Our latest edition of the occasional Trains.com Recommended Reading feature is spanning the globe, as the old ABC Wide World of Sports intro used to say, to bring you a wide range of rail-related articles:
— The New York Times did a spectacular job with the design and graphics for this article on Penn Station and the challenges in improving it. This uses a “gift article” link, so the usual Times paywall should not be an issue.
— Staying in the same area, the nonprofit news site New Jersey Monitor looks at the workers who inspect the aging North River (Hudson) Tunnels and keep them functional while awaiting the massive, slow-moving Gateway Tunnel project.
— Over on the Left Coast, Fast Company explains how displays on now-retired San Francisco Muni light rail cars inspired a new type font.
— German public broadcaster DW (Deutsche Welle) profiles Mark Smith, the man behind the European rail travel site Seat 61.
— Finally, The Guardian reports on bizarre story from Britain, where the regulatory body Office of Rail and Road has lifted scheduling permission for a popular Avanti West Coast morning express train from Manchester to London Euston — but the train will continue to operate without passengers because the crew and equipment are needed for later trains. You’ll have to read the story for an explanation, however Byzantine.
Wonder what the man in Seat 61 would think of that?
