In brief: almost 100 more airports for China by 2020!

I previously wrote about a possible airport west of Paris in France, I will soon write about United States overcrowded airports, but I write a brief today about China: some countries are definetely still in need of infrastructure, but are these 100 airports a real need? A €42 billion investment China expects to have a [...]

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In brief: light rail to Lyon airport… not yet

The commissioner in charge of the project examination announced its conclusions last week: he goes against the light rail extension from Meyzieu, west side of Lyon, to Saint Exupery airport, Lyon international aerial gateway. A 7 km (4.4 miles) light rail link (line T3) would have been built to complete the Part Dieu train station [...]

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Infrared camera to detect stolen vehicle

After publishing an article about automatic radars (Warning! Speed checked by radars, Jan. 9, 2008), I would like to share with you a new technology used by Police officers in France to detect stolen vehicles. Apparently in test phase in Paris, I only discovered it this morning in the newspapers… 70,000 vehicles screened monthly As [...]

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High Speed Rail: fast trains, slow projects

How fast can we build a HSR Line? The short answer would be… around 15 years, from the political engagement until operation begins. The complete answer is contained in the PDF file linked here: High Speed Rail: Fast trains, slow projects. The document shows a schematic agenda, detailing all successive steps of a high-speed rail [...]

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Economic Importance of Belgian Transport Logistics

I would like to share with you a report on transportation in Belgium, published by the National Bank of Belgium. Working Paper 125: Economic Importance of Belgian Transport Logistics, Working Paper Document by Frédéric Lagneaux, January 2008: here This paper is the outcome of a first research project on the Belgian transport logistics sectors. In [...]

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In brief: TGV vs. Air France, on Paris to Strasbourg

I have been pro-high-speed-rail these last days (quite a bit, isn’t it?) and it will go on, at least today… Five month after operation started on TGV Est line (from Paris to Strasbourg), the high-speed train market share against plane reached 60%… a target that was only expected after 12 to 18 months by SNCF. [...]

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High Speed Freight Rail: already a reality

I know that when talking rail transport, Americans mostly think freight. In Europe, people think mostly passengers, even though freight rail remains a big issue. Deutsche Bahn AG, the German railway operator succeeds while SNCF, the French railway operator kind of fails transporting freight on its tracks (€260 million lost in 2006)… or at least [...]

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High Speed Rail: SNCF modify its fares

From minus €8.20 to plus €2.10 Starting January 29, 2008, TGV (French high-speed train) fares will increase 1.6% on certain lines. Fares will actually not all go up and SNCF, the French railway operator, talks more about “fare evolution” instead of “fare increase”: price would then be decreased up to €8.20, or inscreased up to [...]

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Less cheese, more PPPs

Fed up with cheese, Beaujolais and accordions? France can show you its modern face as well… through public private partnerships by Sébastien Gourgouillat, Transportation attaché, French Trade Office/Embassy of France in the United States This is not yet the most famous facet of France, but since 1955, we have been evolving into a modern nation [...]

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High Speed Rail: News from Spain

Spain to France high-speed network: one step beyond Sacyr, the Spanish contractor, will be leading the consortium in charge of the construction of the tunnel that will be build under Barcelona. The news has been released by the Spanish public company Adif that manages the rail infrastructure in Spain. This new €179.3 million tunnel will [...]

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