Rail Baltic unveils first visuals of future infrastructure
Rail Baltic has released the first visualizations of the future international railroad project, depicting pedestrian overpasses and tunnels, noise barriers, fences, wildlife crossings, embankments and cuts as well as regional stations. Rail Baltic will run from Tallinn, Estonia, via Latvia, to the Lithuanian-Polish border. [baltictimes.com]
Tanzania: Dar-Kilimanjaro passenger train service resumes
After a 25-year absence, Tanzania Railway Corporation has resumed regular service between Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro. Trains will operate twice weekly and will carry up to 800 passengers, Travel classes include second, third, and second sleeper. [thecitizen.co.tz]
Ottawa’s OC Transpo goes with high capacity light rail
Neither light rail nor rapid transit, OC Transpo’s Confederation Line in Ottawa — with up to 180,000 weekday riders, the busiest single-line LRT in North America — combines characteristics of both. What is best described as hybrid rail transit technology, it is High Capacity Light Rail, or HCLR, to coin a new acronym. [railwayage.com]
Touchless train travel in the works
East Japan Railways is trying to take the hassle out of traveling on trains. The company is developing a system that enables passengers to pass through ticket gates without hand-tapping IC chip fare card scanners. The new technology uses millimeter waves to detect and read concealed fare cards. [nippon.com]
UK Rail operator Avanti West Coast to offer three classes of travel
Three travel classes will be available on a domestic UK railway line for the first time in more than 60 years. Avanti West Coast, which has replaced Virgin Trains on the West Coast Main Line, will offer premium economy as well as standard and first-class seats. [bbc.com]
As London’s Tube expands, so does the fight over its map
A familiar tradition played out in England’s capital city last week, as Transport for London (TfL) released a new version of its Tube map. It’s never been easy to design a map of the city’s underground transit network. But soon, critics say, legibility concerns will demand a new look. [citylab.com]
