Nordic Road and Transport Research 1-2008

NORDICROAD AND TRANSPORT RESEARCH | NO.1 | 2008

International Cooperation– the Nordic Transport ResearchReaches the WorldP8

International Cooperation– the Nordic Transport ResearchReaches the WorldP8

2 | NORDIC NO. 1 2008 www.nordicroads.com

News from

Swedish National Road andTransport Research Institute (VTI)

VTI is an independent, internationally establishedresearch institute which is engaged in the transportsector. Our work covers all modes, and our core com-petence is in the fields of safety, economy, environ-ment, traffic and transport analysis, public transport,behaviour and the man-vehicle-transport system inte-raction, and in road design, operation and maintenan-ce. VTI is a world leader in several areas, for instancein simulator technology.

Danish Road Directorate (DRD)Danish Road Institute (DRI)

The Road Directorate, which is a part of TheMinistry of Transport & Energy, Denmark, isresponsible for development and management ofthe national highways and for servicing and facilita-ting traffic on the network. As part of this responsi-bility, the Directorate conducts R&D, the aim ofwhich is to contribute to efficient road manage-ment and to the safe use of the network. The mate-rials research component is carried out by theDanish Road Institute.

Technical Research Centreof Finland (VTT)

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is a con-tract research organisation with a staff of 2,800. Inthis joint publication, the VTT expertise areas coverresearch and development of transportation, logis-tics and road structures. The work is carried out infive research groups employing a staff of 60.

Icelandic RoadAdministration (ICERA)The ICERA's mission is to provide the

Icelandic society with a road system in accordancewith its needs and to provide a service with the aimof smooth and safe traffic. The number of employe-es is about 340. Applied research and developmentand to some extent also basic research concerningroad construction, maintenance, traffic and safety isperformed or directed by the ICERA. Developmentdivision is responsible for road research in Iceland.

Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA)

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is oneof the administrative agencies under the Ministry ofTransport and Communications in Norway. TheNPRA is responsible for the development and mana-gement of public roads and road traffic, as well as theVehicle Department. This responsibility includesresearch and development of all areas related to roadtransport and the implementation of R&D results.

Institute of TransportEconomics (TØI), Norway

The Institute of Transport Economics is the natio-nal institution for transport research and develop-ment in Norway. The main objectives of theInstitute are to carry out applied research and pro-mote the application and use of results throughconsultative assistance to public authorities, thetransport industry and others. The Institute is anindependent research foundation employing aboutone hundred persons.

Editorial notesNordic Road & Transport Research is a joint publi-cation of six public road and transport researchorganisations in the Nordic countries, Denmark,Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The mainobjective of the publication is to disseminate re-search results and news from the institutions, espe-cially to researchers and decision makers. Each insti-tution is responsible for the selection and presenta-tion of the material from its own scope of activities.

Nordic Road & Transport Research is publishedthree times a year. It is regularly sent out, free ofcharge, to recipients selected by the six jointpublishers. Free sample copies are also sent out onspecial request.

Reproduction and quotation of the texts are allow-ed if reference is made to the author and source.However, legislation regulates and restricts the rightto reproduce the illustrations. Please contact therespective publishing institution for information.

Advertising is not accepted.Correspondence about the contents of the publi-

cation:

Please write to the author or to the respectivepublishing organisation.

Requests for back issues, and notification of add-ress changes:

Readers outside the Nordic countries: please writeto the Editor-in-chief at the VTI in Sweden.

Readers in the Nordic countries: please contactthe publishing institution of your country.

Addresses: see back cover.

The Editorial Board consists of the following representatives of the publishing institutions

Editor-in-Chief, SwedenMagdalena Green, [email protected]

DenmarkHelen Hasz-Singh, [email protected]

FinlandKari Mäkelä, [email protected]

IcelandG. Pétur Matthiasson, [email protected]

NorwayThorbjørn Chr. Risan, [email protected] Aas, TØI [email protected]

Graphic DesignJohnny Dahlgren Grafisk produktion AB,

Linköping, Sweden

Issue 3,900

ISSN 1101-5179

Cover Photos.com

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Contents

In Brief | p4

VTI’s International Cooperation I p8

VTT's International Cooperation I p10

The Danish Road Directorate’s Participation in International Research and Development I p12

Institute of Transport Economics (TØI): Applied research on a national and international level I p14

A Norwegian Delegation to Chile – Cooperation in Projects and Seminars I p17

International Activity of the NPRA I p18

Tromsø 2018 – Compact Winter Games: What about the Roads? I p20

Use of ITS on the Motorring 3 in Copenhagen I p22

Tools for Analyzing Infrastructure Decisions I p24

Long and Heavy Lorries Are Profitable for Sweden I p26

OECD Working Group on "Improving Reliability" – Request for Nordic Studies and Experiences I p27

A Sub-sea Tunnel in Iceland: Roadwork Makes a Big Change in Life I p28

Improving the Accessibility of Public Transport I p30

How to Look inside Porous Asphalt I p32

The Brandangersund Bridge I p34

Tilting Trains – Mature Technology I p35

Recruitment for the Future I p36

Model Analyses for the Combi Terminal Investigation I p38

Report from The Danish Infrastructure Commission: The Danish Transport Infrastructure 2030 I p39

What’s up in the Nordic Countries? I p40

Publications I p41


IN BRIEF

Deepest Road Tunnel in the WorldIn February 2008 the Norwegian Ministerof Transport, Liv Signe Navarsete, openedthe so called Eiksund Connection. TheEiksund Connection is situated in the wes-tern part of Norway, and forms a fixed linkbetween the Norwegian mainland and theisland municipalities of Hareid, Ulstein,Sande and Herøy. The Eiksund Connec-tion is also intended to improve the trans-port services for the inhabitants of the main-land municipalities of Ørsta and Volda.

A part of the Eiksund Connection is the7.765 metres long Eiksund Tunnel, whichis one of the longest sub sea tunnels inNorway. The tunnel’s deepest point is 287metres below sea level, which makes it thedeepest road tunnel in the world.

The Eiksund Connection has, like manyother strait crossing projects, a long histo-ry. Twenty five years after founding thecompany Eiksund Connection Ltd, theground was first broken in Eiksund exactlyfive years ago.

Norwegian Public Roads Administrationhas been the builder of the connection.During the construction period 16 contrac-tors with their subcontractors and suppliershave been working on the project. The ini-tial cost estimate was 126.5 million euro

converted into 2008 value, while the finalcost turned out to be 123.3 million euro.This results in a saving of 3.2 million euro.Approximately 660.000 man-hours wereused over the five year long constructionperiod.

The official opening of the tunnel wascelebrated with a wide range of activities.Among other things a cycle race was orga-nized through the tunnel. This was inten-ded to be registered in the Guinness Bookof Records as the “deepest” non-professio-nal cycle race in the world.

From the bottom of the Eiksund Sub Sea Tunnel.

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AThe Eiksund Connection improves the transportationbetween islands and mainland.

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The Government has appointed JonasBjelfvenstam as the new Director Generalof VTI. He comes from a post as specialinspector for the Ministry of Enterprise,Energy and Communications where healso had the post of Secretary of State andHead of Department. He took up his postas Director General of VTI in December2007, and the appointment extends until31 July 2009.

Jonas Bjelfvenstam is looking forward to being incharge of VTI. He has followed the institute for manyyears.

New Director General for VTI

On November 13th 2007 Terje Moe Gustavsenstarted up as new Director General ofNorwegian Public Roads Administration.Terje Moe Gustavsen, who was Minister ofTransportation and Communication in thefirst Government of Prime Minister JensStoltenberg, is 53 years old. He comes froman executive position as senior adviser inthe Government Employers' Association“Spekter”. He has a wide-ranging back-ground from public and private sectors,and has, to mention a few, worked as a lea-der of Norwegian Confederation of TradeUnions (State Department), Director ofStrategy at the telecom company Telenor,Director of NAVO (Government Employers'Association) and Director of Personnel inthe airline company SAS Braathens.

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Director general of NPRA, Terje Moe Gustavsen.

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The City as aLaboratoryThe Norwegian Public Roads Admini-stration, the Technology Department inTrondheim (Tek-T), uses the city itself as alaboratory. In connection with a visit inJanuary 2008 by the Standing Committeeon Transport Affairs of the NorwegianParliament, the committee was informedabout the transportation problems concer-ning large cities.

– It is all about the future, the head ofSection for ITS and Traffic Technology atTek-T, Even Myhre told. The constant deve-lopment of international technology cansolve the environment and transportationproblems in the city.

Even Myhre also told the committeethat Tek-T uses Trondheim as its “researchlaboratory”. For instance, in a projectnamed “ITS towards 2020”, the main objec-tive is to establish a test site encompassingmain streets in the city centre, local roadsand highways. It will be possible to performtests both in a simulated road environmentin a driving simulator and in a real roadnetwork environment, fully equipped withdata communication.

– The interface between the academicand theoretical research situation on oneside and the real traffic in Trondheim onthe other, gives us a unique possibility, sta-ted Even Myhre, who also told the politici-ans that most other professionals aremaking research in closed and controlledsites instead of full scale tests in real cities.

The chairman of the StandingCommittee on Transport Affairs expressedhis enthusiasm over the research workmade by the Norwegian Public RoadsAdministration in Trondheim. Some timeago the committee visited the Japanese cityof Toyota so the committee had a chance tocompare the activities of the researchactors in Trondheim and in Toyota respec-tively.

Contact: [email protected]

Contact: [email protected]

More general information and contact informationabout “ITS towards 2020” on: www.vegvesen.no(Choose English flag, then Professional.)


IN BRIEF

The Norwegian Public Roads Admini-stration (NPRA) has a special responsibilitywhen a road connection is broken. To copewith future emergencies a new type of tem-porary bridge material has been obtained.In cooperation with the Norwegian RailwayAuthority, NPRA has invested in the heavypanel bridge system Mabey Universal. Thisis a dual-purpose bridge system that allowsthe equipment to be used on both railwaysand roads. The system consists of panel-gir-ders and transoms, while the decking isbuilt with special components. The railwaybridge decking consists of special stringersand slippers, while the road bridge deckingis made with an additional anti-skid surfa-ce. This heavy panel system can be used fora free single-span construction up to 49.5metres for railway and 81.0 metres forroadway with loading class 13/65.

Temporary Bridges - Collaborationbetween Road and Rail

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A part of the agreement between NPRAand the Norwegian Railway Authorityinvolves close cooperation with training,erection and storage, as well as profitingfrom the experience of each other.

In January-February 2006 a flooddestroyed the Mo Bridge in Salsnes in MidNorway and a temporary 48 metre singlelane reserve bridge was erected by NPRA.After the new bridge was completed, pro-fessionals from the Railway Authority wereinvited to participate in the disassembling.This cooperation between NPRA and theRailway Authority provided a unique on-the-job training to help to improve the useof temporary bridge equipment in Norway.

Contact: Gunnar Magnus Haugen, NPRA. [email protected]

www.vti.se/transportforum

Encouraged and supported by the wideJapanese interest in the VTI research wit-hin winter road management and mainte-nance, and especially in the SwedishWinter Model developed by VTI, the insti-tute has published a translation intoJapanese of VTI papers presented at thePIARC Winter Road Congress in Torino,Italy, 2006, concerning the Winter Model.

VTI Sums up2007In January, VTI submitted its annual reportfor 2007 to the Ministry of Enterprise,Energy and Communications. A summarywill be found in the brochure "VTI inwords and figures" which can be downloa-ded from the web site www.vti.se/english.The brochure describes the work of VTI inthe past year, and presents the institute’saccounts.

A VTI Publication in Japanese!Dr Motoki Asano of Civil EngineeringResearch Institute, CERI, Sapporo, Japan,has been the promoter of the translation.

The papers have earlier been publishedin English and French as VTI notat 19A-2006. The serial number of the Japanesetranslation is 19D-2006 and it can be foundat the web site www.vti.se/english.

TransportforumCelebrated 25YearsSweden's largest meeting place for thetransport sector, Transportforum, wasarranged by VTI for the 25th year in succes-sion in January. Transportforum 2008 wasattended by about 1 600 delegates, about400 of whom presented papers, and bymore than thirty exhibitors. The program-me was extensive, with 49 sessions which, indifferent ways, dealt with traffic and trans-port. Over the years, the conference hasdeveloped into the largest annual confe-rence for the transport sector in the Nordiccountries, where researchers and the manyplayers of the transport sector meet toshare experiences and make contacts.

Jonas Bjelfvenstam, the newly appointedDirector General of VTI, said in his speechthat the first conference attracted 350 dele-gates and 70 papers. A lot has thus happe-ned over the years, both with the arrange-ment and in the transport sector, some-thing that was highlighted in different waysduring the introduction. As an anniversaryfeature, a narrative in words and pictureswas presented on roads, transport andsocietal development over the past 25years. The ceremony was also attended byÅsa Torstensson, the Swedish Minister ofEnterprise, Energy and Communications.

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Preventing Pedestrian AccidentsThe risk of pedestrian accidents is aboutten times greater than the risk for motori-zed road users. Safety measures are effecti-ve in reducing the risk for pedestrian andcyclist accidents when one or more risk fac-tors are reduced, e.g. vehicle speed or lackof visibility of pedestrians and cyclists in thetraffic environment, according to a newreport from Institute of TransportEconomics in Norway.

