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Saudi Arabia has committed around US$97 billion between 2010 and 2040 into railway infrastructure, with approximately US$17 billion to be invested between 2010 and 2025 in an advanced and integrated multimodal transport system. In addition, the Kingdom will invest in multiple metro transport projects to address traffic and public transport challenges, including Jeddah, Riyadh and Mecca which will all break ground between 2013 and 2014. The Saudi Rail Forum 2013 will bring together local and internationa

Agero has entered into a definitive agreement under which SiriusXM Radio will acquire Agero's connected vehicle services division in a deal worth US$530 million. Agero’s connected vehicle unit provides telematics services such as roadside assistance, consumer affairs and claims management services, for driver and automobile makers. The deal is slated to close in the fourth quarter 2013 and will enable the company to continue to accelerate the development and delivery of new services to enhance its leadershi

A joint venture of Parsons Brinckerhoff and Aecom has been selected by Western Australia’s Department of Transport (DoT) to form an integrated services team for the next phase of the 22 km Metro Area Express (MAX) light rail network. The JV is working with the DoT to develop a robust business case for the US$1.8 billion project that will change the face of Perth’s transport network. MAX project director for the DoT, David Thomas, said the project will introduce a new era of public transport to Perth. “MAX w

TRL’s MOVA (Microprocessor Optimised Vehicle Actuation) is an established strategy for the control of traffic light signals at isolated junctions.

US technology company AirSage has conducted what it says is the first in an annual look at the transportation industry and the professionals in it – with some interesting findings. Just released as an eBook, the AirSage Annual Transportation Industry Survey: an Industry on the Move, provides an insight into how US-based transportation planners and traffic engineers peers view the industry, their organisations, private versus government jobs, gender and age issues and more. Conducted During May and June 2013

The European Transport Conference moves to its new home of Goethe University in Frankfurt for 2013’s event on 30 September - 2 October. Special sessions on the Automated and Cost Effective Maintenance for Railway (ACEM-Rail) project will take place on 30 September, looking at ACEM-Rail instrumentation and ACEM-Rail infrastructure management ACEM-Rail is an FP7 project which runs through 2010-2013. The final goal is to reduce the costs and the interaction of maintenance operations with railway services as w

A group of scientists from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed what is claimed to be the country’s first foldable electric vehicle (EV), the school has announced. Developed by Seo In-soo and his research team, the Armadillo-T uses a 13.6 kWh battery and four independent in-wheel motors that enable it to reach 60 kilometres per hour and travel approximately 100 kilometres on a single charge. The small, battery-powered vehicle weighs less than 500 kilograms and measures 2.

New York City is to establish a five-year demonstration programme to monitor school speed zones in New York City with speed cameras and to allow evidence captured on camera to be used to impose liability for speeding. This new law will enhance the safety of children, pedestrians and drivers in city school speed zones by encouraging drivers to drive with caution through these areas and supplement law enforcement efforts to catch violations and prevent accidents caused by speeding. New York Governor Andrew M

The Washington State Supreme Court has ruled that a drunk driver and her passenger can sue the county and a utility company for a 2005 car crash, overturning a lower court's decision in a case involving a 2005 crash. The Supreme Court ruled that government entities have a duty to ensure roads are reasonably safe for public travel, even if the driver is at fault. The controversial decision means cities, counties and utility companies can be held liable when faulty road designs lead to injuries in car crashes

The UK’s Road Haulage Association (RHA) has welcomed the news that police officers will now be able to issue fixed penalties for tail gating and for general poor lane discipline. "This is good news for all road users," said RHA chief executive Geoff Dunning. "The UK road network is among the most congested in Europe. As traffic levels continue to rise, it is inevitable that there will be a corresponding increase in traffic incidents. Careless driving is a major cause of crashes and we hope that the new poli

With one of the highest population growths in Vietnam and the subsequent strain on resources, Da Nang, the country’s fourth largest city, has turned to IBM technology to increase the manageability and efficiency of the city’s systems. Using IBM’s intelligent operations centre, the Da Nang government will address two of the most significant issues impacting life in the city, transportation and water. The solution provides a summary of events and incidents through maps, dashboards and alerts, allowing city pe

A New Zealand woman, who drove for hundreds of kilometres while asleep at the wheel, sending texts from her mobile phone along the way, is to be forbidden to drive, according to police. Police received an emergency call from a friend concerned the woman had gone out in her car after taking sleeping medication. Told that the woman had been sleep-driving ten months previously and had a fondness for the beach, police ordered patrol cars to keep a lookout for her silver hatchback and began tracking her via her

Transport for London (TfL), the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and City of London Police (CoLP) has stepped up its enforcement of advanced stop lines, more commonly known as ‘bike boxes’, to help further improve safety for cyclists on the capital’s roads. Advanced stop lines are the boxes marked on the road with a bike symbol painted inside, located at many traffic lights. The cyclist has a stop line several feet ahead of the line used by other vehicles in order to give cycles more space so they can be s

Q-Free reported revenue of US$25 million for the second quarter 2013, an increase of 29 per cent from the same quarter last year. Operating profit (EBIT) improved to a positive US$51,000 from an operating loss of US$3.8 million in the same period last year. Loss before tax was reduced to US$391,000 from a loss of US$3.9 in the second quarter 2012. The improved earnings mainly reflect changes in the revenue composition, with higher product and service and maintenance revenue.

Delaware is set to become the first US state to combine E-ZPass and Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) call centre services when TransCore completes the upgrade and expansion of the DMV and E-ZPass customer service centres. After a competitive bid process, TransCore was awarded the US$30 million, three-year base term contract with multiple extension options and will install the system in parallel with the existing service centre operations while relocating to a new DMV facility. Project completion is expected

Peterborough City Council’s ambitious plans to minimise maintenance costs will be aided by street lighting asset management software from Mayrise Systems which will also work in tandem with the UK council’s central management system. Mayrise Street lighting is a complete asset management system designed to simplify and improve the management of asset records. It provides fast online access to inventory, contractor and customer records and incorporates instant mapping to pinpoint asset or fault locations. Ha

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has awarded Cubic Transportation Systems a US$54.5 million six-year extension to its system support services contract, covering the repair and maintenance of Metro’s rail fare collection equipment, TAP validators for regional bus operators, and the back office systems. The TAP system supports six rail lines, 80 stations, and over 4,000 buses regionally. Cubic maintains and supports more than 2,000 devices under this service contract. “Our c

German technology company Siemens has secured a US$93.04 million contract from IL&FS Rail for the construction of an extension of seven kilometres to the automated Gurgaon Metro in India. Under the deal, Siemens will supply seven new metro trains as well as installing train control and signalling systems. The project involves extension of the Gurgaon Metro line with a new seven kilometre long southern line. The new line will add six stations in the south-east of Gurgaon. “The Gurgaon metro project is a fi

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has unveiled his vision of a futuristic Hyperloop transport system this week, proposing to build a solar-powered network of crash-proof capsules that would whisk people from San Francisco to Los Angeles in half an hour. Musk says the Hyperloop is expected to be a closed-tube transport system not unlike the pneumatic delivery systems found in some old buildings, which use a pulse of air to move a capsule and cargo to a designated location. Based on what he has revealed to date,

Schneider Electric has been selected by the North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority (NETRMA) to install and operate its open road tolling (ORT) solution for Texas Toll Loop 49, acting as NETRMA’s tolling system integrator. Schneider Electric will install advanced tolling software and hardware including cameras, image capture and toll tag identification software and other maintenance equipment that will detect and classify vehicles at highway speeds. The system will enable travellers to pass through ga