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    "Please avoid using any third party applications"

    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...
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    Should cost benefits of new schemes be worked out in a different way?

    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...
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    LNER London - Leeds £220 single on Social Media/Yorkshire Evening Post

    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...
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    Could train toilets dumping onto track return in a "friendly" way?

    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...
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    DB considers London service once again

    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...
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    Tram and trolleybus overhead power

    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.
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    This screen gave me a headache

    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)
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    15 minute cities the future?

    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.
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    Zurich to Milan EuroCity routeing questions

    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...
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    SBB CFF FFS considering direct trains to London.

    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...
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    How *should* HS2 have been built?

    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...
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    German Rail in decline ?

    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...
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    German Rail in decline ?

    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...
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    German Rail in decline ?

    Another thing the Swiss control staff/signallers do really well, which the Germans as far as I know do not (no idea about the UK) is having specific playbooks for different situations already pre-planned, so if some kind of disruption occurs, there is already a ready-made plan in which all the...
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    Freight train derailment in Gotthard Base tunnel

    In practice you're unlikely to have any issues, if you contact staff and ask. Your first point is probably because the EC trains have compulsory reservations within Italy. SBB can't automatically make that change on their own. On the regional trains there is no such problem. The Lötschberg base...
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    Merseyrail Class 777 introduction updates

    It also sounds very strange given that sliding steps operate elsewhere without any such problems or restrictions. To me it seems like the maintenance staff don't yet have enough experience with them to maintain them properly because they are still so rare in the UK - or that something went...
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    Government response to transport committee on IRP

    Zürich is far from purely S-Bahn and a solution like the Löwenstrasse station and connecting tunnels opened in 2015 would be great for Manchester. It has 4 platforms for 400m trains, two per direction. Three of the main Swiss IC lines (IC1, IC5, and IC8) use them, along with some regional...
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    Onboard bus announcements to be made mandatory

    If the average commuter has 70 bus stops on their route, that is in itself a strong indication that increasing the stop spacing would be a good idea and would have a much bigger impact on the quality of the journey than the number of announcements. If done well, announcements can be very...
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    Onboard bus announcements to be made mandatory

    None of the buses have a PIS at all. Google maps is hit and miss. It generally has the right locations, but the names are a lottery and a mess. One route I just checked has two stops named imaginatively "crossroads" within 5 stops of each other.
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    Onboard bus announcements to be made mandatory

    That's also testament to the poor quality specifications of most buses outside London, and the shoddy quality of the roads. Buses elsewhere tend to rattle and squeak far less than here. In my neck of the woods, most bus stops don't even have proper names - at least not any names that are in...

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