The Hell Gate Bridge is a railroad bridge in New York City, United States. The bridge carries two tracks of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and one freight track between Astoria, Queens, and Port Morris, Bronx, via Randalls and Wards Islands. Its main span is a 1,017-foot (310 m) steel through arch across Hell Gate, a strait of the East River that separates Wards Island from Queens. The New York Connecting Railroad began construction of the bridge in 1912, and it opened in 1917. The main span, a two-hinged arch flanked by stone towers on either bank of Hell Gate, was the world's longest steel arch bridge until the Bayonne Bridge opened in 1931. It is one of the few rail connections from Long Island, of which Queens is part, to the rest of the United States. This panoramic photograph shows the main span of the Hell Gate Bridge. The photograph was taken in 2023 looking northeast from the neighboring Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, with Wards Island on the left of the image and Astoria on the right. A tugboat tows a barge in the foreground towards the Hell Gate Bridge. Photograph credit: Rhododendrites Recently featured: Anemonoides blanda Bluespotted ribbontail ray Black Lives Matter art Archive More featured pictures

Imagine traveling internationally without middle seats, popping ears, or TSA checkpoints. Imagine bringing four suitcases for free, and picture ever-changing views out the window throughout the journey.That's the reality on the Amtrak Cascades train, which runs through the Pacific Northwest and has coach and business-class seating.I recently rode it from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Seattle. My $50 train coach experience was far more enjoyable than any basic economy flight I've booked — and it turned out to be cheaper than airfare. My ticket to ride the Amtrak train from Vancouver to Seattle was less than half the price of flying. The reporter booked a coach-class ticket. Joey Hadden/Business Insider When I planned my trip from Vancouver to Seattle, I looked at train and flight prices. About a month before my trip, basic economy airfare was about $150 on airlines like Delta and United, among others. So I was shocked when I saw that an Amtrak train cost only $50 in coach.Sure, it was four hours long, compared to the roughly one-hour flight time, but I love trains. And since sustainability experts say traveling by train is more sustainable than flying, especially for short distances, I was certain of my decision to go with Amtrak. I arrived at Pacific Central Station at 5:45 a.m. for my 7 a.m. train to Seattle. Pacific Central Station is seen on a spring morning. Joey Hadden/Business Insider An email from Amtrak suggested arriving at least one hour before departure since we were crossing the US-Canada border during the trip.I filled out a customs declaration form inside the station and stood in the coach line to board after business-class passengers. Before getting to the platform, there was a brief customs stop, but no security checkpoints like you'd find in an airport. Before boarding, I dropped off my free checked bag at the back of the train. Passengers bring checked bags to the back of the train. Joey Hadden/Business Insider Coach cars were toward the front of the train, but a crew member directed me to the back first to drop off my checked bag.According to Amtrak Cascades, each passenger can check up to two bags at no charge and two more for $20 each.Passengers can also bring one personal item and two carry-on bags in the train car, as overhead bin space and a luggage rack are inside each.To recap, that's up to four suitcases for free — more than I've ever experienced on a flight.I had just one suitcase and a backpack, but this could save a lot for a traveling family or a heavy packer. Seating in the coach cars was first-come, first-served, and there were no middle seats. Inside a coach car on an Amtrak train. Joey Hadden/Business Insider Two sets of two seats were on either side of the train, so no one would get stuck in the middle.I grabbed a seat in an empty row and had the entire ride to myself. The seats felt larger and more comfortable than economy flight seats. The reporter's backpack in an empty row of seats. Joey Hadden/Business Insider I settled into my seat at 6:35 a.m., and the train departed right on time. I immediately noticed the seats were bigger and cushier than any basic economy flight seats I've experienced. I also had more legroom than I've had on most flights.The seats reclined and had power outlets, overhead reading lights, and tray tables. The bathrooms were more than twice the size of any I've seen on a plane. Inside the train bathroom. Joey Hadden/Business Insider Each car had two restrooms. Unlike on a plane, where there is only enough floor space for my two feet, these bathrooms were large enough for me to move around in.There were also two power outlets. I imagined travelers could comfortably conduct their morning routines in there, from brushing their teeth to doing their hair. After departure, I headed to the café car. Snacks were behind the counter in the café car. Joey Hadden/Business Insider By the time we departed, I'd already been awake for over two hours. So I was more