Integrating rail and property development is the cornerstone of the MTR’s success. In the U.S., coordination between transit authorities and developers tends to be mediocre at best. In Hong Kong, however, the MTR is both the transit authority as well as the property owner, and this makes all the … [Read more...]
Why No One Drives to Work in Hong Kong
Need to get 4 million people to the office every day? Hong Kong has you covered.The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a rail system in the city of Hong Kong, currently managed by the Mass Transit Railway Corporation Limited (MTRL). The system opened in 1979 and now operates over 135 miles of track … [Read more...]
The importance of driverless trains
As Honolulu is making progress on its driverless elevated rail system under construction, Washington, DC is finally beginning to return to computer operation on its red line after a 2009 crash brought an end to reliance on the computerized system. While the move in DC will facilitate smoother … [Read more...]
Six Shooters and Bullet Trains: High Speed Rail in Texas
California might have some competition in the race for high-speed rail.Texas Central Railway wants to begin construction on a high-speed line from Dallas to Houston as early as 2017. The current plan is to go from downtown to downtown, with possibly one stop along the way in College Station. An … [Read more...]
DC streetcar: Worse than nothing
On Tuesday, DC's city council passed a tax reform package that will cut funding for future streetcar construction. These cuts come as the H Street streetcar delays continue to mount, and much of the commentary supporting the streetcar has shifted from touting its … [Read more...]
Urbanism without government
Asking, "But who will build the roads?" is a cliched response to proposals for a more libertarian political system. However, it leads to the interesting historical question of "Who has built the roads in anarchic societies?" Colonial America provides a few examples that answer this question. Perhaps … [Read more...]
Potential for Voluntary Infrastructure
Last fall I visited Budapest and learned some interesting history of the city's beautiful Chain Bridge. Before 1849, the small cities of Buda and Pest were connected by a temporary bridge that was only viable during warm months. In the winter, the bridge had to be taken down due to ice, making it … [Read more...]
Car and Driver(less) Link List
1) A reader pointed out this post at Volokh Conspiracy arguing that personal cars give us freedom, citing the example of automobiles helping African Americans boycott segregated buses in the 1950s. Sasha Volokh writes: Let’s think back to 1955, when African Americans stayed off segregated buses in … [Read more...]