Recent content by dm1

The key benefit of franchising, aside from the ticketing, is that it allows network-level planning to be done in a way that isn't really practical for a commercial operator looking to maximise short-term revenues. If you actively design a bus network to encourage modal shift, then you can...

I would assume it would be similar and/or based on Fairtiq. If your fares structure isn't extensively based on advance fares, then it works pretty well and is in use in numerous places in Europe.

The solution to that is simple - you play an (automatic) announcement on the original platform periodicially before the train departs and ensure all the information boards are updated immediately. And you make sure there is a train describer board at the entrance to every platform so that...

My issue is that there often does not seem to be a higher level strategic overview of the rail system and the public transport system in general. Longer-term goals and targets, ideally with cross-party support need to be defined (e.g. a specific percentage of modal shift, reduction in miles...

Public transport is exactly what we should be encouraging people to use during large events like football matches, and running extra or longer trains when there is clearly additional demand and the track capacity is there (10pm is hardly the morning peak) should be the norm, not something...

SBB (along with numerous other European operators) have them fitted to their more modern train fleets (e.g. the FVD units) They work fine, but do have some quirks. The treated wastewater is collected in a tank until it is full, after which it must be heated up to sterilise it, before it is...

I think by fundamental interest they mean that it is an aspiration with clear demand and political will , but all the challenges described in detail in the Jon Worth article mean that they don't currently view it as realistic in the short term. Therefore if there are developments which would...

Separate tram and trolleybus wires parallel to one another. Fun fact: like railway and tram catenary, trolleybus wires also have stagger (diagonal zig zags in the wire in the horizontal plane), as this helps to keep the trolley poles in contact with the wire.

This is what it looks like if done well. https://ki-bahnhof-anywhere.app.sbb.ch/#/stream/8503000?gleis=31&sektor=A&ankunft=false&layout=stretched-basic&language=EN&api_key=ffacb88be40702c029eefdb222549b4f (This is a live link, so will display exactly what's going on in real time when you click it)

I'll just leave this here. More of a North American context, but many of the arguments made are just as applicable in the UK.

The Gotthard Base tunnel is only being used for passenger trains on weekends (Friday evenings included), as during the week all the paths are taken up by freight, most of which cannot take the mountain route either due to being too heavy for the gradients or due to loading gauge. You will...

It would be possible currently, as Basel SBB station has a separate French section, that could be sealed off for border control purposes fairly easily. However plans have been published to remove that section completely as part of an upcoming capacity expansion scheme , which would make things...

The main reason why two single bores with regular cross-passages tend to be preferred for new tunnels is fire safety. If a train catches fire in a twin-track tunnel there's nowhere for passengers to go that is smoke-free, unless you build a separate evacuation tunnel. If you build an evacuation...

Given I wrote the post upthread you are referring to, I know which definition I was using. The EC services in question are planned with rather generous turnaround times, with a scheduled arrival of xx:27 in Zurich. The next service formed by that train is scheduled to depart at xx:33 an hour...

Not quite. The stepping back refers to the drivers, not the trains. The train arrives at the terminus, as soon as it does, a new driver enters the opposite end of the train (up to 400m away), then once the incoming driver has left the train, drives straight back out again. This allows long...