Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Transportation Communications Newsletter

Tuesday, November 27, 2007 -- ISSN 1529-1057

Join IBTTA for the 4th Annual Transportation Finance Summit – Washington DC, December 3-4, 2007 at the Fairmont Hotel

The Federal Highway Trust Fund will go bust in the next 12 months. Many state transportation trust funds face a similar destiny. More and more states and regions are waking up to the reality that they cannot rely on the Federal government alone to solve the transportation funding crisis. They must solve their problems on their own or with limited help from Washington. The experts at the 4th annual IBTTA Transportation Finance Summit in Washington, DC, December 3-4 are veterans of funding battles won and lost. They know what works and what doesn’t. This Summit is designed to be a tool box for elected officials, transportation leaders and practitioners in states, cities, counties, regions, town and MPOs. Download the program, find the details and register online today for the Transportation Finance Summit! www.IBTTA.org


1) Baltimore Out to Learn What’s in CSX Rail Cars
Rail crash revives push for timely data on chemical content.
Link to story in The Baltimore Sun:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.train27nov27,0,2510005.story

2) US Plans GPS Satellite Navigation Upgrade to Rival EU
Link to AFP story:
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/us-plans-gps-satellite-navigation-upgrade-to-rival-eu/20071128-1d9b.html

3) TransLink Backers Consider Letting People Pay for Parking with Card
Link to story in the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/27/BA74TJGGE.DTL

4) European Ports Install Radiation Detectors as US Delays
Link to Global Security Newswire story:
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38661&dcn=todaysnews

5) Feds Focus on Detecting Bombs
US Homeland Security officials say they are researching new technologies that could be used at airports, in subways and on city streets to alert police.
Link to story in USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-11-26-bomb-detection_N.htm

6) Pennsylvania DOT Unveils Incident Command Center that Will Help Keep It in Touch with State Police, PEMA
Link to story in The Times Leader:
http://www.timesleader.com/news/20071127_21penndot_sd_3a_ART.html

7) How Norwich Union Computes Pay-as-You-Drive
Link to story on Silicon:
http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024665,39169285,00.htm?r=1

8) ‘Stop!’ Could Someday be New Vehicle Technology Talking
Link to story in The Kansas City Star:
http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/375452.html

9) Broken Bridges a Thing of the Past
Southern Illinois University Carbondale researchers create system to monitor soundness.
Link to story in the Daily Egyptian:
http://media.www.siude.com/media/storage/paper1096/news/2007/11/27/Campus/Broken.Bridges.A.Thing.Of.The.Past-3115813.shtml

10) Mind the Gaffe
Being a voice on the London underground has its drawbacks, but being misquoted hadn't been one of them - until now.
Link to commentary in the Guardian:
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/emma_clarke/2007/11/mind_the_gaffe.html

11) Car Networking
Wiring looms are undergoing a revolution.
Link to story in AutoSpeed:
http://autospeed.com/cms/A_109458/article.html

12) New Publication: Tabletop Exercise Instructions for Planned Events and Unplanned Incidents/Emergencies
Link to further information from the Federal Highway Administration:
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/news/news_detail.asp?ID=395

13) Intelligent Transportation Systems and Vehicle-Highway Automation 2007
Link to publication from the Transportation Research Board:
http://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=8418


News Releases

1) China TransInfo Technology and Chengdu Department of Transportation to Provide Real-Time Information
2) TransLink’s iMove System in Greater Vancouver Launched on November 26
3) Cablevision and News 12 Networks Announce Launch of Newly-Enhanced News 12 Interactive Channel, with Easy Navigation and Real-Time Traffic and Weather
4) National Institute of Standards and Technology Measures Performance of Auto Crash Warning Systems
5) Texas DOT Invites Comments on Electronic Billboard Rules for Highways


Upcoming Events
AAAE 22nd Annual Aviation Issues Conference – January 6-10 – Kona, Hawaii
http://www.aaae.org/products/meeting_details.html?Record_id=266


Today in Transportation History
1957 **50th anniversary** - Steam operations end on the Pennsylvania Railroad.
http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/about/roster/k4.htm

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Questions, comments about the TCN? Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at i95berniew@aol.com.
© 2007 Bernie Wagenblast