I am happy to announce that my latest book is now also available as a paperback on Amazon.com. Click here to read samples of the stunning limericks from this creative piece of poetry.

The Changtai Bridge - The World’s Longest Cable-Stayed Bridge A magnificent feat of engineering opened in China: The Changtai bridge. It is more than 10kms long and connects the cities of Changzhou and Taizhou across the Yangtze river. It combines both road traffic and railway lines, and it shortens the travel time between the two cities from 80 minutes to just 20. Once again, China shows its prowess in civil engineering. Maglev in Augsburg? The SWA, the utility and mobility provider in Augsburg, Germany, is reportedly looking into the construction of a maglev. The idea is to build the maglev instead of the planned tramway line 5 from the central station to the new university hospital. If these plans were to come true, it would be the first ever line implementing the Transport System Bögl (TSB). This topic might be driven by political interest, as the original plans to erect a TSB in the city of Nuremberg have faltered, but Bavaria’s Minister President Markus Söder would like to see this technology of Bavarian origin in his home state. evtol News Last but not least another web tip for all fans of electric planes, aerotaxis and eVTOL in general. This homepage collects all relevant information regarding this interesting technology in one place. The only drawback is that its RSS feed seems to be broken, so I won’t see their latest updates in my inbox. Title image by China Communications Construction

Every second year, the IAA becomes the Mekka of the automotive world. Since the IAA moved from Frankfurt to Munich in 2021, it also showcases other mobility solutions, not just cars. Much has been written in the last days about the cars, and here I want to give an overview about the other mobility options that were on show.

First Tesla Diner opens in Hollywood Tesla opened its first diner in Hollywood. The concept combines a Tesla charging station with foods and drinks as in a diner. The idea is that patrons spend the time it takes to charge their car batteries at the diner. Here they can eat fast food, buy Tesla merchandise or watch a movie on the big outside screens. The biggest appeal of this diner seems to be its retro-futuristic design - it apparently cannot decide if it is from the future or from the 1950s. Also people cannot seem to decide yet if this concept is going to be top or flop. According to reports on the web, long queues mainly form when the touchscreen stations for ordering food are broken. Also the popcorn-making humanoid robot apparently needs some time off in between. Will such fanciful service stations become the norm as electric vehicles are becoming more widespread, offering drivers a good time while they wait for their vehicles to be charged? Or will this concept become obsolete as soon as charging times reach the range of just a few minutes? In my humble opinion, the concept of the Tesla diner is a sign that the fully self-driving Tesla is not around the corner yet, as the really autonomous car could go charging by itself while the driver is doing something more worthwhile. Competition for the ICE - German company Flixtrain to launch high-speed trains The German company Flixtrain - together with Flixbus a subsidiary of Flix - announced its plans to enter the market for high-speed trains in Germany and also in Europe. It ordered 65 train sets at Spanish company Talgo. Its competitor Deutsche Bahn ordered the same trains, the difference is only that Flix will buy the locomotives from Siemens instead of Talgo. With this order the Deutsche Bahn will for the first time have serious competition in the long-distance passenger market. Flixtrain plans to beat its rival with cheaper fares and mandatory seat reservations. The passenger potential seems to be there, yet questions remain if they can get non-discriminating access to the tracks and also to the booking system of the Deutsche Bahn. And even if their concept is good, they still have to suffer from the overloaded and ailing railway infrastructure in Germany. I wish them all the best in their endeavor, as only real competition can bring about real improvements for the passengers. Title image generated with ChatGPT

