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Railways set for a hi-tech revolution
Juliette Jowit, The Observer
Longer, faster hi-tech trains are planned to end delays and overcrowding
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A 30-year plan to transform rail travel with longer trains that can run closer together using biofuels and even hydrogen power will be set out by the government this month.
Ministers are to give more details of a new fleet of inter-city trains, raising the prospect of Britain getting trains similar to the high-speed Velaro recently unveiled in Spain. They will also announce for the first time a ‘new generation’ train to replace much of Britain’s remaining diesel and electric stock. Research will also be unveiled into trams that can run on commuter rail routes and on roads through city centres.
To increase capacity on crowded routes, the white paper is likely to say the latest hi-tech European signalling system will be fitted within a decade so that trains can run closer together. Thousands more carriages are to be ordered so that trains can be made longer.
(8 July 2007)
A high-speed revolution
The Economist
European railways form an alliance to promote swifter international travel
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AS THE fastest train in Europe reaches its top speed of 320kph (200mph) the glasses of wine on the bar barely wobble. Champagne country is a blur as the train tears along Europe’s newest high-speed line-the first to link France and Germany. France’s Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) can now travel between Stuttgart and Paris in only three hours 40 minutes instead of six hours. The latest generation of Germany’s Inter-City Express (ICE) trains has similarly shrunk the journey time between Frankfurt and Paris.
This week high-speed railways in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland joined with existing international services, such as the cross-channel Eurostar and the Paris-Brussels Thalys, to form Railteam, a new marketing alliance. The aim by the end of next year is to have one website that will allow travellers to view timetables and prices and, with one or two clicks, book tickets from one end of Europe to another. At the European Commission’s insistence, Railteam members will compete on prices, though there could be some tricky moments as some of them team up to take on airlines.
Europe is in the grip of a high-speed rail revolution. Four new lines are opening this year and next, with trains running up to 320kph
(5 July 2007)
Sales soar as Boeing unveils its green dream jet
Rachel Williams, Guardian
· Lightweight design cuts fuel consumption by 20%
· The 787 becomes fastest selling airliner in history
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A new jet which uses 20% less fuel than similar sized aircraft and has already become the fastest selling passenger plane in history was unveiled by Boeing last night, to an enthusiastic reception from industry workers and its staff.
The 787 Dreamliner, capable of carrying 330 passengers, will offer bigger windows, raised cabin pressure and humidity to reduce complaints such as headaches and itchy eyes, and a greatly reduced noise footprint, Boeing said.
(9 July 2007)
Related from NPR: Boeing Unveils New Carbon-Fiber Dreamliner (Audio).
Green facade: Why the California’ss eco-friendly cars aren’t doing the job
Kimberly Kindy, San Jose Mercury News
During the past two years, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration sunk more than $17 million into a state fleet of cars and trucks designed to be environmentally friendly.
So far, the 1,138 “flex-fuel” vehicles have traveled a collective 10 million miles and burned more than 413,202 gallons of gas.
But not one drop has been high-grade ethanol – the fuel that promised to turn the passenger fleet into clean driving machines.
That’s because the vehicles have no access to ethanol pumping stations. There was none when the Chevrolet Impala sedans and Silverado trucks were purchased and none is scheduled to open until December 2009. That’s four years after the vehicles first hit the road.
Even worse, the flex-fuel vehicles are actually chugging out more smog and greenhouse gases than many vehicles in the state’s old fleet – as much as 2,000 extra tons annually.
As a result, energy experts question whether the administration’s zest to “look green” has come at the expense of real environmental progress.
If they’re right, Schwarzenegger’s office isn’t the first to bungle with alternative fuel. The latest purchases are the state’s fifth attempt in two decades to shift the vehicles its employees use on the job to cleaner fuel. The failed moves have cost taxpayers millions of dollars in construction costs and staff time.
“This is about California politicians wanting to be leaders in alternative energy. They just jump on whatever is sexy. Right now, it’s ethanol,” said Severin Borenstein, director of the University of California Energy Institute, which is working with the administration to reduce greenhouse gases. “However, ethanol, particularly from corn, is not a likely fuel source for California.”
(8 July 2007)
208 Million Riders Make Year a Record
Lena Sun, Washington Post
A record number of customers rode Metrorail in the fiscal year that ended in June, marking the second time in the system’s 31-year history that more than 200 million people went through the fare gates, officials said yesterday.
It was the 11th consecutive year that ridership on the rail system increased. Also, more people rode the subway during June than during any other month in Metro’s history. Officials attribute the increase to good weather, Washington Nationals baseball games and high gas prices. ..
(6 July 2007)
