Technical Framework The Hejaz Railway was originally a narrow‐gauge line (1,050 mm). It was built around 1900–1908 under Abdul Hamid II. It stretched from Damascus (and beyond) toward Medina. The railway linked key parts of the Ottoman Empire. In the current revival plans among Turkey, Syria and Jordan the following technical issues are front and … Continue reading Revival of the Hejaz railway – an impulse for the region?
The recent Euronews article titled "The European Tube: Inside the project to launch a continent-wide rail system by 2040" introduces the ambitious Starline network, aiming to connect 39 European destinations with high-speed trains traveling at 300-400 km/h. This vision includes extending lines to the UK, Turkey, and Ukraine, promising significantly reduced travel times across the … Continue reading The European Tube: Visionary Innovation or Unrealistic Dream?
Recently, the IAEA published their Report on Energy Technology 2023. They are analyzing both scenarios, the "Net Zero Emission by 2050" scenario as well as the "Announced Pledges Scenario". It is one of the few very comprehensive reports about the topic that I have read in recent years looking at a variety of aspects. The … Continue reading Rethinking energy usage for transportation
Indian railways is engaging in trials for hydrogen locomotives for some mountainous railway lines. According to this article, the objective is to get the trail running by December 2023, making it a first for this type of railway line and the respective altitude. The two candidates for the trial are the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and … Continue reading Branchlines in India seeking hydrogen traction
In recent weeks, two major new subsea railway tunnel projects have commenced: The Fehmarnbelt-Tunnel with a length of 18.1km, linking Germany to Denmark and the Ningbo-Zhoushan tunnel in eastern China with a length of 16km. But what is it all about these kind of challenging engineering works? Why building subsea railway tunnels Subsea railway tunnels … Continue reading A decade of subsea railway tunnels is looming
As reported in railway gazette, Rumo is running a more advanced infrastructure diagnosis system toprevent broken rails. Why is it relevant Broken rails are an issue all across the world. For instance, Network Rail in the UK faces some 100broken rails per year. A broken rail can easily lead to a derailment which is, especially … Continue reading Rumo, the Brazilian logistics giant has introduced an AI driven new broken rail detection system
With ÖBB investing over 4.1bn EUR in new rolling stock for night trains and refurbishment of older rolling stock, ÖBB is currently certainly the key player when it comes to overnight travels by rail in Europe. The company has laid out last week its strategy and priorities for the next year(s). The first for 25 … Continue reading Expanding night trains across Europe – ÖBB further expanding
Within the first year of Bolsonaro’s presidency in Brazil, it became apparent that he seeks to pursue a pro-resource and pro-industry course. This is reflected by increased investment plans in mining and agricultural usage of land in the amazon rainforest. Creating large amounts of produce for export of course requires affordable capacity for transport. It … Continue reading Mapping out the Brazilian Railway system
A topic that has intrigued me throughout my life so far is the topic of procurement. Not because I think it is very attractive or sexy, but because it can enable or be a show-stopper to implement great ideas. Two weeks ago, I had, with a variety of customers, colleagues and friends in various settings … Continue reading Procurement: Overview
We all wanted to have a solid and fast ERTMS deployment across Europe, but so far the project is not gaining speed and only a few projects could be deployed. What did go wrong and how can we redesign the approach to faster reach our common objectives? To cut it short, in my opinion, there … Continue reading Redesign ERTMS deployment across Europe
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