Latest issue

Ticketing Supplement (free to view)

Latest issue / 9 January 2012 /

Transport for London gets ready to open up option for contactless bank card ticketing (Shashi Verma, Director of Fares & Ticketing, Transport for London)

ITSO – determined to deliver (Michael Leach, CEO, ITSO Limited)

Groundbreaking bus ticketing technology at the heart of First UK Bus’ growth strategy (Giles Fearnley, Managing Director of FirstGroup’s bus division, First UK Bus)

LASSeO: helping to deliver electronic services for the public sector using the full potential of smartmedia (Mick Davies, Chairman, LASSeO Ltd

SHOW PREVIEW: Transport Ticketing 2012

Tagged with: Giles Fearnley, Michael Leach, Mick Davies, Shashi Verma, Ticketing

Bus Rapid Transit supplement (free to view)

Latest issue / 9 January 2012 / Bob Menzies, Chris Poultney, Councillor Melville Kendal, Colin Brader

Cambridgeshire deliver a true BRT experience for passengers (Bob Menzies, Head of Delivery and Chris Poultney, Project Manager, Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, Cambridgeshire County Council)
Hampshire’s Bus Rapid Transit Scheme on track to open in spring 2012 (Councillor Melville Kendal, Executive Member for Environment and Transport, Hampshire County Council)
Turning to BRT for cost effective and low impact urban mass transit (Colin Brader, Managing Director, Integrated Transport Planning Ltd (ITP))

Tagged with: Bob Menzies, Bus Rapid Transit, Chris Poultney, Colin Brader, Councillor Melville Kendal

Understanding urban transport opportunities

Latest issue / 3 January 2012 / Tamás Fellegi, Minister for National Development, Hungary

The liveability of our cities and towns is increasingly determined by the extent to which environmentally-friendly, low-noise transport alternatives can arrest and replace fast motorisation. Consequently, communal transport must be given more room against the use of private cars. This, however, requires uninterrupted improvement in services, their adjustment to the needs, especially through the development and interconnection of rail-guided communication, which can provide for competitive total times spent.

In Hungary, urban public passenger transport service providers struggle with heavy internal debt, considerably obsolete fleet and assets, and decades-long backlogs. In view of the restricted budgetary elbowroom, the government might assist in the improvement of various (local and interurban) passenger services by the alignment of transport companies’ operation and itineraries, and the improvement of opportunities to change from one to another line or means of transport. (more…)

Tagged with: Hungary, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), Tamas Fellegi, Urban Mobility

2011 – A year of successful projects and partnerships for RATB

Latest issue / 3 January 2012 / Mr. Adrian Criţ, General Manager, RATB

2011 was full of achievements for Regia Autonomă de Transport Bucureşti (RATB), the most important surface public transport operator in Bucharest. During the first half of this year, we concluded two strategic partnerships, followed by several projects, with real benefits both for the public and our company.

RATB’s strategy regarding our manufacture and repair plant was to increase the effectiveness of its activity and modernise the production lines. In accordance with these objectives, we concluded a partnership with Astra Vagoane Arad (a well-known Romanian tram car manufacturer). The main aim of this partnership was the manufacture of a new low-floor tram called Imperio.

RATB brought in the production space, utilities and labour, while Astra Vagoane Arad, which has all the necessary technical papers and is a holder of a Siemens tram car manufacturing license, made investments in rearranging the working spaces and improving the production lines within RATB’s plant. Thus, our plant has become a centre for high performance tram manufacturing and our current activities are being carried out at European standards. (more…)

Tagged with: Adrian Criţ, Bucharest, Bucharest Metro, Light Rail, RATB, Romania, Track Renewals, Tram

Budapest integrates new elements in its public transport services

Latest issue / 3 January 2012 /

BKV has more than 100 years of history with great traditions and expertise, and has always had an important role in the transport of Budapest. The company operates five big branches (bus, tram, metro, commuter train and trolleybus) in an integrated system. Furthermore it provides cogwheel railway, funicular, chairlift and Danube boat services.

The mission of the company is to be a market leader, providing high quality public transport in the capital and the Budapest region, to meet the expectations of the European Union and to take part in the integration of public passenger transport in the region of Central Hungary.

BKV is committed to being environ – mentally-friendly and reducing air pollution to make it a liveable and social city.

The basis of our vision is for BKV to be an efficiently functioning company in terms of technical conditions, the level of service and human resources; a competitive service provider that meets the requirements of the 21st century.

BKV offers comfortable, punctual, reliable, safe and competitive services for the inhabitants of the capital and the agglomeration of Budapest that can be compared to any European capital’s public transport company. (more…)

Tagged with: BKV Zrt, Budapest, Hungary, Light Rail, Péter Takács, Technology

Wiener Linien’s metro station ‘Stadium’ Meeting challenges of big events

Latest issue / 3 January 2012 / Thomas Kritzer, Deputy Head of Metro Operations, Wiener Linien, Chairman of the UITP Security Commission and Eurotransport Editorial Board Member

Big events in urban areas involving lots of customers are a regular challenge for public transport operators. Wiener Linien has decades of experience in successfully managing big events and lots of customers.

Shortly before Euro 2008, the European football cup held in Austria and Switzerland, Wiener Linien opened a new station on the metro line U2 close to the Viennese football stadium, only about 200m away. Different to other public transport operators, Wiener Linien could build a new station right from the planning phase. The challenge was to give a great number of the approximate 50,000 spectators a high quality public transport travel opportunity, very close to the stadium. Transport before the event is challenging, but easier, as people reach the site over a longer period of time. However, at the end of an event, no matter if it is a football match or a rock concert, a huge number of people want to use public transport – immediately and all at the same time.

It was clear that a normal station ‘setting’ would not meet the requirements of such an event. Wiener Linien, together with architects and supported by the Österreichisches Institut für Schul- und Sportstättenplanung (Austrian Institute for planning of school and sport venues), developed a station building to be used as a ‘normal’ metro station, but also as a station fitting for big events. (more…)

Tagged with: Austria, Infrastructure, Security, Security/CCTV, Station Infrastructure, Stations, Thomas Kritzer, UITP, Wiener Linien

The large scale test programme in the METRO project

Latest issue / 3 January 2012 / Haukur Ingason, Professor of Fire Protection Engineering at the Department of Fire Technology at SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden and Anders Lönnermark, Senior Research Scientist at the Department of Fire Technology at SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden

In September 2011, the Swedish METRO project finalised a large scale test programme in an abandoned railway tunnel. The objective of the METRO project is to improve safety in underground metro systems and to explore differences in the fire behaviour of the carriage using different types of interior materials. Further, the role of passenger luggage in the fire development was investigated. The test programme included both fire and explosion tests. The results are still undergoing analysis, but the test programme has already generated lots of new interesting information to report on. One thing that has become clear is the importance of the choice of lining material and the effects of passenger luggage on the fire spread.

About the large scale tests

A total of four tests were carried out in the 276m-long Brunsberg tunnel outside Arvika, Sweden. The abandoned tunnel was taken out of service when a new tunnel was constructed to reduce the sharpness of a bend in the route. Three fire tests using liquefied fuel as the ignition source were carried out first. The first test was a small pan with diesel oil mounted under the carriage while tests two and three were simulated arson attacks inside the carriage using petrol poured on a seat. A total of two carriages were used for the three fire tests. (more…)

Tagged with: Dr. Anders Lönnermark, Fire Safety, Haukur Ingason, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Tunnel Safety, Tunnels