I am a tram fan! I’m a regular user of the south London tram system (and if you want to embed enthusiasm for public transport in the next generation, take a 6-year old on the tram and watch their mind bring blown as it goes from its own track to one along the road alongside cars)
My favourite thing about trams is that you can be fairly sure they're not going to get stuck in a traffic jam or take a random detour. Where I live (outside Aylesbury) the local council are constantly trying to fix the chronic congestion by telling people to get the bus, but the only thing the bus offers is a slightly higher-up view of the same traffic jam you'd be stuck in if you drove.
I wonder if the lack of European heavy lift innovation is also partly a geographical thing. Arianespace is really the only major game in town for European heavy rockets, and they largely operate out of French Guiana. Much of Europe is too north or too densely populated to be ideal for rocket launches.
But on the flipside, we do really well in satellite tech. A lot of scientific or commercial satellite tech is designed or even built in the UK and EU, so we're not totally out of the race
I believe the main reason it's going to take at least 5 years to get new trains through the Channel Tunnel is that nobody has spare trains, and all the train factories are busy. You should be reading Jon Worth for stuff like this, e.g. https://jonworth.eu/will-there-be-a-direct-train-from-insert-city-to-london-through-the-channel-tunnel-probably-not/
I am a tram fan! I’m a regular user of the south London tram system (and if you want to embed enthusiasm for public transport in the next generation, take a 6-year old on the tram and watch their mind bring blown as it goes from its own track to one along the road alongside cars)
My favourite thing about trams is that you can be fairly sure they're not going to get stuck in a traffic jam or take a random detour. Where I live (outside Aylesbury) the local council are constantly trying to fix the chronic congestion by telling people to get the bus, but the only thing the bus offers is a slightly higher-up view of the same traffic jam you'd be stuck in if you drove.
I wonder if the lack of European heavy lift innovation is also partly a geographical thing. Arianespace is really the only major game in town for European heavy rockets, and they largely operate out of French Guiana. Much of Europe is too north or too densely populated to be ideal for rocket launches.
But on the flipside, we do really well in satellite tech. A lot of scientific or commercial satellite tech is designed or even built in the UK and EU, so we're not totally out of the race