This report describes the risk of acci-dents and injuries for pedestrians and cyc-lists, factors affecting the risk of these acci-dents, and measures to reduce the probabi-lity and severity of these accidents.

Increasing the amount of walking andcycling may increase the total number ofpedestrian and cyclist accidents, but woulddecrease accident risk and would lead to amore fair distribution of injury rates betwe-en non-motorized and motorized roadusers.

Institutional measures can improvepedestrian and cyclist safety indirectly by

supporting the implementation of effectivesafety measures. Organisation of planningand implementation processes so that safe-ty for pedestrians and cyclists can be focu-sed are important. They will also constituteimportant premises for measures that canincrease pedestrian and cyclist volumes andsafe behaviour of pedestrians and cyclists.

Examples are specific goals for pedestri-an and cyclist safety and plans designed toachieve these goals, task groups that repre-sent the interests of pedestrians and cyclists,and that contribute to decisions and plan-ning processes that are relevant for pedestri-ans and cyclists, safety audits for pedestrianand cyclist facilities, incentives for car dea-lers and consumers to sell and buy cars thatoffer good pedestrian protection.

Institutional measures can improve pedestrian and cyclist safety indirectly by supporting the implementation ofeffective safety measures.

CompetitiveTenderingStrengthensUrban Areas

The analyses show that competitive tendering is asso-ciated with rising administrative costs for the localgovernment.

During the last 5–10 years, public transportservice levels in Norway have increasedmore in urban areas than in rural ones,and seemingly more so in areas relying oncompetitive tendering.

Previous studies have shown that compe-titive tendering is associated with cost reduc-tion for the procuring authority. This reportfrom Institute of Transport Economiscs ana-lyses its effects on service level in rural areasand on administrative costs.

Rising service levels in cities are mostlydue to political subsidy priorities in favourof urban areas during the last ten years,agreed on both local and national level.

The analyses also show that competitivetendering is associated with rising admi-nistrative costs for the local government.

The cost increase is, however, closely con-nected to the shift from net cost to gross costcontracts, and to the authority’s take-over ofplanning and design responsibilities.

Report: Making Vision Zero real:Preventing pedestrian accidents and making themless severe. TØI report 889/2007 Authors: Alena Erke, RuneElvik, Language: English.

Report: Competitive tendering in local bus ser-vices. Effects on rural service levels and on admi-nistrative costs. TØI report 927/2007. Language:Norwegian


The mission of VTI is to contribute toimproved transport sector knowledge.

The institute takes part in European researchprojects, takes international consultancycommissions, is engaged in organisationalnetworks, and participates in scientificcommittees and international standardisa-tion work as well as in bilateral coopera-tion. VTI also organises educational cour-ses, seminars and conferences in the fieldof transport.

VTI's participation in EU projectsWork by the EU to stimulate research anddevelopment is mainly carried out throughFramework Programmes which lay downthe guidelines for research financed by theCommission. Framework Programmesextend over several years, and they deter-mine what scientific goals are to be achie-ved and which research areas will be accor-ded priority.

VTI has successfully participated in rese-arch projects in previous FrameworkProgrammes, and intends to increase itsengagement in EU projects. In the Sixth

VTI has a well developed and active partnership in global net-works. The national and international networks and alliances area guarantee that the knowledge VTI produces has a broad, deepand interdisciplinary basis. VTI and Sweden are global leaders inseveral fields, such as simulator technology and road safety.

VTI’s International Cooperation

Framework Programme, VTI is participa-ting in over 20 research projects.

Three of the projects in the SixthFramework programme are coordinated byVTI. The first is Heavy Route, the aim ofwhich is to develop an advanced guidancesystem for heavy goods vehicles as a meansof selecting the safest and most cost effecti-ve routes in Europe. The system will takeaccount of the needs of road users, vehiclecosts and the costs of road managementauthorities. The second project coordina-ted by VTI, CATRIN, will generate newknowledge regarding the allocation ofinfrastructure costs to all modes. The thirdprogramme is INTRO, Intelligent Roads,the aim of which is to enhance road safetyand capacity on existing and future roadnetworks through integrating cost effectiveITS technology and new sensor technology.

In 2007, VTI was a partner in almostthirty applications for various research pro-jects in the EU. Seven of the applicationshave so far been accepted for funding bythe EU, for two of which VTI has the roleof coordinator.

The applications within the seventhframework programme primarily focusedon the research themes "Transport" and"Information and Communication Tech-

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Magdalena Green,VTI, Sweden

Jonas Bjelfvenstam, Director General of VTI.

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nology", and also on research programmesconcerned with environment, energy,materials technology, and safety/security inthe transport system. The applicationsencompass most of the areas of expertise ofVTI, such as transport planning and trans-port economics, road and rail engineering,and road safety and environment. Severalof the projects focus on IT based supportsystems for increased road safety, in whichrespect the VTI driving simulator is animportant resource.

Two projects in the Seventh FrameworkProgramme started in the autumn of 2007.The first is FESTA, Field Operational TestSupport Action, in which a methodology isto be developed for the study of normaldriving, or, alternatively for the study of thelong term effects of various in-vehicle ITsystems. The second is eVALUE, Testingand Evaluation Methods for IntegratedSafety Systems, which concerns the evalua-tion and development of systems for activesafety in vehicles.

A major project within the framework ofthe European research network ERA-NEThas also commenced. This is the projectKeep Moving – Improving the mobility ofthe elderly. VTI is the coordinator for thisconsortium that conducts research on tra-velling and mobility in conjunction withvarious transitional periods in the later pha-ses of life. Participants in this project comefrom Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria.

For the other approved projects, con-tract negotiations are in progress. Theseprojects concern, inter alia, methods forrecycling materials for road construction,and the development of IT based driversupport systems in vehicles.

Commissions and cooperation concer-ning road safetyVTI undertakes international consultancycommissions, mainly in the field of roadsafety. For example, in Abu Dhabi VTI hasinvestigated road safety and speeding, andin Romania VTI has examined bypasses forcities and villages. VTI has worked on thedesign of a national system for drivinglicences in Ghana, and has worked inMorocco, Lebanon and Jordan with theoverall objective to assist the authorities informulating and implementing projects fortechnical cooperation in road safety.

In the autumn of 2007, VTI participatedin a "stakeholder participation" project inNamibia. This was the first time thatSwedish stakeholders consisting of authori-ties and private organisations visitedNamibia with the aim of elucidating theinterest in starting cooperation in the fieldof road safety.

VTI has taken part in several internatio-nal conferences and seminars in order tocommunicate knowledge of Swedish roadsafety development and, in particular, theVision Zero. During the UN Road SafetyWeek in the spring of 2007, a VTI employeeparticipated as keynote speaker in Singaporeand Brunei.

Sharing of research experience withJapanSweden and Japan have shared road trans-port research experience for many years.This collaboration began in 2000 at officiallevel, with the Swedish Road Admini-stration and VTI as Swedish partners. Sincethen, five seminars have been arranged,two in Japan and three in Sweden. Themost recent seminar was held in Sweden inSeptember 2007, with management, brid-ges, ITS, road safety and winter road mana-gement as the subjects. At this occasionJapanese researchers also visited VTI inLinköping in order to receive informationconcerning work on road safety, ITS andwinter traffic.

Global conferences on road safetyIn November 2007, VTI arranged the inter-national conference "Road Safety on FourContinents" in Bangkok, Thailand. Thiswas the fourteenth successive internationalroad safety conference that VTI has arran-ged since 1987. The conference program-me, with papers and presentations by rese-archers and other road safety experts, att-racted about 250 delegates from about 50

Examples of VTI partnership in international networks:

ECTRI – European Conference of Transport Research InstitutesETSC – European Transport Safety CouncilFEHRL – Forum of European National Highway Research LaboratoriesFERSI – Forum of European Road Safety Research InstitutesGRSP – Global Road Safety Partnership

VTI also participates in the JTRC (the Joint OECD-ECMT Transport Research Centre).

countries. The principal theme of the con-ference was the sharing of new findingsconcerning road safety, transfer of knowled-ge on road safety, the sharing of good expe-riences of road safety measures, and roadsafety as a work environment problem.

"Road Safety on Four Continents" is uni-que since its focus is on the sharing ofexperiences between countries with a highstandard of road safety and countrieswhere work on increased road safety hasonly just begun, especially the developingcountries in Africa and Asia.

International study visits and coursesVTI often receives international guests forstudy visits or as participants in courses andconferences.

During 2007, VTI was visited by theTaiwanese Minister for Communicationsand Transport who wishes to share experi-ences and improve relations between thecountries, by a delegation from ResearchInstitute of Highways in China with the aimto study the VTI driving simulators and theexperimental set-ups for studies in these, bya delegation from Japan in order to studythe Swedish programme for calculating theeffects of road improvement measures, andeconomic estimates regarding road safety,and by visitors from the Ministry of theInterior in Bahrain who attended a six-daycourse on Swedish road safety. During theyear, VTI, in partnership with the SwedishRoad Administration, also arranged aninternational workshop on "Monitoring ofRoad Surface Conditon". Delegates fromnine countries took part in discussions onissues such as the need for data, the choiceof indicators and evaluation models, met-hods of measurement and quality assurancefor road surface measurements.

Contact: Kent Gustafson, [email protected]


VTT has participated in a number ofprojects related to intelligent trans-

port systems or ITS. In the eIMPACT andPreVAL projects, we assessed the behaviou-ral and safety impacts of intelligent vehiclesafety systems. VTT also identified topics offuture research in winter services withinCOST353, explored human technologyinteraction issues in HUMANIST — especi-ally for children and the elderly as pedestri-ans and cyclists — and developed ambientintelligence services for elderly anddisabled travellers in ASK-IT. Sensor deve-lopment has also been an important activi-ty; the APOLLO and FRICTION projectsfocused on the development of an intelli-gent tyre, and determination of on-linefriction for vehicle control systems.Another sensor development deals withdriver monitoring such as the SENSATIONproject, in which VTT developed a seat sen-sor to monitor driver activity. In the AIDEproject, together with Volvo Technology,VTT developed a cockpit-monitoring

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland aims at developing newtechnologies and creating new innovations and value, thusincreasing the competitiveness of its customers. We are beco-ming increasingly global by exploiting international cooperationnetworks, participating in and coordinating international projects,and serving international private and public sector customers.During the past few years VTT has opened new offices in USA,China and Korea, increasing its presence in markets servingboth Finnish and international enterprises right on the spot. Theinitial results of this strategy are already apparent.

model to measure driver-scanning activitywhile driving. The focus of the PEPPER,FAIR and ASSET is new enforcement tech-nologies and traffic control. Cooperativedriving is being studied in the SAFESPOT,ASSET and INTERSAFE II projects whereour role has been to focus on infrastructu-re sensors. VTT has also been actively invol-ved in PReVENT, and is now starting theTeleFOT project on the impacts of noma-dic and aftermarket devices.

In the field of road safety VTT has coor-dinated the ESCAPE and PEPPER projectsconcerning enforcement, and participatedthe SUPREME project dealing with bestpractice road safety measures. We are alsotaking part in the 2-BE-SAFE consortiumaiming at developing 2-wheeler BEhaviourand SAFEty. Regarding rail transport, VTThas participated in the EURNEX networkof excellence and the SELCAT projectaiming to improve safety at road-railwaylevel crossings.

In the EU intermodal projects EUTP,ITIP and PROMIT, VTT has analysed bestpractices, benchmarks and strategies ofintermodal choices. VTT Logistics hasgood experience with IT architectures, e-

VTT's International Cooperation


documents and RFID technologies. Thenewest areas of logistics research are exten-sions to short sea shipping and ICT solu-tions for transport to Russia. Changes inEuropean rail legislation, progress ofimplementation, barriers, impacts, expec-tations, acceptance etc. have been studiedin the REORIENT project.

Since the 1980s, the VTT transport sys-tem analysis team has actively taken partin EU research programs for sustainabledevelopment. This covers both urban andrural areas and passenger and freight trans-port, and ranges from network performan-ce assessment through policy analysis andevaluation to environmental, emission andequity impact assessment. Development ofevaluation, validation and assessment met-hodologies and indicators for policy assess-ment has been the main objective of theSAMI, MAESTRO, CANTIQUE, INTER-NAT, COMMUTE and TRANSFORUMprojects, and is also the subject of the newFP7 project METRONOME coordinated byVTT. The CODE-TEN and EVAMONTEN-T projects have been for TEN assessmentand development. The OPTIMA, FATIMA,PROSPECTS and SPECTRUM projects,

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based on common EU transport policyobjectives, have used modelling techniquesand practical experience to give recom-mendations for optimal policies and policypackaging, as well as guidelines for deci-sion-making. VTT has also participated inCOST Action 355 relating to sustainablemobility, especially in working groups forharmonising national transport surveysand the surveying and modelling of carownership and use.

Regarding energy use in the transportsector and promotion of alternative fuels,VTT has participated in various EU projectssuch as UTOPIA, FURORE, CLEANERDRIVE and PREMIA. The role of hydrogenas an energy carrier in road vehicles has alsobeen a topic of the HySOCIETY andHyWAYS projects, and we are currently invol-ved in the co-Nordic Scandinavian Hydro-gen Highway Project (SHHP) in trying toengage Finnish partners in this initiative.

