Do the selected Trans European transport investments pass the cost benefit test?.

This paper assesses the economic justification for the selection of priority projects defined under the auspices of the Trans-European transport network. In analyzing the current list of 30 priority projects, we apply three different transport models to undertake a cost-benefit comparison. We find that many projects do not pass the cost-benefit test and only a few of the economically justifiable projects would need European subsidies to make them happen. Two remedies are proposed to minimize the inefficiencies in future project selection. The first remedy obliges each member state or group of states to perform a cost-benefit analysis (followed by a peer review) and to make the results public prior to ranking priority projects. The second remedy would require federal funding to be available only for projects with important spillovers to other countries, in order to avoid pork barrel behaviour.

Do the selected Trans European transport investments pass the Cost Benefit test?

This paper assesses the economic justification for the selection of priority projects defined under the auspices of the Trans-European transport network. In analyzing the current list of 30 priority projects, we apply three different transport models to undertake a cost-benefit comparison. We find that many projects do not pass the cost-benefit test and only a few of the economically justifiable projects would need European subsidies to make them happen. Two remedies are proposed to minimize the inefficiencies in future project selection. The first remedy obliges each member state or group of states to perform a cost-benefit analysis (followed by a peer review) and to make the results public prior to ranking priority projects. The second remedy would require federal funding to be available only for projects with important spillovers to other countries, in order to avoid pork barrel behaviour.transport infrastructure, cost benefit analysis, Europe Union

In what circumstances is investment in HR worthwhile?

INTRODUCTION By High Speed Rail (HSR) we normally mean rail technologies capable of speeds of the order of 300km ph on new dedicated track. Such systems offer journey times that are more competitive with other modes, and particularly air, than traditional train services, and very high capacity. But their capital cost is also high. The proposals of the European Commission for the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T) envisage expenditure of 600b euros, of which 250b euros is for priority projects, and a large part of this expenditure is for high speed rail. Thus it is extremely important to have a robust appraisal methodology for these huge investments. It is not clear that this has happened in the case of the Trans European Networks. Individual projects are suggested by, and appraised by, member state governments, even though they are applying to the European Commission for assistance with funding. Research for the European Commission has appraised the TEN-T network as a whole, but has not appraised the individual elements of the programme to ensure that they are all worthwhile (TML, 2005). The aim of this paper is to consider the methodology for the appraisal of high speed rail proposals, and to produce some indication of the circumstances in which such proposals might be worthwhile. In the next section we present an overview of the principal costs and benefits which need to be taken into account in an HSR appraisal. Then we illustrate the process for two particular contrasting examples – the study of HSR proposals in Great Britain, and an ex post evaluation of the Madrid-Seville line in Spain. In section four of the paper we formulate a model to incorporate the principal parameters influencing the outcome of an appraisal and in section five we use this model to draw conclusions on the circumstances in which high speed rail may be justified

In what circumstances is investment in HR worthwhile?

INTRODUCTION By High Speed Rail (HSR) we normally mean rail technologies capable of speeds of the order of 300km ph on new dedicated track. Such systems offer journey times that are more competitive with other modes, and particularly air, than traditional train services, and very high capacity. But their capital cost is also high. The proposals of the European Commission for the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T) envisage expenditure of 600b euros, of which 250b euros is for priority projects, and a large part of this expenditure is for high speed rail. Thus it is extremely important to have a robust appraisal methodology for these huge investments. It is not clear that this has happened in the case of the Trans European Networks. Individual projects are suggested by, and appraised by, member state governments, even though they are applying to the European Commission for assistance with funding. Research for the European Commission has appraised the TEN-T network as a whole, but has not appraised the individual elements of the programme to ensure that they are all worthwhile (TML, 2005). The aim of this paper is to consider the methodology for the appraisal of high speed rail proposals, and to produce some indication of the circumstances in which such proposals might be worthwhile. In the next section we present an overview of the principal costs and benefits which need to be taken into account in an HSR appraisal. Then we illustrate the process for two particular contrasting examples – the study of HSR proposals in Great Britain, and an ex post evaluation of the Madrid-Seville line in Spain. In section four of the paper we formulate a model to incorporate the principal parameters influencing the outcome of an appraisal and in section five we use this model to draw conclusions on the circumstances in which high speed rail may be justified

