If you ever find yourself in Hamburg, Germany, then you must visit the Miniatur Wunderland.
This is the world’s largest miniature train exhibit, and it is definitely a ‘must-see’ for train lovers. As of September 2015, it had over 13 kilometer of tracks. Additionally, multiple countries and regions are represented in the settings, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Scandinavia, and the US. This entire model setting took over 500,000 hours to create. There are 900 trains and 1,200 train cars, with the longest train being 14.51 meters long.
If you don’t have the time, or money, to make a visit, you can check out the video below to see how complex the Wunderland is.
Below are some up close shots from 2005. This exhibit is continually changing and growing, so no two visit are alike. What is impressive about this exhibit is the fact that not only are trains in constant motion, there are also wireless controlled vehicles moving about. The exhibit also squeezes in some humor with hidden quirks for those who are observant.
What are some of your favorite train/bus related museums?
We analyzed Metrorail, Metrobus, and MetroAccess ridership for all Maryland residents in response to the Maryland Legislature’s data and analysis request. Newsflash – we have customers from across the state!
Origins of Maryland Rail Riders
In the 2015 legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly passed the WMATA Utilization Study (HB300),which required the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and WMATA to analyze the utilization of Metrorail, Metrobus, and MetroAccess every five years. This year’s analysis is based on the most recent Metrorail passenger survey (2012), Metrobus passenger survey (2014), and actual ridership for MetroAccess for an average day in April 2015. Below are some findings that I found most interesting. But more importantly, here is the complete 2015 Maryland HB300 WMATA Utilization Study (native pdf), which includes all the links to the underlying survey data, interactive charts, and analysis.
82 percent of Metrorail trips by Montgomery County residents are destined for Washington DC in the morning on a typical weekday;
71 percent of Metrobus trips in the AM peak period made by Prince George’s County residents are for work purposes on a typical weekday;
3.3 percent of all trips across all Metro services on a typical weekday are taken by Maryland residents from Frederick, Charles, Calvert, Howard, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore Counties and Baltimore City;
35 percent of other Maryland residents on Metrorail access via commuter rail (MARC) and Amtrak; and
17,600 residents of the District and Virginia reverse-commute into Maryland on Metrorail and bus each morning on a typical weekday (about 5 percent of total system ridership)
Any other nuggets that you found from analyzing the data? Ideas for other ways to graphically represent the findings?
After years of analysis, advocacy and lobbying, Congress has restored the transit commuter benefit to match the parking benefit, helping Metro, the region and the nation.
The employer transportation benefit for transit and vanpools has fluctuated a lot in recent years. In February of 2009, it was increased from $120 to $230, matching the parking benefit. Almost three years later, in January of 2012 it was slashed to $125 only to be raised to $245 the following year. After only a year, it was slashed again, this time to $130 where it stayed for two full years. In January of this year, it was raised to $255 to permanently match the parking benefit. Metro Board of Directors member Tom Bulger — an outspoken advocate for the transit benefit — played a vital role in ensuring its restoration to match the parking benefit. Thanks, Tom!
History of Employer Transportation Benefits, Monthly Limits. Data from Wikipedia.
The benefit amount wasn’t the only thing that has been changing. In 2010, the Metro implemented a series of new IRS rules for how the transit benefit could be used. For example, on smart media the transit benefit dollars had to be stored in a separate “purse” that could only be use for transit fares and not for parking costs at park-and-ride facilities. Employers also began asking employees to specify exactly how much transit fare was needed each month, instead of setting one amount and accruing benefits for trips untaken. Perhaps most importantly, a new rule stated that those unused dollars in this transit-only purse were to be “clawed back” at the end of each month. Read more…
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