Round Table 99 undertook a thorough analysis of the potential impact of environmental protection, railway privatisation, logistical requirements and falling prices on the structure and operation of the freight transport sector, and of their effects on government policies.

With a focus on cargo transportation, this book addresses the development of approaches intended to secure an infrastructure of smart services to support the adaptive implementation of online multi-modal freight transport management processes. It discusses the development of multi-criteria decision-making components and their integration into the multi-layered computer-based information management of intelligent systems. Through detailed descriptions of various components of intelligent transport management systems, the book demonstrates how to develop the services needed in the right place and at the right time, and how to properly adapt to user needs, making necessary interventions to ensure the safety of the transportation process. Further, it describes the main ways to increase the autonomy and efficiency of user-vehicle interaction and shows how Information and Communications Technology (ICT) structural support for current and past situations in AI-based systems can help to anticipate future developments in freight transportation.

The Annual Information Bulletin presents a survey of research in hand on the social and economic aspects of transport in over 400 specialised agencies which are mainly European (West and East) but in some cases American, Canadian or Australian.

The passage of the Staggers Rail Act in 1980 led brought a renaissance to the freight rail industry. In the decade following, economists documented the effects of the Act on a variety of important economic metrics including prices, costs, and productivity. Over the preceding years, and with the return of the industry to more stable footing, attention to the industry by economists faded. The lack of attention, however, has not been due to a dearth of ongoing economic and policy issues that continue to confront the industry. In this volume, we begin to rectify this inattention. Rather than retread older analyses or provide yet another look at the consequences of Staggers, we assemble a collection of ten chapters in four sections that collectively provide fresh and up-to-date analyses of the economic issues and policy challenges the industry faces: the first section sets the context through foundational discussion of freight rail; the second section highlights the role of freight rail in an increasingly interrelated economy; the third section examines industry structure and scope in freight rail; and the fourth section assesses current regulatory challenges that confront freight rail. This book will be of great value to researchers, academics, policymakers, and students interested in the fields of freight rail economics and policy, transportation, business history, and regulatory economics.

This volume of three books presents recent advances in modelling, planning and evaluating city logistics for sustainable and liveable cities based on the application of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems). It highlights modelling the behaviour of stakeholders who are involved in city logistics as well as planning and managing policy measures of city logistics including cooperative freight transport systems in public-private partnerships. Case studies of implementing and evaluating city logistics measures in terms of economic, social and environmental benefits from major cities around the world are also given.

Advancements in the field of information technology have transformed the way businesses interact with each other and their customers. Businesses now require customized products and services to reflect their constantly changing environment, yet this results in cutting-edge products with relatively short lifecycles. Innovative Solutions for Implementing Global Supply Chains in Emerging Markets addresses the roles of knowledge management and information technology within emerging markets. This forward-thinking title explores the current trends in supply chain management, knowledge acquisition and transfer mechanisms among supply chain partners, and knowledge management paradigms. This book is an invaluable resource for researchers, business professionals and students, business analysts, and marketing professionals.

This book provides insights into China’s energy consumption and pollution as well as its energy saving policies. It explores energy saving ways and argues for an energy consumption revolution, which includes technologies to improve transportation resource efficiency, modification of existing transportation infrastructure and structure. This book uses various analytical models to study the relationships within the transportation system. It also includes comparative analysis of China, Japan, the US and developing countries on traffic demand and transportation energy consumption. This book highlights the urgent need to review China’s current transportation policies in order to secure a breakthrough in energy saving and emissions reduction.

This book provides a rough entry into the interdisciplinary field of Infranomics. It enables better decision making in an increasing ambiguous, complex, emergent, interdependent, and uncertain world where we attempt to anticipate modern society trends and patterns in order to react appropriately. However, as with any emerging discipline, much research is needed at the applications and conceptual level. The applications level may require development and testing of methods, tools, and techniques to enable analysis and decision-making in ambiguous, complex, emergent, interdependent, and uncertain conditions while the conceptual level may require taping into driving philosophies, theories, and methodologies that form the basis for Infranomics. Striking the right balance between applications and conceptual foundation (theory) requires rigorous research. This book provides a springboard for robust discussions on applications, theory, and transformation of current thinking to better deal with modern society’s problematic issues using Infranomics.

Modern railways are no longer the sole forte of civil and mechanical engineering. They now involve a broad range of multidisciplinary engineering domains from advanced computing, digital telecommunications, and networking to big data analytics and even artificial intelligence. Among the emerging technologies and innovations in railways, hyperloop transportation systems employing magnetic propulsion, hydrogen-powered trains, and autonomous intelligent systems in the control and command subsystems of railways have significant potential to improve the performance of railways in terms of speed, service availability, comfort, sustainability, and potentially safety. These innovations will also help mitigate carbon emissions. This volume presents the latest research on railway engineering and transportation and discusses the practices and processes involved in shaping modern railways.