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Transport infrastructures, including high-speed rail networks, are built to make efficient transport services possible. An analysis of the characteristics of the networks and sections they comprise can support design decisions and contribute to increase the efficiency of transport services. This paper is devoted to analysis of the structure and topology of three representative high-speed rail networks, in Japan, France and Spain. The Japanese network presents a mixed lineal and branching structure, while the French and Spanish networks are clearly branching. The efficiency and ratios of development of the systems are estimated. Two types of sections can be differentiated in branching railway networks - those located in the centre, denoted as backbone sections, and their ramifications at the periphery. The operating models and line equipment used on these two types of sections should not be the same as their roles are different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrastructure managers of networks across the European Union have been challenged with the need to innovate the management frameworks they have in place in order to ensure the continued operation of their networks, under increasingly burdensome constraints. Limitation of resources and variations of interest or priority of different stakeholders of road infrastructure networks often lead to multiple considerations of intervention options. It is of interest to identify the best available intervention or investment option under a multi-criteria framework. Markers of performance may be varied, and the approach towards maintenance management may have different philosophies based on specific organisational structures of governance. This paper presents a methodology for cross-asset management that caters to different maintenance management systems without modification. Optimisation approaches and effective implementation methods are identified. Practical implementation guidelines of the developed framework are illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the vulnerability of a transportation network is defined from the perspective of the sensitivity of the transportation system against external disturbances. The generalised travel time is defined as the weighting of both the ratio of actual travel time to free travel time and the unreliability of the travel time. The reciprocal of generalised travel time taken as the utility function, the impact of external disturbances on the transportation system can be quantified. Meanwhile, the vulnerability model is established using the change rate of the utility index. The stochastic user equilibrium traffic assignment model is formulated on the assumption of minimisation of travel cost. Finally, the real road network of the city of Harbin in China is taken as an example to illustrate the applicability and efficiency of the proposed model. This approach can be used as a decision-supporting tool for identifying critical infrastructures in transportation management and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the potential of the Irish freight sector to adapt and presents possible adjustments to the management of freight that may allow the sector to become more efficient. The paper investigates the current make-up of the freight industry in Ireland, the current use of resources and technologies, and aspects of the industry where efficiencies and competitiveness could be improved. This information provides the basis for an examination of the potential for new initiatives in the freight sector, including the introduction of freight management technology and changing work practices within the industry. The paper draws attention to emerging national and European initiatives such as urban freight management measures and the potential use of information and communication technologies, and concludes by setting out whether such initiatives could be applied in an Irish context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality of service should not be overlooked in public transport planning and policy making, as it influences modal shift from car use to more sustainable means. Little research has been conducted on the quality of public transport interchanges from the perspective of current travellers (i.e. perceived quality). This work thus aimed to identify key quality factors at urban interchanges through an exploratory approach (multiple correspondence analysis) that provides novel elements for further investigation. The methodology was applied at interchanges in Madrid and Gothenburg and the data used in the analysis were collected through customer satisfaction surveys conducted in 2011. The analysis identified five key quality factors per interchange. Ticketing plays a key role at both interchanges while physical and environmental issues emerged at Avenida de América in Madrid, and services, temporal issues and interconnectivity characterise Gothenburg central station. Compared with other quality aspects, classical issues such as safety/security and information are not perceived as important by intermodal travellers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, cycling has been recognised by policy makers and practitioners as a sustainable alternative to motorised travel. However, a lack of perceived safety associated with cycling may have inhibited its growth as a popular mode of transportation in urban environments. A questionnaire-based survey, conducted in Dublin city, found cyclists to perceive cycling in the city as less safe than driving. The survey responses were analysed in an ordered logistic regression framework to identify the determinants of their perceived safety in order to recommend possible policy interventions for improvement of these perceptions. A cyclist safety index is also proposed, which allows the perceptions of cyclists relative to driving to be quantified for consideration in transport network design and adaptation for cyclists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban road network is the basis of urban transportation and its reliability plays an extremely important role in relieving congestion. The present study took unblocked reliability as the index for a road network reliability study. As the saturation cannot fully reflect the traffic situation, first, the formula for unblock reliability was improved and second, the minimal road set algorithm in graph theory was used to simplify the road network as a simple series-parallel network, and by combination with real-time data of the road network in Beijing, China, a