Recent content by bahnause

What I or anyone else or the railway considers to be a reasonable length of time is completely irrelevant. What matters is how long a group of paying customers can reasonably be expected to sit still. It’s not as if the railway had a choice in the matter. The general consensus seems to be around...

The broad, unconditional network access that old VPNs allowed is too dangerous for large organizations. Instead, enterprises have migrated to Zero Trust Network Access architectures (like Microsoft Entra)

Probably because it is 2026 and VPN for business is (or should be) dead by now? If they are using Laptops at all. Many of our multi screen and phone setups wouldn't work with a laptop.

It probably depends on where – or in which country – you’re driving. If everything goes well, I can usually get through a normal shift without making a single phone call. As far as the rulebook and the rolling stock are concerned, I’m responsible for that myself anyway. I wouldn't get assistance...

Now, of course, I’m curious to hear the excuse as to why they can’t manage to evacuate passengers from a train within a reasonable time when there are other trains running alongside it.

The problem of self-evacuation is nothing new, nor is it surprising. I have found myself in the unpleasant situation of being stranded somewhere, both as a passenger and as a train driver. We know that after an hour the situation becomes critical and the first signs appear that passengers have...

Even more than the solar eclipse, I’m looking forward to my neighbor’s explanation. In his opinion, the earth is flat, and he wants to prove this to me using his model in connection with the solar eclipse. However, since even after all these years he hasn’t even been able to explain an ordinary...

It’s foolish to use a train or any other space-constrained object as a suitable container for trash disposal. Everyone is responsible for their own trash. We consciously buy plastic waste for the sake of convenience. It wouldn’t be too much to ask to also give some thought to how we can dispose...

Somewhere above 98% if you keep repairing them quickly. Every single item that is not human waste or toilet paper is considered a system misuse. Infrastructure, sewage networks (not only on trains), and septic tanks are strictly engineered to only process the "3 Ps": pee, poo, and toilet paper...

All systems are very reliable as long as you don't throw trash into them (diapers, sanitary pads, teddy bears, gym bags, clothes, cell phones, and other electronic devices). These items cause more than 80% of all malfunctions.

It depends on the location... Older relay-based systems were a bit simpler; these were powered by the local mains supply in the event of a failure in the railway power supply. The 16.7 Hz frequency wasn’t a problem for these systems – all the lights just flickered a little. It could give you a...

The ‘public transport’ lesson was a given for us. As our school trips always involved public transport, we took the opportunity to let the class plan the journey themselves under the teacher’s supervision. Back then, of course, we still used the printed timetable. I can remember how the whole...

The standard-gauge rail network in Switzerland is probably one of the most centralised. Nevertheless, it is also one of the most reliable and resilient. This is not in spite of centralisation, but largely because of it. Improving efficiency is only a small part of the picture. It is much more...

That hasn't been the case for years, except perhaps for local service disruptions. It simply doesn't have enough staff to handle anything more than that. SBB is centralized and operates four major control centers (West in Lausanne, Central in Olten, South in Pollegio, and East at Zurich...

The 787 alone will have done millions of flights so far. Each flight corresponds to four operations. Other airplanes might use the same or similar switches. If there was a problem, we would know. Even after investiagions leading to the 2018 Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB)...