Heathrow’s expansion plan forms the basis for a 12-week statutory consultation starting today on the airport’s proposed expansion, including the new runway and other airport infrastructure such as a new Terminal 6, and road access. The public will also be able to have their say on plans...
This month, FCA Italy, the Turin-based subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, finished converting a former 15,000 m2 workspace at their Mirafiori manufacturing plant into a home for 250 historic Fiat, Lancia and Abarth cars. Some of the cars have been arranged into specific themes. Each theme displays...
This summer, The Steam Dreams Rail Co. is launching The Royal Windsor Steam Express, the first regular steam train service in recent history from London Waterloo to Windsor. The service will leave Waterloo at 08.02, 11.10 and 14.10 every Tuesday, June 4th – September 3rd. There will...
As part of its 100th anniversary¹ celebrations, British Airways (BA) has announced it will be painting a Boeing 747 in the much-admired design of its predecessor British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). The livery from the 1964 – 1974 BOAC era will adorn a B747, reg: G-BYGC. The...
South Africa’s famous Blue Train has some new rolling stock. The Blue Train is actually two trains. Train Set 1 was shorter than its sibling and had no Observation Car, but it has now been extended to 15 carriages with the addition of a new observation car...
Air Astana, the national carrier of Kazakhstan, has taken delivery of its first Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, and used the opportunity to promote the cause of an endangered species – the Snow Leopard. The aircraft, which arrived today at Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport in Astana after a series...
Nearly one in five motorcycle owners is now female, compared with one in 10 less than a decade ago, and the data suggests that women could soon make up one quarter of owners, which would be a major shift in motorcycling demographics, according to the latest national...
Any nautical engineers or ship designers out there, who know the answer? We’ve all been enjoying the sight of Celebrity Edge being delivered and now embarking on her first cruises. Her stand-out (literally) feature is the ‘Magic Carpet’ – “the world’s first cantilevered, floating platform” that rises...
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has installed a system called Seat Sensor on all its trains. The new technology, which has just gone ‘live’, can tell which seats are free and, by referencing LNER’s booking data, whether a seat is reserved. Passengers can now see the status...
I know just how astonishingly efficient shipyards are these day. I’ve seen it. As soon as one, assembled-but-not-kitted-out, ship is floated out of the Meyer Werft (Germany) dock, the first blocks for the next ship are already being laid, and at Fincantieri (Italy) there are several ships...
The Stena Jutlandica, which runs between Frederikshavn and Gothenburg¹, has now completed its first month of operation as a battery hybrid vessel, using both generators and batteries to power the ship’s electrical propulsion. Sten’s battery project is being trialled in steps so that the technology can be...
Zurich public transport operator, Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ), have unveiled a mock-up of their new FLEXITY tram, made by Bombardier. The FLEXITY trams are designed to be a cost-effective solution to improve capacity, accessibility, efficiency, and passenger comfort for Zurich commuters. The FLEXITY tram’s design features include a...
AmaWaterways have unveiled designs for the first of a new generation of river cruise ships that are almost twice the width of traditional river cruise ships. When she is launched in May 2019, MV AmaMagna will have space for a wider choice of facilites including four restaurants...
European aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, is planning to fit sleeping berth modules inside the cargo compartments on its airliners. Airbus and Zodiac Aerospace have partnered to develop and market lower-deck modules with passenger sleeping berths. The modules, which would fit inside the aircraft’s cargo compartments, offer new opportunities...
This is a niche blog about technically-minded travel. It reflects my own interests in the mechanical, technical, historical, engineering, transport and military world.
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