News

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a US$370 million long-term loan to finance the upgrading of the local public transport system in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The funds will be used to purchase 82 new double-deck electric trains offering better energy efficiency, greater capacity and special barrier-free passenger comfort for the Rhine-Ruhr Express (RRX) project. RRX is North Rhine-Westphalia’s most important rail project. Promoted by the four neighbouring transport associations VRR,

Following the announcement of the potential acquisition of Gatso by Sensys Traffic in June, the potential merger of the two enforcement companies is already proving fruitful, with the award of two new orders to Gatso. A new customer has awarded the company an order for a large quantity of mobile speed enforcement systems worth US$19 million. It also includes a fully equipped workshop and extensive knowledge transfer for integration, maintenance and calibration. The first shipment is scheduled for July 20

Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) has arranged a three-part series of webinars to provide traffic engineers with the tools to better understand what is happening on their roads and how they can improve driver satisfaction and improve efficiency. Session 1, Traffic Sensing 101, is on 22 July at 1300 EDT/1000 PDT and will look at what is driving the recent need to minimise congestion for smooth traffic flow and what trends are driving the need, as well as which applications will shape the future of traffic

Fix 66, a newly formed group to advocate for a managed lanes and bus rapid transit system to improve mobility in the I-66 corridor outside of the Capital Beltway, has applauded Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT’s) announcement that they will advance a public-private partnership (P3) option for I-66 improvements to evaluate it with the previously announced public financing option. Fix 66 said, “We applaud VDOT’s decision to put the public-private partnership option on the table because maximi

Slovakia’s complex electronic toll collection (ETC) system has seen steady growth since it opened in 2010; toll collection in 2013 totalled US$161 million, while in 2014 US$200 million of told were collected. The first quarter of 2015 saw a total of US14.4 million of tolls collected. At the end of March 2015, 245,408 on-board units (OBUs) were registered with the system; 72 per cent of OBUs are registered to foreign drivers. Designed, developed and operated by Skytoll on behalf of the National Motorwa

International Road Dynamics has announced solid growth in the three and six months ended 31 May 2015, with increased revenue on strong growth in key geographic markets and product segments For the three and six months ended 31 May, consolidated revenue increased 12.2 per cent and 8.1 per cent respectively, compared to the same period s in 2014, due primarily to continued growth in the Company's Canada, United States, Latin America and Mexico markets, as well as an increase in the value of the US dollar.

Transport for London (TfL) has announced that two further bus routes will operate entirely with electric buses from autumn next year, lowering carbon emissions and helping to improve London’s air quality. The five-year contract to operate the routes has been awarded to Go Ahead following a competitive tender process, and will mean that 51 electric buses will operate across the two routes that will become the second and third pure electric bus routes in the Capital. Go Ahead will confirm which manufactu

To ensure the competitiveness and sustainability of EU transport, concrete measures are still needed, said MEPs in a report adopted in the Transport and Tourism Committee (TRAN) this week and intended to feed into the Commission review of the 2011 White Paper on Transport. Further efforts to boost air, road, rail and maritime transport, reduce road injuries and close loopholes in passenger rights legislation should be made, they add. The transport sector is a driving force of the EU economy and should

US automotive industry components and parts supplier BorgWarner is to acquire Remy International, a leading producer of rotating electrical components. With key technologies and operations in ten countries on five different continents, BorgWarner says Remy is strongly positioned to benefit from global growth. “We look forward to welcoming Remy’s talented employees to BorgWarner. Their products and capabilities will strengthen BorgWarner’s position in the rapidly developing powertrain electrification tre

N3 Toll Concession (N3TC), the company responsible for the N3 toll route between Heidelberg in Gauteng and Cedara in KwaZulu-Natal, has begun testing of its electronic toll collection (ETC) System in selected toll plaza lanes. N3TC aims to implement electronic toll collection (ETC) as an additional convenient payment method for vehicles fitted with electronic tags. It is envisaged that ETC will be implemented at all plazas along the N3 Toll Route during the latter part of 2015. “With the roll out of a

As part of the grand opening of Michigan’s Mcity on 20 July, Econolite will host a connected vehicle demonstration of real-time vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, using currently available signalised intersection equipment. Mcity is a unique test site for connected and automated vehicles located on the North Campus Research Complex and operated by the University’s Mobility Transformation Center (MTC). The 32-acre simulated urban and suburban networked environment features a system of roads wit

Japanese automotive test systems organisation HORIBA is expanding its operation through the purchase of the global advanced vehicle engineering, research and product testing business operated by MIRA. The investment, which was completed on 14 July, will see HORIBA expand its current portfolio, with a move into vehicle engineering and testing consultancy. Both HORIBA and MIRA, now known as HORIBA MIRA, are set to benefit from the sale, which enables HORIBA to address the emerging areas of next generati

Following the introduction of the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015, Part II (H.R. 3038), legislation to fund and extend the authorisation for America’s highway and transit programs through the end of the year, Senators Bill Schuster and Paul Ryan stated: “This country needs a long-term plan to fix our roads, bridges, and other infrastructure, and this bill gives us our best shot at completing one this year. By providing resources through the end of the year, we can ensure construction cont

According to Australasian Bus and Coach, a new report warns that public transport investment in Australian needs an increase to avoid overcrowding The State of Australian Cities report shows patronage on public transport has grown significantly over the last decade, with a rate of average annual growth of 2.4 per cent. The report warns investment in Melbourne and Sydney’s public transport network should be increased to meet future demand, since patronage is growing fast and overcrowding becomes an is

The long-awaited Presidio Parkway in San Francisco has opened to traffic. The US$1.1 billion project relied on US$363 million in federal funds, as well as US$152.5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and a US$150 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan. Since work began in 2009, the Presidio Parkway project replaced Doyle Drive, a 1.6-mile segment of SR-101 linking the city to the Golden Gate Bridge, connecting Marin and San Francisco counties, a