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Issue 2 2005

 

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Transport crucial for London’s growth

24 June 2005 | By Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, Greater London Authority

London is the fastest growing, and most diverse, major city in Europe. Our population of 7.4 million people is projected to grow by 810,000 by 2016. An efficient and reliable transport system is crucial to London's growth and prosperity.

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An Olympic plan for 2012

24 June 2005 | By Hugh Sumner, Project Director, Olympics Bid Team, Transport for London

London is one of five cities bidding to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. One of the major strengths of the London 2012 bid has been our ability to set out clearly the variety, extent and frequency of the transport network that visitors to the Games would use.…

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The Tube Lines approach

24 June 2005 | By Alex Foulds, Director of Business Planning, Tube Lines

The PPP contract for the London Underground provides an innovative way of tackling a major infrastructure project by combining strong public sector management with the best private sector expertise available. Tube Lines, responsible for the maintenance, renewal and upgrade of the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines, faces a huge task…

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Retrofit of Metro Line 2 – Budapest

24 June 2005 | By Tamás Szabó, Director for Metro Operation, Budapest Transport Limited

The East-West metro line has been in operation for more than 30 years. It represents the largest capacity and asset value in the public transport system of Budapest and can not be substituted by any other means of transport. The length of tunnel and open-air sections of the tracks is…

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Electronic ticketing: the difference it makes

24 June 2005 | By Tony Yeung, Chairman, Commission on Information Technology and Innovation, UITP

Electronic Ticketing (ET) systems have been implemented for years in major public transport networks, whether in Europe (London and Paris), in Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore) or in South America (Santiago de Chile) and many companies around the world intend to follow this path. But now that these systems have…

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Towards real-time ITS services

24 June 2005 | By Seppo Öörni, Head of ITS Group, Ministry of Transport & Communications Finland

Finland is focussing its ITS related R&D activities up to 2007 on real-time traffic and transport information in the form of a three year AINO programme.

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Keeping metro track in good condition

24 June 2005 | By James Abbott, Technical Editor

Metro authorities are increasingly using hi-tech methods to inspect and analyse track condition with a view to improving ride quality and rail longevity. Track maintenance on urban metros can demand different techniques to those used on main line railways. Train speeds are generally lower, but traffic is often dense. Frequently…

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European bus builders facing change

24 June 2005 | By Doug Jack, Partner, Transport Resources International

Most small buses and coaches in Europe are either derived from popular panel vans or based on light truck chassis. ‘Proper’ buses and coaches tend to start from about ten tonnes gross, or approximately a 40 passenger capacity. Buses and coaches tend to fall into three main categories, often with…

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Ethanol – public transport’s future?

24 June 2005 | By Jonas Strömberg, Environmental Manager, Stockholm Public Transport Authority

Stockholm Public Transport (SL) has used ethanol buses (running on E95) since 1989. Our ethanol fleet today consists of approximately 250 ethanol buses and we plan to extend the fleet with some additional 120-130 buses in 2005 and 2006. Our main goal is to have 25 per cent of our…

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Alicante tram expansion

24 June 2005 | By Marisa Gracia Gimenez, Managing Director, Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV)

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) at present has a 93km line in the province of Alicante, between Alicante and Denia, on which there are 44 stations and 18 units running. The Autonomous Community Authority’s Ministry of Infrastructures and Transports’ development of the Alicante Metropolitan tram project is enabling the…

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Cities today – defined by their metro systems

24 June 2005 | By Olof Persson, President, Mainline & Metros, Bombardier Transportation

Today, cities are growing and expanding, populations are increasing, and the need for improved, safer and modern mass transit is an absolute must. As populations extend to suburban areas to live and continue commuting to inner downtown areas to work, this need for efficient transportation has become the top priority…

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SUPERNOVA – the evaluation tool

24 June 2005 | By Thomas Posch, Project Manager, OBB Passenger Transportation Department

In late 2002, the OBB Austrian Federal Railways Passenger Transportation Department decided to develop a planning and evaluation tool based on a countrywide traffic-demand-model. The main aim was to evaluate the impact of new public transport services on passenger demand, hence SUPERNOVA: Simulationmodel on Use of Public Transport Systems for…

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Third tramway for Grenoble

24 June 2005 | By Claude Bertrand, President, SMTC

The public transport network in the Grenoble metropolitan area is one of the most dynamic in Europe, with more than 68 million users per year. This network is taken care of by the SMTC, the public institution in charge of public transport in the agglomeration and operated by the SEMITAG.…

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Authorities upgrade passenger information

24 June 2005 | By James Abbott, Technical Editor

Public transport services can be confusing in busy cities. This is especially the case for occasional users who are unfamiliar with the system. These are the people that city authorities are seeking to draw out of their cars. An unhappy time using public transport – getting on the wrong bus,…

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Improving security on urban transport systems

24 June 2005 | By James Abbott, Technical Editor

Video cameras, platform access gates, plastic film on glass to prevent etching – these are just some of the ideas being used by public transport authorities to frustrate criminals and vandals. Security is a big issue for public transport authorities. Not only are they concerned about keeping their own property…