Driverless Vehicles. Part-Two.

'More common that we Realise.'

Many modern tram, mono rails and rapid transit systems are now robotically controlled around the world. The most famous of these is perhaps the London Docklands Light Railway, were millions of people each day put their hand's in their driver less trains.

This now extensive network that serves East and South-East London is controlled from one centre at Poplar, while the main depot is at Becton. This line also goes underground now in two places from Tower Hill (Gateway) to Bank and under the River Thames from Island Gardens on the Isle of Dog's to Greenwich (Cutty Sark).

Many of the newer monorails in Germany are also driver less, not as extensive as the London DLR and the new London Ski Lift they are automatically controlled. In time more and more systems and trams will be automated, perhaps with only a conductor or ticket collector to give re-assurance of human contact!

Railways.

Pricing and new stock.

Every country has set up a different way to run their railways networks or systems. Some remain National, while others are made up of different companies and their own liveries. But what they all share is the cost of keeping their respective systems functioning safely.

There is much more to a railway than tracks and trains, maintenance and personnel have to be paid for. People retire and new recruits need to be both trained and replaced, engines and buildings also need to be repaired and cared for and this all costs a lot of money.

Some nations operate on shoe string of basics, while the richer ones with their privatisation would seem to be progressing. Yet one has to stand back and take notice that many withdrawn and older types are being brought back into service with new fresh coats of paint.

The reasons for this is nothing to do with preservation, but rather thy are cheaper to run in the long term than building new ones.

So next time you face a 'hike in the fare, try to remember all the work that has to be done to get you from A to B or A to Z?

Canal Barges. Part-Two.

Shipping and Networks.

Canals came before the railways and remain one of the most effective ways to move goods across land locked countries as in Russia, China, central Europe and the U.S. Deep rivers can be connected on the network of ship canals. 

In Europe you can get from the Netherlands to the German Rhine river and then by Canal to the Danube, eventually arriving in the Black sea. Both in Russia and China vast distances can be traversed. The ships that ply these routes fifty years ago would have been called 'Coasters or 'Puffers.'

The future for these networks are very much in demand and as long as they are maintained they will remain viable for developing economies.