Volunteers Needed for 2009 Annual Meeting

(Source: Scoop Independent News)

Auckland’s rail electrification right on track

International rail rolling stock manufacturers and suppliers from across the world have responded strongly to a call for Expressions of Interest in response to the release of the Auckland Regional Transport Authority’s Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) Expression of Interest (EOI) document which was advertised on 23 December 2008 and closed on 12 February this year, ARTA’s Chief Executive, Fergus Gammie said today.

In December last year, the Auckland Regional Council (ARC) made an historic decision for the region to approve ARTA taking a major step forward towards the purchase of a new fleet of 140 electric train cars for Auckland.

Source: Seattle Times

Boeing delivered the first freighter version of its 777 jet Thursday to Air France Cargo, and the airline said it is deferring deliveries of two of the five such freighters it has on order as it copes with the global economic downturn.

Air France Cargo picked up the keys Thursday for the first of a new breed of big, modern twin-engine cargo jets: the 777 freighter.

As French airline officials, Boeing executives and guests sipped Champagne and milled around the airplane at Paine Field, the second 777 freighter in the same colors took off on a test flight. It will be delivered next week.

But the celebratory air in Everett was marred by the widening global economic downturn. In an interview, Pierre Vellay, Air France executive vice president for fleet development, said the air-transport business is “in very bad shape.”

To read the entire article, click here.

(Via istockanalyst.com)

Logo: http://www.energyintel.com

Energy Intelligence, a leading publisher of energy information services, today launched a new web portal, Obama Energy Vision, to track the evolution of US energy policy under President Barack Obama, at: http://www.energyintel.com/obama

Rating the energy sector second only to the economy in his priorities, the new president is pursuing a radical vision of a new energy economy, which includes reducing US dependence on foreign oil, restructuring the transport sector, developing alternative energies and addressing climate change. If successful, the policy will amount to a revolution for the energy industry, with repercussions around the world. Key aspects of Obama’s foreign policy also have important implications for the energy industry.

To read entire article, click here

( Via www.stamfordadvocate.com)

Proposals could generate up to $45 billion over 30 years

HARTFORD — Some options for electronic tolls to raise money to improve roads and to reduce congestion would raise billions of dollars. But they also could backfire by souring the state’s business climate and driving traffic onto local streets, consultants told state transportation officials.

A $5 toll on all traffic crossing Connecticut’s borders could produce $19.5 billion over 30 years that could be used for highway and transit improvements, but it would result in an undetermined number of cars pouring onto local streets to elude tolls, Jeffrey Buxbaum, a consultant with Cambridge Systematics, told a packed hearing of the Transportation Strategy Board on Thursday morning.

“There would be significant economic impacts and environmental impacts,” Buxbaum said.

Board members heard a presentation at the Capitol on the final results of a $1 million report by Cambridge Systematics on the feasibility of reintroducing tolls on Connecticut’s highways.

While a copy of a PowerPoint presentation by the firm was distributed Thursday, the full report of several hundred pages was given only to Transportation Strategy Board members.

To read the entire article, click here.

(obtained via Associated Press)

LONDON (AP) — Board a train in London, and in 2 1/2 hours you can be in Paris, City of Light — or in Manchester, city of gray skies and grit.

It frustrates many travelers that sometimes the trip to Paris is cheaper. Advance fares to the French capital on the high-speed Eurostar train start at 59 pounds ($85), 7 pounds ($9) cheaper than a standard off-peak return to the city in northwest England.

A major report released Thursday provided more fuel for passenger complaints, finding that train travel in Britain is expensive, frustrating and confusing.

The government-commissioned study found that British rail journeys are among the highest-priced in Europe, while passengers find the country’s Byzantine fare structures baffling.

The report by watchdog group Passenger Focus said the same train could contain passengers who had paid 150 pounds ($215) for a ticket and others who paid just 10 pounds ($15). It said the structure of long-distance train fares was “complicated and not logical.”

To read the entire article, click here.

(Obtained via Reuters)

GENEVA, Feb 19 (Reuters) – More than 500 people died in air crashes on Western-built jets in 2008 and safety lapses at airlines contributed to nearly a third of accidents, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said.

The toll of 502 was down from 2007, when 692 died, but the number of crashes rose slightly.

The 2008 industry-wide accident rate, measured in hull losses per million flights, was 0.81, or one accident every 1.2 million flights. This compared with 0.75 in 2007.

“Runway excursions”, when an aircraft left the runway on take-off or landing, accounted for one-quarter of accidents last year and ground damage was reported in another 17 percent, according to IATA on Thursday.

Once Flush Global Economies, Energy Projects Slow

(Via Washington Post)

 

A worker monitors an automated manifold as it directs oil in Cushing, Okla. (By Shane Bevel — Bloomberg News)

Extracts from the article:

“The precipitous fall in the price of oil in recent months, while good for consumers, has contributed to the confusion in the global economy, wreaking havoc with the budgets and economies of oil exporting nations and putting many expensive energy projects on hold.”

“Just one year ago, the price of oil finished trading at more than $100 a barrel for the first time, fueling speculation about a new era of oil prices. Yesterday, oil finished trading in New York at $39.15 a barrel, and that, after surging 13 percent for the day.

