Yearly Archives: 2020

Don’t drive into the River Volga!

Nizhny Novgorod is a historic Russian city located where the Oka River meets the Volga. As you might expect, many roads lead to the water. In the middle of winter there is no difference between snow and ice, so signs […]

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Hidden tracks of the Kiev Metro

The Kiev Metro is a relatively simple system – three independent metro lines running across the city, with passengers changing between them at one of three interchange stations. However trains do have a way of making their way between the […]

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Catching the train deep under the Apennines

A major link in the Italian rail network is the 18.5 kilometre long Apennine Tunnel, passing under the Apennine Mountains to connect the railways of north Italy with those of Tuscany and central Italy. But it is notable for more […]

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Turning a locomotive on a reversing star

There are many ways for a locomotive to be turned – reversing loops, turntables, and triangular junctions. But there is one bizarre track configuration that can also do the same job – a reversing star. Google Maps How they work […]

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Moscow Metro curved, side and triple track stations

Each of the 232 stations on the Moscow Metro might have a unique look, but there is one design feature the majority share – two tracks flanking a central island platform. But how about the exceptions? Adopting a standard Russian-language […]

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Rubber stamping Russian restaurant menus

As I travelled across Russia, there was peculiar on the menu at every restaurant I ate at – each page had a rubber stamp on it. Featuring what seemed to be the name of the restaurant, and a signature. So […]

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Switching from right to left on the Wiener Straßenbahn

Trams on the Wiener Straßenbahn run on the right hand side just like every other road vehicle in Austria, but there is one exception – the elevated tracks of line 26. Opened in 2013, the 4.7 kilometre long extension of […]

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Gothenburg tram swapping sides from left to right

In the Swedish city of Gothenburg the tram network has a curious section of track – a diamond crossing that swaps the left and right tracks around. Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the […]

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Lookalike Melbourne trams in Lisboa

I recently found a familiar looking trams in an unexpected location, when reading about about a new tram order for the Portuguese capital of Lisboa. Railway Gazette has the back story: CAF wins Lisboa tram tender 19 December 2019 Portugal: […]

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Bizzare narrow platforms on the Bucharest Metro

The Bucharest Metro is a rail network with an interesting history, with the bizarrely narrow platforms at Piața Romană station being one example. Photo by Dimitris Kamaras from Athens, Greece, via Wikimedia Commons The bulk of the platform being less […]

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