calculation method of urban road network reliability was established. Finally, as an extension of the unblocked reliability evaluation, a sensitivity analysis was conducted for each road network and the critical sections in the road network were determined. The simulation results show that the improved unblocked reliability can sensitively reflect the traffic congestion situation and sensitivity analysis based on the unblocked reliability evaluation can effectively locate the sections in the road network that are critical for solving the congestion problem. The results of the study provide reasonable decision-making and theoretic support for traffic management departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The service time of a single bus line is divided into some time periods according to passenger flow intensity; it is supposed that passengers arrive evenly at the stop and bus runs are set evenly in each time period. The bus timetable setting problem is to determine bus run assignments in each time period to minimise the total waiting time of passengers on platforms if the number of total runs is known. This is a typical time-continuous multi-stage decision problem, and the dynamic programming method is appropriate to solve it. Global optimisation procedures using dynamic programming are developed to solve such a multi-stage decision problem. A numerical example is given to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a long time, the aquaplaning phenomenon has been acknowledged to cause serious road accidents, during heavy rainfall, given specific vehicle and road conditions. Accident statistics confirm that during adverse weather conditions the rate of crashes increases. Portuguese road concession contracts require accident rates to be monitored and define payment adjustment factors in relation to accident rate variation in comparison with data from previous years. However, there are no defined guidelines to assess the risk of aquaplaning and how to deal with it. A discussion of the definition of guidelines to assess aquaplaning risk at project level in Portugal, and the recommended countermeasures, considering other world administrations' analysis methodologies and published research results of the past 50 years are presented herein. The critical analysis highlights the conditions contributing to failure and the share of responsibility between the road administration and the driver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the design and evacuation evaluation of highly crowded places such as metro stations, continuous-space particle models have gained increasing attention because they are capable of simulating normal crowd self-organisation phenomena including lane formation without the need for complex walking rules. However, such models do not consider pedestrians' high level of automatic control. The paper introduces a new method to the original social force model based on a smart agent model using object-oriented programming. A corresponding implementation method is formulated and a corresponding algorithm designed. The parameters of the pedestrian body, the walking characteristics and the model itself are calibrated, and the modified model is implemented on a VC++ 2008 platform. Both one-directional and bidirectional interchange walkway simulations are studied. The results demonstrate better lane formation and the fundamental diagram from the simulation fits well with that obtained from a field study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing urbanisation around the world has raised the passenger demand for public transport. Many public transport technologies are available to meet this demand. This paper develops a spreadsheet cost model that simulates public transport modes operated on a 12-km route and incorporates a new public transport mode, the straddle bus. Previous research has assumed that demand is exogenous (externally fixed). This work investigates the impact of endogenous demand, which varies with service level characteristics. Elasticities for passenger waiting time and in-vehicle time are used to assess actual passenger reactions to the attractiveness for different public transport technologies at different levels of demand. The result of this work shows the lowest average social and operator cost public transport technologies for different ranges of demand. Based on the default values used in the spreadsheet model, smaller size vehicles (e.g. personal rapid transit and minibus) dominate the low passenger demand range due to their short waiting times. Single-decker and double-decker buses appear to be the best option for a demand of around 3000-60 000 passengers per day (ppd), followed by the straddle bus (from around 60 000 to 100 000 ppd). The great capacity but high capital costs of underground make it the most cost-effective technology when other technologies are experiencing high congestion, with demand levels higher than 100 000 ppd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation and land-use development are closely connected and make the different urban forms we know. Globally, there are many large cities whose forms were shaped by transportation and land use. However, there is neither a systematic discussion nor empirical analysis to prove which kinds of transportation factor will connect land use and which kinds of land-use factor will connect transportation. Therefore, this paper aims at reviewing the literature, using empirical analysis and study of 36 cities worldwide to develop quantitative and qualitative definitions of connections. Finally, this paper uses an empirical analysis to demonstrate connections of transportation and land-use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over recent years the UK railway industry has seen unprecedented growth in the number of passengers and the amount of freight carried. Expansion in network capacity, however, has not kept pace with this growth. This has led to significant overcrowding and little or no capacity left to run more trains within existing stock or track provision. The UK government however has stated that as part of achieving 'best value' it wants to further increase rail traffic, and has recently set out a strategy to optimise this. This paper reviews the issues associated with the growth in passengers, the demand placed on the network and the policy developed to accommodate and manage it. It identifies the capacity constraints and options identified for capacity enhancement. The paper concludes that while privatisation has made coherent decision-making difficult there is