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'World's first' solar-powered rail line opens in the UK
Some trains in the UK are now running on a rail line powered entirely by a solar farm in what's said to be a world first. Around 100 panels are keeping the signaling and lights up and running on the track near Aldershot in Hampshire, and the project could be a precursor to solar-powered trains on the nation's network.
UK trains to let contactless cards act as paper tickets
In the future, Brits will be able to slide through a ticket barrier and board a train without using a credit card-sized piece of paper. As The Telegraph reports, talks are underway to introduce a new ticketing system that will rely on contactless cards instead. Under the plans, you'll be able to buy tickets online and then use the same card to swipe through special readers at the station. The initiative won't replace paper tickets, at least not straight away, but rather complement them similar to how Oyster cards and contactless cards do currently on the London Underground.
UK blames sat navs for damaging 2,000 bridges per year
We've already seen plenty of evidence of the potential damage that sat navs can cause, but the UK's Network Rail has now put a figure on at least some of it, saying that the devices are responsible for damaging some 2,000 bridges per year and causing 5,000 hours of delays. That, thankfully, is not from the satellites falling from the sky, but rather from over drivers relying a little too heavily on GPS units (in particular those driving trucks too large for the bridges), a problem apparently so bad that some places in the UK have taken to putting up signs warning of the dangers. That's apparently not quite enough to solve the problem, however, and now , in addition to warning people to use a little common sense, Network Rail is also reportedly attempting to map all of the UK's low bridges and level crossings so that the information can be added to GPS software.[Thanks, Charles H]
