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Plans for an inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua have been announced by Hong Kong-based HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment and its local arm HKND. The US$40 billion project involves the construction of an alternative to the Panama Canal. The proposed 280 kilometre, which aims to compete with the Panama canal, would connect Nicaragua's Caribbean and Pacific coasts. It includes the development of a deepwater port at each end of the canal, an oil pipeline running alongside it a dry canal for the transpo

The UK’s Freight Transport Association (FTA) has voiced its support of today’s announcement that the HGV national speed limit on single carriageway roads will increase from 40mph to 50mph. The Government decision followed a public consultation to which FTA had contributed and states that in early 2015 the national speed limit for heavy goods vehicles of more than 7.5 tonnes on single carriageways will increase. FTA said that this decision supports an improvement in road safety by reducing the 20mph

Car park equipment manufacturer APT Skidata has partnered with PayPal to become what is said to be first to market with a mobile phone app solution for paying for parking. The solution, which is being used for the first time at Westfield London, enables Users to simply download and open the PayPal app; they then select ‘Westfield London Parking’ from the ‘local’ section and receive a barcode for their stay. They take a ticket from the car parking entry terminal as normal, but when they come to pay they s

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has joined US Department of Transportation (DOT) secretary Anthony Foxx and 11 former DOT secretaries in supporting a call for Congress to find consensus on a long-term solution to funding our nation’s infrastructure. Patrick D. Jones, executive director and CEO of IBTTA, echoed the call for long-term action by stating: “The joint letter released yesterday by our nation’s transportation chiefs is a profile in courage and should serve as an

Allied Vision Technologies (AVT) closes the first half of 2014 with historic sales and volume figures. The machine vision camera manufacturer is far ahead of its plans and achieved record volume and revenues in May and June. Sales in volume in the first half of the year have been above AVT’s ambitious growth plans. The mark of 10,000 cameras shipped in one month was broken in May, a record in the 25-year history of the company. Revenues are also above plan in the first six month of 2014. A historical

Drivers in Turkey are to get real time traffic information, now that TomTom has launched its real-time traffic service in the country. TomTom’s real-time traffic creates a clear picture of traffic conditions as they evolve, keeping drivers in control of their journeys, with the most accurate, largest coverage area and the highest update frequency of real-time traffic information. The latest TomTom Traffic Index ranks Istanbul second in the world for overall traffic congestion levels, with 62 per cen

Volvo will unveil ‘the most comprehensive and technologically sophisticated standard safety package available in the automotive industry’ next month when it launches its all-new XC90 all-wheel drive SUV. The standard safety package will include an auto brake at intersection capability and run-off road protection. The auto brake at intersection function automatically applies the brakes if the driver turns in front of an oncoming car. On-board systems detect a potential crash and automatically apply the br

As Congress considers legislation to avoid a shortfall of the Highway Trust Fund, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and 11 of his predecessors have written an open letter to Congress. Their message: Congress’ work doesn’t end with the bill under consideration. Transportation in America still needs a much larger, longer-term investment. The letter begins: “This week, it appears that Congress will act to stave off the looming insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund. The bill, if passed, should extend surf

Vitronic is to supply Abu Dhabi Traffic Police with an automated enforcement management system, which consists of a network of more than 500 PoliScanspeed spot enforcement systems and 120 PoliScanseco point-to-point enforcement systems across the whole of the Emirate. In addition to the hardware, Vitronic will also deliver a range of software solutions for interconnection of enforcement sites, case processing and management of the enforcement assets.

Nissan Motor Corporation will introduce cars featuring an automatic parking system and traffic-jam pilot within the next year and a half, according to president and CEO Carlos Ghosn. “By the end of 2016, Nissan will make available the next two technologies under its autonomous drive strategy,” Ghosn told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. “We are bringing to market a traffic-jam pilot, in which cars will have the capability to drive autonomously and safely on congested highways,”

A THINK! radio campaign has been launched to encourage drivers to take longer to look for motorcyclists after figures revealed that 30 bikers are killed or injured every day at junctions, Road Safety minister Robert Goodwill has announced. The ‘Didn’t See’ campaign will run for four weeks on national radio with the aim of reducing the number of motorcyclist and driver collisions on our roads. Research for THINK! has shown that drivers believe the majority of motorcycle accidents happen because of bike

German local transport association Paderborn/Höxter (VPH) has awarded Init the contract to implement an integrated intermodal transport control system (ITCS) and ticketing system for an urban transport operator in the districts of Paderborn and Höxter. The system is being extended to as many as six more regional transport operators in the final rollout stage of the project. Init is providing a central, multi-client capable telematics and ticketing system which handles data exchange with the vehicles and

Indra is to deploy its advanced railway control, security and signalling technology on the high-speed rail lines between Valladolid and Leon and Venta de Baños and Burgos in Spain. The contract, worth more than US$47 million also includes facility maintenance. Indra will deploy the centralised traffic control system on the new line, together with auxiliary detection systems and security sensor concentrators, based on an innovative Indra safety platform. This is the vital processing system that guarantee

Kapsch TrafficCom is to provide the New York State Thruway Authority with the development, installation and technical support for an all electronic tolling (AET) system. This new system eliminates the need for Thruway patrons to stop or slow down at tolling points. By enabling toll transactions to be completed at highway speeds, the AET system facilitates free-flowing traffic across multiple lanes to minimise congestion; the resulting reduction in vehicle emissions will have a direct, beneficial environm

Sweeping changes that will make the north-east city of Newcastle one of the easiest cities to get around look set to get the green light this week. Described by Newcastle City Council as the biggest change in a generation, the US$30.7 million programme of transport works and smart traffic signal technology is intended to make Newcastle one of the most accessible cities in the UK within five years. A report to the city council Cabinet highlights the huge benefits for pedestrians, cyclists, users of pub

With distracted driving continuing to be a major road safety topic around the world, Volkswagen, Hong Kong, has produced an innovative advertisement designed to bring home the impact of mobile phone use whilst driving.

President Obama is to unveil a new federal initiative to help cities and states find private financing for transportation infrastructure. The announcement comes as the White House looks to increase pressure on Congress, which this week is debating a short-term fix to the rapidly depleting highway trust fund that underwrites road and mass transit construction. Under the plan to be unveiled by Obama, the Department of Transportation will open a new investment centre designed to serve as a ‘one-stop sho

TISPOL and its road safety partners across Europe are urging the EU to fast-track the adoption of a modified law on cross-border enforcement of traffic offences such as speeding. The modified rules, published by the European Commission, come in response to a European Court of Justice ruling in May that said the existing law, which came into force in November last year, had been adopted on an incorrect legal basis. The ECJ has said the current rules could remain in effect until May 2015 while new legisla

Q-Free subsidiary Elcom is to supply the city of Belgrade, Serbia, with advanced transportation management systems (ATMS), including traffic signal controllers and traffic management systems. The contract, valued at around US$1 million will begin in July 2014 and will be delivered within one year. Q-Free has also been awarded contracts valued at more than US$300,000 for traffic signal systems to be supplied to in Serbia and Macedonia during 2014. “Q-Free has made several acquisitions within the ATMS

The Harmonisation Task Group #6 (HTG#6), a cooperative effort between the European Commission, Australian, and United States policy and technical experts is to host a Cooperative ITS security workshop at the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology (SIT) in Darmstadt, Germany on 25 September 2014. This public information workshop aims to share information on work-in-progress and gather stakeholder feedback. Presentations will discuss interim results of the task group. Stakeholder feedback i