TRANSMIT: Training Research and Applications Network to Support the Mitigation of Ionospheric Threats

TRANSMIT is an initiative funded by the European Commission through a Marie Curie Initial Training Network (ITN). Main aim of such networks is to improve the career perspectives of researchers who are in the first five years of their research career in both public and private sectors. In particular TRANSMIT will provide a coordinated program of academic and industrial training, focused on atmospheric phenomena that can significantly impair a wide range of systems and applications that are at the core of several activities embedded in our daily life. TRANSMIT deals with the harmful effects of the ionosphere on these systems, which will become increasingly significant as we approach the next solar maximum, predicted for 2013. Main aim of the project is to develop real time integrated state of the art tools to mitigate ionospheric threats to Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and several related applications, such as civil aviation, marine navigation and land transportation. The project will provide Europe with the next generation of researchers in this field, equipping them with skills developed through a comprehensive and coordinated training program. Theirs research projects will develop real time integrated state of the art tools to mitigate these ionospheric threats to GNSS and several applications that rely on these systems. The main threat to the reliable and safe operation of GNSS is the variable propagation conditions encountered by GNSS signals as they pass through the ionosphere. At a COST 296 MIERS (Mitigation of Ionospheric Effects on Radio Systems) workshop held at the University of Nottingham in 2008, the establishment of a sophisticated Ionospheric Perturbation Detection and Monitoring (IPDM) network (http://ipdm.nottingham.ac.uk/) was proposed by European experts and supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) as the way forward to deliver the state of the art to protect the range of essential systems vulnerable to these ionospheric threats. Through a set of carefully designed research work packages TRANSMIT will be the enabler of the IPDM network. The goal of TRANSMIT is therefore to provide a concerted training programme including taught courses, research training projects, secondments at the leading European institutions, and a set of network wide events, with summer schools, workshops and a conference, which will arm the researchers of tomorrow with the necessary skills and knowledge to set up and run the proposed service. TRANSMIT will count on an exceptional set of partners, encompassing both academia and end users, including the aerospace and satellite communications sectors, as well as GNSS system designers and service providers, major user operators and receiver manufacturers. TRANSMIT's objectives are: A. Develop new techniques to detect and monitor ionospheric threats, with the introduction of new prediction and forecasting models, mitigation tools and improved system design; B. Advance the physical modeling of the underlying processes associated with the ionospheric plasma environment and the knowledge of its influences on human activity; C. Establish a prototype of a real time system to monitor the ionosphere, capable of providing useful assistance to users, which exploits all available resources and adds value for European services and products; D. Incorporate solutions to this system that respond to all end user needs and that are applicable in all geographical regions of European interest (polar, high and mid-latitudes, equatorial region). TRANSMIT will pave the way to establish in Europe a system capable of mitigating ionospheric threats on GNSS signals in real tim

Evaluation of projects funded by the European Commission and of the existing information of the GDs that might be relevant in the Territorial Intelligence field. Coordination Group WP4P "Projects" of CaENTI

International audienceThis communication makes a state of the activities carried out by the WP4P coordination group of the 4th work package "Fundamental methods" of the CAENTI, Coordination Action of the European Network of Territorial Intelligence. The WP4P concerns a technical issue, the evaluation of projects funded by the European Commission and of the existing information of the GDs that might be relevant in the territorial intelligence field. The first six months of the CAENTI were mainly devoted to the projects selection. A first task consisted in identifying the projects which are funded by the European Union and that can be considered as belonging to the territorial intelligence field. A first group of keywords was suggested to select them. The first selection essentially underlines projects that are linked to governance. We need to enlarge key words to make e new selection. The objective for 2007 is to organize a seminar that will gather the projects leaders of the most relevant projects about territorial action and the CAENTI territorial actors to deepen the principles and the practice of territorial intelligence with them. The identification of the information that the GD owns and that is relevant for territorial intelligence will be made in collaboration with the WP4I group that leads research activities about territorial information (WP4I), before making a survey of the GDs. During this conference, the WP4P should define and program its prospects