Helsinki Achieves Vision Zero 0 people died in traffic in Finland’s capital in the last 12 month. An amazing achievement for this city of 690,000 inhabitants. Compare this with other cities of this size, e.g. Nuremberg, Germany, where the death toll was 11. Wouldn’t it be worth to make some changes to the planning rules to save these lives? Helsinki did just that, by setting a speed limit of 30 kph in many streets, especially around schools. The decision where to limit the speed was based on data where most of the crashes occurred. In addition, they added bike lanes and improved p ublic transportation, reducing overall traffic and thus decreased the likelihood of accidents. Other European cities are following suit and are also setting up similar measures. Vision Zero - the European Union’s plan to have 0 traffic related deaths by 2050 - it has come a little closer. Virtual Train Coupling Imagine individual trains could be coupled without any mechanical connection. If it were possible, multiple trains could occupy the same blog segment at the same time while they could also part their ways any time. Right now, this is not possible. To connect trains, they have to be coupled mechanically, a maneuver which has to be done while both trains are standing, and often also requires manual intervention. The German research institute DLR has now shown in a prototype how virtual coupling could work. In this prototype, two trains communicate with each other via Ultra-Wideband (UWB). This is a radio technology that allows an exact distance measurement between the communication partners. One of its applications is to find out where a smartphone is relative to a car, which is the basis of the BMW Digital Key technology. In addition to UWB, also lasers are used to measure the position of the trains very precisely. The researches have shown that with this technology, trains can travel in a distance of a few dozen meters from each other. Once this technology is ready for series production, it would allow both more automation of railroads and a higher track capacity. A similar approach is also being evaluated for virtual coupling of busses, as I reported back in 2023. I am looking forward that this 21st century technology will make the railway system fit for the future. Berlin open for a new maglev line Ute Bonde, the senator for transport of Berlin, said she is open to add maglevs in the transport mix in Berlin. She sees them as an alternative to conventional tramway lines, but also for freight traffic into the city. Even though she did not mention any provider, there is only one company that could deliver such a system in Germany: The Transport System Bögl, which I had the chance to visit last year. It would be the first city to build such a system and thus a trailblazer for maglevs in public transportation. Ms Bonde wants to present her whitepaper for the future of mobility in Berlin in the fall of this year. I am looking forward to it, maybe it will really make maglevs a reality after so many years of discussions. Tokyo Metro - 100 Cameras If you have already watched the documentary “Metrocosmos” (see here), here is another must-watch documentary for subway aficionados. It shows the complex activities that keep the Tokyo Metro running by dispersing a hundred cameras everywhere - in trains, on platforms and in the control center. You see in real time how this organization detects problems, finds solutions and constantly adapts. It is almost like a living organism, which is fascinating to watch. No wonder that London wanted them to operate their Elizabeth Line. The video will be available until Dec. 13th 2025, so hurry up to watch it. Title image by DLR, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

The CEO of Deutsche Bahn has to go German trains used to run on time, but that was a long time ago. Over many decades, underinvestment in infrastructure has turned the once proud railway system into a daily nuisance for everyone who has to use it. Travelers, commuters and shippers alike suffer from it. The sad low point came last year, when Germany hosted the European Football Championship and international guests were faced with a transportation chaos. At the same time, the Deutsche Bahn accumulates one loss making year after the other. Fixing this situation would be the crowning achievement of any manager. Yet the top job in the state-owned company comes with a lot of additional constraints, as the CEO has to cope with the demands of changing governments, constant interference in their work and with chronic underfunding. So far, no one has succeeded in this daunting task. Now we have one more person who unfortunately could not finish the job. Richard Lutz, who took over the top position in 2017, was fired by the new Minister or Transport, Patrick Schnieder. Lutz could neither stop the losses nor make the trains more punctual, with punctuality reaching a record low of 62% last year (and remember, a train still counts as punctual if the delay is not higher than 5 minutes). A successor still needs to be found, until then Mr. Lutz stays in charge. We can just hope that the new man - or woman - on the job has more luck. Yet the real change that has to happen is that the government commits to a long-term plan of the railway system and also provides the funding. Even though it has increased, the per-capita spending for railway infrastructure is too low compared with other European Countries. It will take many more Euros, and likely even more time, to fix the German railway system and prepare it for the future. ...