Cooperation with the USAVTT has conducted several joint researchprojects with the University of MichiganTransportation Research Institute(UMTRI). The most recent studies havefocused on major opportunities for roadsafety in the US, characteristics and availabi-lity of road-crash databases worldwide, andsafety effects of stop lamps. Cooperationwith the Great Lakes Maritime ResearchInstitute is under development.

Other international activitiesVTT has actively cooperated with CEDR(Conference of European Directors ofRoads) and national road authorities in thedevelopment and deployment of ITS. Wehave chaired the development of the roadmap for intelligent vehicle and infrastruc-ture systems in CEDR, led the Europeanmonitoring expert group, and participatedactively in the European evaluation expertgroup producing tools and guidance forITS evaluation activities. VTT has been clo-sely involved in the VIKING and EASYWAYactions, developing and deploying harmo-nised traffic management on Europeanroads.

VTT and Helsinki are the Finnish part-ners in the COST Action 358 PedestrianQuality Needs. The main objective is toprovide knowledge of pedestrians’ qualityneeds and how those needs relate to struc-tural and functional interventions, policymaking and regulation to support walkingconditions across the EU and other invol-ved countries.

Apart from VTI, VTT cooperates withmany Swedish universities, e.g. LundUniversity, Umeå University and Luleå uni-versity of Technology (LTU). Dr LarsLeden has a guest professorship at LTUwith focus on traffic safety for children andthe elderly.

The development and take-up of intelli-gent vehicle safety systems has been foste-

red by the eSafety Forum in cooperationbetween the European Commission,industry, authorities and other stakehol-ders. VTT has supported the work by co-chairing the Implementation Road MapsWorking Group, building up the eSafetyeffects database, and contributing to otherworking groups, especially the Researchand Technology Development WorkingGroup.

VTT has led a vast research project,EVASERVE, that has developed an evalua-tion tool spanning the entire lifespan andservice network of information servicesespecially for transport and logistics. Novelknow-how on viable business models andpre-evaluation of business cases will helpservice providers, equipment suppliers andevaluation experts in both the domesticand international markets.

Examples of VTT partnership in international net-works:ECTRI – European Conference of TransportResearch InstitutesFERSI – Forum of European Road Safety ResearchInstitutesEARPA – European Automotive Research PartnersAssociationERTICO - ITS EuropeIBEC - International Benefits, Evaluation and Costs

Contact: Heikki Kanner, [email protected]

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The Danish Road Directorate’sParticipation in InternationalResearch and Development

Cooperation and exchange of know-how across borders is essentialfor innovation and in the final instance for implementation of newmaterials and methods in the Danish road sector. This article pre-sents some of the international networks in which the Danish RoadInstitute is active in the field of research and development.

The Danish Road Directorate (DRD) hasan obligation towards the road sector.

The sector responsibilities of the DRD havethe purpose of creating a qualified know-ledge base which the road administrationscan use to achieve a more effective roadadministration. International relations areestablished through the Nordic RoadFederation, the Conference of EuropeanDirectors of Roads (CEDR) and the Forumof European National Highway ResearchLaboratories (FEHRL).

It it is necessary that new methods, sys-tems and work processes are developed allthe time so that the planning, constructionand running of the road network becomecheaper. Such a process can only succeedby obtaining new knowledge, which isbased on international research and deve-lopment cooperation. An important star-ting point for this cooperation is nationalprojects.

The research, development and demon-stration strategy of the DRD focuses on anumber of areas which in the coming years

should contribute to the creation of aneffective, sustainable and safe road trans-port system:• traffic flow quality• road safety• noise• environmental protection – recycling andclean technologies• specific service needs of people and busi-ness• road construction techniques and tech-nological improvements• contracting strategies; public-private coo-peration.

In the following, some examples ofinternational research and developmentcooperations are considered which live upto the research strategy and are of benefitfor the Danish road sector.

NordFoUThe Nordic road directorates in Finland,Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmarkestablished in 2004 a joint research coope-ration in the road and traffic area –NordFoU. The purpose of the initiative isto strengthen the existing cooperationacross borders by common agreement andfinancing of the research requirements. Bydoing this, advantages of large scale opera-

tions are obtained and Nordic researchgets better possibilities to specialise anddevelop.

The NordFoU cooperation requires thatprojects, where at least two countries agreeon a problem, go together financially tosolve the problem. The projects are solvedby common financing from those countrieswhich participate and the projects are car-ried out with the expert know-how which isconsidered necessary to achieve the bestresults. The cooperation therefore makesthe means of obtaining new knowledgemore effective by using existing knowledgein the individual countries.

The following completed or on-goingprojects can be mentioned with Danishparticipation:

Nord2000 – the Nordic noise calculationmodel: The development of the last part ofthe new Nordic noise calculation modelNord2000Road has been carried out underDanish leadership and with participationfrom Norway, Sweden, Finland andIceland.

Deterioration models for flexible pavements:The project should contribute so thatexisting models in Pavement ManagementSystems can be improved and extended bymeans of a better description of the deve-

Hans Jørgen Ertman Larsen and Flemming Berg


NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 13

lopment of the condition of road pave-ments as a function of time, traffic and cli-mate. This means that road administra-tions get an improved planning tool whichmust be expected to lead to savings for theroad administrations and the road users.Norway is in charge of this project and hasthe responsibility of carrying out this pro-ject. Norway and Denmark, Sweden andIceland take part in this project.

CEDRThe road directors in West European coun-tries recognise the importance of exten-ding cooperation in the road and transportarea in order to be able to carry out theirroad sector responsibilities. Thus an agree-ment was reached in 2003 to cooperate onthe exchange of experience and know-howwithin all traffic related subjects, especiallyinfrastructure management, traffic andtransport, financing, legal questions, safety,environment and above all research in allof these areas. Initially eighteen countriesparticipated, now a further six countrieshave joined CEDR.

CEDR has developed a strategic plan forcooperation for the period 2005–2009. Inthis connection twenty five research anddevelopment themes have been identifiedand prioritised and work is being carriedout in these fields. Under Danish leader-ship, one group has the responsibility toprepare a handbook with advice on how toinclude a reduction of road traffic noise inroad maintenance and also give a survey ofthe methods of road noise reductions.

FEHRL FEHRL has existed for 15 years and has 30European member institutes. The DanishRoad Directorate, Danish Road Institutehas participated in FEHRL work from the

very beginning. The 5-year plan of FEHRLfor 2003-2008 includes activities, which canbe classified in the following four classes:• Environment, energy and resources• Safety• Mobility, transport and infrastructure• Design and construction

One of the purposes of FEHRL work isto coordinate research and developmentwithin the participating national road labo-ratories. Each country has a ResearchCoordinator, who represents the country’sinterests in the FEHRL ResearchCoordinator Group. The Danish RoadInstitute has the chairmanship of thisgroup. One of the group’s responsibilitiesis to coordinate applications for the EUFramework Programmes. For one of theframework programmes “SustainableSurface Transport” FEHRL made a total oftwelve applications for FP7, 1st call, and theDanish Road Institute participated in sevenof these applications.

ERA-NET ROADERA-NET ROAD (ENR) is a three-year pro-gramme running from June 2005–May2008 that focuses on better cooperation ofroad research and transnational coordina-tion. It is funded by the EuropeanCommission within the Sixth FrameworkProgramme (2002–2006). The primaryobjective is that by May 2008, ENR will haveachieved transnational programmes whichare strategically planned, transnationallyfunded and will have led to the mutualopening of national research programmes.

The main objectives are:- to encourage exchange of information

and best practice- to identify and analyse potential compli-

mentary research themes- to implement common activities by

identifying possibilities of coordinatingalready planned or on-going researchprojects

- to develop strategies and programmesfor transnational research projects with

common financing and tendering- to develop multinational possibilities to

ensure that rules and administrativeprocedures among the partners doesnot prevent transnational cooperation

- to communicate results to project lea-ders, research strategists and users inEurope.There are eleven national road authori-

ties as partners and the research has beendeveloped through two branches: collabo-ration on existing programmes (ProjectOpportunities) and the implementation ofnew research activities (Strategic ResearchOpportunities).

ENR held a series of workshops in 2007to discuss and define themes for such acti-vities. Five Project Opportunities and sevenStrategic Research Opportunities werefound to manage in this important phaseof this project. There was significant enthu-siasm from participants to address theirmutual research needs in a collaborativeway. This is encouraging, and the ENRteam will endeavour to further these colla-borations.

As a first outcome from ENR, a joint callfor proposals concerning “Road OwnersGetting to Grips with Climate Change” isabout to be developed and a call for propo-sals has been launched.

Further research effortsOver and above the mentioned examples,the Danish Road Directorate also participa-tes in other working organisations such asEuropean Road Transport Research AdvisoryCouncil (ERTRAC), Transport ResearchArena (TRA), World Road Association(PIARC), Organisation for Economic Co-operations and Development (OECD) andTransportation Research Board (TRB).

Information concerning ongoing research can befound at http://www.vd.dk – English – RoadResearch – Projects.

Links:NordFou: http://www.vejdirektoratet.dk/nor-disk/om_nordfou.aspCEDR: http://www.cedr.frFEHRL: http://www.fehrl.orgERA-NET ROAD: http://www.road-era.net/


The Institute of Transport Economics is anon-profit research foundation with a

mission to develop and disseminate trans-portation knowledge with scientific qualityand practical application.

The institute has a multidisciplinary, 70-strong research staff consisting of econo-mists, engineers, sociologists, geographers,psychologists, and political scientists.

TØI specialises in the societal aspects oftransport. The sphere of activity includesmost of the current issues in road, rail, seaand air transport, as well as urban mobility,environmental sustainability, and road safety.

The majority of TØI studies are commis-sioned. Important clients are theNorwegian Ministry of Transport andCommunications, the Norwegian PublicRoads Administration, the ResearchCouncil of Norway, and the EuropeanCommission. Having participated in a largenumber of projects under the FrameworkProgrammes of the European Union, TØIemphasises the importance of internationalresearch cooperation in the transport area.

Institute of Transport Economics (TØI):

Applied Research on a National andInternational Level

Road safety, international logistics, freight transport,and accessibility of public transport are some researchtopics in which the Institute of Transport Economics(TØI) is involved.

The Handbook of Road Safety MeasuresThe Institute has a particularly strong tradi-tion within road safety analysis. Researchersat TØI have authored The Handbook ofRoad Safety Measures, a comprehensive,meta-analytical survey of the international,scientific road safety literature, now avai-lable in English, Spanish, Russian, Finnish,and Norwegian. In the Handbook morethan 1,700 road safety evaluation studiesmade all over the world are summarised.The effects of approximately 130 road safe-ty measures have been evaluated and quan-tified, measures ranging from highway engi-neering and traffic control, through vehicledesign, driver training, public informationcampaigns and police enforcement. TheEnglish edition is published by Elsevier.

CIENSHaving relocated recently to its new premi-ses near the main campus of the Universityof Oslo, TØI is now one of the leadingpartners of the Oslo Centre for Inter-disciplinary Environmental and SocialResearch (CIENS), a strategic researchcollaboration between independent researchinstitutes and the University of Oslo. Witha total staff of around 500, integrating thenatural and social sciences, technology,and economics, the centre will build capa-

city to face the complex challenges arisingin the interface between environment andsociety.

ECTRIThe Institute is also among the foundingmembers of the European Conference ofTransport Research Institutes (ECTRI)which was established in 2002. ECTRI aimsto promote research contributing to anefficient, safe, secure, and sustainableintermodal transport system in Europe.

EU projectsIn recent years the Institute has been enga-ged in more than 60 research projectsunder the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and SeventhFramework Programmes of the EuropeanUnion. The projects cover a wide thematicfield, including road safety measures, met-hodology of cost-benefit analysis, publictransport, walking and cycling, statisticsand data collection for travelling andfreight, optimal transport policy in urbanareas, the potential for reducing tyre noise,transport pricing, and methodologies forpolicy and project evaluation. In addition,several projects in the area of internationallogistics have contributed to making railfreight transport more competitive.


Harald Aas, TØI, Norway

NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 15

Development aidThe Institute also has a long tradition inactivities aimed at international develop-ment cooperation. There is a particularfocus on Africa, but projects have also beencarried out in Asia and Eastern Europe.The activities have recently included eva-luations of various road sector programmesin Tanzania and Zambia, road safety inBenin, classification of the road network inMozambique, and an overall evaluation ofthe transport sector support provided bythe Nordic Development Fund. Most activi-ties have concerned the road sector, focu-sing on institutional reform, evaluations,and road safety.

International representationThe Institute is represented in severalinternational transport organisations andexpert committees, including:• European Conference of Transport

Research Institutes (ECTRI) • Forum of European Road Safety Research

Institutes (FERSI)• OECD/ITF Joint Transport Research

Committee (JTRC)• Transportation Research Board (TRB):

Transportation Economic Committee,Transportation and DevelopmentCommittee, Committee of Safety DataAnalysis and Evaluation

• Association for European Transport

(AET): Programme Committee forLocal Public Transport

• European Transport Safety Council(ETSC)

• European Co-operation in the Field ofScientific and Technical Research(COST): Technical Committee onTransport

• Network on European Communicationsand Transport Activity Research (NEC-TAR)

• International Association and ScientificExperts in Tourism (AIEST).

