gpvos

There is also the issue of recognition software that doesn't have too many false positives, and properly tuning it for each crossing, in all light situations. The amount of time and work needed can really be very large. I'm not against it though. Some pilot projects would be a good idea.

My thoughts as well. It appears that such signal failures happen so often that the controllers regularly let trains run through red under verbal authorization. I don't know the exact protocols, but I would expect a driver to ask for confirmation, as happened here, and then trust the control centre. However, there is clearly a huge systemic problem, with added complexity for the controllers, and there should at least be double checks in the control centre.

In common parlance, "high-speed train" refers to the type of train, not their current speed.

Depending on where, there can be lots and lots of small crossings. The cameras themselves might not be that expensive, but keeping them in working order is very nontrivial.

Train controllers (dispatchers, signallers) existed way before liberalization.

There is merit to your arguments, but I still don't think it's the main issue in this case.

By now, I'd ask which short-distance trains...

"Directly" is way too strong. Yes, it may have been a factor here that the train that remained standing still was from another operator, but there are many more important factors at play, the main one being apparent lack of safety mindset of the controller. In other European countries with even more operators, the safety record is not commensurably worse.

Proper training focuses specifically on those exceptional situations (like it does for airplane pilots), with strong emphasis on always falling back on safe procedures. Even so, you can't cover 100% of possibilities.

When on verbal authorization, controller discipline is probably more important than driver discipline. And I really hope they don't do that at 300 km/h.

This route is the last of the Spanish high speed lines that still has an older train protection system. There has been a similar accident in 2002 in Germany where LZB was also used: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linienf%C3%B6rmige_Zugbeeinflu... . Now after 24 years you might think they had mitigating procedures in place...

64 already. Those trains are quite long and sturdy. But there will be lots of severely wounded.

That is an interesting factoid, thanks.

As far as I know, the discussion is ongoing and H. neanderthalensis is still a current classification. But yes, the consensus is moving in the direction you describe.

We'll probably never know how they were perceived in society back then, if it was e.g. like Asians versus westerners now.

(In fact, the Neander valley, where they were first found, is just east of Düsseldorf, only about 60 km from the Dutch border.)

Yeah I misread that too at first.

Indeed, Wikipedia has been battling similar problems before, see e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_citogenesis_...

For non-Americans: IC = Independent contributor = employee without people reporting to them

That's $320/week, to be clear.

I knew that last bit, but somehow missed the selector, large as it is. Being Dutch, I am used to regional and local buses/coaches being more integrated (we also only have a single word for them both),[0] so it didn't immediately cross my mind. Very nice site, you do seem to have most of those regional cars!

[0] We do have touringcars, but those are more used for private rentals, not public transport, except for Flixbus etc. and a handful of longer-distance lines, and then we usually call them a bus again.

Just dig a canal along the route you want, and use horses to pull the boat along it. See the other comments about the trekschuiten in the Netherlands.

The site seems to be under heavy load, so I couldn't see it all. But it seems this map only contains city networks, and not regional networks. The regional bus networks in France are really quite weak, infrequent and don't connect well, even with the now larger régions.

Oh, so you are a troll.

That is not a common, nor a useful definition.

With the recent abolition of the leap second, this is as good a time as any.

Thanks, I had actually no idea there was a book.

Yes, land value tax has been advocated by many, but has any country implemented this and made it their main (or at least a major) source of tax income? Why not?

It's still interesting that this one comes out on top and not another one.

It's a quote from a 1999 film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight_Club

Now you're conflating rodent chewing and other degradation. That just increases my suspicion that there's confirmation bias going on.