than ready for breakfast.Unlike on a flight, no attendants passed by offering free snacks and beverages. Instead, Amtrak trains have a café car selling various snacks, from chips and candy to muffins and cookies. They also had salads and microwaved meals like breakfast sandwiches and Cup Noodles. For $8, I got a breakfast sandwich and a bottle of water. The reporter ate breakfast at her seat. Joey Hadden/Business Insider I brought my meal back to my seat and used the tray table in front of me.I wasn't expecting my microwaved sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich to be very tasty, but it wasn't too bad for a meal heated up in a sealed plastic bag. It didn't taste as good as the breakfast sandwiches I've had in Amtrak's dining cars on overnight trains, but it filled me up and was more satisfying than any meal I've had in the air. Once I fueled up, I stared out the window at the passing views through British Columbia. Views of British Columbia from the rails. Joey Hadden/Business Insider Even as a frequent flyer, I still find the views from an airplane when ascending and descending pretty surreal. But the view doesn't change once in the air, save for sunsets, sunrises, and passing clouds.That's not the case on a train. Instead, passengers see change through rural towns, cities, and natural environments throughout their journey.I love getting a glimpse of these in-between places. Seeing farms, shorelines, and clusters of houses in British Columbia made me ponder what it would be like to live in the Canadian province. Once we hit the border, the train stopped for about 30 minutes. The train stops at the US border. Joey Hadden/Business Insider During the half-hour the train was stopped at the US border, passengers weren't allowed to use the café car or bathrooms, and patrol agents boarded to check passports and take a declaration form filled out at Pacific Central Station in Vancouver. They also asked international passengers about where they were going, why they were going there, and how long they planned to stay. I spent the rest of the journey working on my laptop, thanks to free WiFi. The reporter used WiFI on the Amtrak train. Joey Hadden/Business Insider I had access to complimentary WiFi throughout the journey. And since my trip was three hours longer than a flight would have been, I appreciated being able to use the time productively. The train arrived on time at 11:40 a.m. Inside King Street Station in Seattle. Joey Hadden/Business Insider I headed into Seattle's King Street Station to the baggage claim belt and waited about 10 minutes for my suitcase to arrive.Even though the train trip was longer than a flight, it was much less stressful than air travel. The ease of navigating a train station compared to an airport, a more comfortable seat, and a lower price point made it worth the long-haul ride.

It’s flagship wireless headphones season, and Sony has revealed its highly anticipated WH-1000XM6—a pair of over-ear noise-cancelling Bluetooth headphones three or five or even nine years in the making, depending on how you look at it. I’ve had a few days to go hands-on with the WH-1000XM6, so here are my first impressions. The Sony WH line has long been an excellent all-rounder, a perennial best-for-most recommendation (the XM10004 was one of the first things I reviewed for this very publication). So, if you’re familiar with Sony’s headphones since at least 2022 (and many commuters and frequent flyers will be), you’ll recognize most aspects of the new 1000XM6’s aesthetic. With its vegan leatherette-wrapped cylinder of a headband and matte, touch-sensitive (and fingerprint-friendly) earcups, the 1000XM6’s build is 95 percent 1000XM5—an gentle evolution from the last model rather than a revolution. But it does address the biggest complaint of the previous generation: the lack of foldability. That’s right, hinges—last seen on 2020’s 1000XM4—are back. And a folding mechanism means a more compact carrying case, with a new magnetic lock so no inconvenient zippers to get stuck or wear out. Despite the similarities to the 1000XM5, there are many small, purposeful tweaks blended into the 1000XM6 chassis. The headband is a touch wider, flared toward the back for both stability and as a directional cue on how to wear them. Similarly, the asymmetrical earcups (which now have replaceable pleather cushions) feature the power button—now a round, recessed button rather than raised tab—on the lower left as another indicator. And that’s accompanied by a tiny tactile marker in the rear center of the housing, just in case you weren’t sure. Point being, Sony has addressed long-term comfort and portability and made it easier than ever to get the headphones to your head correctly, whether you’re sprawled out at home or feeling cramped in basic economy. Once on, the clamping power is higher than the 1000XM5 but not excessive, and the weight is an easily manageable 254g (for comparison, the AirPods Max weigh 385g). The Sony WH-1000XM5 and Sony WH-1000XM6 (in the case and on the right) shown side by side. The sound So, what should you expect once the 1000XM6 is on. Much is being made of the tuning, done through a collaboration with material science and mix engineers. The 1000XM6 features