By Max Lindberg •
June 19, 2008
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In order to cut fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in the delivery of new automobiles, Honda has launched a 400-car fleet of new Auto-Max railcars to carry its products from factory to city. Currently, Honda transports 82 percent of its Honda and Acura cars by rail, more than another other automaker.
The new, multi-level rail cars hold up to 22 vehicles, both cars and trucks, to reduce unused space. Honda says conventional rail cars hold only 10 trucks.
Imagine a high-speed rail line that could get you from San Francisco to LA in 2 hours and 40 minutes.
That dream appears to be coming true, thanks to work by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. After getting a green light by State environmental impact assessors, they’ve begun implementation of an 800-mile bullet-train system that will connect Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego. Trains traveling at 220 mph on the systems are forecast to carry up to 100 million passengers per year by 2030.
By Mark Seall •
March 20, 2008
Last week I wrote about the lamentable state of British rail services, pointing out that railways in general will need to raise their game if they are to encourage significant numbers of people to abandon the car and go for green rail instead.
So who are the world’s most railway friendly countries, and what can we learn from them about implementing practical rail services that people will actually want to use?
Data provided by The International Union of Railways shows Japan as the world leader among major economies in rail kilometres per inhabitant, followed by Europe lead by the Swiss. The United Kingdom comes, unsurprisingly, near the bottom, with the USA coming last - US citizens traveling one thirteenth the distance of the Japanese by rail.
By Mark Seall •
March 6, 2008
For centuries, Northern and Southern Europe have been divided by the Alps, a natural mountain barrier which neatly dissects the central part of the continent, running from Austria, across Switzerland and into France. However, all is set to change with the construction of the world’s longest tunnel, allowing direct travel through the alps for the first time since dinosaurs roamed the earth.
In modern times, trade between North and South has seen an increasing volume of trucks making the long, slow journey through narrow valleys, high passes, and long tunnels, many of which twist and spiral their way through the rugged mountain terrain. At the beginning of school holidays, tailbacks at the entrance to the 15 mile Gotthard road tunnel can reach 30 kilometres as droves of Northern Europeans migrate South for the food, wine and sunshine of Italy.
Concerned by the consequent increase in pollution (amplified as the narrow valleys trap particulate emissions from cars and trucks, which threatens the balance of delicate alpine eco-systems), the Swiss voted in 1994 to limit trans-alpine freight transport to 650,000 trucks per year. Achieving this will involve a massive engineering project, with 2,000 people working on the new Gotthard Base Tunnel, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
By Max Lindberg •
September 17, 2007
What’s riding the rails in your hometown? A few hobos maybe, but also potentially deadly chemicals rumble through America’s communities daily. My hometown paper, The Galesburg Register-Mail, printed a series of articles on the dangers nearly every train brings to a community. And in Galesburg, IL, this is particularly important: approximately 1,000 cars travel through the city daily on two major railroads that cross town, the Burlington Northern and the
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