Transport
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National expression
There are many ways for a nation to build international brand equity. From winning Olympic medals to becoming a travel hub, the options are plentiful but the results are not always guaranteed.
Gilt trip
Financial markets are gripped by gold fever, with prices potentially hitting $1,000 an ounce. Key to this secretive trade are the daily bullion flights between the world’s leading financial hubs.
This is the way
Major airports like Schiphol and JFK have turned to Dutch designer Paul Mijksenaar for their signage systems. He tells Monocle about his crusade to take the art of wayfinding in a new direction.
Sleeper sell
Europe's top rail operator is betting that improved sleeper trains can win back business travellers. For a world rediscovering the benefits of slow food, the next discovery just might be slow trains.
Rupert Marine
Rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) are tough, sea-worthy and flexible. Spotting their business potential, Thomas Rönnberg set up the first Swedish RIB company, Rupert Marine, and is now preparing for the European market.
Observation
Rail life story: We love trains and think it’s time that the English-speaking world reacquired a taste for them too.
High energy
In our circumpolar tour, we visit Murmansk. After the USSR's collapse, the city declined. But now the promise of Arctic riches from energy and new sea routes is sparking a revival.
Track record
With the first Eurostar train departing from the renovated St Pancras International, we look back at its history from a 19th-century ale depot to a €1.15bn modern gateway, surviving bombs and wrecking balls.
Brand Lexus
Rewind to 1980 and the idea of a Japanese luxury car brand would have been unthinkable. Today, Toyota's Lexus division has become a dominant force in the US luxury market and wants to do…