a 30mm driver, consistent with the 1000XM5, but featuring new components. And it’s not the size, it’s how you use it. When asked about the choice of materials in the driver units, Sony Electronics’ Shimo Hiroaki commented, “There are various advantages to using carbon in the dome [diaphragm] of headphones. For example, high rigidity allows the diaphragm to move precisely as intended, resulting in less sound distortion. Additionally, the lightweight yet rigid carbon material can respond quickly to vibrations in the high-frequency range.” That translates to a more crisp, articulate, authoritative sound. The high-frequency reproduction is further refined by the use of a perforated bobbin—an unassuming support in the voice coil that can extend and smooth response through resonance dampening and controlled airflow. As for the voicing, it’s informed by Grammy-winning and -nominated engineers from Battery Studios, Sterling Sound, and Coast Mastering. Following in the “as the creator intended” messaging of the BRAVIA home entertainment launches of the last couple of years, Sony drew on internal resources (in this case Sony Music Entertainment facilities and personnel) to achieve a more “truthful” house sound. While I don’t know all their target curve or individual signal chains, per se, this crew of new release, catalogue, and immersive mastering engineers brings a wealth of golden ears. Beyond the acoustic architecture and artistic input, digital signal processing (DSP) plays its part. Sound quality starts with the quality of signal, and Multipoint Bluetooth 5.3 with support for AAC, LDAC, and LC3 lets the 1000XM6 connect to your device of choice in the most optimal way. There’s no support for aptX Adaptive, however, and there won’t be as LDAC is Sony’s proprietary high-resolution codec. (While I keep an Android smartpone and several DAPs around for testing because I believe LDAC at 990kbps is perceivably superior to AAC on an iPhone, YMMV. And thanks to all of the software efforts on both ends, AAC isn’t bad, I’m just an acknowledged snob—if I can stream uncompressed audio, I don’t want to bottleneck it as much as possible. The ultimate solution would be to use the 3.5mm headphone jack, if you have a source that supports it.) The result of all this fine-tuning? On its default settings, the 1000XM6 is less bassy, more taut than its predecessor. Listening to the deep, post-disco house of “Blind (Frankie Knuckles Remix)” by Hercules & Love Affair, the kick drum is less fuzzy than on the 1000XM5. The groove of the bassline is more defined, the edges of the brass section more clearly etched, the lush piano chords allowed to billow and breath. While the melancholy yet uplifting vocal from Anohni sustains its intensity more effortlessly. It’s more soulful, more propulsive, cleaner and more detailed compared to previous Sony drive units. Undoubtedly enjoyable. As to whether it’s more “natural” and an authentic connection to the source, that will require more close listening and A/B testing with other top-tier wireless headphones to firmly determine. And, as always, the Sony app provides ample ways to tweak the sonic signature. There’s the familiar DSEE Extreme for upscaling compressed sources and a 10-band EQ (versus the 1000XM5’s 5-band) thanks to the upgraded processor—the first new chipset in several generations. Noise cancellation To test the noise cancellation, now supported by 12 microphones (up from 8 in the 1000XM5), I would have liked to have taken a flight. While timing didn’t allow that, I had the next best thing: a flight path. I live within walking distance of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (the most infamous airport at the moment after Newark, unfortunately). And this means almost constant rumbling roars from every trajectory (reinforced by the railroad tracks between me and the runway). You learn to tune it all out naturally, but being able to cancel it digitally is even better. So, with DCA and Amtrak as my backdrop, I went on a walk. At first, I thought something was wrong. Not only was the noise not being cancelled, but I could hear birds chirping clear as day. Looking at the app, I realized I’d left Adaptive Sound Control on and Ambient Sound—jacked up to the top level (20)—had triggered when I started moving. Then, as I was checking the settings, the background suddenly went black. Apparently, it didn’t take a lot of standing still to send the headphones back into a focused state. So, that’s a quality passthrough mode proof of concept, if your day involves more interaction and/or you want more automation. And there are customizable Scenes to help you dictate when silence and situational awareness should be prioritized, as well as what music service should be used. Back to the planes. What planes? Toggling between Ambient Sound and Noise Canceling instantly took the stretched thunder of ascent from a whoosh to a whisper. And with music playing, it disappeared all together. Would the effect be even more pronounced if I didn’t wear glasses? Would it be less pronounced if I had hair? Sony claims no, as the new 7x faster QN3 processor adapts ANC to compensate for hats, air pressure, eyewear, etc. As a near-sighted bald, I appreciate my head coverings and