PHOTO: PHOTOS.COM



EU-projects in which TØI are involved(2008): Road safety:

IN-SAFETY (Infrastructure and Safety)Road safety engineering measures may

reduce casualties by 6.5percent. IN-SAFE-TY project aims to use intelligent, intuitiveand cost-efficient combinations of newtechnologies and traditional infrastructurebest practice applications, in order toenhance the forgiving and self-explanatorynature of roads.

RIPCORD (Road Infrastructure SafetyProtection – Core-Research and Develop-ment for Road Safety in Europe)

The objective is to develop and managea safe road infrastructure in a cost effectiveway. Tools will be established to assess thecost efficiency of different safety measures.The determination of what makes a roadself-explaining will be elaborated, roadaccident black spots will be focused andsafety of road networks will be analysed.

Safety Net The objective of the project is to build

the framework of a European Road SafetyObservatory, which will be the primaryfocus for road safety data and knowledge.The project will make new proposals forcommon European approaches in severalareas including exposure data and SafetyPerformance Indicators.

CAST (Campaigns and Awareness-rai-sing Strategies in Traffic Safety)

CAST is set up to meet the EuropeanCommission’s needs for enhancing trafficsafety by means of effective road safetycampaigns. The project aims at developingand assessing an evaluation tool for roadsafety campaigns. These handbooks willenable the EC to design and to implementfuture campaigns and to evaluate theireffect.

PEPPER (Police Enforcement Policy

and Programmes on European Roads)The PEPPER project aims to enhance

the effectiveness and efficiency of the poli-ce enforcement of road traffic. This bydescribing and analysing the way traffic lawenforcement functions and how it contri-butes to national road safety work.

HUMANIST is a Network of Excellence.Its goal is to create a European VirtualCentre of Excellence on Human CentredDesign for Information Society Tech-nologies Applied to Road Transport ( In-Vehicle Information System and AdvancedDriver Assistance Systems), with joint pro-grammes of activities, gathering research,and integrating and spreading activities.

Freight TransportPROMIT (Promoting Innovative

Intermodal Freight Transport)The main objective is to contribute to a

faster improvement and implementationof intermodal freight transport technolo-gies and procedures, and to help promo-ting innovative intermodal freightTransport and modal shift by creating awa-reness on innovations, best practices andintermodal transport opportunities.

REORIENT focuses on freight trans-port in a Trans-European railway corridorto investigate the status of interoperabilitybetween the countries. The project hasidentified different barriers which preventintermodal railway freight transport to suc-ceed. The knowhow will be used to developmeans to solve the problems.

RETRACK is applying an innovative railfreight service concept to the movement ofrail freight across Europe. This is beingachieved through the design, developmentand implementation of a commercial Trans-European rail freight service along the railcorridor between Rotterdam (the Nether-lands) and Constanza (Romania) on the

Black Sea. The project aims to secure a sig-nificant modal shift of cargo from road torail.

Other programmesENACTThe aim of the project is to assess the

extent to which the introduction of socialmarginal cost pricing obligations may hin-der or not the further development ofPublic-Private Partnerships (PPP) schemesin the transport sector and, to devise waysto incorporate such obligations in PPPschemes while, at the same time, takingadvantage of the positive aspects that suchpartnerships can have.

TOOLQIT (A toolquit for measuringquality of service in transport)

The objective is to develop and validatea framework for the assessment of levelsand quality of service across different trans-port market segments as well as to proposeindicators for quality, measurement toolsand methods to assess the impacts of poli-cy.

EURO ACCESS The objective is to contribute to the

development of EU policy on the accessibi-lity of the transport systems in the 27 mem-ber states, and two EFTA countries, inorder to promote the social integrationand active participation in society of peop-le with disabilities.

CONCERTOUR (Concerted innovativeApproaches, Strategies, Solutions andServices Improving Mobility and EuropeanTourism)

The project seeks to improve tourism-related transport as a means of boostingeconomic growth in Europe. Better con-nections with different transport modes,improved information on sustainabletransport modes and enhanced ticketingsystems are some of the research areas.

NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 17

The main reason for the cooperation bet-ween the two countries is the fact that

Southern Chile, Region 10–12, in manyways is “a Norway in south”. We have thesame sort of topography, climate, vegeta-tion, industry and also partly the sameinsufficient infrastructure. Chile andNorway therefore often share the need forthe same sort of solutions for new roads,tunnels, bridges and ferries as well as main-tenance and traffic safety work.

This official visit in January 2008 hadthree main intentions:1. Conduct four seminars on the infra-

structure on 24 and 25 of January as apart of the official visit of the NorwegianCrown Prince Haakon Magnus.

2. Follow-up existing contracts.3. Discuss new possible projects in Chile

and Norway where support from theother country can be necessary.

SeminarsAltogether four seminars were conducted atthe Grand Hyatt Hotel with participants fromthe highest official level. Totally about 280delegates took part in the two days of semi-

A Norwegian Delegation to Chile – Cooperation in Projects and Seminars

At the end of January 2008 an official delegation led by theNorwegian Crown Prince Haakon Magnus visited Chile. TheCrown Prince was accompanied by a large delegation of morethan 100 managers and professionals from the energy, fish, tra-ding and transportation sector in Norway. From Norwegian PublicRoads Administration (NPRA) seven participants took part in thevisit to continue the work drafted in the updated agreement inthe area of transportation for the 2006–2010 period.

nars. During the two days the participantswere given information about existing pro-jects in which the two countries alreadycooperate. In addition, ideas about imple-mentation of some new projects of interestfor the cooperation were discussed, of whichnational tourist routes and traffic safety werethe two most interesting subject areas.

Following up existing projectsSince 2000 Chile and Norway have had acooperation both for the private andpublic sectors. Within the transportationsector the activity has been centered on thefollowing three major projects: • New ferry terminals for Chacao Channel.• Planning of the Austral Route Project –

“the missing link” for a road betweenRegion 10 and 11, east and south/eastof Puerto Montt.

• The Otta Seal Project – a Norwegianpavement material for local districtroads. Introduced to Chile by NPRA andnow used in six regions in Chile. Through information and discussions a

review of status and a further follow-up onthese projects were conducted.

Possible new projectsOn January 29, a meeting was held to makeefforts to map possible new areas of coope-

ration. In the process many exciting sug-gestions for cooperation projects weregiven, including the following: • Bridge to Achao• Bridge in Valdivia• Bridge in the Austral Route Project• The BRUTUS Program – a computing

program for bridge maintenance• Ferry connection over a fjord in Vadivia

city• Ferry connection from Chiloé to Isla

Lemuy (near Chonchi)• Chilean-Norwegian partnership for ope-

rating a ferry connection over theChacao channel

• New tunnel trough the Andes• Sub sea tunnels in Chile• Rebuilding tunnels.

The result of the process shows the mul-titude of challenges in the future and thepotential for the Chilean–Norwegiancooperation in the area of transportation.

Altogether the visit to Chile must beconsidered as successful with a view todevelop and strengthen the cooperationbetween the two countries through exci-ting and comprehensive common projectsin the future.

Thorbjørn Chr. Risan,NPRA, Norway

Ferry connection near Conchi, east of Chiloé.

The trace for the bridge to Achao east of Chiloé.

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The vision of NPRA is to be “on the roadfor a better society”. In striving towards

this vision we find ourselves increasinglyconnected internationally. The content,extent and duration of our internationalengagements vary from short term researchprojects to ongoing work of political natu-re. We deal with subjects ranging fromstate-of-the-art ITS to “maintenance on ashoestring” in the developing world, fromtraffic safety in the Nordic countries to theuse of Kalahari sand in low-trafficked roadseals. The overlying objective for all ourinternational work is the same: to enhanceNPRA’s capacity to carry out the tasks withwhich we are entrusted.

Nordic CooperationApproximately 40 per cent of NPRA’s inter-national work occurs within a Nordic frame-work, mainly within the Nordic Road

NPRA, Norwegian Public Roads Administration, is represented inover 200 working groups and committees in a wide range ofinternational organisations, and has assisted developing countriesfor more then 30 years.

Association (NVF). NVF is a coalition ofnational road administrations, private sec-tor companies and research institutions,with the objective of furthering road trans-port efficiency.

EuropeCooperative agreements have been signedwith the Baltic countries of Estonia,Lithuania and Latvia as well as with Poland.EU/EEA related cooperation is conductedthrough several organizations, includingthe Western European Road Directors(CEDR) and the European Committee forStandardization (CEN). On an internatio-nal level NPRA channels most of its effortsthrough PIARC (World Road Association).Additionally, NPRA participates in a largenumber of organizations dedicated topurely technical aspects of roads and traffic.

Africa – 30 Years of CooperationNPRA has been cooperating with develo-ping countries since Botswana became aNorwegian partner country in the early

1970s. Since then, the paved road networkof Botswana has increased from 160 km(1971) to 6 400 km (2007), and the use ofthe cost effective Norwegian Otta sealshave provided savings equivalent to thecost of constructing the entire 600 kmTrans-Kalahari Highway. Botswana hasgone from being one of the ten poorestcountries in the world to being middleincome country, and today finances coope-ration with NPRA largely with its ownmeans.

In Zambia, NPRA cooperates with theRoads Development Agency on legal, admi-nistrative and technological aspects of axle-load control. The aim of the project is toincrease traffic safety by reducing overload.In Tanzania, NPRA cooperates on a widerrange of issues, focusing on organisationaldevelopment.

ChileA completely different form for coopera-tion is found in NPRA’s bilateral coopera-tion agreement with Chile. Similar in both

International Activity of the NPRA

Carl Chr. Gabrielsen


NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 19

demography and topography, Norway andChile face many of the same challengesand have a mutual interest in developingcooperative solutions. Our activities in2008 include: use of the Otta seal, develo-ping ferry terminals for the ChacaoChannel, preliminary studies for bridgesand tunnels, and installing NPRA develo-ped Brutus software for bridge maintenan-ce. Furthermore both countries have com-mitted to information exchange by sen-ding and receiving delegations, with aseries of seminars set up for 2008. This is arecent example of our international enga-gement.

Cost EfficiencyThe extent of international activity in

NPRA is in part due to funding by partnercountries and institutions such as theWorld Bank and Norwegian Agency forDevelopment Cooperation (Norad). At thesame time, we keep costs down by cuttingtravel time, using video-conferencing andelectronic communication channels when-ever possible. When taking into regardonly time spent on travel and work abroad,the workload invested by NPRA staff corres-ponds to only that of eight full-time posi-tions. Taking into consideration the extentof our international activity, we believe thisis quite cost–efficient.

Challenges In a globalized and competitive world,NPRA is dependant upon international

engagement for three highly interlockingreasons. The first is to attract, develop andretain key personnel, who are much indemand by the private sector. The secondis to function as a facilitator for Norwegianconsulting companies, and the third is tobe updated on contemporary develop-ments within a set of disciplines rangingfrom environmental protection to intelli-gent traffic systems and heavy infrastructu-re construction. One of our largest challen-ges ahead lies in distributing the output ofour international activity, which only seemsto increase. International activity and infor-mation management have indeed becomeintegral parts of roads administration.

Kjell Solberg from NPRA together with Afghan colleagues. NPRA has an agreement on cooperation with Afghanistan and has contributed towinter maintenance training of the Salang tunnel, which is a part of the main road into Kabul.

PHOTO: NPRA


Tromsø 2018 – Compact Winter Games:What about the Roads?

The city of Tromsø is a potential applicant to host the WinterOlympic Games in 2018. During this year, the NorwegianGovernment will decide whether or not to guarantee for the requi-red 1,9–2,5 billion EUR. The International Olympic Committee willtake the final decision in 2011. Larger cities as Pyeongchang inSouth Korea and München in Germany are also applicant cities.

The main competitive strategies ofTromsø are: Emphasis on the arctic

dimension, the spectacular dimension –snow-white alpine mountain ranges anddeep blue fjords – and, not at least, themost compact games ever held the last 30years.

All the arenas are located less than 45kilometres from downtown Tromsø, severalof these are in fact located on the TromsøIsland, an island 10 kilometres long at themost. For the first time since the SquawValley games in 1960 there will be only oneparticipants’ village. As a major element,several of the arenas will be in walking dis-tance from downtown. Another importantelement is housing of visitors on shipsalong the docks by the Tromsø sound.

Will such compact games create a needfor new road investments? The municipality of Tromsø has 65 000inhabitants, most of them living in a rather

small area on the Tromsø Island andaround the Tromsø sound and Sandnessound. The airport is located on the island,a 10 minute drive from the city centre. Themain road is E8 and it is connected to E6 at70 kilometres to the south. The municipa-lity is one of the few in Northern Norwaythat have experienced growth continuallythe past 40 years. It is the largest city inNorthern Norway.

During the 1990s the main roads on theisland where constructed. The most impor-tant is the 4-lane sub sea tunnel connectingthe island to the mainland. The capacity ofthis road network is beginning to reach itsmaximum in peak hours.

A resent strategic plan for the road sys-tem in Tromsø – Tromsø TransportationPlan – suggests new projects for approx-imately 126 to 380 million EUR. The E8 onthe mainland and the main road on theisland connecting the airport to the E8, arethe most important projects. In addition, anew E8 through Ramfjorden south of thecity is considered necessary. This projectalone will need 89 million EUR in funding.