Performance Of The High Speed Rail In Spain In The Context Of The New Regulation Framework. Evidence From The Madrid-Seville Hsr Corridor

The ambitious planned development of the high-speed rail (HSR) network in Spain requires the implementation of new sector regulations to fully achieve its objectives, namely to make the sector more competitive and to promote a more balanced and efficient transport system. For this purpose, the Spanish administration recently launched the new Rail Sector Act (39/2003), on a national regulatory framework. The planned liberalisation process foresees the end of the monopoly of the Spanish state operator RENFE, opening up passenger transport to new rail operators by 2010. On a European level, this new regulatory framework comes in line with EU’s concerns both on transport service performance and on infrastructure development. On the one hand, European regulations have focused in measures to guarantee quality of service, equal access and effective competition market rules. On the other, the relevance of the development of HSR projects in the Iberian peninsula is proved with their inclusion among the priority projects of the trans-European networks (TEN).Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

Current practice in climate service visualization: taking the pulse of the providers’ community

Climateurope Workshop on the Visualization of Climate Services Barcelona Supercomputing Center’s (BSC) Earth Sciences Department organized the workshop in the framework of the Horizon 2020–funded Coordination and Support Action Climateurope. The workshop aimed to discuss different aspects of the state-of-the-art of visualizations used in climate services and produce a publication on the synthesis and recommendations. We invited participants from different projects linked to the Climateurope network, including EU Horizon 2020 (H2020) and European Research Area for Climate Services (ERA4CS) projects as well as a few national projects and private contracts. The workshop was attended by representatives of 22 projects.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreements 689029 (Climateurope) and 776467 (MED-GOLD). The authors want to acknowledge the different climate services projects that participated in the workshop, including Climate-fit.city (73004), Digital-Water.city (20954), IMPREX (641811), PRIMAVERA (641727), RECEIPT (820712), S2S4E (776787), SECLI-FIRM (776868), VISCA (730253), CIREG, Clim2power, CoCliME, EVOKED, ISIpedia, MEDSCOPE, SENSES, WATExR, C3S_429g_BSC, and the inDust COST Action (16202). We would also like to thank the participation of the projects Seasonal Hurricane Predictions, KNMI climate scenarios, and eClimViz. We also acknowledge BSC colleagues Diana Urquiza, Andria Nicodemou, and Sara Octenjak for helping to run the workshop.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Resetting transcription factor control circuitry toward ground-state pluripotency in human.

Current human pluripotent stem cells lack the transcription factor circuitry that governs the ground state of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESC). Here, we report that short-term expression of two components, NANOG and KLF2, is sufficient to ignite other elements of the network and reset the human pluripotent state. Inhibition of ERK and protein kinase C sustains a transgene-independent rewired state. Reset cells self-renew continuously without ERK signaling, are phenotypically stable, and are karyotypically intact. They differentiate in vitro and form teratomas in vivo. Metabolism is reprogrammed with activation of mitochondrial respiration as in ESC. DNA methylation is dramatically reduced and transcriptome state is globally realigned across multiple cell lines. Depletion of ground-state transcription factors, TFCP2L1 or KLF4, has marginal impact on conventional human pluripotent stem cells but collapses the reset state. These findings demonstrate feasibility of installing and propagating functional control circuitry for ground-state pluripotency in human cells.This research was supported by the UK Medical Research Council, the Japan Science and Technology agency (JST, PRESTO), the Genome Biology Unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Commission projects PluriMes, BetaCellTherapy, EpiGeneSys, and Blueprint, and the Wellcome Trust. Y.T. was a University of Cambridge Herchel Smith Fellow. A.S. is a Medical Research Council Professor