News

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has inaugurated its traffic signalisation system (TSS), an advanced real time traffic management network that is expected to greatly improve traffic and pedestrian and commuter safety in Metro Manila. A new Metro command and control centre houses the system which features 25 new fibre optic high definition pan-tilt-zoom traffic control/video surveillance cameras and 36 45-inch video screens for traffic monitoring. MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino sai

US-based McCain has released the latest upgrade to its Omni eX intersection control software, which the company says expands traffic operations and communication capabilities. Usability improvements allow users to intuitively modify the entire database of timing parameters directly from the controller front panel. In addition, extra security features enable agencies to limit and track user access through unique logins and passwords. The latest version offers transportation agencies an even more powerful

Germany-based TÜV Rheinland has acquired OpenSky Corporation, US provider of information technology (IT) consulting services, expanding its IT infrastructure and security services in the US. Based in Tolland, Connecticut, OpenSky’s services enables large enterprises to streamline IT infrastructures, protect information assets and accelerate the adoption of strategic technologies. The company will continue to operate as a separate business unit, with the executive and management team staying in place und

Eurotunnel and the British mobile telephone operators EE and Vodafone have signed a ten year agreement to offer mobile services in the Channel Tunnel. Customers of both operators will have access to 2G and 3G services in the UK to France north tunnel (UK to France). Both EE and Vodafone intend to offer 4G data services throughout the tunnel in the future. This will enable passengers of both Le Shuttle and high speed passenger trains to use their mobile phone or tablet device at any point of the journe

Former US Secretary of Transportation is to join Building America’s Future (BAF) as a new co-chair. Serving alongside fellow co-chairs former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell the LaHood will help lead BAF’s bipartisan coalition of current and former elected officials who are committed to raising awareness about the need to invest in our nation’s roads, bridges, airports, rails and ports. Together, the BAF co-chairs called on Washington to support critica

Auto manufacturer Audi has partnered with TTech, Austrian network solutions provider, to introduce key-enabling technologies for the piloted car, which the companies say will result in a highly integrated platform ECU named zFAS, which is based on a complex multicore network, hosting sophisticated sensor fusion and a variety of innovative functions such as piloted parking or driving. "Our goal is leadership in piloted parking and piloted driving. For this purpose TTTech and Audi are developing a highly a

There is just a week left before the 15 January deadline for submission of scientific or technical papers for the 21st World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems and ITS America Annual Meeting, to be held on 7-11 September in Detroit, Michigan. Approved paper submissions will be presented in Detroit and automatically be considered for publication in one of three noted ITS journals, namely: The Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems, IET Intelligent Transport Systems, or the International Jour

French engineering and construction firm Egis has been awarded a US$16 million engineering contract by Brazil’s build and operate concessionaire CCR (Companhia de Concessões Rodoviárias) for the construction of the Salvador metro in the state capital of Bahia, Brazil. The project comprises the completion of the seven kilometre line 1, which is partly underground, the construction of five kilometres of extensions to this first line and the construction of the 24 kilometre line 2, serving Salvador’s inter

Audio and infotainment group Harman is to demonstrate its integration of Google Glass with its advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) engine at the One Harman experience showcase at during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas 7-10 January. Demonstrations will show Google Glass can be seamlessly integrated with the company’s ADAS engine, using an android camera feed and image processing to analyse in real-time camera the potential road risks provide alerts through the Google Glass. The syst

The deadline for paper and special interest session proposal submissions for the ITS European Congress and Exhibition in Helsinki has been extended to midnight on 14 January. We have already received many valuable submissions and we thank you for your contributions. Papers and special interest session proposals should be submitted through the submission portal, which also provides the submission guidelines. For further details on the congress and exhibition, visit the Congress website.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending US$340 million to finance the implementation of Hungary’s railway infrastructure rehabilitation and upgrading investment programme for the period 2013-2016. The objective is to improve the safety, capacity and performance of the existing conventional railway infrastructure with positive impacts on commuters and long-distance travellers as well as on freight traffic. The EIB loan will help the Hungarian railways to become more competitive and attractive in co

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has installed a new US$750,000 electronic sign system on Interstate 80 in Parleys Canyon that will allow engineers to adjust the speed limit during storms or icy weather. Eight electronic signs are in eastbound lanes, and seven in westbound lanes. Data from road sensors shows the road condition, along with the canyon’s temperature and humidity and traffic speed, while cameras will show visibility, enabling traffic engineers to remotely adjust the speed limit s

TRICS, the UK and Ireland’s national system of trip generation analysis, is introducing the TRICS 7 series to user organisations at a free event to be held at The Grand Connaught Rooms in London on 14 January. TRICS 7 is a comprehensive redesign of the TRICS user interface, with efficiency, user-friendliness, logic and structure in mind. It is the result of two years of research, consultation and development and is a major upgrade from the previous TRICS 6 series. An improved logical interface reduce

Australia’s Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) has awarded Q-Free an order for its OBU610 tags valued at US$2.4 million. This latest generation toll transponder is claimed by the company to be the smallest of its kind, yet powerful enough to support both single and multiple protocol applications. With a battery life of more than seven years, the transponder supports any application from single lane to full multi-lane free-flow and open-road tolling.

RedFusion, RedSpeed’s average speed enforcement system, won a number of converts in 2013 – particularly in the UK where the technology has been type approved for both permanent and temporary installations.