During the proposed Tromsø Games in

2018, ordinary civil road traffic will be pro-hibited most of the day. Even though, therewill be need for increased capacity in themain road network to take care of the traf-fic during the Games. The most importantprojects are: - new 4-lane road, E8/Fv 53 Hungeren–

Kroken, mainland, 99 million EUR- new 2-lane road, Fv 53 Kroken–Movika,

mainland, 32 million EUR- new 2-lane road, E8 Ramfjorden, 89 mil-

lion EUR.

The need of new infrastructure existseven without the GamesAll together the Norwegian Public RoadsAdministration is estimating a 316,5 mil-lion EUR budget for new roads to be builtbefore the Olympic Winter Games inTromsø. Neither of these projects has beenlisted in the newly proposed NationalTransportation Plan 2010–2019.

The next 12–18 months, the NorwegianGovernment will scrutinize the strategies ofTromsø Transportation Plan to decide theextent of further planning. This is regard-less of the Tromsø Games’ need for trans-

Nils Arne Johnsen

portation. During the same period, the cityof Tromsø will establish an official plan forthe potential Tromsø Games. This plan willspecify where the arenas and the partici-pants’ village are to be located and whatkind of transportation system that has to beestablished. It will also map out where toconstruct bus roads, bus terminals, pede-strian zones, extension of the airport termi-nal and parking areas on the outskirts ofthe city.

The need for construction of roadsaccording to the proposed Tromsø Gamesis very much identical to the need for newroads in Tromsø without the Games.Therefore, there is not much criticism con-nected to these elements of the effect ofthe Olympic Games on the Tromsø com-munity.

More information at: www.tromso2018.no (not yettranslated into English)


Use of ITS on the Motorring 3 in Copenhagen

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are becoming still more popu-lar with The Danish Road Directorate (DRD) when it comes totraffic management during major motorway construction works.In this article, the impacts of the various ITS applications on theM3 motorring are presented. Applications were implemented dueto the widening of the motorring from four to six lanes.

The overall M3 traffic management sys-tem consists of the following key appli-

cations: – Traffic detector system– Variable speed limits via variable messa-

ge signs (VMS)– Lane management– Real time traffic information provided

by VMS– Video surveillance– Web applications– Voice-response telephone services.

The applications are to help the DRD tofulfil the motorway construction successcriteria which include: preventing increa-ses in the numbers of incidents, keeping asmuch traffic on the M3 as possible, kee-ping the traffic flowing smoothly, keepingthe motorists informed of queues, acci-

dents, travel times etc. as well as keepingthe motorists as happy as can be while theconstruction is taking place.

Following the implementation of theITS applications a number of assessmentactivities have been carried out.

Assessment resultsThe overall assessment results are descri-bed in the following:

Reallocation of trafficPrior to the construction works, major

reallocation of traffic from the M3 to thesurrounding road network was expected.Traffic reductions on the M3 were expec-ted to be 25–30 per cent. Although the traf-fic load on the M3 has decreased, and thetraffic loads on the surrounding road net-work have increased, the reallocation oftraffic has been less than expected.

Traffic safetyThe construction works do not seem to

have led to an increase in the number oftraffic accidents taking place on the M3.Although the comparison only includesdata from one year before and one year

after the beginning of the constructionworks, it is generally found to be satisfacto-ry that the number of accidents has notgone significantly up. Overall it is estima-ted that status quo is maintained.

Driving speedsInvestigations regarding travelling speeds

have shown that the variable message signshave led to a slight decrease in travellingspeeds, the magnitude of which dependson what is shown on the variable messagesigns (both speed limits and others) andthe traffic conditions at hand.

Traffic flowsPrior to implementation, the traffic

management system was expected to leadto increases in traffic flows. Such increaseshave not been identified.

Gaps between vehiclesThe traffic management system in gene-

ral causes the drivers to drive more closelyto each other at speeds between 80 km inan hour and 100 km in an hour. Outside ofthis speed interval the time gaps have gene-rally increased.

Jens Toft Wendelboe, COWI

Charlotte Vithen, Danish Road Institute

NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 23

Travel time and route choiceIt has been analysed whether travel

times displayed at a selected observationpoint have caused motorists to changeroute as a consequence of the travel timesdisplayed. However, the analysis wasinconclusive.

User acceptanceAs part of the assessment activities the

DRD also decided to carry out a user sur-vey with a focus on motorists' perception ofthe various traffic management applica-tions. The survey was carried out as a postcard survey:

(Uncertainties of the obtained resultsare within a few (less than five) percentagepoints.) • Motorists' understanding of VMS: Most

of the respondents understand the VMSas intended. Signs showing variablespeed limits are correctly understood by82 per cent of the respondents. When itcomes to lane closures combined withvariable speed limits, 96 per cent of the

respondents understand the VMS asintended. However, 42 per cent do notunderstand at which point the lane clo-sure takes effect. Information regarding queues is percei-ved as intended by 88 per cent of therespondents. In case queue informationis supplemented by information regar-ding the distance to the rear end of thequeue ahead, 61 per cent understandthe information as intended whereasthe rest of the respondents do not.

• Motorists' attitude towards VMS and sig-nals: The survey has shown that themotorists generally appreciate the VMS.84 per cent of the respondents have agenerally positive attitude towards thevariable speed limits. When it comes toqueue information, 86 per cent of therespondents have a positive attitudetowards the VMS.

• Use of traffic information services: Thesurvey included a question regardingmotorists' use of traffic information ser-

vices besides the VMS (web site and tele-phone service). However, only very fewof the respondents use the services: 9per cent use the website, 2 per cent usethe telephone service and 2 per cent useboth services.

ConclusionsIn conclusion, the ITS applications at M3have helped the DRD to fulfil a number oftheir project success criteria. The numberof traffic accidents has not gone up and thereallocation of traffic to the secondaryroad network has been less than expected.Furthermore, motorists generally under-stand how to use the various applicationsand (by far) most of the respondents arehappy with the traffic management system.

Contact: Charlotte Vithen, Head of Office forTraffic Management and ITS. cv@vd,dk and JensToft Wendelboe, previously Office for TrafficManagement and ITS, now COWI, e-mail address:[email protected]


Tools for Analyzing InfrastructureDecisions

Within the framework of this compre-hensive commission, the issues dealt

with are expansion of regional labour mar-kets, the location choices of households,the lengths of commuting trips, the envi-ronmental problems of traffic, and thegender aspects of infrastructure decisions.The project is headed by Gunnar Isacsson.He says that the project is mainly based ona large sample of the Swedish populationand on all work places in Sweden. The sam-ple is drawn from administrative registersand it includes, inter alia, information onsex, age, income, place of residence andplace of work. It is, furthermore, combinedwith information on travel distances andtravel times. Although the data entailsinformation from various administrativeregisters, it is not possible to identify theindividuals in the database.

Salary and commuting distance are deci-sive factors for job changesIn one part of the project, Gunnar Isacssonis working with Jan-Erik Swärd who is apostgraduate student at VTI. Together,they are investigating how much commu-

The transport system contributes to welfare in Sweden and is arequisite for national and regional growth. At the same time,transport investments cost large sums of money, which suggestthe need for relevant and purposeful analyses before decisionsare made regarding planned infrastructure investments. In theVTI project, Tools for Analyzing Infrastructure Decisions, tools aredeveloped for the analysis and illustration of potential conse-quences of a number of options.

ting time means for the likelihood that aperson changes job. According to theirresults, there is a statistical relationship bet-ween commuting time and the duration ofan employment. Short employments oftencoincide with long commuting distances.If, on the other hand, the commuting dis-tance is short, people tend to stay at thesame work place for a longer time. Highwages, on the other hand, tend to reducethe likelihood of people changing jobs.

From these results it is possible to esti-mate the so-called value of travel timesavings, which is one of the most importantuser benefits in cost-benefit analyses ofinvestments in the transport infrastructure.The interest in the value of travel timesavings is, thus, related to the transportpolicy objective that the measures taken inthe transport system should be economical-ly efficient.

There are also a number of other targetsfor transport policy that can, to someextent, be motivated from the standpointof distributional policies and are thereforenot taken into account in the traditionalcost-benefit analyses; for example, objecti-ves regarding an equitable transport systemand a good environment. Such comple-mentary targets indicate the relevance ofanalyzing likely results of different invest-

ment packages and how they may affectthese other targets.

Maps illustrate the expansion of regionallabour marketsAnother target of Swedish transport policyis to promote favourable regional develop-ment. It is often said that expansion ofregional labour markets is strategicallyimportant as a means to promote regionaldevelopment. Regional expansion meansthat two or more regions combine andbegin to regard themselves as one and thesame region with a common labour mar-ket.

– Expansion of regional labour marketsmay be seen as an expression of the factthat individuals have received more oppor-tunities in terms of where to live and whereto work, says Gunnar Isacsson.

A well functioning transport system is anessential ingredient for the expansion ofregional labour markets. Today, however,there are only blunt instruments availablefor measuring labour market expansion inconjunction with changes in the infrastruc-ture. Gunnar Isacsson works together withJohan Håkansson, who is a human geo-grapher at the university in Dalarna(Högskolan Dalarna), in studying the pos-sibility of using GIS, geographic informa-

Sandra Johansson, Sweden

NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 25

tion system, for illustrating, analyzing andmeasuring regional expansion. GIS is atool for illustrating, inter alia, spatiallyfixed information. Gunnar Isacsson is con-vinced that it is a good tool for illustratinghow planned infrastructure investmentswould affect the expansion of regionallabour markets. Information that is other-wise set out in tables and calculations canbe shown in the form of maps, a mediumthat most people have no difficulty in rela-ting to.

– The pictures we are developingresemble three-dimensional navigationmaps. The peaks represent areas that arereachable by many individuals, saysGunnar Isacsson (see example above).

He shows how a railway line can increa-

se people's commuting area, and another"peak" appears on the map.

On the basis of the information shownin the maps, it is then possible to analysethe potential consequences of variousinfrastructure investments for individuals,households, companies and regions.

Quantitative studiesEmpirical research on transport economicsis almost exclusively based on quantitativedata, i.e. "soft" data such as opinions, sub-jective experiences and people's motivesfor different behaviour are often, but notalways, ignored.

– For an economist, there will be a lot ofnumber crunching. The advantage of thedatabase we are working with is that it

Contact: Gunnar Isacsson,[email protected]

represents a large sample of the popula-tion, says Gunnar Isacsson.

He believes that access to this type ofregister, based on large samples is quiteunique to Sweden and the other Nordiccountries.

– Even if access is naturally restricted –for instance I cannot search for data regar-ding specific persons – it is quite fantasticthat this type of database is available forresearch.

PHOTO: VTI/HEJDLÖSA BILDER


Contact: Inge Vierth, [email protected] more information: VTI publication: The effectsof long and heavy trucks on the transport system,R605A

Long and Heavy Lorries AreProfitable for Sweden

Most freight in Sweden is carried bylong and heavy vehicles. These heavy

vehicles are used for both general cargoand bulk. In Sweden and Finland, lorrytraffic with vehicles up to 25.25 metres longand a total gross weight of max 60 tons isallowed. In the rest of EU the standard is18.75 metres and 40 tons. Statistics showthat about 64 per cent of tonnage andabout 74 per cent of ton km are carried byvehicles that exceed the EU standard.

Government commissionBy commission of the Government, VTIhas investigated what effects the long lor-ries have on the transport system inSweden. The commission was divided intotwo – a socioeconomic assessment ofexisting vehicle regulations in Sweden, andan examination of competition betweenroad and rail transport. According to VTI'sinterpretation, the effects of heavy lorrieswere also to be described. The consequen-

In Sweden and Finland, longer and heavier lorries are allowedthan in the rest of EU. A large proportion of freight transport inSweden is carried out by vehicles which exceed the EU standard.In an investigation for the Government regarding the effect of lor-ries on the transport system, VTI finds that a change to shorterand lighter lorries in Sweden would cause a socioeconomic lossthat would primarily have to be borne by the business sector.

ces with regard to transport costs, roadwear, air and noise emissions, road safetyand congestion were analysed. The investi-gation is as far as possible based on officialstatistics, and different models have beenused to calculate the effect on transportvolumes, transport costs and externaleffects (road wear, emissions, safety andcongestion). The final report was submit-ted to the Government in December 2007.

A change in regulations would be unfavourableThe conclusion is that a change in regula-tions in Sweden, i.e. that the same quantityof freight should be carried with shorterand lighter lorries, would lead to a socio-economic loss (up to SEK 9 billion peryear). A loss that would primarily have tobe borne by the business sector. The trans-port costs per vehicle would decrease, butthe number of vehicles needed wouldincrease. It is estimated that the cost perlorry would decrease by 5–12 per cent overthe various commodity groups, and thenumber of lorries would increase by 35–50per cent. On average, 1.37 lorries of max-

imum EU size are assumed to be requiredto replace a lorry of maximum Swedishsize. It is estimated that the lorry transportcosts increase by 24 per cent.

The largest negative effect of changedvehicle standards in Sweden would thus bedue to changes in transport costs.According to the calculations about 80 percent of the socioeconomic loss is due to theincrease in transport costs. But a change tothe EU standard would also entail changesfor the worse for society as regards noise,exhaust emissions and traffic safety. Delaysto passenger car traffic are also counted onthe minus side.

