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Issue 3 2009

 

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Urban transport in the heart of European transport policy

30 June 2009 | By Antonio Tajani, Vice-President Commissioner for Transport, European Commission

A large majority of Europe's citizens live in urban areas. Cities and towns are real growth engines for our economy: almost 85% of the EU's GDP is generated in cities. But in parallel, many negative effects of transport are concentrated in towns and cities. Developing clean, energy efficient, intelligent, safe…

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City public transport in Finland – achieving objectives

30 June 2009 | By Harri Pursiainen, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finland

Developing city transport helps combat climate change. It also promotes the competitiveness of the urban regions and improves people’s everyday lives. Together, these objectives require a change to traditional ways of thinking. Solutions to problems should not primarily be sought through large investments in infrastructure that increase vehicle traffic capacity.…

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Current status of public transport in Denmark

30 June 2009 | By Mr. Lars Barfoed, Minister of Transport, Denmark

Although Denmark is the smallest of the Scandinavian countries, it benefits from a highly developed public transport system. This, for instance, is evidenced by the fact that Denmark accounts for one of Europe's highest market shares in terms of rail transport. Denmark has also gained an international reputation for its…

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Light Rail Transit for Aarhus – uniting forces to realise the vision

30 June 2009 | By Ole Sørensen, Light Rail Project Manager, Midttrafik and Lisa Bak Jensen, EIA Coordinator, COWI A/S

For some years now there has been great focus on giving high priority to public transport in the area of Aarhus – Denmark’s second largest city, situated on the peninsula of Jutland. The population in the area is 690,000, of which 300,000 are living in the Aarhus Municipality. Decisions were…

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Resplus binds together Sweden’s public transport

30 June 2009 | By Mattias Andersson, Business Manager for Resplus, Samtrafiken

Resplus is the trademark for combined tickets in Sweden. The company behind Resplus is called Samtrafiken1, which was founded in 1993. Besides the 30 companies that own Resplus, about 15 additional carriers participate in the Resplus cooperative programme. This means that Resplus includes combined tickets for all long-distance train traffic,…

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Controlling cost overruns on rail projects: a European perspective

30 June 2009 | By Professor Matti Siemiatycki, Transportation Policy & Planning Specialist, University of Toronto

Across Europe and around the world, media headlines report a now familiar story. ‘Tube repairs at risk as cost overrun hits £750m’1. ‘Amsterdam Metro Line Sinks Deeper into Trouble’2. ‘Trenton: Rail Construction Faces Cost Overruns’3. And in the most recent setback for the Edinburgh tram project, ‘Tram line design months…

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The case for creating seamless European toll services

30 June 2009 | By Per Jarle Furnes, New Business Development, Q-Free

Europe launched wireless communication standards for tolling in 1997. During the 90s, tolling became a viable means to finance soaring road infrastructure costs as trade increased between the European countries. Many formulated visions for pan European interoperability where users subject to tolls could enjoy a seamless service or ‘one tag…

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ATM’s technology and environment projects contribute to overall quality

30 June 2009 | By Marco Pavanello, Marketing and Communication Director, ATM-Azienda Trasporti Milanesi

Technology becomes a fundamental factor when talking about quality. Our technological investments do not only concern network infrastructures. For modern transport companies, it is no longer enough just to take people from A to B: they need to be accompanied and offered services that make the journey easy, comfortable and…

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Transport security: in training for the Olympics

30 June 2009 | By Steve Thomas, Assistant Chief Constable, British Transport Police (BTP) and Olympics National Coordinator for Cross-modal Transport Security

The Olympics are quite simply the world’s biggest event. In 2012, the London Olympics will involve 10,700 athletes from more than 200 nations, with 500,000 plus spectators daily, as well as 50,000 athletes, officials and media representatives. In addition, 2012 will be a ‘public transport’ games with almost 100% of…