News

UK company Newpark Mats and Integrated Services (NMIS), part of Houston-based Newpark Resources and a worldwide provider of ground protection solutions, is continuing its expansion strategy with the acquisition of today of its UK distributor, Oxfordshire-based Terrafirma Roadways (TFR). The gives the company a stronger foothold in the UK and Europe and will be supported by increased production capacity at the company’s Louisiana based manufacturing plant, where Newpark recently announced a US$41.1 millio

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a US$92 million loan for Turkey’s first trans-shipment container terminal AsyaPort, as the country continues to improve its infrastructure to create the conditions for sustaining its strong economic growth. The Bank’s financing will be used to design, build, operate and maintain a new container terminal in the town of Barbaros, Tekirdag province, some 130 kilometres west of Istanbul. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and T

The European Commission has adopted Shift2Rail, a new public-private partnership to invest around US$1.3 billion in research and innovation to get more passengers and freight onto Europe's railways. Rail is amongst the most efficient and climate-friendly forms of transport, but currently it only carries about only 10 per cent of European cargo and 6 per cent of passengers each year. Shift2Rail is an ambitious public-private partnership which will manage a seven-year work programme of targeted research an

The Vietnamese transport sector has been a major recipient of Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) in 2013, receiving nearly US$776 million. A Ministry of Transport (MoT) report shows that, by the end of this year, eighteen Japanese-funded transport projects valued at US$2.34 billion have been completed and put into operation. Japan is currently helping Vietnam implement 28 other transport projects totalling US$7.42 billion, and working with other donors to channel approximately US$4 billion

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has confirmed that Transport for London’s (TfL) financial support to local transport projects through the Local Implementation Fund (LIP), will be held constant at US$240.8 million a year for the next three years to 2016/17. LIP funding has been protected through TfL's savings and efficiencies programme in recognition of the vital role the boroughs play in local delivery of the Mayor's Transport Strategy, despite a reduction in TfL's Central Government funding. Th

Fleet management systems (FMS) have an established presence in France, Germany, UK, Italy and Benelux, with 70 per cent of fleet managers claiming familiarity with FMS – 37 per cent are already using it and 33 per cent are testing it. In general, fleet owners display a positive attitude toward FMS, and 35 percent of respondents in a recent Frost & Sullivan survey consider it an absolute necessity. Large fleets are keener to adopt these solutions than small and medium fleets, clearly indicating a lack of awa

Within a broader review of US transport infrastructure securities, including ports and airlines, Fitch Rating analysts say the recent slow growth in aggregate traffic is likely to continue but that many established toll roads look financially solid because of their pricing power - tolls that have been well below revenue maximising levels. Their pricing power has been somewhat reduced, Fitch says, by strong increases in toll rates on many toll roads, which mean they have less scope for big increases in to

NFU Mutual, the UK’s leading rural insurer is urging drivers to consider the risk of ‘ghost brokers’ when insuring their car online. Illegal middlemen, known as ‘ghost brokers’, using fake websites that look very much like the real thing, are targeting people looking for cheaper car insurance by offering them products that are non-existent. The fraudsters are posing as legitimate insurance brokers targeting those people who are more likely to consider cut price insurance to help save money. Accordin

MarketsandMarkets recently conducted a study on the "Fleet Management Market (Fleet Analytics; Vehicle Tracking & Fleet Monitoring; Telematics; Vendor Services) By Vehicles (Trucks; Light Goods; Buses; Corporate Fleets; Container Ships; Aircrafts) Worldwide Market Forecasts and Analysis (2013 - 2018)", which analysed and studied the major market drivers, restraints and opportunities in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. The study indicates that the fleet manageme

Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the National Wealth Fund (NWF) to allot US$6.07 billion for infrastructure projects involving the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). The RDIF has already selected eleven transport infrastructure projects involving ports, toll roads, metro, telecommunications including trunk lines to scarcely populated areas and a Europe - Asia fibre optic line, power energy and water supply.

Recent Plugtests interoperability events for intelligent transport systems (ITS) cooperative systems organised by European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), in collaboration with Ertico, enabled participating automotive companies to test the interoperability of their solutions. They also ran tests to assess their compliance with the latest standards developed by the ETSI ITS technical committee. Hosted by consulting and testing organisation CETECOM, the event included a workshop on future persp

The VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland is involved in an extensive international Drive C2X project that tests and develops intelligent transport solutions, aimed at improving safety and efficiency in road traffic and reducing the carbon footprint of motoring. The project includes large-scale testing of inter-vehicle communication and communication between vehicles and the roadside infrastructure system. The tests are being carried out using cars from Mercedes-Benz, Opel and Volvo in slippery and deman

On-street trials of AGD Systems’ latest intelligent radar detection system, the 318, developed for the detection and monitoring of vehicles in single lanes or highways environments, are now under way in the UK, Taiwan, South Africa, Turkey and Qatar. The new above-ground intelligent radar detector has been designed in response to market demand for accurate strategic detection, the new radar is equipped with an intuitive, Bluetooth-enabled graphical user interface allowing users to configure and set cust

Rail technology provider Wabtec Corporation has signed a US$34 million contract with Sound Transit, a commuter railroad serving the Seattle region, to design, install, test and commission a positive train control (PTC) system. Sound Transit's commuter rail line covers 82 miles and carries nearlythree3 million passengers annually. Under the contract, Wabtec will provide its interoperable electronic train management system (I-ETMS) equipment and installation for sixteen locomotives and eighteen passenger

Austrian-based traffic technology group Swarco has appointed Cees de Wijs as its new Chief Executive Officer. De Wijs, who has almost 20 years of experience in traffic and transport telematics across all transport modes, will take up his new position on 1 January. De Wijs, aged 45, is a Dutch national and holds a PhD degree in engineering from Delft University of Technology. He previously worked for Royal KPN Group and Logica where he was transport and logistics group director, responsible for the comp