Transportation

The Fehmarn Belt Link is set to connect Germany and Denmark through the Baltic Sea by car and train. Developers say the project will fundamentally reshape travel in the EU for the better, cutting the time it takes to get from Hamburg to Copenhagen in half. But German advocates aren’t so sure the benefits outweigh the risks.

Late last year, China broke its own record for the world’s fastest train, clocking in at 281 miles per hour. But in Japan, testing is underway for another type of train — one that levitates and can top 300 miles per hour, showing that the race for the fastest train isn’t just a competition. It could revolutionize the future of travel.

Sitting at 12,000 feet above sea level, Bolivia’s La Paz has the highest altitude of any administrative capital of any country in the world. And it boasts having a world class public transportation system. There are 10 lines and 26 stations. But this is no metro — it’s the longest and highest cable car system in the world.

In the early 1900s, Brighton, England, was full of electric trams. But at the start of World War II, they were scrapped for the war effort. All of the trams were lost — or so historians thought. Then in 2009, one was discovered on a pig farm, and a team of locals have been working ever since to restore the tram to its original glory. Now, the group behind the restoration is hoping to get it running on tracks again, soon. 

Despite a population of 37 million, there’s relatively little congestion and pollution here since the majority of its residents rely on public transit rather than cars. But while Tokyo’s mass transportation system may serve as a global success story, it may not be replicable, because its organic growth over the decades has fostered a unique culture of transit.