The European Commission has recentlypurchased an international consortiumheaded by "Transport and Mobility" inBelgium to perform an investigation onEuropean level, similar to that made byVTI on European level.

Magdalena Green,VTI, Sweden

PHOTO: VTI/HEJDLÖSA BILDER

NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 27

Toads moving to their spawning site by safe crossing under the road.

OECD Working Group on "ImprovingReliability" – Request for Nordic Studies and Experiences

Who hasn’t experienced the frustra-tion of arriving too late for an impor-

tant meeting or appointment because ofunexpected delays on the roadway or atrain connection that has been cancelledor is running behind schedule. Likewiseunexpected disruptions in the freighttransport chain can be costly for shippersand freight carriers and have negativeeffects for business efficiency, especiallywhere just-in-time production is in play.Unpredictability of travelling times canforce transport users to build in costly timebuffers to ensure arrival/delivery on time.

There is an increasing understandingthat mobility policy in future must focusmore on how to provide society with reli-able transport systems and that transportpolicies should include goals and strategiesfor improving the reliability of travellingtimes.

The Joint Transport Research Centre ofthe OECD and the International TransportForum established a working group“Surface Transport Networks: ImprovingReliability and Levels of Service” in thespring of 2007, which is looking more close-

Better mobility is not just a question of reducing travelling times.For many users of the transport system “arriving on time” can beof crucial importance – and in some cases of greater importancethan the total time of the journey.

ly at the concept of transport reliability andits importance for transport users and socie-ty. One of the aims of the working group isto gather information, research and casesfrom different countries regarding:- how reliability is understood and measu-

red - the costs of unreliability for users and

businesses- how reliability is modelled and included

in benefit-cost analysis- instruments for improving reliability.

Flemming Clausen,[email protected]

The working group would appreciate any informa-tion or contributions from the Nordic countries,which could add value to the ongoing work.Questions, contributions or other information canbe sent to Jari Kauppila in the OECD secretariat([email protected]) or to working group mem-ber Flemming Clausen in the Danish RoadDirectorate ([email protected]).

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A Sub-sea Tunnel in Iceland:

Roadwork Makes a Big Change in Life

Even though most of the overall impactwas positive, the most pronounced

negative effects were a reduced number ofchandleries and increased crime rate. Theeffects were not demographically and geo-graphically equally distributed within theregion of West Iceland. Men seemed toobtain more benefit from the tunnel thanwomen, younger inhabitants more thanolder ones, and the citizens of areas closerto the tunnel more than those farther away.These differences were due largely to diffe-rent levels of mobility in the groups.

An extensive research study on the localimpact of Hvalfjördur Tunnel on theregion of West Iceland was implemented inthe period 2002–2004. The main purposeof the study was to investigate the size andeffect of this large-scale transportationimprovement’s impact on one region.

Hvalfjördur TunnelHvalfjördur Tunnel, located on the south-west coast of Iceland, was completed andopened in 1998. It reduced the travel dis-

tance between Reykjavík, the capital city ofIceland, and other localities in the west,north and, to some extent, the east coast ofIceland by 42 kilometres, with the excep-tion of Akranes, the tunnel’s closest locali-ty, where the travel distance to Reykjavikdeclined by 60 kilometres. Another large-scale investment project near Akranes atthe same time was the construction of anew aluminium factory.

West IcelandWest Iceland can be divided into four areas.Ordered by proximity to the HvalfjördurTunnel, they are Akranes and Hvalfjördur,Borgarfjördur, Snæfellsnes, and Dalir.Borgarfjördur and Dalir are historicallyknown as agricultural areas, and fisherieshave been the main industry in the othertwo coastal areas. The industry in Akraneshas been rapidly developing for the lastdecades and is now divided among fishe-ries, energy-intensive industry and smallindustries, along with a large part of theregion’s public services, such as the regio-nal hospital and the high school. A similardevelopment has occurred in Borgar-fjördur along with the introduction of twosuccessful universities. The other two,

In this research, the local socio-economic impact of HvalfjördurTunnel, a sub-sea tunnel on the southwest coast of Iceland, wasinvestigated in the region of West Iceland. The impact wasdetected in all major markets: the asset and labour markets, aswell as the market for goods and services. Reduced travel costsand commodity prices and increased home values were the lar-gest effects following the opening of the Hvalfjördur Tunnel.

Snæfellnes and Dalir, have more or lesskept their traditional industrial patterns.

General impactThe impact of the Hvalfjördur Tunnel was,to some extent, unexpectedly miscellaneous,but it can be divided into four generalareas: impact on the local market of goodsand services, impact on the labour market,impact on the asset market, and otherimpact. Reduced commodity prices, increa-sed home values, and reduced travel costswere the most valuable of the single effectsfollowing opening of the HvalfjördurTunnel, but reduced commodity pricesand an increased variety of goods and ser-vices were also observed in the goods andservices market. Furthermore, the assetand the labour markets became more effi-cient in West Iceland, and both the pricesand marketability of homes increased.Employment opportunities and securityalso increased because of better access tothe capital area and the labour market ofWest Iceland; better access to the capitalarea meant that the labour market becamemore dynamic and heterogeneous for theinhabitants of West Iceland, a highly signi-ficant development for the modern labour

Vífill Karlsson

NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 29

market, which has gradually become morespecialised because of higher levels of edu-cation.

In addition, the variety of other effectsincluded increased traffic, better access toculture and public services, generally lesslikelihood of emigration, a reduced numberof chandleries and increased crime rate.

AreasImpacts of any kind, both positive andnegative, grew with proximity to theHvalfjördur Tunnel. Thus, the impact waslargest in the area of Akranes andHvalfjördur, followed by Borgarfjördur,and was much less in the two areas farthestfrom the tunnel. There were some excep-tions to these general findings; for examp-le, no positive impact on the local labourmarket in Snæfellsnes and Dalir was detec-ted, and a negative impact on the marketof specialised services in the area closest tothe tunnel was found, while the impact hadbeen positive in the other three areas. Thenumber of companies and the total turn-over in specialised services became lowerin Akranes and Hvalfjördur, which wasmost likely due to increased competition inthe capital area. The turnover in thisindustry increased in the more distantareas, most likely because of a lower level ofcompetition from enterprises in the capitalarea and increased tourism following theopening of the tunnel.

GenderMen seemed more likely than women tobenefit from Hvalfjördur Tunnel, especial-ly when the impact through the labourmarket was examined, since there weremore women than men employed inchandleries and other specialised services,which was the only industry in West Icelandwhich experienced significant loss follo-wing the opening of the tunnel.Furthermore, women seemed to be lesslikely than men to take advantage of newemployment opportunities in the capitalarea in part because commuting seems tobe less attractive to women, which makesthem less mobile and less likely to benefitfrom reduced travel time. Thus, the male

population saw more benefits from increa-sed new employment opportunities andreduced travel time than females followingthe opening of the tunnel. The HvalfjördurTunnel also seemed to reduce the likeli-hood of men’s emigrating more than it didfor women.

Age groupsYounger inhabitants in West Iceland seemedmore likely than older inhabitants to benefitfrom the Hvalfjördur Tunnel. Greaterunemployment and mobility meant thatyounger people could benefit more fromthe higher wages and increased employ-ment opportunities brought by the tunnel.The tunnel did, however, reduce the likeli-hood of older inhabitants’ emigrating morethan it reduced the emigration of youngerpeople, so the results between age groups isnot as clear as that between genders.

Methods of the studyBoth qualitative and quantitative methodswere implemented in order to enlarge thescope of the study and to improve the relia-bility of the results. Several types of analy-ses were used to meet the purpose of thestudy, including descriptive analysis, regres-sion, and cost-benefit analysis based onpublished statistics, survey data, and inter-views. It was our intention to track the dif-ferences in impact both by capturing thedimension of all the different effects in thelocal economy and by examining the diffe-rences in the effects among several groups,primarily population areas, genders, andage groups.

A full version of the research is available on theinternet but only in Icelandic (http://nepal.vefu-rinn.is/Nepal_Skrar/Skra_0006226.PDF).


Improving the Accessibility ofPublic Transport

Institute of Transport Economics (TØI) inNorway has recently completed a report

describing policies, legal frameworksand other means for improving acces-sibility of public transport systems inEU, Iceland and Norway. The report ispart of the 6th EU Framework ProjectEuro Access.

Euro AccessEurostat (2003) has estimated thatmore than 45 million persons of wor-king age, living in EU countries, havea long-term disability or medical con-dition. These numbers are expectedto grow. Employment rates for peoplewith disabilities are lower than theaverage, which also contributes to the factthat people with disabilities in average areless well off than the population as a whole.

The objective of the Euro Access projectis to promote social inclusion and activeparticipation in society of people with dis-abilities through contribution to the deve-lopment of EU policy on the accessibility ofpublic transport systems. The project has a

Improving the accessibility of public transport systems is crucialfor reducing social exclusion of people with disabilities throughreducing physical barriers to employment, education and inde-pendent living.

strong focus on the link between accessibi-lity of public transport and employment,and on transferability of best practices bet-ween countries.

The Euro Access work is organised in four main workpackages (Euro Access 2007)

Accessible public transport systems arehere understood to be systems which inte-grate all people – including those withmobility, sensory and cognitive impair-ments, mental health problems, environ-mental sensitivities and allergies – whendelivering public transport services. Thisincludes the whole journey; to be able tounderstand how the public transport sys-tem works, get to and from terminals or

stops, move around and find one’s way interminals, get on and off vehicles, buy aticket and travel with confidence. All surfa-ce public transport is covered, local as wellas long distance and international trans-port.

Policies, legal frameworks etc.The TØI report briefly describesthe many documents containingcurrent policies, action plans andstrategies, legal frameworks (laws,acts, provisions, regulations, gui-delines etc.), and other means(concessionary fares, economicincentives, budget requirements,special transport services, strategicplans, training etc.) in the EUcountries, Iceland and Norway(Tennøy and Leiren 2008). Theabout 350 references are organi-

sed as an inventory, listed by topic and coun-try, and may be useful for others dealing withaccessibility of public transport systems.

The main data source has been an exten-sive questionnaire to ministries responsiblefor public transport. Other sources havebeen used for background information andfor cross-check and completion of data.

Policies, strategies and action plans

Aud Tennøy

NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 31

demonstrate countries’ will to change thestatus quo. Most of the countries in the sur-vey have, or are in progress of making, poli-cies aimed specifically at improving accessi-bility of public transport systems, as well asaction plans to support and implement thepolicies. All of the main policy documents(except one) are dated 2003 or later. Thereis a lot going on in this field.

Translating a will to change into a legalframework is an important means of achie-ving real improvements. Most of the coun-tries have general regulatory texts on acces-sibility, as well as planning and building actsthat incorporate the needs of people withdisabilities to access and move around in ter-minals etc. Half the countries have a trans-port or a public transport act that recogni-zes accessibility for people with disabilities.Half of them also have regulations on acces-sibility of vehicles based on EU directive2001/85/EC. Guidelines and handbooks

Alternatives Number of ticks

Our work is completed - we have a fully developed policy, including the necessary laws, provisions, regulations etc., in order to ensure that all public transport is accessible for all 0

We have come a long way – we have a well developed policy, including most of the necessary laws, provisions, regulations etc., but there is still work to do in this field 11

We are in a state of rapid improvements – a lot of work is put into developing neces-sary policies, laws, provisions etc. 5

We are improving, but slowly. There are not much focus on this topic, but we are adaptingto EU-directives etc. 10

We have hardly started – accessible public transport is not on the agenda 0

There is a shift going on in the discus-sions regarding accessibility, from focus onpeople with disabilities and especiallymobility impaired, towards universaldesign or accessibility for all people.Barrier free environments are understoodas useful not only for people with disabili-ties, but also for e.g. parents with prams,elderly persons and people temporarydependent of crutches as well. Accordingto the respondents, this shift is reflected inpolicies and legal frameworks of most ofthe countries attending the survey.

Most countries do have a special focuson reducing transport as a barrier to work,study and independent living. Firstly, redu-cing transport as a barrier to education,study and independent living is expressed,explicitly or implicitly, as a general objecti-ve of policies and legal frameworks.Secondly, special transport services are

Influence Low Moderate High I don’t know

User groups 1 7 14 2

Development in the EU 0 6 13 2

Politicians 2 8 9 2

The public administration 2 10 8 3

Experts 2 10 6 3

Development in other countries 5 7 2 4

organised in order to allow people who arenot able to use ordinary transport servicesto work, study and live independent lives.Thirdly, several countries have particularprojects and schemes directly focused onreducing transport as a barrier.

The Nordic countriesTØI has discussed findings from theNordic countries in a separate report forthe Norwegian Public Roads Admi-nistration (Tennøy and Hanssen 2007).Among others we found that the policies ofthe Nordic countries are ambitious, hea-ding for universal design and accessibilityfor all throughout the whole journey, whilethe legal frameworks lack behind in ensu-ring that this will happen.

Table 2: Influence of various groups on the develop-ment of the legal framework regarding accessiblepublic transport. The information is provided by therespondents.

