the rail machine

The train is an interesting machine. Huge iron cubes (eight to ten, usually) the size of a big room, are connected to form a long chain that moves with the help of giant engines. People travel inside these cubes that move on parallel-breadth iron tracks laid across vast areas. Such tracks form an extensive network that connects cities, countries and even continents except where separated by ocean.

Railway contributes to a major proportion of the world’s land-based transportation system; out of which, a huge portion is intercity railway network. Intercity railway is known by many names – metro, Mass Rail Transit, Subway, Cityrail, etc. It usually runs underneath the city in elaborately carved tunnels. These tunnels make heavy use of iron and steel in order to support the structure, that are often carved seven to eight and even eleven stories under the ground.

Underground railway stations are equally magnificent. They incorp orate sophisticated elevators, convenient stores, automatic vendors, and even railway museums. One of the recently renewed intercity railways, The Budapest Metro, has an underground system that can provide shelter for more than two hundred thousand people, including fresh air (with an air-filter), drinking water (3 liters) and washing water (27 liters) per person per day – in case of an attack or catastrophe in the Hungarian capital. Remarkable, indeed!

The Dubai Metro scheduled to begin operation in 2009 will use driverless Kinki-Sharyo trains – driven entirely using computer software, that stops at stations and picks up people before moving on to another station.

A quick look at the facts reveals some interesting information about the world’s railway systems:

• The longest passenger line is the Trans-Siberian Railroad in Russia, with length of 9,297 km from Moscow to Vladivostok.
• The biggest station is Nagoya Station in Japan, with floor area of 446,000 square meters.
• The deepest railway station is Park Pobedy Metro Station in Russia. It is 90 meters below the surface.
• The oldest metro is the London Underground, opened in 1863 AD.
• The fastest train is the ‘flying’ magnetic levitation or maglev train in Japan with speed of 584 kph.

weird wireless world

Whether you are a webmaster, a gamer, or just an occasional online shopper, the digital world is increasingly a vital part of all of our lives. And if you're anything like us, you've come to depend on the Internet for many of your everyday needs, both work and play. But despite all the new ways to utilize connectivity in our lives, for most of us, there are still large parts of our day when we can't be connected ... or can we?

Through a blend of private and public investment, a number of cities have had remarkable success in providing almost complete connectivity throughout their city limits. For residents in these cities, high-speed access is available almost anywhere and at any time, and often for below-market rates.

So without further ado, here are the 10 most connected cities in the world: via

• Seoul, South Korea
• Taipei, Taiwan
• Tokyo, Japan
• Hong Kong, China
• Singapore
• Stockholm, Sweden
• Various Municipal Projects, USA
• Paris, France
  
• Shoreditch, England
• Silicon Valley, USA

mighty mount everest

Here are some interesting facts about Mount Everest, collected from various sources:

• Before assuming the current name, Mt. Everest was called Peak XV.
• As of 2007 end, around 3700 people had scaled the peak.
• Mount Everest was named after George Everest, a Surveyor General of India.
• Although its height was actually measured and verified in 1856, it was not formally given a name until 1865.
• In the 1830s, Nepalese authorities restricted the entrance of British surveyors, probably in order to avoid possible political interferences. The surveyors were thus forced to study the peak from outside the Terai belt.
• Its Nepali name Sagarmatha actually means Head of the Sky, while its Tibetan name Chomolungma means Goddess Mother of the Universe.
• The deepest spot in the ocean is more than 2,000 m deeper than the height of Mt. Everest.
• Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first people to reach the summit. It was 11:30 AM local time on 1953 May 29.
• The youngest person to climb Mount Everest is a 15-year-old Sherpa girl, according to government records of Nepal; while the oldest climber to reach the summit is 76-year-old Min Bahadur Sherchan.
• A kind of spider, Euophrys omnisuperstes, has been found surviving at the highest altitude of 6,700 meters; while some species of birds have been seen flying at an altitude of 7,920 meters.

And here are some nifty panoramas.