News

McCain has announced the successful use of its QuicNet advanced traffic management system (ATMS) central control technology by the city of Carlsbad, in California, to identify the illicit use of red light preemptive technology. Using QuicNet, the city was able to identify how, when and where the illegal use was taking place.

Telvent GIT has announced the completion of the company’s SmartMobility Road Suite, on King Abdullah Road in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Claimed to be the first smart transportation system to be implemented in Saudi Arabia, this solution manages interurban expressway traffic through a centralised platform. It controls and manages the four tunnels and the entire range of field devices in place along the expressway’s six kilometre length, increasing user safety and security and improving infrastructure maintenance.

The European Commission is keen to boost road safety and analysis of road accident statistics. A key component of this move will be improving transparency over the safety of road infrastructure, in accordance with their obligations under European law. So far 11 European member states have been warned by the European Commission to be more open about the safety on infrastructure networks.

Siemens Industry has been awarded a US$17.2 million contract from Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), on behalf of the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, to provide Atlanta with four new streetcars. The first car is expected to be delivered in September 2012 with revenue service beginning in early 2013. These will be the first streetcars in Atlanta since 1949 and will mark Siemens entry into the streetcar market in the United States.

TRW Automotive Holdings has unveiled its new 'bag in roof' airbag system which replaces passenger airbags typically mounted in the instrument panel. The company claims the new airbag can help to mitigate passenger injuries and can allow for improved interior design aesthetics, ergonomics and functionality while saving space in the instrument panel. In addition, TRW claims this new design concept enhances development efficiency: by eliminating the need to package a passenger airbag in the instrument panel, t

During a visit to Paris, a delegation from the Bagdad Mayoralty in Paris has signed a contract with Systra for the design and tender services for the Bagdad Underground Metro Lines 1 and 2, which are intended to be the backbone of future transport development in the Iraqi capital. Systra’s contract involves the basic design, preparation of tender documents, and selection of EPC Contractor for two underground metro lines.

A UK government strategy to tackle congestion caused by motorway closures and drive down the £1 billion (US$1.6 billion) annual cost to the economy has been unveiled by Roads Minister Mike Penning, who also announced the launch of a £3 million ($4.87 million) fund for police forces to purchase laser scanning technology to speed up of the investigation process and incident clear up times.

Volvo Car Corporation is participating in an inductive charging project. Together with Belgian technological and development specialists Flanders' Drive and others, Volvo is developing systems and methods that need neither power sockets nor charging cables. With inductive charging, energy is transferred wirelessly to the car's battery via a charging plate buried in the road surface.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has been presented as a good and cheaper alternative to new tramways in Stockholm, according to a report from the consultancy WSP. If the BRT buses are operated on biofuel or electric-hybrid then this form of transport is also as green as trams.

SAE International has released the second in its ‘Safe, Green and Connected’ trilogy of books edited by 2010 SAE International president Dr. Andrew Brown Jr., P.E., FESD, NAE. Active Safety and the Mobility Industry features 20 SAE technical papers originally published in 2009 and 2010, which showcase how the mobility industry is considering all aspects of safety in designing and producing safer vehicles. The book details the latest innovations and trends in active safety technologies and driver distraction

Kinkisharyo International, a supplier of low-floor, light-rail vehicles in North America, has undertaken a demonstration in Dallas, Texas, for officials and invited guests of the AmeriTram, the company’s prototype of the 100 per cent low-floor, electro-hybrid streetcar specifically designed for North America.

Innovative fast-charging systems for electric vehicles are now being supplied to Norway. The country is buying the high speed charging technology from Epyon, a Belgian supplier. Norwegian firm Lysi Energi is purchasing the commercial charging stations for electric vehicles in a bid to build a nationwide network. Epyon recently installed a Terra 51 Charge Station in Sandnes, near the E39 highway to Stavanger, and plans installations at least at two more locations in the next two months.

German company Vitronic and its subsidiary Vitronic Baltica together with the Latvian company SIA Komerccentrs DATI Grupa have won a tender for 130 speed enforcement systems to be deployed throughout Latvia. 100 systems will be operated in 160 stationary housings, while 30 units will be used for mobile speed enforcement.

TagMaster, together with its Chinese distributor Richor and FTRD, a technology supplier to the rail industry in China, have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) which covers the joint development of an RFID system for use on mainline railways in China. The RFID system will form part of a new onboard warning system which will be used to improve train safety when passing temporary speed limits and work sections along the line.

According to a recent report from Pike Research, the trend toward cleaner transit buses will continue over the next several years, and by 2015 the cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts that alternative fuel vehicles will represent more than 50 per cent of the 64,000 total transit buses that will be delivered worldwide during that year, up from 28 per cent of total bus deliveries in 2010.