JRUrbaneNetwork
@jrurbanenetwork.bsky.social
Trains are like dragons: massive, majestic, mystical and capable of quickly taking you on an exotic adventure.
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Guangzhou Metro Middle 2025 Metro Openings: Part 3
I know... China opens metro lines faster than I can visit or write about them.
open.substack.com
I was taking long time to write this but Guangzhou opened a bunch of new metro extensions on Sept 29, 2025 when I was in Yunnan. So better clear my thoughts and observations I had when I toured the new Guangzhou Metro lines that opened in June 2025 below:
Reposted by JRUrbaneNetwork
If you have money to throw around with friends - why not blow it all on a Junk tour around the Victoria Harbour?
November 25, 2025 at 11:11 AM
If you have money to throw around with friends - why not blow it all on a Junk tour around the Victoria Harbour?
Reposted by JRUrbaneNetwork
Reporting on tonight’s show from the #TransitMappingSymposium in #HongKong. Impressed by the range of young, enthusiastic & talented designers from around the world…(& some of their guérilla tactics to improve design & #wayfinding)! Check it out now: www.vectisradio.com/podcast/catc...
November 21, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Reporting on tonight’s show from the #TransitMappingSymposium in #HongKong. Impressed by the range of young, enthusiastic & talented designers from around the world…(& some of their guérilla tactics to improve design & #wayfinding)! Check it out now: www.vectisradio.com/podcast/catc...
Chengdu Metro Line 30 Phase 1 getting ready for opening at the end of 2025. The project is a 27.8km 24 station long fully underground inner city line. The line was estimated to cost 175 million INT$/km to build. Below is Financial City North Station. Pic🧵. (1/6)
November 25, 2025 at 7:05 AM
Chengdu Metro Line 30 Phase 1 getting ready for opening at the end of 2025. The project is a 27.8km 24 station long fully underground inner city line. The line was estimated to cost 175 million INT$/km to build. Below is Financial City North Station. Pic🧵. (1/6)
Reposted by JRUrbaneNetwork
Anyone out there that thinks driverless cars are the future are being duped.
These things will not solve traffic issues. They will only make it worse.
The only way to do that is a mix of improved public transport (trains, trams & buses) & active transport (walk or cycle).
Anything else is a con.
These things will not solve traffic issues. They will only make it worse.
The only way to do that is a mix of improved public transport (trains, trams & buses) & active transport (walk or cycle).
Anything else is a con.
Waymo privatized another public street:
Chanel approaching 4th, San Francisco
Possibly queued for a Billie Eilish show at Chase Center ~half mile away.
The light rail train on 4th seen passing in front of this roboherd has more passenger capacity than all of them combined.
OP: .tiktok.renaspam18
Chanel approaching 4th, San Francisco
Possibly queued for a Billie Eilish show at Chase Center ~half mile away.
The light rail train on 4th seen passing in front of this roboherd has more passenger capacity than all of them combined.
OP: .tiktok.renaspam18
November 25, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Anyone out there that thinks driverless cars are the future are being duped.
These things will not solve traffic issues. They will only make it worse.
The only way to do that is a mix of improved public transport (trains, trams & buses) & active transport (walk or cycle).
Anything else is a con.
These things will not solve traffic issues. They will only make it worse.
The only way to do that is a mix of improved public transport (trains, trams & buses) & active transport (walk or cycle).
Anything else is a con.
Huaxiba Station (Interchange with Line 1) on the soon to be open Chengdu Metro Line 13 Phase 1. Chengdu Metro Line 13 Phase 1 is expected to to open by the end of 2025. Picture Thread. (1/5)
November 24, 2025 at 5:20 AM
Huaxiba Station (Interchange with Line 1) on the soon to be open Chengdu Metro Line 13 Phase 1. Chengdu Metro Line 13 Phase 1 is expected to to open by the end of 2025. Picture Thread. (1/5)
Reposted by JRUrbaneNetwork
no one has ever spoken like this about a GoA4 (grade-of-automation four, or no staff on-board and completely automatic) driverless metro
November 20, 2025 at 1:06 AM
no one has ever spoken like this about a GoA4 (grade-of-automation four, or no staff on-board and completely automatic) driverless metro
Reposted by JRUrbaneNetwork
While Malaysians are foaming over the app-ification of our emergency services, take a gander on Hong Kong’s parking meters, featuring payments by Octopus stored-value card, bank cards and QR payments, allowing you to pay for parking without touching a phone or an app:
November 20, 2025 at 2:35 AM
While Malaysians are foaming over the app-ification of our emergency services, take a gander on Hong Kong’s parking meters, featuring payments by Octopus stored-value card, bank cards and QR payments, allowing you to pay for parking without touching a phone or an app:
Last week a new pilot high speed freight service with trains operating up to 350kph began between Guangzhou and Wuhan. High speed freight services have been running on a trial basis across China with services between Kunming-Chengdu, Zhengzhou-Chongqing, Nanchang-Shenzhen etc.
