Canada has a population only an eighth as large as that of the United States, but, since the beginning of 2025, it s opened more kilometers of urban rail transit lines than the U.S. Here are some figures: Canada seems poised Continue reading
The Petite Ceinture (“little belt”) was a mid-19th-century railroad line that ran in a circle around Paris. Its right-of-way was just inside the Boulevards des Maréchaux, which in turn were generally just inside the 19th-century city fortifications where the Boulevard Continue reading
Large Indian cities tend to be difficult places for pedestrians. In many areas, there are no sidewalks at all, and such sidewalks as exist tend to be in bad shape. Pavers are often missing. Substantial holes are common. There are Continue reading
Mexico City (as I wrote in an earlier post) has been trying to mitigate serious congestion and air-pollution problems for something like the last sixty years. The city has constructed a major metro system. It’s legislated limits on car travel. Continue reading
I recently spent several days in Mumbai, where I rode the new Aqua Line (Metro Line 3) several times. The Aqua Line is Mumbai’s first subway line, and, because its route takes it through many of the city’s most important Continue reading
I was in Honolulu a couple of weeks ago for the first time since 2022. I particularly wanted to ride on Skyline, Honolulu s new (or at least newish) elevated railroad. The first segment of Skyline (between the western terminus and Continue reading
I spent several days in Riyadh in October. I was particularly interested in riding Riyadh’s new Metro, all 176 kilometers of which opened in December 2024 and January 2025—an astonishingly quick opening of a substantial new system. I also wanted Continue reading
When I was in Jersey City last month, I naturally noticed the recreational trail along the Hudson. A little research revealed that it’s part of an entity called the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway that’s planned to run between Bayonne and Continue reading
Anyone who’s been on the Hudson waterfront of Manhattan over the last thirty or so years has noticed that Jersey City has been growing a serious skyline. The buildings are generally unremarkable, and the highest are nowhere near as tall Continue reading
The Chicago Transit Authority (the CTA) recently finished work on the main component of its Red and Purple Modernization Project (RPM). The RPM project is an attempt to modernize and add capacity to the North Side Red Line, the CTA s Continue reading