in Central Europe. There simply are not too many more borders to visit. And as the project on the ground winds down, I have started to wonder who might benefit from the lessons I have learned […]
Can’t deliver packages in crowded cities? Put more… err… passengers on your trams
At a simple, basic level it sounds appealing. Packages cannot be delivered efficiently in congested cities, so use less congested tram tracks instead. Add a the appeal of autonomous vehicles, a bit of AI, and a sprinkling of blockchain, bundle it up with some nice neat renderings, and you will […]
