morning computer by rail

new chapter in Britain’s railway story has been marked with the unveiling of Rail Clock, which is the country’s first national clock design in more than half a century.

Revealed today (16 October) at London Bridge station, the striking new timepiece by Design Bridge and Partners is set to become a landmark of British design and a powerful symbol of connection across the UK’s rail network.

Commissioned by Network Rail to coincide with the railway’s 200th anniversary in 2025, the project aimed to create a standardised clock that could unify the passenger experience across the country while celebrating the rich heritage of British rail design. The result is a 1.8-metre physical and digital timepiece that fuses timeless symbolism with modern functionality, and reimagines one of the nation’s most recognisable icons in the process.

Swathes of glass and steel make up the sinuous exterior of the new Gare de Mons station in Belgium, which has been designed by Swiss-Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

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Located along the international Paris to Brussels train line in Mons, the station‘s sculptural structure is organised around a raised gallery volume that stretches 165 metres across the site.

Conceptualised by Calatrava as a “monumental bridge”, its volume traverses a series of 350-metre-long platforms and bus stops that extend outwards from the gallery’s underside.

morning computer: some useful things first thing in the day.

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