Bridge to Sicily - Construction scheduled to start this year A ride from mainland Italy to Sicily takes hours, as you have to take a ferry across the Medina Strait. But this is about to change: The world’s longest suspension bridge shall connect Sicily to the rest of Italy. The bridge shall span a record of 3.3km. As a suspension bridge, it shall be especially resistant against earthquakes. Construction is supposed to start in 2026. Once finished, it can carry 6,000 cars per hour and additionally 200 trains per day. Autonomous eVTOL supplies offshore oil rig in China Chinese company Autoflight tested their fully electric eVTOL that can carry up to 400kg of load. The purpose of this autonomous drone is to support offshore oil rigs. Current ways of supplying them are either via ship, which can take up to ten hours or more, or via helicopter, which is very expensive. Thus a fully electric and autonomous drone could save lots of time and money. The drone fills a similar niche as the MightlyFly about which I wrote in July. As soon as these drone types become reliable and economical, they are goint to reshape many industries. Metrocosmos - a fascinating look into the underground This week I watched the documentary Metrocosmos by Filmmaker Timo Novotny. In this five-part documentary, Timo takes us on a journey into the underground of Paris, Prague, Berlin, Vienna and Naples. We learn about the fact that the metro in Naples is one of the metros with the steepest gradiants. Or that the length of the Paris metro, which is already one of the largest in the world, is currently in the progress of being extended to twice the track length! On this journey we also meet all kind of people in the underground, from the construction workers who built the tunnels, over designers who create the visual communication concept, to the urban explorers who find abandoned places all over the networks. All of this is presented in a captivating visual style, combined with a hypnotic soundtrack. This is a must-watch for all subway afficinados. The videos are currently available (in German) on the ARD Mediathek. Title Image by the Messina Strait Bridge Company.

Standardized containers allows us to transport goods efficiently and in large number across the oceans. What sounds like a modern idea is actually quite old. 2,000 years ago, humans used the same concept for transporting both staple goods and luxuries across the Mediterranean sea and beyond. Romans, Greeks, Phoenicians or Cathargans - many peoples traded goods with each other in the ancient world. One of the most common type of goods were liquids, from wine over olive oil to garum, the popular fish-based condiment of the day. They all needed a way to be stored on a ship. The technology was a kind of bottle made from ceramic, the amphora (plural: amphorae). Also other kinds of food could be stored in the amphorae, like figs or dates from North Africa. ...

Pedestrians Rushing More and More A study by American Scholar Arianna Salazar-Miranda from Yale University shows something astonishing – and worrying – about our cities. Gone are the days in which people would stroll leasurly through the city centers. Instead, people are increasingly only rushing from A to B, which the study proved by comparing video data from the years 1979-1980 and 2008-2010. They found the average walking speed increased by 15% while the time spent lingering was reduced by 50%. Is it that cities are less attractive nowadays, or do people have less time? My personal theory: Using smartphones, you rarely have to spent some time waiting for someone at a certain place, as you can know up to the minute when the person arrives. But is this really true? More data is needed, but the research direction looks very promising. Will Berlin Become a Car-Free City? Can a big city become completely car free? Paris has made some moves in this direction, decreasing maximum driving speed on many streets and even making some streets car free. Yet the whole city, this would be a completely new level. Do the people in Germany’s capital city want to be the first? This is the proposal of the citizen’s initiative “Berlin Autofrei.” Their idea is that the area within the S-Bahn circle shall become a zone with limited car access. People in this area could use their car only a few times per year - with exceptions for disabled people and first responders. They aim for a referendum, and if the referendum is successful, their initiative could become law. What would be the effect on people if such a drastic change happened in their lifes? Can they adapt their patterns for how to get to work or their kids to daycare in time? Will public transportation be able to cope with the increased demand? Would car ownership really drop? These are interesting questions, but it is also a big experiment. Will the people in Berlin be willing to become part of this experiment? Australias First Rocket Fails Australian Company Gilmour Space launched their first rocket of the type “Eris”. Unfortunately, it failed after only 14 seconds of flight. Yet this flight was enough to put Australia on the list of countries that could soon have access to space. The circle of space nations, it seems to keep growing every day. Title image generated with Stable Diffusion.