corrective lenses being considered, even if I’ll never know what part a hairstyle plays. What I do know is that what I hear, or didn’t hear in this case, reinforces the XM series’ reputation as a preferred travel companion and I look forward to an actual in-transit test. And a quick dip into a coffeeshop on the way home gave the impression that the broad spectrum of ambient noise is being addressed, including chatter and clatter. I them sat through my wife’s work check-in without the need to sign an NDA; I couldn’t hear a thing (the deafheaven album playing surely helped). Call quality The Sony WH line has always bridged the gap between headphones and headset for business leaders, and the latest iteration improves directivity for when you just have to be in on that meeting but you’re off-site. On a recent call testing the XM5 versus the XM6, the person I was speaking with commented that my voice on the XM6 sounded clearer and cleaner, particularly in the sibilants (think the many, many times you make an s, z, sh, or zh sound). The XM6’s combination of six beamforming mics—two more than the XM5—plus AI noise reduction/voice isolation regulated all my higher amplitude utterances while exhibiting lower compression artifacts. If you’re someone who likes to dictate texts, notes, etc., these will work well to ensure intelligibility. Battery life and charging capability One last new feature of note is that you can use the 1000XM6 while charging it via USB-C cable, though charging will stop at 80 percent when in use in order to reduce battery wear. To achieve a 100 percent charge, turn off the headphones. And if the battery is running dry but you’d rather not remained tethered, a three-minute charge can give the 1000XM6 three hours of juice. As for the total run-time advertised, it’s the same as the 1000XM5: 30 hours with ANC off, 400 with ANC on. And an effective wear sensor helps conserve that. The Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones are available to order now for $449.99 in Black, Platinum Silver, and Midnight Blue.

A new outdoor concourse at Boston’s South Station by Pelli Clarke & Partners replaces a low slung entry that leads riders to the central hall—a vast improvement upon this quotidian scenario so many suburbanites experience daily. Riders have historically huddled off of drab rolling stock onto a concrete platform underneath a metal roof that leaks when it rains. They proceeded to a space that was once grand, but now pales compared to its former self. This new concourse, dubbed The Great Space, has 10 concrete arches that support three domes—each reaches 60 feet from floor to ceiling. The arches delineate passageways throughout the hall, connecting the atrium to the street, bus stops, and other transit connections. The floor-to-ceiling heights in the new concourse are 60 feet. (Jason O’Rear) At the center of each of the three domes is a ring of spotlights. These fixtures further brighten the interiors, which also rely on natural light for illumination. The underside of the domes were covered with a diagrid pattern that extends from the base of the arches up to the ring of lights. The outer walls of the concourse were clad in corrugated concrete, this adds texture and dimension to the design. “The transformed public concourse at South Station is not only an essential transportation space but also a bold architectural statement for Boston,” Graham Banks, a partner at Pelli Clarke & Partners, said in a statement. “By combining functionality with beauty,” Banks added, “the light-filled, expansive space enhances Boston’s position as a connected, forward-thinking hub and offers a monumental entryway befitting a great city.” The new approach (Jason O’Rear) The project was first announced in 2021, reported by James McCown for AN. The 126-year-old train shed was due for an upgrade; it hadn’t been renovated for 30 years. The concourse’s completion marks the end of phase one to the major redevelopment project happening at South Station, backed by the developer Hines. The Boston Planning and Development Authority (BPDA), Amtrak, and Mass DOT are also on the project team. Outer walls of the concourse were clad in corrugated concrete. (Jason O’Rear) At the apex of the arches is a ring of spotlights. (Jason O’Rear) Previously, South Station’s train and bus terminals were separated. The station rehabilitation project consolidated them, improving connectivity. This gesture expanded bus terminal capacity by 50 percent, the architects added, and makes for more seamless connections between Amtrak, commuter rail, subway, and city bus lines. Phase two of the transformative project will deliver South Station Tower—a new, 51-story tower above the platform also designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners. The effect will echo Marcel Breuer’s Pan Am (now MetLife) Tower above Grand Central Terminal in New York: A tall, modern skyscraper above a squat Beaux Arts train shed. A rendering of South Station tower (Courtesy Hines) South Station Tower will offer 680,000 square feet of premium office space, and 166 luxury residences, the architects said. There will also be dining options and a rooftop park. Phase two of the transformative project will complete later this summer.