Love this!

In Tilburg, #Holland, local residents have installed a hand-cranked ferry so they can get their bicycles across an historic canal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDm3itmrrgk&time_continue=3&source_ve_path=NzY3NTg&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.core77.com%2F

RE: https://urbanists.social/@straphanger/117116673137089227

“Our study suggests that the dangerous part here is the fiddling with the phone or the infotainment system, not the listening. Changing the music on touch screens in the car, which is very common now, is different than pushing a button without taking your eyes off the road,” Worsham said. “Queue up your music before you put the car in drive, and let it play until you can safely change it.”

Strange but true: Without intending it, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, and Drake have blood on their hands.

The US is so auto-dependent (and distracted) that the day a big album drops, traffic fatalities go up 15% nationwide.

Yup: drivers are fumbling to stream, rather than paying attention to the road.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/17/health/album-streaming-traffic-deaths

Ride it while you can!

VIA Rail is gradually replacing the glorious stainless-steel Budd cars it runs on The Canadian.

I rode 2,737 miles, from Vancouver to Toronto, and fell in love with the smooth-riding mid-century streamliners.

Read more in my Nat Geo feature:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/disconnect-on-this-nostalgic-canadian-train-trip

I rode VIA Rail’s Canadian 2,737 miles, from #Vancouver to #Toronto. It was like time travel: no wi-fi, very little cell service, 1950s rolling stock, and a soothing return to the lost art of conversation with strangers.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/disconnect-on-this-nostalgic-canadian-train-trip

I rode VIA Rail’s Canadian 2,737 miles, from #Vancouver to #Toronto. It was like time travel: no wi-fi, very little cell service, 1950s rolling stock, and a soothing return to the lost art of conversation with strangers.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/disconnect-on-this-nostalgic-canadian-train-trip

Can’t come soon enough! Getting to the airport in Canada’s 2nd largest city is a time- and money-wasting slog.

This week the first trains are being tested on the REM light-metro line to #Montréal ‘s Trudeau airport. Should be in full revenue service by 2027.

https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/grand-montreal/2026-08-13/rem/les-essais-debutent-sur-la-branche-vers-l-aeroport-montreal-trudeau.php?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=threads&utm_campaign=accueil

A model—so no passengers aboard.

0 to 799 km/h in 5.3 seconds!

A 2,447-pound magnetic levitation vehicle has accelerated from rest to 497 miles per hour in only 5.3 seconds on a 0.62 miles (one kilometer) test track at Donghu Laboratory in China’s Hubei province.

https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/china-maglev-speed-record

...Nightjet and European Sleeper, there's been a real revival.

Our family of 4 bought tickets on the Nightjet to #Berlin last month.

Here's how it went:

https://www.highspeed.blog/all-aboard-the-nightjet-to-berlin/

This is astonishing!

Here's a map of all the overnight (sleeper) trains you can now take in Europe. So many in eastern and central Europe. (Few, however, out of #France and none in #Spain, #Portugal.)

https://back-on-track.eu/night-train-map/

Before 2020, routes were disappearing. Thanks to...

🧵

...Nightjet and European Sleeper, there's been a real revival.

Our family of 4 bought tickets on the Nightjet to #Berlin last month.

Here's how it went:

https://www.highspeed.blog/all-aboard-the-nightjet-to-berlin/

This is astonishing!

Here's a map of all the overnight (sleeper) trains you can now take in Europe. So many in eastern and central Europe. (Few, however, out of #France and none in #Spain, #Portugal.)

https://back-on-track.eu/night-train-map/

Before 2020, routes were disappearing. Thanks to...

🧵

Taking an overnight train means you save money on a hotel room, and your carbon emissions are a fraction of doing the same trip by car or plane.

But are sleeper trains practical for a family of 4?

We gave the Nightjet to #Berlin a test.

The whole story here: https://www.highspeed.blog/all-aboard-the-nightjet-to-berlin/

Deutsche Bahn in the black, for the first time in 7 years; profit improves by €650 million to €415 million in 2026.

Now maybe they can get to work on running their trains on time...

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-news-deutsche-bahn-returns-to-profit/live-78168639

Something done right: First 9 locos built by Stadler in Spain, but with canadian workers learning how to do it, and the remainder will have final assembly in Montréal.

Unclear: wherher Stadler assembly in Montréal will be done in existing VAi maintenace hall (upgraded) or if new facility will be built. Minister said "right here" while speaking inside the maintenance hall with old loco in background.

THIS JUST IN: In #Canada, federal government announces almost $2B for 45 new battery-diesel Via Rail passenger locomotives

The hybrid locos, first in North America, will be built by #Switzerland 's Stadler.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/via-rail-newbattery-diesel-locomotives-9.7288814

Cable cars: Not just for ski vacations.

In La Paz, Medellín, and a half dozen cities in #France, they're being used as robust forms of urban transit.

I gave #Paris 's C1, Europe's newest (and longest) aerial tram, a test drive, and here's what I discovered:

https://www.highspeed.blog/up-where-the-air-is-clear/

@jfmezei @straphanger Confirmed, found the press release from the Government directly and it is for long distance trains, some are rocking carriages pushing 70+ years old.

36 sets will be made at a new domestic plant, the first 9 will be made in Europe.

https://www.canada.ca/en/transport-canada/news/2026/07/passenger-rail-locomotive-assembly-returns-to-canada-through-a-195-billion-government-of-canada-investment.html