Tag Archives: rail operations

Crazy tram junctions of Innsbruck

Innsbruck is one of many Austrian cities with tramways, but the network has one interesting feature – exceedingly complicated junctions. Photo by trams aux fils., via Wikimedia Commons Peerhofsiedlung terminus has a interleaved scissors crossover on a curve. Google Street […]

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ÖBB switching from left to right hand running across Austria

Trains switching between left and right hand running has been a theme on this blog for some time, and here is one example I’d missed – Austria. When I visited Austria I only found trains running on the right hand […]

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Turning trains on the Wuppertal Schwebebahn

The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn is a suspension railway in the German city of Wuppertal, where trains hang from a single rail built underneath a supporting steel frame. But how do the trains turn around at the end of the line? Photo […] Continue reading

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Porta Alpina – a railway station beneath The Alps

I’ve written about a number of railway stations located deep beneath mountain ranges before, and here is another one – Porta Alpina, which was to be located in the middle of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland. Photo by KlausFoehl, […]

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Crossing over on the Charleroi Metro

The Belgium city of Charleroi is home to the Charleroi Metro – a curious light rail system, with 33-kilometres of track circling the city centre in an underground tunnel, and forming three above ground branches to the surrounding suburbs, along […]

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Customer service counters onboard Amsterdam trams

Onboard the trams of Amsterdam is a strange sight – customer service counters! Photo by Rob Dammers, via Wikimedia Commons The customer service counters are located onboard 151 Combino trams operated by GVB. GVB photo And replaced an enclosed conductor […]

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Turning trams on a turntable in Kiev

Unidirectional trams are common across Eastern Europe and the former USSR, with reversing loops provided so trams can turn around for their reverse journeys. But the Ukrainian capital of Kiev once turned trams a different way – on a turntable. […]

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Crossing international borders by train

When I travelled across Europe by train, I crossed a few international borders. Some were simple, but others were more involved. The uneventful My first border crossing by train was on my journey from Germany and Austria, and it was […]

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Four platform stations of the Moscow Metro

I’ve previously written about the standard interchange station design found on Soviet designed metro systems, and the non-standard platform configurations on the Moscow Metro – this time we look at the four track stations that offer cross-platform interchange. Кита́й-го́род (Kitay-gorod) […]

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Battery-electric locomotives of the Moscow Metro

On the Moscow Metro can be found a curious piece of rolling stock – Контактно-аккумуляторный электровоз – battery-electric locomotives converted from retired metro carriages to haul maintenance trains through underground tunnels. Photo by Anakin, via Wikimedia Commons The seats have […]

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