Evaluation of Rail Freight Facilities Grant Funding in Britain

Abstract

Rail freight has been generally in decline in many European Union countries in recent years, contrary to European transport policy. State support for railway operations is commonplace in most countries, and this paper establishes the background to targeted rail freight grant funding in Britain. Through desk‐based analysis of Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) awards, together with a survey of recipient companies, the paper assesses the extent to which the planned flows expected from these awards have materialized and it evaluates the role of the grants in influencing rail freight volumes. The evidence suggests that FFG funding has been largely successful, attracting considerable private sector investment. Overall, FFGs have played an important role in developing or retaining rail freight flows, although the processes could be made more transparent and consistent. As other European countries liberalize their rail freight markets as a result of European Union legislation, such targeted funding may be an appropriate alternative to more general government subsidy of freight operations.     

Atmospheric Emissions from Shipping: The Need for Regulation and Approaches to Compliance

Shipping has traditionally been viewed as the least environmentally damaging mode of freight transport. Recent studies have increasingly questioned this perception, as attention has focused on both the greenhouse gas emissions (mainly CO₂) and the emission of health-damaging pollutants (such as sulphur, nitrogen oxides and particulates) by ships. This paper reviews the available evidence on the atmospheric emissions of shipping. It proposes that the profit objective has prompted the pursuit of greater fuel efficiency within the sector, but that reliance on market forces alone is insufficient to deliver on the environmental imperative. The paper outlines the current and planned regulatory regime for the atmospheric emissions from ships and posits that greater, and more diverse, market regulation is required. Alternative general approaches to regulatory compliance are categorised as ‘alternative sources of energy’ or ‘abatement technologies’ and the characteristics of a range of specific options are analysed. The paper concludes that although the shipping industry has been slow to improve its environmental credentials, a combination of regulation and technological innovation provides it with significant potential to dramatically reduce its environmental impact.     

A detailed analysis of how an urban trail system affects cyclists’ travel

Transportation specialists, urban planners, and public health officials have been steadfast in encouraging active modes of transportation over the past decades. Conventional thinking, however, suggests that providing infrastructure for cycling and walking in the form of off-street trails is critically important. An outstanding question in the literature is how one’s travel is affected by the use of such facilities and specifically, the role of distance to the trail in using such facilities. This research describes a highly detailed analysis of use along an off-street facility in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The core questions addressed in this investigation aim to understand relationships between: (1) the propensity of using the trail based on distance from the trip origin and destination, and (2) how far out of their way trail users travel for the benefit of using the trail and explanatory factors for doing so. The data used in the analysis for this research was collected as a human intercept survey along a section of an off-street facility. The analysis demonstrates that a cogent distance decay pattern exists and that the decay function varies by trip purpose. Furthermore, we find that bicyclists travel, on average, 67% longer in order to include the trail facility on their route. The paper concludes by explaining how the distance decay and shortest path versus taken path analysis can aid in the planning and analysis of new trail systems.

Opportunistic preventive maintenance optimization for multi-unit series systems with combing multi-preventive maintenance techniques

This paper proposes a dynamic opportunistic preventive maintenance (PM) optimization policy for multi-unit series systems by integrating multi PM techniques. Two PM techniques, periodic PM and sequential PM, are considered. Whenever one of the units reaches its reliability threshold, a PM action has to be performed on that unit. At that time the whole system has to be stopped and PM opportunities arise for the other units of the system. An optimal PM practice is determined by maximizing the short-term cumulative opportunistic maintenance (OM) cost savings for the whole system. Numerical examples are given to show how this approach works. Finally, a comparison between the proposed PM policy and the other policies is given.     

Enhancing the Efficiencies of Organic Photovoltaic and Organic Light-Emitting Diode Devices by Regular Nano-Wrinkle Patterns

Organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are energy harvesting and generation devices that have attracted great attention these years because of their low costs, thin film structures, flexibility and environment-friendly manufacturing processes. For such thin film devices, photon management methods that increase the light absorption of OPV cells and the light extraction from OLEDs are highly desirable. Here, we report the experimental efforts to fabricate geometrically tunable and spontaneously formed nano-wrinkle structures with large areas, and the theoretical results on photon management with the nano-wrinkles.     

