Five Questions To: Ignacio Barron de Angoiti (1/2)

Transport Expertise hereby starts a series of specialists interviews with Mr. Ignacio Barron de Angoiti, High Speed Director, International Union of Railways (UIC) discussing the issue of “HSR in Northern America… where and when?”
Q1: Transport-Expertise.org
Rail in Northern America (United States and Canada) is still far from high-speed…
Could we expect to see a high-speed rail infrastructure in the [...]

Privatisation and Regulation of Urban Transit Systems

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published on October 28, 2008 a document entitled “ITF Round Tables – No. 141 : Privatisation and Regulation of Urban Transit Systems.” I thought it might be of interest to those who are interested in “privatizing” their public transportation network.
Also, Transport Expertise team would be glad to receive any [...]

The DB part-privatisation delayed because of the financial crisis

Deutsche Bahn privatisation delayed to February 2009
On October 9, due to the worldwide financial crisis, the German Government postponed the on-going Deutsche Bahn privatisation process. Another attempt (still with the unchanged amount of 24.9% of the DB capital to be privatised) will be held starting in February 2009. This announcement was made by the Initial Public Offer [...]

Follow-up: “Autoroutes maritimes”, aka marine highways

Mr. C. Kenneth Orski sent Transport Expertise some more details about the Marine Highways Program, that we mentionned in our French article “Des autoroutes maritimes pour décongestionner les routes américaines” (Marine Highways to unclog American’s roads).
Please find below an excerpt from Vol. 19, No. 19 of Innovation NewsBriefs : Ports Infrastructure: Competing with Highways for [...]

European Rail Forum: Freight Without Frontiers

Transport Expertise will attend the “European Rail Forum: Freight Without Frontiers” organised by Réseau ferré de France (RFF, French railway infrastructure owner and manager) and the Ministry for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Town and Country Planning (Ministère de l’écologie, de l’énergie, du développement durable et de l’aménagement du territoire, MEEDDAT).

This rail event of the [...]

DHL Amsterdam, combined transport: boat & bike

Around 25 percent of the city of Amsterdam consists of navigable waterways (65 miles of canals) thus making it the most watery city in the world. DHL took advantage of this opportunity… and developed its “Floating Distribution Centre.”

A DHL Truck on a canal bridge, Amsterdam, NL
What’s that boat?
Amsterdam’s first floating distribution centre was launched on [...]

Banks might not finance Argentinian high-speed rail project

Financial crisis does not only affect the banking industry. In France, is seems it now reaches the “real” economy. A few days ago, French bank Groupe Caisses d’Epargne announced some €600 million losses, and this might eventually affect… the Argentinian high-speed rail project!
Quick explanation: Alstom, part of a consortium, won the call for tender for the $1.5 [...]

French parliament adopted the “eco-tax” law

Loi Grenelle I (Grenelle I law) adopted, measures follow…
Following up with the Environment Roundtable (Grenelle de l’Environnement), the French Parliament approved on Oct. 16, 2008, the eco-tax law for trucks. The tax will be applied to all trucks over 3.5 tons on French roads, starting at best in 2011. The tax will embraces all national [...]

In brief: Kuehne + Nagel to take over Alloin

Swiss K+N to buy French Alloin Group
Swiss logistics group Kuehne + Nagel signed a contract agreement to take over the French distributor Alloin Group (mail, bulking). Kuehne + Nagel thus reaches one of its strategic goal by extending its ground distribution network in France and Belgium. The company is specialized in domestic mails deliveries and [...]

In brief: TruckMaster Fuel Finder, cheaper gas on your route!

Find the cheapest diesel on your route!
In a period of financial crisis, when gas prices go mostly up (even when the barrel goes up and down), TruckMaster Logistics Systems, Inc. launched its free “Fuel Finder“.
Users may enter any two cities in the United States, and have returned to them fuel stops on the route, sorted [...]

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