Trains // Current

The Great Indian Railway

A short film documenting train travel in India. A diverse array of shots and scenery,... more

WildernessFilmsIndiaLtd
added this
4 days ago
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0 comments

Trains too costly for rail firm

Network Rail is transporting 200 staff by coach from Reading to Coventry for a... more

CarolineS
added this
12 days ago
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Britain's first £1000 rail fare

Rail expert Barry Doe unearths the first £1,002 rail fare in Britain - for a... more

pcs007
added this
20 days ago
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3 comments

Football fan dressed as a sheep set alight on train

A 24-year-old football fan dressed as a sheep suffered serious burns to his arms and... more

RossSlater
added this
22 days ago
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Baby Survives Being Run Over By Train

A mother watches on in horror as the pram her baby is in rolls off the platform and... more

benson5
added this
1 month ago
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16 comments

Woman Struck, Killed By Train In Delaware

Co-workers said the victim normally works the night-shift, but came to the diner for... more

interditx
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1 month ago
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California state Gov reveals detailed plan for first leg of high speed rail

The California High-Speed Rail Authority released the much-anticipated "alternatives... more

e_young
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1 month ago
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0 comments

America's 220mph railway system to be complete by 2018

The United States could see a new transportation system set in place, after French... more

Skyscraper08
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1 month ago
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French To Fast Track Texas Rail!

French interested in Texas high-speed rail
---Rodger Jones/Editorial Writer
The French national railway SNCF has filed a detailed proposal with the Federal Railroad Administration stating an interest in operating high-speed rail in Texas.

The route in question would run from DFW through Austin and into San Antonio. It would not be the Gulf Coast route that's been on the USDOT's official list of 10 prospective HSR corridors or the much-promoted Dallas-Houston link (including the Texas T-Bone). But Houston could be in the distance.

From Yonah Freemark on the TransportPolitic blog:

At $13.8 billion in construction costs, SNCF expects benefits to outweigh public infrastructure costs by 170% over a period of 15 years. This project would have the highest rate of return of any of the corridors profiled in the studies presented here.
Quoting now from the proposal, as posted on a federal website:

Speeds of up to 220 mph for HSR services are expected to generate a significant number of new trips as well as draw from the air and auto modes. Access to HSR services for both residents and visitors will be convenient due to 7 proposed stations conveniently located close to medium and large city populations, city central business districts and airports to attract residents, providing convenient and cost competitive alternative to driving and air travel.
This HST 220 concept keeps pace for a further complete Texan HS network ("Triangle" or "Tbone" type) involving Houston, once the pertinence of HS services proven. Meanwhile, the existing corridors will serve as key feeders.

TxDOT spokesman Chris Lippincott said the SNCF filing "is the first expression we're aware of" from a potential investor-operator interested in Texas high-speed rail.

The filing isn't related to applications for stimulus money, but in response to Congressman John Mica's interest in finding out what private companies think they can make money in the U.S. That provision was inserted in legislation last year, and the French filing was in response, said FRA spokesman Warren Flatau.French interested in Texas high-speed rail ---Rodger Jones/Editorial Writer The... more

remanns
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1 month ago
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2 comments

German High Speed Trains to Link Moscow with St. Petersburg

High-speed German trains will soon be traveling between Moscow and St. Petersburg. But... more

unclepete
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2 months ago
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Fight Back

Boston-Bred Conscious MC, Catch Wreck is sicker then swine flu in 'Fight Back' off the... more

CatchWreck
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2 months ago
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Labour calls for free Wi-Fi on trains

"The Scottish Labour Party is calling for trains and buses to offer free Wi-Fi,... more

JClem
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3 months ago
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LOOKS

a music video of sorts for "Looks" by Mike Doughty

wowaweewa
added this
3 months ago
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0 comments

A Hitch For Rail Riders: Getting To Final Destination

Congress has approved $8 billion for high-speed-rail lines that, according to... more

atomiclegion
added this
3 months ago
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0 comments

States Make Pitches For High-Speed-Rail Money

Advocates for high-speed rail in the United States have lived a somewhat lonely... more

atomiclegion
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3 months ago
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3 comments

United Kingdom Talk Video Saturday 29th August 2009

Saturday's edition of my three times a week talk show.Watch the show here on CURRENT... more

ChrisReardon
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3 months ago
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Hundreds Trapped in Channel Tunnel After Train Breaks Down

Around 500 passengers were stuck in the tunnel under the English Channel for six hours... more

burukku16
added this
3 months ago
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1 comment

The Weekly Carboholic: U.S. Chamber of Commerce files for EPA climate disruption trial

Earlier this week, the LATimes reported that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (hereafter “the Chamber”) has petitioned the EPA to hold a trial-like hearing on the science of climate disruption. According to the article, officials for the Chamber want to make it “‘the Scopes monkey trial of the 21st century.’”

EPA officials interviewed for the LATimes article are dismissive of the Chamber’s petition, referring to it in the article as “frivolous” and a “waste of time.” However, given that the Chamber has threatened to take the EPA to federal court to force them to hold this trial-like hearing, it’s unlikely that the Chamber considers their petition “frivolous.”
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According to a new study reported in the BBC, the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite has detected a significant reduction in the amount of groundwater in India. According to the BBC, the study finds the reason for the falling groundwater level is overuse for irrigation. According to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory press release, the total loss from 2002 to 2008 was 108 cubic miles.
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According to a ClimateWire story, scientists are becoming concerned about the potential for biofuel crops to become invasive weeds. The problem, as the article points out, is that the best cellulosic biofuel crops are going to need very little water, little to no fertilizer, and produce high yields.
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A couple of weeks ago, General Motors announced with great fanfare that the Chevy Volt was so energy efficient that it would get 230 MPG. According to the NYTimes, GM used an EPA-approved methodology, but the number itself hasn’t been verified or independently tested. According to an interview with Larry Nitz, GM’s executive director of hybrid powertrain engineering, at GM-volt.com, the EPA methodology is a baseline that is based on a statistical traffic study done in 2001 that measured how the typical vehicle will be used.
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Let’s perform a simple experiment. First, find a pen. Second, put it on the edge of the table and scoot it slowly off the edge. If you watch it closely as it starts to tip over, you’ll notice that it doesn’t start to tip until about it reaches about the middle. This is because the pen’s center of gravity is supported by the table until you reach approximately the pen’s center. But as soon as the pen’s center of gravity is unsupported, it starts to tip over and will eventually fall to the floor.

This fact – that a cantilevered beam doesn’t start to fall until it reaches it’s midpoint – is the basis behind a new form of train that the developers claim will cost 60% less than traditional rail. It’s called tubular rail, and its developers are at Tubular Rail, Inc. (TRI)
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The Associated Press has reported that the average global ocean sea surface temperature in July set a record for the hottest July since measurements started. The ocean was 0.5924 °Celsius over the previous record, set during the strong El Niño in 1998, of 0.5761. This is according to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) July 2009 highlights page. What the AP didn’t report, however, and neither did the NCDC, is that the preliminary data from July shows that July 2009 was the hottest sea surface temperature anomaly since recording started 130 years ago. Previously, the warmest month was December 1997 (0.5776 °C), as the 1998 El Niño was starting.

For your information, the warming water trend is called “El Niño” because it historically peaks in December, which is why it’s named after the Spanish name of the Christ child.
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More at the linkEarlier this week, the LATimes reported that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (hereafter... more