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In the wake of several recent accidents, the federal government today is launching a rail inspection project to check nearly 1,300 miles of track across New York State for flaws that might lead to a train derailment among other new measures designed to improve rail safety in the wake of several recent accidents, Joseph H. Boardman, the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced during a visit to Albany.

“A safe railroad begins with safe track, but it doesn’t end there,” Administrator Boardman said. “Railroads needs to embrace a ‘culture of safety’ and find new ways to prevent the kind of accidents that have disrupted lives and commerce and shaken our confidence in the safety of tracks,” he stated before climbing aboard a federal track inspection vehicle called the T-16 to observe an inspection of track from Albany to Schenectady.

Boardman explained that during the next two days the T-16 will inspect the heavily used CSX tracks from Albany to Buffalo, including the lines to Niagara Falls and to Ripley at the Pennsylvania border. The itinerary will take the T-16 through Oneida, Rochester, and Cheektowaga where major derailments have occurred in recent days and months. The inspection will measure whether the two track rails are level and if the width between the rails is acceptable to avoid derailments.

The Administrator added that last month he directed another federal track inspection vehicle, known as the T-18, be used on CSX tracks in New York. The T-18 will inspect for weaknesses in the track structure such as bad crossties or poor connections between the rail and crosstie that could cause the rails to dangerously widen when a train rolls over that section of track.

And, in order to build a baseline for evaluating a railroad’s ‘culture of safety’, the FRA will begin a quality assessment of the CSX rail inspection program, starting in New York and then extending it to their entire network. Boardman said he is interested in learning what criteria CSX uses to determine how frequently the company inspects its own tracks beyond current federal requirements, if track improvement decisions are made differently when a line has hazardous material or passenger rail traffic, and how track problems are identified and resolved including the use of technology to find flaws. The results of this risk reduction approach will be used to guide similar FRA evaluations of other railroads, he added.

Boardman also said that he met with CSX senior executives to discuss the railroad’s recent safety record and the results of a focused inspection on CSX property conducted in January. In addition, FRA is performing a safety review of railroad bridges in western New York.

Tags: dot, fra, rail safety, railroads, trains, new york, albany, buffalo, oneida

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Solar energy is a serious consideration for any transports and logistics company looking to lower their monthly power utility bills to operate their (usually numerous and disparate) buildings.

Now, imagine that a company, somewhere, could sell you solar panels that can produce between 2 and 4 times more electricity (for the same physical coverage) than “regular” (off the shelf) solar panels.

You’d think such an awesome technology would be either out of price and / or unavailable before at least a few years but you’d be wrong, on both assumptions.

Meet the innovaors at Nanosolar, in Palo Alto, CA who have taken the “nanotechnology” path to greatly improve the solar cell “productivity-level”. The foundation for their solar panels is so well-thought that it seems their ongoing research is constantly yielding more impressive “results” that T&L companies (and other types of companies, too) will surely want to learn more about.

The way things are going, Nanosolar is on track to make electricity:

• cost-efficient for -ubiquitous- deployment (read: everywhere, anytime);
• mass-produced on a global scale (free energy for everyone);
• available in many versatile forms (creative applications, even for the T&L operators).

Nanosolar has developed proprietary technology that makes it possible to simply roll-print solar cells that require only 1/100th as thick an absorber as a silicon-wafer cell (yet deliver similar performance and durability).

There’s a CNN video explaining all of this so you may want to watch it (.wmv format).

The unique approach Nanosolar has perfected dramatically lowers the process cost and complexity involved in the production of thin-film solar cells and makes it possible to scale production very rapidly.

The performance these “nanotech-enabled” solar “films” is so impressive that it might just be possible, right now, to put solar panels on mostly any kind of building, be it residential, commercial or industrial.

We’re pretty sure, here at NavSite, that you’re hoping Nanosolar can (somehow) adapt their impressively “thin” solar panels to fit on trucks, trains, boats and even planes. Well, given the nature of the technology, in our humble opinion, there’s nothing stopping them of doing it.