November 19, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Last week a new pilot high speed freight service with trains operating up to 350kph began between Guangzhou and Wuhan. High speed freight services have been running on a trial basis across China with services between Kunming-Chengdu, Zhengzhou-Chongqing, Nanchang-Shenzhen etc.
Reposted by JRUrbaneNetwork
A neat little feature that the Octopus cards have is the ability to display either English or Chinese for fare card reader displays, as shown with two cards coded respectively and used one after another:
November 19, 2025 at 9:56 AM
A neat little feature that the Octopus cards have is the ability to display either English or Chinese for fare card reader displays, as shown with two cards coded respectively and used one after another:
Shenzhen Metro social media today unveiled pictures of Dongmen Station on the under construction Line 5 West Extension. This extension creates a quadruple track metro corridor with Line 2 under Luohu District, expected to open by the end of this year.
November 19, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Shenzhen Metro social media today unveiled pictures of Dongmen Station on the under construction Line 5 West Extension. This extension creates a quadruple track metro corridor with Line 2 under Luohu District, expected to open by the end of this year.
Chengdu Metro Line 13 Phase 1 Du Fu (yes that poet) Cottage Station getting ready to open at the end of 2025. Line 13 Phase 1 is 29km long with 21 stations. The line is fully underground and uses GoA4 8 car type A trains. Estimated to cost 195 million INT$/km to build. In addition there is...
November 19, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Chengdu Metro Line 13 Phase 1 Du Fu (yes that poet) Cottage Station getting ready to open at the end of 2025. Line 13 Phase 1 is 29km long with 21 stations. The line is fully underground and uses GoA4 8 car type A trains. Estimated to cost 195 million INT$/km to build. In addition there is...
I was living in N America in the late 2000s where I mentioned Chongqing, an extremely unknown city at the time, to a non-Chinese friend. The only reaction they gave me was: "Chongching? You got it backwards, you mean Chingchong." Chingchong today:
November 19, 2025 at 4:05 AM
I was living in N America in the late 2000s where I mentioned Chongqing, an extremely unknown city at the time, to a non-Chinese friend. The only reaction they gave me was: "Chongching? You got it backwards, you mean Chingchong." Chingchong today:
Great coverage on the very little known Fushun Electric Railway network, an early 1900s electric local urban railway near Shenyang, Liaoning, China. Picture by Bernhard Kußmagk.
November 19, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Great coverage on the very little known Fushun Electric Railway network, an early 1900s electric local urban railway near Shenyang, Liaoning, China. Picture by Bernhard Kußmagk.
Reposted by JRUrbaneNetwork
#typography lovers: some more #FascinatingFontFacts from my recent #HongKong visit. Not only are the double-decker #trams unique (I think) outside #Blackpool and #Alexandria, but check out the vehicle number typeface: a fair representation of #London’s #Johnston lettering. Handpainted too it seems.
November 18, 2025 at 3:15 PM
#typography lovers: some more #FascinatingFontFacts from my recent #HongKong visit. Not only are the double-decker #trams unique (I think) outside #Blackpool and #Alexandria, but check out the vehicle number typeface: a fair representation of #London’s #Johnston lettering. Handpainted too it seems.
Wild that Toronto, which is Canada's largest city and has Canada's first subway system, now has the smallest metro system in Canada by quite a margin. I don't think it is the busiest either.