The report Tennøy and Leiren (2008) is the delive-rable from work package 1 Review of current poli-cies and regulations within the project For aEuropean Accessibility of Public Transport forPeople with Disabilities (Euro Access), funded bythe DG Research of the European Commission,under the sixth Framework Programme. Partnersin the project are INRETS, CERTU, Ann Frye Ltd,University of Lund, TIS-PT and TØI. Subcontractorsare FiT Consulting and UBZ. For more information,see http://www.euro-access.org/

are important parts of the legal frameworks. The countries work with policies and

legal frameworks for accessibility of publictransport systems in various ways. They alsodiffer in how far they have come, as presen-ted in table 1.

Since 2000, the EU has implementedseveral directives and regulations aiming atmaking public transport systems moreaccessible and useful for all. This has hadinfluence on the countries responding toour survey, as shown in table 2.

Table 1: What would you say is the status of yourwork, regarding policies and legal frameworks forensuring accessible public transport? The informationis provided by the respondents.

References• Eurostat (2003): Eurostat news relea-

se 142/2003–5 December 2003.http://www. ec.europa.eu/employ-ment_social/health_safety/docs/ceremony_en.pdf

• Tennøy, Aud and Merethe DotterudLeiren (2008): Accessible publictransport. A view of Europe today –policies, laws and guidelines. Delivery1 to the Euro Access project.www.toi.no or www.euro-access. org/

• Tennøy, Aud og Jan Usterud Hanssen(2007): Policies, legal frameworks andother means for improving accessibilityof public transport systems in theNordic countries. TØI report926/2007. http://www.toi.no/ getfi-l e . p h p / P u b l i k a s j o n e r /T%D8I%20rapporter/2007/926-2007/926-2007.pdf


How to Look inside Porous Asphalt

Every material response is based on themicrostructure of the material and there-

fore, this study, which looks at a much smal-ler scale of the ravelling process was initia-ted. The objective is to zoom in and out onstructural parameters keeping the positionin the pavement as a link to the more gene-ral level. The two instruments developedare used to assess clogging and the micro-structural condition of porous asphaltpavements in the Netherlands. The mainobjective is to have a look inside the porouspavement looking for microstructuraleffects of environmental causes of clog-ging, ravelling and deterioration.

The thin and plane section techniquewas developed at the Danish Road Institutein the early nineties, supported by the USStrategic Highway Research Programme.Plane and thin sections are slices cut fromdrill cores and impregnated with a clear orfluorescent epoxy resin, which allows airvoids, cracks and binder structure to bevisualized when illuminated with UV-light.It is possible to observe signs of aggregatedegradation, homogeneity of mortar, adhe-

Improved analysis methods for investigating pavement perfor-mance have been developed at the Danish Road Institute in astudy within the framework of the Dutch Innovative Program onNoise (the IPG programme). These techniques, which use drillcores extracted from the pavement, are CT-scanning and prepara-tion of thin and plane sections. The two different research techni-ques have been applied for investigating the clogging and ravel-ling of porous asphalt pavements.

sion between aggregates and mortar, andlocation and size of cracks etc. CT –Computer Tomography scanning – createsa series of x-ray images that are taken in across section of a core of porous asphalt. Acomputer can subsequently calculate therelative density of the materials in the scan-ned cross-section and draw a two-dimensio-nal picture of this. It is therefore possibleto see and analyze volumes of aggregates,mortar and voids in three dimensions.

Two applications of the instruments areemphasized: • Drill cores from highways A28 and A17

in the Netherlands and an urban street(Øster Søgade) in Copenhagen wereassessed. The objective was to study theclogging of pavements of different agesin both the Netherlands and Denmarkto be able to assess the effect of modify-ing cleaning processes to improve theacoustic lifetime of the pavements.

• Drill cores from sixteen road sections inthe Netherlands with single-layer porouspavements of different age, performanceand traffic was investigated. The objecti-ve was to understand the ravelling pro-cess from the microstructural conditionof the bituminous mortar and the voids.

With the CT-scanner used in this study,it is not possible to distinguish cloggingfrom the mortar, only the total content ofmortar can be quantified and expresses theamount of clogging. From the cloggingstudy it is observed that clogging is morepronounced in the older pavement and isconcentrated between the wheel tracks inthe slow lane (SL) and in the emergencylane (EM) (Figure 1). It should be notedthat this observation is valid only for thetwo pavements studied and the differencemay be caused by other factors than a gene-ral time-dependent clogging process.

In the thin section image (Figures 2 and3) the voids (and exterior areas) are white,the mortar black with clear light grey sandparticles and the aggregate greyish textu-red. The boundary between mortar andaggregate is clearly seen and clogging isidentified as light grey porous accumula-tions of sand particles and fines. From theassessment of several thin sections it is pos-sible to quantify the amount of cloggingand the microstructural condition.

The hypotheses that the condition ofthe mortar gets poorer with age and thatthe condition close to the surface is poorerfor poorly performing pavements is confir-med in the study. The content of small-size

Carsten Bredahl Nielsen

NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 33

voids is significantly larger in the top zonefor poorly performing roads and the mor-tar is less coherent. This indicates thatvoids have been formed due to deteriora-tion of the mortar. This is visually observedon thin sections and considered an impor-tant deterioration mechanism. It is obser-ved that clogging correlates with adhesionof the mortar to the aggregate which wasnot initially expected. This is probably dueto the deterioration of the mortar whichleaves clogging in the voids.

Figure 3. Thin sections (30 mm wide by 40 mm high) of adrill core from mix with poor adhesion. Detailed images (10mm wide by 5 mm high) from top zone and bottom zone.

Figure 2. Clogging in void at the surface of A17 km 20.930, emergency lane. Image size 10 mmwide by 5 mm high.

Figure 1. Clogging (mortar volume) of four road cross profileson A28 (three year old) and A17 (eleven year old) two-layerporous asphalt pavement. Determined by CT-scanning ofseven drill cores in each profile.

For further details please have a look at thereport “Assessment of porous asphalt pavements– how to look inside” summarizing results fromseveral studies. Reports from the study can beobtained from the Danish Road Institute atwww.roadinstitute.dk.


The Brandangersund Bridge

The Brandangersund is located inWestern Norway, about 100 kilometres

north of the city of Bergen. The strait sepa-rates the islands Sandøy, Mjømna andBirknesøy, with a population of about 500,from the mainland. Today Sandøya is con-nected to the road network by the Skipavik-Sløvåg-Leirvåg ferry. Skipavik, which islocated on the island of Sandøy, will bedropped as port of call when the bridge isopened.

Network arch bridges are bridges withdiagonal hangers which cross other hang-ers at least twice. The use of many diagonalhangers gives this type of bridge its charac-teristic appearance, and at the same timegives the bridge its effectiveness and itsname.

The hanger arrangement is the heart ofa network arch and constitutes the maindifference to tied arches with vertical hang-ers. The longitudinal bending momentsand shear forces are relatively large anddecisive in tied arches with vertical hang-

ers. This is not the case for network archesowing to the fact that the hanger net actsmore like a truss. In network arches axialforces are predominant in arch and tie forall load cases. The many diagonal hangersalso effectively prevent the buckling in theplane of the arch.

The reduction of the local momentscombined with a high buckling safetymakes the forming of an extreme slenderstructure possible. These facts result inrelatively considerable reductions of mate-rial in the upper and the lower cord of thebridge, which makes it very light comparedto conventional arch bridges with verticalhangers. Comparisons with some conven-tional arch bridges show that reduced con-sumption of construction material up to 75per cent is possible if the network archbridge is optimally constructed.

The Brandangersund Bridge has a mainspan of 220 metres and two side spans of 30metres and 35 metres. The chosen rise ofthe arch is approximately 33 metres. Thelower cord will be formed as a narrow pre-stressed concrete deck. The arches are cho-sen as steel tubes with outer diameters of711 millimetres and thicknesses between

30 millimetres and 40 millimetres. Thenumber of hangers in each plane of thearch is chosen to be 44. Wind bracings bet-ween the arches give the out of plane stiff-ness.

Many corresponding bridges are builtall over the world, but constructed with asingle carriage way the BrandangersundBridge is a special one. The lower cord hasa width of only 7.6 metres and that makesthe bridge an extremely slender construc-tion. Buckling and wind analyses are there-fore of great importance.

The network arch bridge over theBrandangersund will be the third bridge ofthis type constructed in Norway. Theothers are Håkkadal Bridge in Steinkjer(Mid Norway) with a span of 79.75 metres,and Bolstadstraumen Bridge in Vaksdalmunicipality in Hordaland (WesternNorway) with a span of 83.7 metres. Bothbridges were built in 1963.

Monica Stacha

More information about network arch bridges at:http://pchome.grm.hia.no/~ptveit/

This year a rare network arch bridge will be constructed over theBrandanger strait (Brandangersund in Norwegian). This is thethird network arch bridge out of total 17.000 bridges in Norway.The bridge over the Brandangersund will be completed in 2009.

Statics model of theBrandangersund Bridge showingbeams, cables and finite shell ele-ments. (Illustration: ABES Wagner& Partner ZT-GmbH, Austria)

NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 35

Tilting Trains – A Mature Technology

Trains with the ability to tilt the bodiesinwards in curves are a less costly option

for the development of trains that travel athigh speeds than the construction of newlines with large radius curves which areneeded for non-tilting high speed trains.

Today, tilting has become a mature tech-nology which is accepted by most opera-tors, but is preferred by few. There are seve-ral reasons for this; trains that do not tilthave increased their speed in curves,although with lower riding comfort as theresult, which reduces the potential reduc-tion in trip time by tilting trains to 10–15per cent. Their popularity is also adverselyaffected by low reliability and motion sick-ness on certain tilting trains.

New top speed for tilting trainsTilting trains are now available from all themajor train manufacturers. The top speedof tilting trains follows the trend towardshigher speeds. The first tilting train with atop speed over 250 km/h, ShinkansenN700 in Japan, was put into service in 2007.

The track shift force can be critical for ahigh speed tilting train, and improvedlevels of track irregularities must be consi-dered. Consideration must also be given tothe risk of overturning, which may imposerestrictions on the permissible cant defici-ency at high speeds.

Motion sicknessMotion sickness in trains with and withouttilting is still being reported. The most com-mon explanation for the occurrence ofmotion sickness is the sensory conflict. Themost recent research proposes a modelbased on vertical acceleration as input data.This agrees well with various hypothesesregarding the occurrence of motion sick-ness and may, together with an appropriatetime function, describe the degree ofmotion sickness as a function of time. Themodel, in contrast to earlier models, givesan optimum tilting angle equal to zero.

Trip timeTrip time decreases with higher cant defici-ency, top speed and traction performance,but the there is little benefit from higher topspeed and traction performance over a certa-in level. On the Swedish line betweenStockholm and Göteborg, 15 minutes' triptime (9%) can be saved if cant deficiency, top

speed and traction performance are impro-ved compared with existing tilting trains.

– One interesting conclusion is that anon-tilting train will, irrespective of cantdeficiency, top speed and traction perfor-mance, have a longer trip time than theexisting tilting trains with their cant defici-ency, top speeds and traction performance,says Rickard Persson which has performedthe VTI study concerning the present posi-tion of tilting trains.

The report also gives guidance for theinstallation of cant that optimizes theconflicting demands for good comfort innon-tilting trains and for low risk of motionsickness in tilting trains. This guidance iscompared in the report with the real canton the Stockholm-Göteborg line.

Tarja Magnusson, VTI, Sweden

Increasing competition by other modes is forcing railway compa-nies all over the world to look for improved performance. Journeytimes are the most obvious performance indicator which can beimproved by introducing high speed trains.

Title: Tilting trains. Description and analysis of thepresent situation. A literature study. VTI rapport595A.Author: Richard Persson, [email protected]

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Recruitment for the Future

Recently there have been a number ofexamples of privately sponsored school

scientific programs where funds have beenallocated for different activities. The spon-sors want to appear as attractive as possible tothe students, who hopefully will then choosethe right education for the future. This artic-le presents a program developed by theNorwegian Public Road Administration(NPRA) in cooperation with Hovseter lowersecondary school in Oslo for youth 14–16years of age. This is an example of the con-cept “Partnership School–Industry”. Theconceptualization of this partnership wasfirst introduced by Confederation ofNorwegian Enterprises (CNE).

New National Curriculum The new National Curriculum (NC) (2006)introduces a brand new interdisciplinarytopic named Technology and Design(T&D). The purpose of this subject is toincrease the pupils’ interest in science andtechnology in our common compulsoryeducation. From 1st to 10th grade the educa-

tional objectives are primarily formulated inthe fields of science, mathematics, and artsand crafts. This is to enable the students theability to find practical solutions to pro-blems. One then hopes that the pupils willselect a technical career by developing theo-retical and practical skills in such areas asconstruction, electronics, mechanics etc.

Partnership School–Industry: An exampleCNE has developed a concept of partner-ship where a school and a company joinefforts to develop an educational program-me to provide the children knowledge ofthe company activities. The partnership:Hovseter School–NPRA is one example ofpartnership school–industry throughwhich both Hovseter School and NPRAhave developed a cooperation containingelements of interest. The school wants tocarry out concepts and principals of thesubjects in the T&D plan mentioned earli-er, while NPRA is eager to recruit futureemployees in the technical areas throughvocational training.