Tags: nanosolar, nanotechnology, solar energy, environment, thin solar panels

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The Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the City of Sault Ste. Marie today marked the completion of the new transportation corridor leading to the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge.

The Honourable Donna Cansfield, Ontario’s Transportation Minister and Sault Ste. Marie’s Mayor John Rowswell officially opened the transportation corridor. A total of $11.2 million was shared between the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario. The City of Sault Ste. Marie also contributed $1.4 million for construction, as well as $6.3 million for the purchase of required property.

“Sault Ste. Marie is the 9th busiest Canada-United States crossing and Canada’s new government is proud that this route could finally be completed,” said Minister Cannon. ‘”This transportation corridor is designed to ease local congestion, which will reduce emissions into the air and improve access between Ontario and Michigan.”

“Sault Ste. Marie is an important northern gateway. More than 130,000 commercial trucks carry about $3.5 billion of goods across the International Bridge every year,” said Cansfield. “The new truck route will reduce delays and save commercial carriers about $1 million a year.”

The new truck route, which will also be shared by cars, was designed to ease local congestion and improve access to the International Bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan. The new transportation corridor connects Highway 17 with the International Bridge via the Second Line Road and Hudson Street, and provides a more direct connection to Interstate 75 in Michigan. Trucks will bypass Sault Ste. Marie’s downtown area. The new route will reduce travel time for trucks and eliminate several 90-degree turns, making roads safer for residents of Sault Ste. Marie.

“This long awaited transportation corridor moves trucks out of the downtown area, allows traffic on the west side of the city to move quickly to the city’s centre, and lets us immediately advance Sault Ste. Marie as a multimodal transportation hub,” said Mayor Rowswell.

In the 2006 Federal Budget, Canada’s new government has committed an unprecedented $16.5 billion over the next four years for provincial, territorial and municipal infrastructure, including $2.4 billion over the next five years from the Highways and Border Infrastructure Fund.

This year, the Government of Ontario is investing more than $1.4 billion in highway improvements through its five-year ReNew Ontario infrastructure investment plan. The Ontario government has also invested an additional $400 million under Move Ontario, which municipalities may use for improvements to municipal roads and bridges.

Transport companies from Canada, the USA but also as far as Asia and Europe will love the significant time gains these new infrastructures make possible.

Manufactures and consumers, on both sides of the border, can now expect faster border crossings and much more efficient transit alternatives.

Everybody agreed there was a congestion problem and in no small measure, it’s been properly addressed. Another job well done!

Tags: transportation corridor, sault ste. marie, ontario, canada, usa, transit

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The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has a new Secretary of Transportation and it’s important to get to know this leading figure who is now heading all of the country’s most ambitions and much needed transportation projects.

Meet Ms Mary E. Peters, the new Secretary of Transportation, at the DOT:

“She was nominated by President George W. Bush on September 5, 2006, and confirmed by the US Senate as the 15th Secretary of Transportation on September 30, 2006, after spending more than two decades crafting solutions to our nation’s toughest transportation challenges.

Secretary Peters brings a unique perspective to her role as the nation’s transportation chief, having spent her career working on transportation issues in the private and public sectors, including leading both federal and state transportation agencies. This hands-on experience allows her to understand and appreciate the real-life aspects of planning, building and operating transportation systems on local, regional and state levels.

Over her 20-plus years in transportation, Secretary Peters has earned a solid reputation as an innovative problem solver, a force for safety and a strong advocate for effective use of taxpayer dollars. As Secretary of Transportation, she intends to use these same skills to tackle today’s most pressing challenges including fighting congestion across all modes of transportation, improving safety and addressing strains on traditional sources of transportation funding.

She is responsible for maintaining a safe, reliable and efficient transportation system, while leading an agency with almost 60,000 employees and a $61.6 billion budget that oversees air, maritime and surface transportation missions.

Prior to joining President Bush’s Cabinet, Peters worked in Phoenix, AZ, as the national director for transportation policy and consulting at HDR, Inc., a major engineering firm. She was responsible for building a management consulting practice and formulating public policy initiatives for the firm’s transportation program.

