I wrote about how green light rail from the perspective of improving urban water quality here in Aotearoa New Zealand. There are so many additional benefits to this approach. www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2021/07/20/g...

More here (in German): www.swissinfo.ch/ger/parkkart...

On Sunday, #Zürich residents voted 52.8% in favor of increasing parking fees for cars according to weight. The owner of a BMW X2 (Diesel), which weighs 1,675 kilograms, will now pay equivalent of €717 Euros per year to park on a public street. (Before, about €321.) Direct democracy!

In other words, not only is electric rail transit low emission—unlike almost every other mode, it actually *greens* a city, in the strictest sense of the word. #Zürich #Switzerland #transit #railsky

Look at the automobile-centered space to the left—all heat-increasing concrete. For every 2 kms of track with grass or sedum, you get 1.5 football fields' worth of green space, reducing air pollution + urban heat island effect.

I’m riding the 10 tram, which connects Central to the airport, in Zürich. For much of its route, it runs along a green corridor. Check it out, there’s even grass *between* the rails… 🚉🧵

On Sunday, #Zürich residents voted 52.8% in favor of increasing parking fees for cars according to weight. The owner of a BMW X2 (Diesel), which weighs 1,675 kilograms, will now pay equivalent of €717 Euros per year to park on a public street. (Before, about €321.) Direct democracy!

I'm getting strong Mussolini on Jan. 3 1925 vibes. The dictator speech, to be exact: www.history.com/this-day-in-...

I’m riding the 10 tram, which connects Central to the airport, in Zürich. For much of its route, it runs along a green corridor. Check it out, there’s even grass *between* the rails… 🚉🧵

Ljubljana's car-free transformation impressed French television so much that they profiled it three times. France 2, 2021 (3 mins): www.franceinfo.fr/environnemen... France 24, 2023 (11 mins): www.france24.com/fr/europe/20... France 2, 2024 (3 mins): www.franceinfo.fr/replay-magaz...

Even more impressive when you consider that almost all of that track (and the trains on it) is at 1:25 scale …

Little known fact: with 3.5 kms of railway track, Swissminiatur, an amusement park outside Lugano, #Switzerland, has more functional rail transit than most cities in the USA

What do you see when you get to the top? More transit, obviously!

What’s better than watching the Polybahn of #Zürich burst out of a building? Taking a ride on it! I love the fact that the cars have an open viewing platform at the upwards-facing end. #railsky 🇨🇭🚞

Mystery solved! It’s a classroom.

I used to have german lessons in that building, right over the Polybahn rails. This was the view from my seat. Very peculiar.

(The same goes with bicycles. But you already knew that.)

You know what I like about trains? Everything. They take you nice places, and don’t mess up the world getting you there. #Lugano #Switzerland #railsky

Truly, nothing is sacred. I’ve just discovered that Toblerone packages can no longer have the image of the Matterhorn on them. 🇨🇭 Just a generic alpine peak. Because these days Toblerone is made in…Romania. www.standard.co.uk/business/bus...

What’s better than watching the Polybahn of #Zürich burst out of a building? Taking a ride on it! I love the fact that the cars have an open viewing platform at the upwards-facing end. #railsky 🇨🇭🚞

I’m in #Zürich for 18 hours, so you better believe I’m going to take a ride on the Polybahn! I love any form of #transit that bursts from a building. I wonder what it’s like to live in the apartment directly above the wires?

You know what I like about trains? Everything. They take you nice places, and don’t mess up the world getting you there. #Lugano #Switzerland #railsky

“What? You never seen a cow before?” I’m getting a lot of attitude from these mucche italiane in Domodossola. Just sayin’…

Little known fact: with 3.5 kms of railway track, Swissminiatur, an amusement park outside Lugano, #Switzerland, has more functional rail transit than most cities in the USA

With its impeccable, gleaming red exterior, one of the more striking funiculars I’ve had the pleasure of riding. Brava! 👌🏼

You get two funicular rides for one price—the first is a little driverless number that takes you a third of the way up Monte Brè. #railsky #funicular

Here’s the view from outside. I hiked down part way and flagged the operator from a platform—and he stopped. (Whew!)

Wheeeeee! I took a little ride on the Funicolare Monte Brè in Lugano #Switzerland. 🇨🇭 Whisks you up to 933 metres, with great views towards Campione d’Italia, a little enclave of #Italy on Swiss territory. (Ok, it’s a casino.) Just as fun coming down… 🧵

B/c it's largest single expansion of a rapid transit system in North America in this century. Adding 26 stations, on a 67-km network—in addition to 68 existing stations of Montreal metro. (Plus 5 new ones coming on the Blue Line.) I share a ride on the REM here: www.highspeed.blog/a-ride-on-th...

Amazing! The next line of the REM, #Montreal 's transformative light metro project is opening in a few weeks—Nov. 2025. The opening of the line to the west of the island (Anse-aux-Ormes) has been delayed until spring 2026. Why is this a big deal? 🧵 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

I admit it. I’ve got an obsession. It’s a problem.

Amazing! The next line of the REM, #Montreal 's transformative light metro project is opening in a few weeks—Nov. 2025. The opening of the line to the west of the island (Anse-aux-Ormes) has been delayed until spring 2026. Why is this a big deal? 🧵 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

People of #Ontario : you are being led by a donkey. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pMC...

NOBODY expects the Swedish Delegation!

I joke! I was at Swissminiatur, outside #Lugano. All of the nation’s major sites, in one cute, convenient package.

There are days when #Switzerland feels like one enormous model railway to me. Like yesterday, when this happened…

So it *was* the Swedish delegation that stopped the escalator at the UN! Thought so.

I'm told Switzerland regularly sends trains from #Germany back over the border when they're running late. Can't have sloppy foreigners messing up the Taktfahrplan, after all. Tik tok!

Modest proposal: Hand DB over to SBB. The Swiss will have those German trains running on time in a week. #Switzerland www.economist.com/europe/2025/...

Wheeeeee! I took a little ride on the Funicolare Monte Brè in Lugano #Switzerland. 🇨🇭 Whisks you up to 933 metres, with great views towards Campione d’Italia, a little enclave of #Italy on Swiss territory. (Ok, it’s a casino.) Just as fun coming down… 🧵

Trump take BÅRSLÖV.

So it *was* the Swedish delegation that stopped the escalator at the UN! Thought so.

Modest proposal: Hand DB over to SBB. The Swiss will have those German trains running on time in a week. #Switzerland www.economist.com/europe/2025/...

I’ve got an assignment to travel on the Centovalli Railway in #Switzerland. Decided to up my game and deploy a drone to document it. What do you think of my technique? 🧵

Türkiye, Syria, and Jordan agreed to revive the historic Hejaz Railway through a trilateral MoU. Türkiye will help complete the missing 30 km in Syria, Jordan will handle locomotive maintenance.

There are days when #Switzerland feels like one enormous model railway to me. Like yesterday, when this happened…

And here's the English-language original on my HIGH SPEED website: www.highspeed.blog/come-aboard-...

Je vous donne tous les détails sur ce service de transport fluvial unique à Montréal dans ma chronique dans @lactualite.com cette semaine: lactualite.com/societe/mont...

Les départs ont lieu toutes les 45 minutes, le tarif est de 6 $ (ou vous pouvez utiliser une carte OPUS). Une vue imprenable sur la ville ; il attire autant les Montréalais.es que les visiteurs. J'ai emporté mon vélo à bord. Plus d'informations ici : www.navark.ca/en/navark-ho...