Wi-fi in the Sky

I once touted wireless high-speed Internet on trains as a great differentiator between trains and planes, especially for routes like the DC-NYC-Boston corridor. Airlines are no dummies, however, and see a great opportunity when it arrives. SAS, Lufthansa, and JAL are beginning to offer high-speed wireless internet to passengers and, by 2006, U.S. domestic airlines are expected to do the same.

More on the topic at CNN.com.

The Beach Pneumatic Transit Company

Joseph Brennan has written an e-Book on the history of Alfred Beach's Pneumatic Subway in New York City. The book is available free for online viewing here: http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beach/. Check it out - a very cool read.

More Streetcar Fun

Birmingham, Alabama is following in the path of Little Rock and Memphis and considering installing electric streetcars in the downtown area, reports the Birmingham News. The system is expected to cost approximately $163 million and may run one of two routes:

• A north-south line running 3.2 miles between the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex and Five Points South.

• A 2.5-mile east-west line along Fifth and Seventh streets south between Bartow Arena and the Compass Bank Center.

As we've discussed here recently, this type of local downtown circulator seems to be coming into fashion in the south. In addition to the two we saw -- Little Rock and Memphis -- Charlotte, NC also has a similar system. They aren't a bad idea, but we feel the same way the Little Rock streetcar driver did. If they don't go anywhere, they don't really serve much purpose, and they're not really going to drive any economic development.

Libertines go the way of the Third Avenue El

As you may know, I'm more than just a nerd who complains about trains -- I've been known to go to the occasional gig when my favorite bands bother to bless D.C. with their presence. One band I like (actually I liked them more before they played a sloppy, drunken show in October) is The Libertines, who, with P.J. Harvey. just played their last gig in Paris.

Did you know it was sponsored by the Metro?

Of course, WMATA would never ever think of such an event, given The Libertines' inability to get through a set without a bottle on the stage. We can't have that, can we?

Where up is down

Is it possible to go both north and south at the same time?

If you ever find yourself in Wytheville, Virginia, the answer is yes.

In Wytheville, Interstate 81 continues its northwesterly northeasterly run from Tennessee to the Canadian border in New York. There, it meets Interstate 77 running southwest southeast from Ohio and West Virginia on to Charlotte and points south.

They run together for a few miles roughly east-west, then diverge. On a map, it looks like this:

Driving on the road, the signs indicate the joined section as being both 81 North and 77 South.

I got through it at night without the help of locals or a map having never been through Wytheville before. Therefore, anyone who looks at a New York subway map or a London Underground map and has complained that it's "too hard" should try getting in a car one of these days.

Update: Got my directions switched. It had to happen on this post...

Department of Duh

Some academics have noticed that when you have job growth on an island that people on the mainland commute to and you don't improve infrastructure to and from that island for decades, things can get crowded.

Does Manhattan need a new rail link to New Jersey or the outer boroughs? Probably. Will it happen before 2025? Probably not.

The power of positive thinking

Pulling into Little Rock, Arkansas, the signs were everywhere in the Rivermarket neighborhood - new-looking tracks, elevated wiring, dense development. We had found a transit-oriented city in the notoriously spread-out mid-south, just a short drive from Wal-Mart's world headquarters in Bentonville.

Then, over the Arkansas River, a bright yellow trolley slowly inched its way across the bridge. Little Rock has not a modern, integrated transit system, but two brand-new tourist circulators, one that goes between the aformentioned Riverfront and the parking lots of North Little Rock over the river, and one that runs a loop. All told, there are three cars and 2.5 miles of track.

As it turns out, the trolley was useful for us - we needed to get from our hotel on the north side of the river to the nightlife and tourist activities on the south side. After running to catch the trolley (which was going slower than us), the one rider got off at our stop, leaving the two of us to pepper the driver with questions.

"Umm, are you going anywhere, or did you just want to ride the trolley?" he asked.

Unlike most transit employees I've met, this guy not only disliked the service, but the system itself. He made the good point that it didn't go anywhere, didn't have many riders except on weekend nights, lacked the ability to go faster than traffic and cost $20 million at the same time bus service was being cut. The cars are replica vintage trolleys cars, but even on the new car we rode, the front door kept sticking.

As we crossed the river, he radioed ahead for the driver of the other trolley to meet us at the base of the bridge to take us to where we wanted to go.

Searching for a compliment, I said "You don't get that sort of personal service on the New York City subway."

"At least the subway goes somewhere," he shot back.

However, unlike most transit employees in cities where the trains do go somewhere, the driver was very nice, telling us where to go for good beer and answering all our questions. He'd get eaten alive on WMATA.

They've got your number

When I visited the U.K. in March/April, I stayed at Zoe's place in Uxbridge, a suburb most memorable for a canal full of baby strollers and a college campus used in the filming of A Clockwork Orange. Every day started with a 15-minute walk to the Tube that included a trip around a roundabout with a large sign informing drivers of where parking could be found and how many parking spots were available at each. Since the Uxbridge High Street has a tube terminal, two malls, about 30 pubs and is positively crawling with Chavs at all hours, parking is an issue for shoppers and commuters. Therefore, a sign with up-to-the-minute parking information is a great idea.

San Francisco's BART subway has finally discovered these automated parking information boards and is receiving good reviews for their implementation.

An idea: Why not put them at the I-95 - Beltway junction north of Washington? As an occasional Baltimore-DC commuter, I often pulled into the lots in Greenbelt, New Carrolton or Forest Glen, only to find that no parking was available. With 10 minutes between the merge and these stations in smooth traffic (up to 30 otherwise), there could be a problem figuring out if any spots will still be available upon arrival, but I'm sure something could be worked out.

Stand Clear of Closing Doors

We bid a fond farewell to those libertarian-minded transport bloggers across the pond as Patrick Crozier bids farewell on Transport Blog. We've had our good times together. While we might not always agree on the politics of transport, it was always a pleasure to read the musings of Patrick, et al, and to gain a little bit more insight into that complex mess better known as the British transportation system.

Farewell, guys, and thanks for a great service to the blogging community.

Subway Construction Delayed...Escalator Goes Missing

A new subway station in Gouwugongyuan station in Shenzhen, China will miss its opening date of December 28, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. A gang of 24 armed men broke into the station and stole the escalator. Reports the SMH:

Terrified security guards stood by as the robbers went back and forth, carrying materials to trucks waiting outside, the South China Morning Post reported.

Wow.

Link courtesy Creature of the Shade.

Bendies and Routemasters and timetables, oh my

Diamond Geezer goes bus-crazy!

Computers Don't Crash Trains, People Crash Trains

The New York Times reports on a protest by the Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union of America, which is the union of the New York City transit operators, against a plan to make trains on the L line completely automated by the middle of 2005. A conductor would remain onboard the train in case of emergency, but would not control the train, unless an emergency occured.

Two officials, quoted by the Times, explained:

"This is a gamble, a dangerous gamble, and passengers will pay," said the president of the union, Roger Toussaint, who contended that conductors were essential during emergencies.

"When was the last time you saw a computer lead people to safety?" asked Representative Jerrold L. Nadler. "When was the last time you saw a computer evacuate a train?"

Both of which seem to neglect the fact that under the $287 million plan, a train conductor will remain in the front cab at all times. Which means, in the case of an emergency, there will be a conductor to evacuate the train. It does mean, however, fewer jobs for train operators (and fewer union members). And not to be crass, but maybe computerized operation isn't a bad thing -- the major train accident in D.C. earlier this month likely happened precisely because the trains weren't operating automatically but were being manually handled.

'Like a row of dominoes'

A bad day on the New York City subway.