In 2001, the President asked Peters to lead the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). As FHWA Administrator from 2001 to 2005, she placed special emphasis on finding new ways to invest in road and bridge construction, including innovative public-private partnerships that help build roads faster and at less expense. She also was a strong advocate for using new technology to reduce construction time, saving taxpayer money and resulting in safer, longer-lasting roads and highways.

From 1985 to 2001, she served in the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). During her tenure, Peters worked her way up through the ranks as a contract administrator, deputy director for administration, and deputy director. In 1998, then-Governor Jane Hull appointed her director of the agency. While in office, she was recognized as the Most Influential Person in Arizona Transportation by the Arizona Business Journal.

Secretary Peters received the 2004 National Woman of the Year Award from the Women’s Transportation Seminar, a national organization of transportation professionals. She chaired the Standing Committee on Planning and the Asset Management Task Force for the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHTO), and was a member of the AASHTO 2001 Reauthorization Steering Committee.”

NavSite.com would like to -officially- congratulate Ms Peters on her new appointment while also wishing her and her team lots of success!

Tags: mary e. peters, dot, appointment, transportation projects

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The May / June 2006 Edition of the excellent Public Roads magazine includes a wonderful article on how the highways trucks use could take a hint from the information superhighway.

“According to the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) recently released report Freight Facts and Figures 2005 (FHWA-HOP-05-071), international trade is growing faster than the overall U.S. economy. Between 1980 and 2003, the U.S. economy, measured by gross domestic product (GDP), doubled, while foreign trade quadrupled in real value, reflecting unprecedented global connectivity. Ocean, rail, and air carriers use trucks and highways for some component of almost every shipment. Already tight infrastructure capacity will be stressed further by limited new construction and the growing demand from freight transportation. In fact, the FHWA Freight Analysis Framework indicates that by 2020 freight volumes will increase by 70 percent from 1998 totals, and freight volumes through the Nation’s primary gateway ports could more than double. Finding ways to improve the operational efficiency of moving this freight is critical to the Nation’s economic vitality and global connectivity.

Officials at the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recognize that moving freight involves moving information as well as the goods themselves. Although excellent information management can increase freight efficiency, poor information management can add costs, slow handoffs, open security gaps, create delays at gates, and even lead to erroneous freight movements.

Given the important and growing role that goods movement plays in the U.S. economy and the impact that it has on the transportation network, USDOT’s ITS Joint Program Office and FHWA recently launched the Electronic Freight Management (EFM) project. EFM aims to improve the “information highway” that moves critical business information and facilitates the multimodal movement of airfreight, generating benefits for both private and public stakeholders. In particular, the project addresses weaknesses in freight data exchange processes that add costs, create security gaps, and, over time, contribute to congestion.

“It is well accepted that technology systems and electronic data represent one of the few remaining tools for improving both productivity and security,” says Margaret Irwin, director of customs and cross-border operations for the American Trucking Associations. “In addition, regulatory costs can be successfully managed in the long term only by replacing labor-intensive paperwork with electronic systems. Given that international trade now represents 25 percent of our country’s GDP, it is particularly important for ports and borders to operate more efficiently.”

EFM advances several concepts, but the single key concept is to promote electronic data exchanges along a supply chain in an end-to-end manner more robustly than is currently being done.

Typically, freight movements are supported by point-to-point communications, either paper-based or electronic, between parties who agree to such communications. Using the Internet to make data available broadly to any authorized and authenticated user in near real time is key to enabling freight transportation networks to operate more efficiently and securely. This type of data exchange provides buyers and other authorized parties with open visibility into supply chains. Program officials expect that these improvements will help to reduce unnecessary traffic on the transportation network and mitigate congestion.”

For more insight on EFM, please read the original article which goes about covering important themes like the best approach to have, the international data standards to observe, the public and private sector benefits as well as the added security.

This initiative is already bearing fruit and the transports and logistics industry should continue supporting such bold attempts to help our freight flow from the sending point to its destination, as fast and as efficiently as possible.

Tags: freight efficiency, freight flow, transit, highways, transport, logistics, destination

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