Refrigerated Food Transport from Canada to Mexico: Cold Chain Challenges

Qualitative research methods are used to examine the status of the "cold chain," which serves the Mexican market for Canadian food products. A brief synopsis of Canadian food exports to Mexico is presented to establish the demand for refrigerated transport. Subsequently, the supply of refrigerated transport is considered in terms of modal choice and routes from Canada to Mexico. This is followed by a narrative of cold chain challenges identified by industry respondents. The conclusion points to some policy issues for consideration

Energy, Innovation and Transport: The Electrification of Trams in Spain, 1896–1935

[Abstract]: The electrification of trams has been one of the most significant changes in urban transport. It led to price reductions, increased speed, better regularity, comfort and convenience and the popularisation of this means of transport. Its introduction required a new business model, characterised by massive investment, modern management and the use of more sophisticated technology. The Spanish case shows a certain delay in this process along with the importance of the foreign capital (from Belgium and backed by German electro mechanic multinationals), the little intensity of the backward looking effects, because the technological dependency, and the conquest of mobility as the main forward looking effect

Analytical Models in Rail Transportation: An Annotated Bibliography

Not AvailableThis research has been supported, in part, by the U.S. Department of Transportation under contract DOT-TSC-1058, Transportation Advanced Research Program (TARP)

U.S. Passenger Rail Technologies

An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that examines "the prospects of magnetic levitation (maglev) technologies - ultra-high-speed ground transportation that relies on magnetic suspension instead of conventional steel wheels on rail - and the status of railcar manufacturing industries" (p. ix)

Corporate Leadership and Mass Atrocity

With the last Holocaust survivors quietly passing away, one might also expect to see accountability debates slowing to a trickle. Surprisingly, however, recent years show an upswing in corporate World War II-related atonement debates. Interest in corporate participation in mass atrocity has expanded worldwide; yet what constitutes ethical corporate behavior during and after war remains understudied. This article considers these questions through a study of the French National Railways’ (SNCF) roles during the German occupation and its more recent struggle to make amends. This study demonstrates that ethical business leadership requires taking responsibility for past as well as current decisions. Most executives grappling with complex corporate histories work in isolation, in part because the scholarship on business ethics fails to provide guidance. Without such guidance, corporations often respond to accusations about their pasts with carefully crafted statements and legal strategies rather than deep expressions of moral leadership. To assist in remedying this tendency, this paper simultaneously encourages companies to engage in deeper reflection on corporate history, while urging scholars to help guide corporations through critical ethical conversations

Multivariate calibration of a load sensor for dynamic and static freight railcar applications

Determination of the load carried by each bearing in a railcar system is crucial to the integrity of the railroad industry. With accurate load measurement, the process of filling a railcar with its specified cargo can be optimized to provide the maximum amount of cargo without exceeding the upper weight limits imposed by the Associations of American Railroads (AAR). An accurate load measurement will additionally make it possible to identify any load imbalance that occurs during periods of travel which result in having a detrimental effect on the health of the bearing. Previous work conducted with a strain-gauge load sensor suspended between a thermoplastic polyurethane steering pad and a bearing adapter provided data that was accurate for dynamic rail conditions. This thesis will optimize the previous work performed by developing a multivariate calibration procedure suitable for field implementation

Formulating a Strategy for Securing High-Speed Rail in the United States, Research Report 12-03

This report presents an analysis of information relating to attacks, attempted attacks, and plots against high-speed rail (HSR) systems. It draws upon empirical data from MTI’s Database of Terrorist and Serious Criminal Attacks Against Public Surface Transportation and from reviews of selected HSR systems, including onsite observations. The report also examines the history of safety accidents and other HSR incidents that resulted in fatalities, injuries, or extensive asset damage to examine the inherent vulnerabilities (and strengths) of HSR systems and how these might affect the consequences of terrorist attacks. The study is divided into three parts: (1) an examination of security principles and measures; (2) an empirical examination of 33 attacks against HSR targets and a comparison of attacks against HSR targets with those against non-HSR targets; and (3) an examination of 73 safety incidents on 12 HRS systems. The purpose of this study is to develop an overall strategy for HSR security and to identify measures that could be applied to HSR systems currently under development in the United States. It is hoped that the report will provide useful guidance to both governmental authorities and transportation operators of current and future HSR systems

A Survey of Wireless Communication Technologies & Their Performance for High Speed Railways

High Speed Railway (HSR) provides its customers not only safety, security, comfort and on-time commuting, but also a fast transportation alternative to air travel or regular passenger rail services. Providing these benefits would not be possible without the tremendous growth and prevalence of wireless communication technologies. Due to advances in wireless communication systems, both trains and passengers are connected through high speed wireless networks to the Internet, data centers and railroad control centers. Railroad communities, academia, related industries and standards bodies, even the European Space Agency, are involved in advancing developments of HSR for highly connected train communication systems. The goal of these efforts is to provide the capabilities for uninterrupted high-speed fault-tolerant communication networks for all possible geographic, structural and weather conditions. This survey provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art and future trends for wireless technologies aiming to realize the concept of HSR communication services. Our goal is to highlight the challenges for these technologies, including GSM-R, Wi-Fi, WIMAX, LTE-R, RoF, LCX & Cognitive Radio, the offered solutions, their performance, and other related issues. Currently, providing HSR services is the goal of many countries across the globe. Europe, Japan & Taiwan, China, as well as North & South America have increased their efforts to advance HSR technologies to monitor and control not only the operations but also to deliver extensive broadband solutions to passengers. This survey determined a trend of the industry to transition control plane operations towards narrowband frequencies, i.e. LTE400/700, and to utilize concurrently other technologies for broadband access for passengers such that services of both user and train control systems are supported. With traditional technologies, a tradeoff was required and often favored train control services over passenger amenities. However, with the advances in communication systems, such as LTE-R and cognitive radios, it is becoming possible for system designers to offer rich services to passengers while also providing support for enhanced train control operations such as Positive Train Control