Tag: Transport

Train kills nine railway workers in northwest China

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Nine railway workers were killed in northwest China on Friday after they stepped into the path of a train, state media reported. About 50 workers were doing maintenance on a closed section of a line in Jinchang city when some of them walked onto an open track as the train approached, according to broadcaster CCTV. The railway department has expressed its condolences and pledged to investigate how the accident occurred. The […]

Indian railway ‘superhero’ pulls off dramatic rescue

MUMBAI, India (AFP) — An Indian railway worker has been hailed a “superhero” after he sprinted more than 30 metres along a track to grab a boy from the path of an express train. CCTV images of Mayur Shelke’s incredible rescue have gone viral on social media with many lauding the selfless 30-year-old. The six-year-old boy was with his partially sighted mother on Saturday at Vangani station — about 70 kilometres (about 42 miles) east […]

Israeli 5-minute battery charge aims to fire up electric cars

by Alexandra Vardi HERZLIYA, Israel (AFP) — From flat battery to full charge in just five minutes — an Israeli start-up has developed technology it says could eliminate the “range anxiety” associated with electric cars. Ultra-fast recharge specialists StoreDot have developed a first-generation lithium-ion battery that can rival the filling time of a standard car at the pump. “We are changing the entire experience of the driver, the problem of ‘range anxiety’… that you might […]

Dubai rolls out vaccines to public transport workers

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Dubai has begun the mass vaccination of public transport workers, with the Gulf emirate aiming to remain open to international tourism despite a surge in cases. The United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai and six other emirates and has a population of nearly 10 million, has administered 4.4 million doses — one of the best vaccination rates per capita in the world, and second to Israel. The UAE has […]

Moscow metro hires first women train drivers

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The Moscow metro said Sunday it had hired female drivers for the first time in its recent history, following recent changes in controversial Russian legislation prohibiting women from many professions. The Russian capital’s transport system, which oversees the sprawling metro system, said in a statement that “the first female electric train drivers in modern history started working for the Moscow metro.” Built in the Soviet era as a Communist showpiece, the […]

Treetop protests in Roald Dahl forest against UK rail line

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Environmental campaigners demonstrated on the London streets and in tree-tops in the English countryside on Thursday against the construction of a new high-speed train line. Police removed 15 activists who had climbed trees in woodland in Buckinghamshire, north of London, which are said to have inspired the fantasy world of Roald Dahl’s children’s books, while another group marched on parliament. The HS2 project, which could cost up to £100 billion […]

Bus stop newest front in South Korea’s coronavirus battle

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea has opened a high-tech new front in the battle against coronavirus, fortifying bus shelters with temperature-checking doors and ultraviolet disinfection lamps. Ten advanced facilities have been installed in a northeastern district of Seoul, offering protection from monsoon rains, summer heat, and the novel coronavirus. To enter, passengers must stand in front of an automated thermal-imaging camera, and the door will only slide open if their temperature is below […]

Court halts Mexico’s ‘Maya Train’ over indigenous health rights

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — A Mexican court has ordered the suspension of work on the “Maya Train,” a controversial railroad through Mayan lands in the country’s southeast, after an indigenous community filed an injunction. The $6.2 billion rail link is a pet project of leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who said Wednesday that while the court challenge had “political overtones,” his government would comply with the ruling. “We will comply with the decisions […]

Dubai ports giant ‘prepares for worst’ as virus impact looms

by Sarah Stewart and Omar Hasan DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — The giant Dubai-based ports operator DP World is “preparing for the worst” in the months ahead, as coronavirus inflicts the heaviest blow on global trade since World War II. However, the firm which runs port and logistics operations in 54 countries is still hungry for revenue-generating acquisitions, its chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem told AFP in an interview. Already one of the most […]

Scooters, e-bikes gain traction as virus lockdowns ease

by Rob Lever WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Electric bikes and scooters, dismissed before the pandemic as a curiosity or nuisance, are getting fresh traction in cities seeking new transportation options as they emerge from lockdowns. Some “micromobility” operators which cut back or shut down during the coronavirus lockdowns are now expanding to meet growing demands. Shared mobility operators Lime, Bird, and Ford-owned Spin report robust growth in cities worldwide, despite a near-shutdown of tourism, […]

DOTr pushes for urgent passage of PESA bill to help transport workers affected by COVID-19 crisis

(Eagle News)–The Department of Transportation is pushing for the urgent passage of the proposed Philippine Economic Stimulus Act of 2020  to help  workers, including those in the transport sector, affected by  the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. According to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, the economic stimulus package  will be of great help to stakeholders such as PUV drivers and operators, airline employees, maritime workers, and airline as well as shipping companies, who were the hardest hit […]

What’s allowed and what’s not under an ECQ, Modified ECQ, and GCQ: Palace gives more details

  (Eagle News) – From enhanced community quarantine to a general community quarantine, the Philippines is following strict protocols for transition involving gradual phasing of allowed activities under the so-called “new normal.” Under the phasing or transitioning, there are four stages of community quarantine. From the extreme phase which is the enhanced community quarantine where there are lockdown protocols for high-COVID areas to a modified ECQ when cases start to decrease, to a General Community […]