猴细小病毒Vp2的克隆、表达和鉴定

目的　克隆、表达和鉴定猴细小病毒 (simianparvovirus,SPV)Vp2蛋白。方法　用设计的SPVVp2区的特异性引物 ,PCR法扩增SPVVp2基因DNA片断 ;将获得的基因片断插入 pThioHisA载体中 ,转化大肠杆菌DH5α后挑选阳性克隆 ,利用限制性内切酶酶切和核酸序列分析技术鉴定重组质粒 ;以LB培养液培养转化有插入SPVVp2基因的pThioHisA载体的大肠杆菌 ,以终浓度 1mmol·L -1的IPTG诱导蛋白的表达 ;用SDA PAGE和Westernblot分析和鉴定表达的蛋白。结果　经限制性内切酶酶切和核酸序列分析 ,获得了插入pThioHisA载体框架的SPVVp2基因的表达质粒 ;阳性转化大肠杆菌在IPTG诱导下获得了SPVVp2蛋白的表达 ;SDA PAGE和用抗 Thio及抗 SPVVp2的特异性抗体的Westernblot分析证实了表达蛋白的特异性。结论　获得了SPVVp2基因的表达质粒并在大肠杆菌中得了高效表达 ,为进一步建立SPV感染的检测方法和研究SPV的血清流行病学等奠定了基础。     

Spatially Prioritizing Seafloor Mapping for Coastal and Marine Planning

Coastal and marine areas provide vital services to support the economic, cultural, recreational, and ecological needs of human communities, but sustaining these benefits necessitates a balance between growing and often competing uses and activities. Minimizing coastal zone conflict and reducing human-induced impacts to ecological resources requires access to consistent spatial information on the distribution and condition of marine resources. Seafloor mapping provides a detailed and reliable spatial template on the structure of the seafloor that has become a core data need for many resource management strategies. The absence of detailed maps of the seafloor hinders the effectiveness of priority setting in marine policy, regulatory processes, and marine stewardship. For large management areas, the relatively high cost of seafloor mapping and limited management budgets requires careful spatial prioritization. In order to address this problem, a consensus based approach, aided by decision-support tools, and participatory geographic information systems (GIS), was implemented in Long Island Sound to spatially prioritize locations, define additional data collection efforts needed, and identify products needed to inform decision-making. The methodology developed has utility for other states and regions in need of spatially prioritizing activities for coastal planning, and organizations charged with providing geospatial services to communities with broad informational needs.     

实施自动化改造提高矿山铁路运输效率

今年初，EI Teniente铜矿专用铁路开始运行速度快、载重大的全自动列车。通过这一改造，线路的日装车量得到了极大的提高。     

Port competition between Shanghai and Ningbo

The objective of this paper is to analyse the relative competitiveness of the neighbouring container ports of Shanghai and Ningbo in China and to develop a view of the likely future outcome of the competition between them. After assessing the demand for their services within what is hypothesized as a shared hinterland, current supply and future expansion plans are detailed and considered within the two ports’ wider development strategies. The relative competitiveness of the two ports is then evaluated on the basis of price and quality of service, as embodied within the concept of generalized cost as incurred by customers. A critical political dimension is a necessary element of this analysis. It is concluded that continued economic development in the hinterland, central government policies on regional development and China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will all contribute to growing demand for port services. However, Ningbo will continue to gain greater market share as the result of advantages in its natural endowments (particularly depth of water), price (especially in terms of recovering the cost of capacity expansions) and quality of service improvements that are predicted to emerge as the result of currently planned enhancements to inland transport infrastructure and logistical systems.     

How can we alter our carbon footprint? Estimating GHG emissions based on travel survey information

The city of Montreal has taken recent initiatives to significantly reduce overall greenhouse (GHG) emissions from the transport sector and has made large investments in alternative transportation. In particular, the city has called upon the participation of all businesses and institutions to further these goals. In light of these recent plans, this study identifies with two objectives: first, to develop a methodology for estimating GHG emissions generated by commuters to McGill University’s downtown campus; and secondly, to better understand who, how, and when each commuter to McGill generates travel-related GHG. Mode split, travel distance, age, gender and job category were uncovered by a 2011 travel survey that we conducted across the University, from which daily individual GHG emissions are estimated. Details about these trips not only reveal who the largest polluters are and where they are coming from, but also the seasonality of their emissions. These associations are then used to narrate scenarios which present alternatives to the structure of individuals’ commutes by examining the outcomes of selected shifts in travel behavior on total GHG emissions.