November 18, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Wild that Toronto, which is Canada's largest city and has Canada's first subway system, now has the smallest metro system in Canada by quite a margin. I don't think it is the busiest either.
Best airport bus network in the world.
Have to give to Hong Kong because they have probably Asia's best airport night bus network that will bring you everywhere in HK for the price less than ride hailing back in KL
A late night bus journey out of Hong Kong airport is easy with many guides & maps…
A late night bus journey out of Hong Kong airport is easy with many guides & maps…
November 18, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Best airport bus network in the world.
Reposted by JRUrbaneNetwork
Thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the Rail Voyage exhibition at Hung Hom, which showcased some of MTR and KCR's legacy rolling stock and equipment for all to enjoy and revisit
A free experience, booking required - here's some highlights to look out for in a short thread:
A free experience, booking required - here's some highlights to look out for in a short thread:
November 18, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the Rail Voyage exhibition at Hung Hom, which showcased some of MTR and KCR's legacy rolling stock and equipment for all to enjoy and revisit
A free experience, booking required - here's some highlights to look out for in a short thread:
A free experience, booking required - here's some highlights to look out for in a short thread:
Wild that I can find fairly detailed to-scale station plans for Chinese Metro projects. For example, below is a recent Guangzhou Metro extension (Line 5 Phase II) that I attended on opening day...
November 18, 2025 at 6:58 AM
Wild that I can find fairly detailed to-scale station plans for Chinese Metro projects. For example, below is a recent Guangzhou Metro extension (Line 5 Phase II) that I attended on opening day...
Every time I drop something off for a friend at Cathay City I pass by this gem:
November 13, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Every time I drop something off for a friend at Cathay City I pass by this gem:
I guess this is the future YIMBYs want?
November 8, 2025 at 8:55 AM
I guess this is the future YIMBYs want?
These comparative graphs for unit nuclear costs mirror unit subway construction costs too. With the US building at reasonable costs in the 70s. Then costs in the US skyrockets and the US gives up building anything since. While China builds an ungodly amount at stable reasonable prices since the 90s.
November 4, 2025 at 7:11 AM
These comparative graphs for unit nuclear costs mirror unit subway construction costs too. With the US building at reasonable costs in the 70s. Then costs in the US skyrockets and the US gives up building anything since. While China builds an ungodly amount at stable reasonable prices since the 90s.
I was taking long time to write this but Guangzhou opened a bunch of new metro extensions on Sept 29, 2025 when I was in Yunnan. So better clear my thoughts and observations I had when I toured the new Guangzhou Metro lines that opened in June 2025 below:
Guangzhou Metro Middle 2025 Metro Openings: Part 3
I know... China opens metro lines faster than I can visit or write about them.
open.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:29 PM
I was taking long time to write this but Guangzhou opened a bunch of new metro extensions on Sept 29, 2025 when I was in Yunnan. So better clear my thoughts and observations I had when I toured the new Guangzhou Metro lines that opened in June 2025 below:
Reposted by JRUrbaneNetwork
Here's a video of the impossible. The UP Express has high platforms and level boarding for passengers. That is supposed make it impossible for mainline North American freight trains to pass. And yet, as this shows, CN freight trains roll past the high platform at Weston multiple times per week.
October 29, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Here's a video of the impossible. The UP Express has high platforms and level boarding for passengers. That is supposed make it impossible for mainline North American freight trains to pass. And yet, as this shows, CN freight trains roll past the high platform at Weston multiple times per week.
Since the below repost was published last year, Chengdu Metro added ~140km of new metro lines. The network now is 664km long with 332 stations. The network is growing before our eyes.
October 27, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Since the below repost was published last year, Chengdu Metro added ~140km of new metro lines. The network now is 664km long with 332 stations. The network is growing before our eyes.
Gifu Prefecture's 3rd-sector Nagaragawa Railway is considering closing due to rising costs and deficits and declining ridership. Nagaragawa Railway is one of Japan's longest "dead end" railways, being 72km long and only connecting to another railway on one end...
October 24, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Gifu Prefecture's 3rd-sector Nagaragawa Railway is considering closing due to rising costs and deficits and declining ridership. Nagaragawa Railway is one of Japan's longest "dead end" railways, being 72km long and only connecting to another railway on one end...