The overwhelming cause of the collapse in oil prices has been the faltering world economy, which has fueled the drop in consumption.

Oil use in China, which most forecasters a year ago assumed would be the engine for increasing global demand, has screeched to a halt. Paul Ting, an independent oil analyst, says preliminary estimates suggest that petroleum consumption in China fell more than 6 percent in January compared with the month in 2008. Crude oil imports hit a 14-month low, he said.

In the United States, where passenger vehicles use about one of nine barrels produced worldwide, strapped motorists in December traveled less than they did a year ago, even though gasoline prices are more than a $1 a gallon cheaper.

The Federal Highway Administration said it was the 14th consecutive month in which American motorists drove fewer miles. In 2008, U.S. motorists drove 3.6 percent less, or 107.9 billion fewer miles, than in 2007, the FHA said. Total miles driven, which normally rise every year with the population and number of cars on the road, fell slightly below 2004 levels.”

Thursday, February 19, 2009 — ISSN 1529-1057

Register Today for IBTTA’s Toll Road Summit of Australia, New Zealand & the Asia Pacific Rim, March 15-18, 2009 in Sydney, Australia 

 If you are interested in public-private partnerships, innovations in customer service and next generation technologies, you need to attend this meeting! Join IBTTA and ITS Australia in Sydney, Australia and learn about the explosive growth of tolling in Australia, New Zealand and the countries in the Asia Pacific Rim. Learn about toll concessions and operations, including the political, regulatory, public affairs and customer service aspects of startup and mature facilities, and lessons learned from successive implementation of all electronic toll collection. Visit IBTTA’s website to view the preliminary agenda, make your travel arrangements and register today

 AVIATION

 1) Fiji Implementing ADS-B Air Traffic Management System

System will cover all nation’s airports and is touted as the most comprehensive deployment of ADS-B in the world.

Link to story in Flight International:

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/02/19/322680/fiji-implementing-ads-b-air-traffic-management-system.html

GPS / NAVIGATION

 2) The Cell Phone, Navigating Our Lives

Link to story in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/science/17map.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all 

MARITIME

 3) NTSB Cites Poor Information-Sharing in Ship Crash

Link to AP story:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ieJQyNvJPxHN8ep0At83weZh1Y_AD96EC1J82

Link to news release from the National Transportation Safety Board:

http://www.ntsb.gov/Pressrel/2009/090218.html

OTHER

 4) Michigan Puts Stimulus ‘Wish List’ on Web Site

Link to AP story:

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/michigan_puts_stimulus_wish_li_1.html

Link to Michigan Inventory of Requests:  http://www.michigan.gov/documents/gov/inventory_267577_7.htm

5) Transport Gooru – Transportation News and Information Site Debuts

Link to site: http://www.transportgooru.com

ROADWAYS

 6) Calgary Looking at Ways to Get Drivers to Slow in Playground Zones

City investigating creating a universal sign.

Link to story and video report on CTV Calgary:

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090218/CGY_Zones_Playground_090218/20090219/?hub=CalgaryHome

TRANSIT

 7) New York City Transit Adds Choices to Online Subway Map

Link to story in Newsday:

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny–onlinetransitmap0218feb18,0,5660448.story

Link to news release from NYC Transit:

http://www.mta.info/mta/news/releases/?en=090218-NYCT26

Link to Trip Planner:  http://tripplanner.mta.info/

VEHICLES

 8) Crash Avoidance at Its Best

An interview with Tom Baloga, BMW of North America.

Link to story in The Globe and Mail:

http://auto.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090218.whVaughanBMW0219/GAStory/specialGlobeAuto/home

  News Releases

1) Toyota to Join Public ITS Tests in Tokyo

Upcoming Events

Workshop on Identifying Traveler Information Research Needs to Achieve All Roads-All Modes-All the Time – April 15-17 – Irvine, California

http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=9253

 Today in Transportation History

1959 **50^th anniversary** – A US Air Force rocket sled reached a speed of Mach 4.1 in New Mexico.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/extreme_machines/1280831.html

 =============================================================================================

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday. 

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TCN archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications

 Questions, comments about the TCN?  Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast ati95berniew@aol.com.   

© 2009 Bernie Wagenblast

Oil below $35 amid grim US economic news

 

“SINGAPORE – Oil prices wallowed below $35 a barrel Thursday in Asia as grim U.S. economic news pointed to a deep recession and weaker crude demand. Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 3 cents to $34.65 a barrel by midday in Singapore on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract on Wednesday fell 31 cents to settle at $34.62. The March contract expires on Friday, and traders switched their focus to the April contract, which rose 14 cents to $37.55.  The Federal Reserve on Wednesday confirmed what many investors already suspected — that the U.S. economy has significantly deteriorated in the last few months. “

Found this article last night on Yahoo News.  It begs the question, why the heck are we still paying $2.00+/gallon when the crude prices are dwindling so rapidly?  Are the refiners buying and stocking crude at such low prices so that they can continue to sell at the same rate when the demand spikes?  I thought OPEC was the biggest mafia/cartel, but I guess the refineries have beat them silly on this strategy..