News

A webinar, "Cooperative Automation: Activities in the European Project i-Game”, to present a brief overview of the on-going and planned activities in V2X communications under the European project i-Game will take place on 26 March at 1600 CET. The main aim of this section of i-GAME is to develop interaction protocols and message sets in the context of cooperative automation. Next to the development activities in i-GAME, an international Grand Cooperative Driving Challenge (GCDC) will be organised in 2016. T

The first commercial implementation of Safelane automated traffic management has been deemed a success by its developer, Mobile Visual Information Systems (MVIS). Traffic management firm Chevron used Safelane during its management of a full carriageway closure on a bridge replacement project for Balfour Beatty on the M56 in Cheshire, UK. Safelane is part of the first collection of temporary road maintenance safety solutions combining modular electronic perimeters and variable message signs (VMS), launched l

US Senators Cory A. Booker and Deb Fisher, members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, have sent a bipartisan letter to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administrator Mark Rosekind to request an update on agency policies related to automated vehicle technology and to urge the NHTSA to embrace policies that promote innovation in and the improved safety benefits of the technology. “These technologies promise to significantly reduce roadway accidents, shorten

“A move in the right direction” is the message from the Freight Transport Association today – responding to the news that a new class of what it calls continental-style ‘expressways’ are to be developed as part of the Highways Agency (HA) Road Investment Strategy. FTA has said it is in support of the development of ‘expressways’ on major A roads across the country and considers them to be a step forward to improve the reliability and safety on some of the major routes across the UK.

A new IDTechEx report, Autonomous Vehicles: Land, Water, Air 2015-2035 claims autonomous vehicles are successful here and now but you are unlikely to meet one because the successes are in the upper atmosphere, open cast mines, nuclear power stations, underwater and in other relatively inaccessible places. It goes on to explains that the primary technology of an autonomous vehicle is that which confers autonomy and the powertrain, which is usually electric. The powertrain and navigation and control technolo

The RAINVISION project, co-financed by the European Commission, recently held its final meeting. Over the past three years, the project has researched the impact of road markings on driver behaviour under different night weather conditions (dry, wet and wet and rainy) and has assessed how different age groups and gender groups adapt their driving based on the above mentioned conditions. The results of the project were presented and in particular, the outcomes of three different trials conducted over the pro

According to a new report soon to be published by the Bank of Israel, the level of infrastructure in Israel remains lower in some areas—particularly in the area of metropolitan public transit—than in most developed countries. This report, according to an advance copy released this week, examines the level of available infrastructure and investments associated with the sector, as well as how the country fares in these arenas in comparison to other nations. It claims the volume of investment in urban and inte

The new headquarters of Highways England, the company that will run motorways and major A roads, has been opened today by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin. The new company, which replaces the Highways Agency on 1 April, marks a step change in how England’s roads are maintained and managed and will be responsible for delivering more than US$22 billion of investment by 2021. The new company will have longer-term funding to be able to plan ahead and invest in skills and equipment to speed up essential wo

The EU's TEN-T Programme is to provide funding of almost US$1.06 million for studies on the development of better freight and passenger transport connections between Bucharest's Henri Coanda airport, the main railway lines and the Romanian motorway network. The studies features feasibility, legal and environmental studies and are part of a larger project which covers the construction of a multimodal hub for freight and passenger transport in Bucharest-Ilfov region near the town of Otopeni, at the crossroads

Plans to revolutionise travel in the north, including a new TransNorth rail system and new road investments, will today be set out by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and northern city leaders. As part of building a northern powerhouse, the Chancellor established Transport for the North (TfN) to bring together northern transport authorities, and tasked it with working with government to create the first ever comprehensive tr

Drivers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia now benefit from a new mobile application, Delilat Arriyadh, powered with traffic information processed by Gewi’s TIC software. The app, which provides information on workzone locations, will enable the travelling public to make informed decisions, reduce delays and reach their destinations as quickly as possible. The app is expected to reduce the impact of Riyadh Metro-related road construction and road works during the five-year period of the project and beyond.

Q-Free has increased its stake in US traffic controller supplier, Intelight, with a five year option program which will give shareholders the option to sell shares at closing in 2015 and in five subsequent years valid from 2016. The deal will give Q-Free the opportunity to add some 15 per cent of Intelight shares to its current 10.2 per cent shareholding each year. At end of the five year period, Q-Free has the option to acquire the rest of the shares. The first transaction will be closed during the second

Rail technology leader Bombardier Transportation has signed contracts with both the Düsseldorf Rheinbahn and Cologne transport authorities (KVB) for the delivery of 62 Flexity light rail vehicles in total. The contract with KVB is for 20 vehicles and is valued at approximately US$68 million. Rheinbahn’s contract for 42 vehicles, with an option for 16 additional vehicles, is valued at approximately US$135 million.

Brazil's federal government has drawn up a tender launch schedule for highway, railway, airport, waterway, and port dredging concessions. Feasibility studies for the country's upcoming concessions have already been completed and tenders are due to be launched in the fourth quarter, local paper Valor Econômico reported. To date, a total of 493 kilometres of sections of federal highway, from Paraná state's Lapa city to Santa Catarina state's Chapecó city, are waiting to be put out to tender. Additional highwa

Australia’s two leading annual intelligent transport systems conferences, the Australian ITS Summit and the National Electronic Tolling Forum (NeTC), will be held at the Crown Conference Centre, Melbourne from 12 to 14 May with national and international guest speakers and more than 400 delegates expected to attend. Hosted by Intelligent Transport Systems Australia (ITS Australia), the events bring together ITS industry leaders, government, transport businesses and users, and academics to explore ways to ma