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.

Autonomous Rail/Road Transport Vehicle to be Evaluated in California American startup Glid Technologies announced a partnership with Mendocino Railway to operate their autonomous transport vehicles. The idea of their “GliderM” vehicles is to automate the first and last mile of intermodal transport. The vehicle that looks like a truck can travel both on roads and on tracks. It is supposed to pick up a container autonomously, then move it across streets and railway tracks. It might compete with the autonomous railway cars that Parallel Systems is developing (see my blogpost here). This idea reminds me of other combined rail/road vehicles, like the “Rail-Road Bus” that the German Railways used in the 1950s. Click here to see some original footage. As the idea is not really new, I wonder what they see as their unique selling proposition. Unfortunately Glid’s company homepage is very low on details of the concept. Hopefully I can do a further evaluation once more information is made available by the company. Ekranoplans Making a Comeback? Ekranoplans - or Wing-in-Ground Effect (WIG) - are airplanes that can fly directly above the water surface. The main user of these airplanes was the Red Army, who planned to use them to transport goods and troops quickly to enemy beaches. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the idea came out of fashion. Now activities in China and the US indicate a comeback could be imminent. China appears to develop a new WIG, the “Bohai Sea Monster”, as Navalnews.com reports. With the ongoing thread of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, it needs little imagination what the intention is. On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, the American research agency DARPA worked on the Liberty Lifter concept. The goal of this program was to develop a new WIG concept, usable both for Military and civilian scenarios. In contrast to the Chinese efforts, no prototypes are yet in sight. Still it appears the Ekranoplans could populate the World’s waters once more. Blended Wing Bodies Coming to Civilian Aircraft? Blended Wing Body aircrafts promise improved efficiency and additional space for seating or cargo. While the original idea is more than 100 years old, its application has so far been largely restricted to military aircraft. The American B2 bomber is the most prominent one. But now two innovative startups want to bring this concept to the civilian sector: JetZero and Natilus. This video by the German platform Airliners.de explains the pros and cons of Blended Wing Bodies in detail and why now seems to be the right time for a comebock of this idea. Title Image by Glid Technologies.

The subconscious helps you make sense of an ever changing world. As the name says, you are often not aware of the working of the subconscious. Yet it is always at work, guiding you softly and never stopping. The same is true for what is underneath our cities. The ground under our feet sprouts so many functions that are essential for our lives, but we rarely think about them. There are cables that bring electricity, pipes that deliver fresh water or take away used ones and optical fibres that let us communicate with the world. All of this happens every day, every second, and that is what keeps us alive and functioning. ...

Hypersonic Aircraft Powered by Hydrogen Following NASA, also the European Space Agency ESA plans to develop a hypersonic aircraft. The European INVICTUS project even goes one step further and aims add an environmentally friendly propulsion system using Hydrogen. In addition, the aircraft is supposed to take off horizontally, so it can start and land at conventional airports. As hypersonic airfact travel close to space, this shall one day provide convenient access to space travel. Yet this is still science fiction - NASA estimates the development will take decades and predicts commercial travel in the 2050s. Czech Railways End Traditional Dining Car Service Some sad news from the Czech Railways CD. They plan to decomission their old-style dining cars on the trains connecting Prague with Berlin and Hamburg. They will be replaced by modern Bistro cars. Gone are the days where you would get your traditional Czech Roast with dumplings, prepared in an actual kitchen and served on a table with table linen. It was the last dining car where you could get to feel like you were in the “Old Europe”. Now also this train arrives in the present. Too bad I never had the chance to dine in one of those cars. Snake on a Globe Ever since I got my first mobile phone - a Nokia - I love playing Snake. I also love maps. This browser game is the perfect combination of both - you play Snakes on globe! You guide the snake from one city to the next. The next city is randomly chosen, and you only see the city’s name. You need a good knowledge of geography to find the shortest way and get the highest score. A perfect way to pass your time and test your geography. Also have a look at the author’s other projects, he has a knack for visualisation of information. After spending more time than intended playing snake, here is another way to spend countless hours! Title Image: ©️ESA

Car traffic increases all over the world. New streets are constructed, existing ones widened. Yet there are streets that don’t follow this trend, like the narrowest street in the world.

Autonomous Drones Perform Inventory in Warehouse A subsidiary of Hyuandai Motors now uses drones to perform inventory in their warehouses. It reduces the time for an inventory by 90% to 30 Minutes. The drones fly autonomously and orient themselves with their cameras - no GPS required. Seems like a perfect way to free humans from boring and repetitive work. Military Transport Drone Carries Freight Almost 1,000km Company MightyFly of California presents an autonomous transport drone. It can fly freight of 220kg for almost 1,000km and take off and land vertically. It is intended for military applications, but can also have civilian use, for instance in disaster relieve. Watch this video to get a first impression. Should this mode of transport prove reliable and efficient, I see the potential to profoundly change freight transport. Imagine a company urgently needs some extra parts from their supplier – they can have them within the hour if they have such a drone. Amazing! Autonomous Submarine for Drug Trafficking When I think of submarines, I think of boats full of soldiers, hunting the enemy or carrying rockets. Transport of people or goods do not come to my mind - even though hypersonic submarines might be used this way in the future. Yet it appears my imagination has not been vivid enough. Submarines, or at least “semisubmersibles”, are alreaddy in active use for freight transport. The use is neither military nor civilian. It is for drug transport. From this article I learned there are actual shipyards in the Columbian jungle. The semisubmersibles carry cocaine and other drugs from Columbia to other countries in America, and now across the globe. Nowadays, these boats can even be unmanned, using Starlink for communication and navigation. Ingenious – and worrying. How can we protect ourselves from such boats, be it for them carrying drugs or even other malign payloads such as explosives? Title Image is a screenshot from the video that MightyFly released on Youtube.