Articles on transport infrastructure, its intersection with politics, and other things that tickle my pickle.
Dutch cycling infrastructure, German transport coordination, and UK fragmentation reveal why access determines railway success. East West Rail needs more than tracks – it needs integrated governance that six local authorities cannot deliver alone.
East West Rail 2/3With 19,000 companies and 570,000 jobs, the Oxford-Cambridge Arc is already an economic powerhouse. East West Rail will finally give it the infrastructure it needs – but station consolidation, electrification compromises, and Universal Studios' 8.5 million visitors create challenges that could undermine success.
East West Rail 1/3The Varsity Line connected Oxford and Cambridge from 1862 until Beeching-era closures in 1967. Understanding why it was built – and why closing it was a mistake – explains why East West Rail is essential today.
Detection arrived years late; refuges were spaced for cost; control rooms couldn’t monitor their own CCTV, leaving drivers stranded in live lanes. This piece charts that failure and argues the fix is obvious: automate protection when sensors agree, resource operations properly, and build real predictive intelligence on top.
Comcast’s decision to locate Universal Studios in Bedford wasn’t arbitrary: it hinged on connectivity. This article examines expected visitor travel patterns, rail capacity, and key bottlenecks along the A421 corridor, such as M1 Junction 13.