Yearly Archives: 2023

Up And Over : Down And Under (1)

Stunning Engineering Old And New At Grangemouth, the original route oif the Forth and Clyde canal ran from bottom left on the above Google Earth extract to the top right, where we see the start of the Forth-Clyde Way, the road built on the canal’s route. The watercourse now tuns sharp left and leads to … … the Kelpies. The…

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Out now: Issue 294 of Passenger Transport

Issue 294 of Passenger Transport is published on July 28. Contents include:    LEAD STORY ‘Train beats plane on key domestic routes’‘Majority’ of popular domestic air trips could be completed by train more quickly and cheaply, new Campaign for Better Transport report reveals  NEWS DfT pauses bus retrofit funding amid doubtsDepartment investigates variable performance but Transport Scotland backs technology and…

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‘Train beats plane on key domestic routes’

New research commissioned by Rail Partners reveals how competition among train companies is delivering results across Britain and Europe  Campaign for Better Transport says that switching just a quarter of the domestic flights featured in its report to rail would save 171,377 tonnes of carbon   The majority of the most popular domestic and near Europe flights can be completed…

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DfT pauses bus retrofit funding amid doubts

Department investigates variable performance but Transport Scotland backs technology and continues to fund conversions. Rhodri Clark reports  A bus in Glasgow. Transport Scotland is continuing to fund retrofitting through its Bus Emissions Abatement Retrofit (BEAR) programme   The DfT has defended pausing England’s bus retrofitting programme while it investigates variable performance. Faced with the same evidence on performance, Scotland is…

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Closing ticket offices creates challenges

  It’s seen as a quick financial fix, but the experience of the London Underground reveals the true cost of closing down ticket offices  We would be better off re-designing ticket offices so that they become beacons not just of the station but of the wider area   A fortnight ago it was revealed that between December 2022 and May…

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Flights of fancy are fanning the flames

  Aviation is becoming a real climate change problem but the government clings to the ‘jet zero’ fantasy. We need fewer flights  A forest fire in Rhodes. Scientists predict that if the world heats by 2C, these brutal heatwaves and wildfires will happen every two to five years   Many roams lead to Rhodes, and nobody is happier to facilitate…

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It’s time to collectively talk about transport

The Great Transport Debate is a unique event designed to bring together leaders, experts, innovators and 200 informed professionals from every sector of the industry to debate the most pressing issues and challenges facing UK passenger transport networks today – and in the future    BY Neil Micklethwaite DATE: Thursday 28 September 2023TIME: 10am- 5:30pmVENUE: Concorde Conference Centre, Manchester AirportWEBSITE:…

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Advancing uptake of MaaS across Europe

Under the helm of UITP, the IP4Maas project tested intelligent mobility solutions for better mobility in cities across Europe  The project started with an analysis of the landscape from the travellers’ point of view   Creating a more sustainable, seamless and inclusive mobility system with digital tools: over the last two and a half years, this has been the mission…

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Decline And Fall – BUT…

A Man. A Plan, A Canal – But NOT Panama! He was a bit of a clever-clogs! John Smeaton FRS (1724 to 1792) was a British civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist. Smeaton was the first self-proclaimed “civil engineer”, and is often regarded…

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