significant experience to be gained in the development of policy and route utilisation strategies. Over recent years the UK railway industry has seen unprecedented growth in the number of passengers and the amount of freight carried. Expansion in network capacity, however, has not kept pace with this growth. This has led to significant overcrowding and little or no capacity left to run more trains within existing stock or track provision. The UK government however has stated that as part of achieving 'best value' it wants to further increase rail traffic, and has recently set out a strategy to optimise this. This paper reviews the issues associated with the growth in passengers, the demand placed on the network and the policy developed to accommodate and manage it. It identifies the capacity constraints and options identified for capacity enhancement. The paper concludes that while privatisation has made coherent decision-making difficult there is significant experience to be gained in the development of policy and route utilisation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The merits of alternative urban and inter-urban public transport systems have been the subject of some debate, particularly since the publication of the UK's 1998 transport policy White Paper A New Deal for Transport. This current paper aims to assess some of the conflicting empirical evidence in the UK and abroad in order to allow an objective assessment of the policy implications. Section 2 presents an overview of technical and financial characteristics of mainly urban public transport systems, including capital and operating costs of recent light rail, guided bus, bus priority and suburban rail systems. Section 3 explores the evidence on the wider costs and benefits of systems in the UK, including wider environmental and socio-economic impacts. Although more expensive to build (under similar conditions), light rail systems often carry more passengers than `intermediate' bus-based systems such as guided bus and segregated busways. There is not much between public transport systems on the basis of operating costs per passenger-km, except metro systems, which are twice as expensive to run as bus-based systems. When comparing revenues and operating costs directly, all modes except suburban regional rail appear capable of covering operating costs overall, with light rail and some of London's suburban rail services providing a marginal surplus of revenue. Average speeds of light rail and bus-based systems are comparable. In heavily congested corridors, new light rail systems can reduce journey times significantly, but such reductions are lower for bus-based systems, mainly because of the relatively limited amount of segregated right of way and priority at traffic signals. This highlights the fact that bus priority systems act primarily as `congestion busters' at hot spots, which can be implemented more flexibly and gradually than for rail- based systems. Currently, electric propulsion appears to be the best option to mitigate air pollution and noise. However, new clean vehicle technologies will soon be in a position to play a major role in reducing emissions, in particular for bus-based systems. In terms of external costs per bus/train-km, environmental costs appear higher than accident costs, but lower than congestion externalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the introduction of pavement management systems (PMS) in China in 1984, there has been significant progress in research and development of such systems. This paper reviews the development of pavement management systems in China. Three main aspects are presented: the development of China PMS (CPMS) by the China Highway Institute, university-based work on PMS, and integration of facility management systems and integration of PMS with geographical information systems based applications. Significant contributions by researchers at Tongji University on PMS in the past 20 years are also discussed. The paper presents current problems in the full implementation of PMS, and further development in the future in China. Based on the understanding of the application of the Chinese PMS and the efforts of various highways departments, the authors provide some recommendations to help tackle real-world problems. It is estimated that full implementation of PMS in the whole country will take another 5-10 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development of models to estimate traffic generated by office and retail (shopping centre) developments in Singapore, based on surveys conducted at 27 representative sites. Of particular interest are the effects of the Singapore road pricing scheme and accessibility to public transport on traffic generated by these developments. Two different approaches were used to estimate vehicle trips generated by developments: weighted average rate and regression analysis. The study found that the mean trip rate for office sites located within the area charged under road pricing was lower than the rate for sites situated outside; however, the difference was not statistically significant. The mean trip rate for retail sites within the charged area during the weekday evening hour was significantly lower than the rate outside. For both office and retail developments there were strong linear relationships between traffic generated and floor area (either gross or leasable floor area). The inclusion of the variable `distance to the nearest Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station' to represent accessibility to MRT services proved to be significant in explaining traffic generated for office developments but not for retail. Trip rates for office and retail developments were found to be considerably lower in Singapore than the UK and US rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on the ICE Virtual Library, which now contains every article published in the ICE Proceedings from 1836 to the present time. Records used by engineers researching particular topics in transportation; Award for articles published in the journal "Transport" from the Institution of Civil Engineers; Source of these articles; Information on articles which have received awards.

The article presents a list of referees who have reviewed papers related to transportation between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2005. Such assistance was well appreciated by the Institution of Civil Engineers. It also announces that the journal is looking for other suitable reviewers for papers submitted to them. It looks for individuals who could review papers in a timely fashion.