This special program implies workingtheoretically at school with a bridge caseand a computing simulation program follo-wed by a visit to one of NPRA construction

sites, in this case an immersed tunnel inOslo harbour. During the program thepupils are informed about the progressmade, and the technological and practicalchallenges the NPRA meets. For instancethe pupils were informed that evenarchaeologists are involved in the work.They monitor the entrepreneur’s excava-tions in the harbour sediments which con-tain artefacts from earlier human activitiesand are prepared to stop the constructionwork if exceptional discoveries are made.

Another project is called “Concrete andmathematics”. The pupils mould concretecubes at school and then tries to calculateratios and percentages of cement and sandas well as the density of the material.Thereafter the class makes an excursion tothe Concrete Laboratory of NPRA to con-firm their estimations and get informationof the quality of the material. Finally theconcrete cubes are loaded into a hydraulicpress where the pupils can watch theconcrete cracking.

In both excursions the pupils are equip-ped with helmets, safety glasses and plasticgloves for their safety. Do they see a futureengineer in the mirror?

Runar Baune

Like many other countries, Norway is struggling with the recruit-ment in such subjects as science, mathematics and technology.The youngsters are consumers of a multitude of technologicalproducts, but they show little interest in contributing to furthertechnological development by choosing an education within thetechnological disciplines. The decreasing number of young peoplewho pursue a technical career is a matter of great concern forthe authorities, politicians, and industrial as well as trade leaders.

NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 37

Different approach to constructionsAn on screen bridge simulation program(West Point Bridge Designer – free oninternet) is a popular method for achie-ving construction knowledge. The pupilsproduce their own bridges and test themafter a 15 minute introduction. The com-puting program shows how tension andcompression forces work together. If thestructure fails the load test, the beams willchange colour depending on the prevai-ling forces. In addition the price of thesolution is calculated in US dollar.

NPRA has also produced bridge model

kits for youth in schools. The wooden kitcontains materiel to build eight differenttypes of bridge structures. By buildingmodel bridges the pupils learn to take intoaccount forces which influence a construc-tion.

Bridge construction with simple materi-als, like paper tubes, spaghetti, straws, etc. issoon to become a tradition in many schoolsin Norway. They are cheap to purchase andeasy for the pupils to handle. A bridge madefrom paper tubes is also constructed by thepupils during their bridge project. In theend the bridges are hung from the ceiling as

More information at: To download bridge designsimulation software, go to: http://bridgecontest.usma.edu/ orhttp://www.jhu.edu/virtlab/bridge/truss.htm

a decoration in their classroom.The partnership between Hovseter

School and NPRA shows how this coopera-tion can give the pupils an idea of a worksenvironment as well as information on edu-cation, health and safety etc.

What’s in it for NPRA? – The possibilityto recruit future employees.

Pupils from HovseterSchool concentrated onpouring concrete inmoulds at the ConcretLaboratory of the NPRA.

A proud bridge constructor at Hovseter School with a bridge made of the bridge modeling kit from the NPRA. Pupils enjoying themselves by load testing a truss bridge.

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Model Analyses for the CombiTerminal Investigation

The Swedish Government wants to stimulate intermodal trans-ports. The National Rail Administration has therefore been com-missioned to propose a strategic network for combi terminalsintermodal road rail nodes.

Banverket, the Swedish Rail Admini-stration, has, in turn, commissioned

VTI to carry out model analyses as a basisfor its work on combi terminals, referred toas the Combi Terminal Investigation. Theanalyses were carried out together with theRoyal Institute of Technology (KTH).

The Combi Terminal Investigation hasdefined three strategic networks with four,seven and ten terminals as developmentscenarios: Network I, II and III. In thesenetworks the transfer costs are assumed todecrease by 15 and 30 per cent respectively.

With the help of the national freighttransport model Samgods, VTI has calcula-ted how the ton km performed by road andrail (wagon load and combi are specifiedrespectively) are affected and how thequantities transported as combi transportsdevelop when transfer costs in combi ter-minals change. In the model, it is assumedthat freight transport customers make theirchoice of mode and route in such a waythat the generalised transport costs areminimized. The term generalised costsrefers to the sum of operational transportcosts and the value of time for the cargo.

It is calculated in the study that combitransport in Sweden increases by nine totwelve per cent (ca 500 million ton km) if a15 per cent cost reduction is assumed. For a

30 percent cost reduction, combi increases by20–26 per cent (about 1.100 million ton km).

It is estimated that redistribution willoccur mainly from wagon load to combi.The magnitude of this effect is, however,uncertain due to uncertainty in rail trans-port costs. The decrease in road transportis estimated to be much lower. However, itis calculated that significant transfers fromroad to combi take place when a kilometercharge is introduced for heavy road traffic.

It is estimated that a 30 per cent costreduction for the four combi terminalsprioritized in Network I results in 29.6 percent more TEU (Twenty-foot EquivalentUnits) overall. The additional three termi-nals in Network II are not estimated tobring in many TEU compared withNetwork I because relatively small centrallylocated terminals are added. The furtherthree terminals in Network III are estima-

ted to increase the total sum of TEU sincethey do not compete equally clearly withnearby terminals (as the terminals addedin Network II).

Alternative solutions, for example withseveral terminals, are conceivable, and it isnot impossible that these would have agreater effect on the development ofcombi transport than the setup investiga-ted in the study. A complete comparison ofdifferent networks would require informa-tion about the investments etc. that areneeded to reduce the transfer costs in thecombi terminals and consideration of thetime in terminals.

Contact: Inge Vierth, [email protected]: Model simulations to aid the Combi TerminalInvestigation. VTI rapport 592Authers: Inge Vierth, John McDaniel and GerhardTroche

Tarja Magnusson, VTI, Sweden

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Report from The Danish InfrastructureCommission: The Danish TransportInfrastructure 2030

The Danish Infrastructure Commission published in January2008 its long awaited report “The Danish TransportInfrastructure 2030.” The commission was appointed by theDanish govern-ment in November 2006 to analyze how Denmarkcan maintain and develop its position as one of the countries inthe world with the best transport systems.

The Infrastructure Commission was giventhe following main tasks:

- To analyse and assess the key challengesand development potential for the infra-structure and national traffic invest-ments until 2030.

- To identify and assess the strategicoptions and priorities and to put for-ward suggestions to strengthen the basisfor the national investment decisions inthe transport area.The commission has mainly focused on

the national road and rail infrastructure,which is managed by the national govern-ment and for which parliament makes deci-sions through legislation and the annualfinancial budgets.

Increasing traffic growth and congestionproblemsDenmark has long been renowned forhaving a transport system of high interna-tional standard. However, during the pastdecade central parts of the road and railnetwork have been experiencing growingcapacity and congestion problems, especi-ally during gradually widening peak hours.On the national road network the pro-blems are most serious in the Copenhagenregion and in eastern Jutland especially inthe Triangle Region: Kolding–Vejle Frede-

ricia. On the rail network capacity pro-blems have made it difficult to providemore train services on several central raillines.

Forecasts published by the Commissionshow that by 2030, traffic on the nationalroad network is expected to increase bynearly 70 percent. This corresponds to anaverage annual growth rate of 2.2 percent.This growth will create critical congestionproblems on major parts of the motorwaynetwork in Denmark and feeder routes aswell.

With regards to the rail network fore-casts show only a minor increase in thedemand for rail services. However, theforecast does not assume any improve-ments of traffic services, which have beenan important factor in the growth in train

traffic in the past decades. An analysis bythe Danish Ministry of Transport, whichincludes the effects of new services, pre-dicts a growth in traffic of 34 percent forcommuter trains and regional trains forthe period 2004–2020.

The increasing demand for mobility rai-ses not only challenges concerning plan-ning and development of the future infra-structure in Denmark, but at the same timeposes major climate and environmentalchallenges, which must also be tackled.

“The Robust H” is essential for continuedeconomic growthFor many years, the Danish national infra-structure has been developed around thevision of “The Big H”, comprised of majorroad and railway corridors tying Denmarktogether from north to south and from eastto west – and furthermore providing effici-ent links to neighbouring countries.

The Commission recommends that TheBig H continues to form the backbone ofthe Danish transport infrastructure, butpoints out that that The Big H must bestrengthened and consolidated to accom-modate the growing transport demand.The Big H plays not only a vital roll fornational and international transport inDenmark, but also for the economic deve-lopment and growth in Denmark’s twomajor metropolitan areas: the Copen-hagen region and eastern Jutland.

Capacity must be expanded in a number

Flemming Clausen,[email protected]

www.nordicroads.com40 | NORDIC NO. 1 2008

WHAT’S UP IN THE NORDIC COUNTRIES?

NORWAYWinter days 2008

The network for winter maintenance sec-tor and the Norwegian Public RoadsAdministration (NPRA) arranged theirfirst conference for winter maintenance28–31 January 2008 at Beitostølen, a moun-tain region in southern Norway.

More than 400 persons participated inthe conference. Local governments,Avinor, the Norwegian Armed Forces,equipment suppliers, students and NPRAwere represented. The Minister ofTransport, Liv Signe Navarsete, also visitedthe conference.

The conference included lectures,demonstrations and exhibitions.

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FINLANDThe Via Nordica 2008 congress

Long distances, four seasons and unpredic-table weather conditions are all typical fea-tures of Northern Europe. The Nordiccountries are well known for having a highstandard of living, competitive industrialproduction as well as being at the forefrontof innovation in many scientific and tech-nological areas. All this calls for a safe,durable and under all circumstances well-functioning road and transport infrastruc-ture. This cannot be achieved without ahigh level of competence in research anddevelopment as well as an effective utiliza-tion of innovations within both traditionaland modern technologies. This entailsboth strong regional cooperation withinthe Nordic countries and interaction withthe wider world.

Via Nordica 2008 offers experts andothers within the field an excellent opportu-nity to share ideas, learn from one anotherand establish fruitful contacts. The sloganof this congress is Via Nordica – the RoadAhead. It focuses on the challenges of thefuture and the solutions that mustbe created to meet them.

The congress is also open forexperts outside the Nordic coun-tries, experts who would like toshare the Nordic experiences andbring a valuable and welcomedinternational element to thisNordic event. The exhibition hasparticipants from both within andoutside the Nordic countries.

The Via Nordica 2008 congressis the 20th Nordic Road Congressarranged by the Nordic RoadAssociation. The congress takesplace 9–11 June 2008 in Helsinki,Finland.

For more information:www.vianordica2008.fi

There were 31 different companies whoexhibited their products. The demonstra-tions were conducted over two days. Rotaryploughs, snowploughs, ice removers, warmwetted sand and friction measurementequipment were demonstrated. The weat-her and snow conditions were great.

of the corridors and hubs where steadyincreases in traffic are expected. At severallocations new fixed links must be conside-red. Public transport services must beimproved and existing road capacity can beutilized better through the help of ITS.The Commission emphasizes that continu-ed economic growth and the competive-ness of Danish industry is dependent onthat The Big H also becomes “The RobustH”.

The Commission’s recommendationsThe Commission recommends that effortsare concentrated within the following sixfocus areas:- A number of ring connections on the

road and train network in theCopenhagen area are to be completed

- A complete plan for the development ofthe infrastructure in the urban region of

East Jutland must be prepared- Efficient secondary links from the diffe-

rent regions to the main transport corri-dors and hubs must be ensured

- The Danish gateways towards the rest ofthe world must form a central part of aneffective transport network

- Intelligent technological solutions mustensure optimal utilisation of the infra-structure

- The effort to limit the impact of trans-port on the environment and the clima-te must be intensified.Furthermore the Commission recom-

mends that the following basic principlesunderlie cross-disciplinary efforts:- Investments are prioritised on the basis

of the highest socio-economic returns- The necessary maintenance of infra-

structure is ensured- The private sector should to a larger

degree be involved in connection withthe organisation and management ofconstruction projects (private–publicpartnerships)

- Physical planning, including urban andcommercial development, is coordina-ted with the infrastructure planningthrough an overall coherent planning

- Need for further focus on improvementof road safety.The Commission’s report and recom-

mendations are expected to be reflected ina forthcoming governmental “TrafficInvestment Plan”, which is expected to beready for political negotiations in theautumn of 2008. The investment plan willbe accompanied by a strategy plan forreducing carbon dioxide emissions fromthe transport sector.

NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 41

PUBLICATIONS

Noise Classification – AsphaltPavement

Title: Noise Classification – Asphalt PavementAuthor: Jørgen KraghSeries: Technical Note 61Language: EnglishAvailable at: www.nordicroads.com/reportsname: Noise Classification

Traffic noise is a problem for the healthand well-being of people in modern socie-ty and it has during recent years attractedgrowing attention in Denmark. The effectsof this important type of noise can be miti-gated by means of noise barriers or screensbut it can also be attenuated directly at thesource by applying a noise reducing wea-ring course. Danish road authorities inconjunction with industry and consultantshave worked out a system for the specifica-tion and documentation of noise reducingasphalt pavement. The system is based onthe Close Proximity Method (CPX) andencompasses • a guide to the use of asphalt pavement

in traffic noise abatement• a system for the documentation and

declaration in classes of the noise reduc-tion of the asphalt surfacing

• three classes A, B and C, where class Apavements exhibit the highest noisereducing effect and class B and C exhi-bit lower noise reducing effects as com-pared to regular dense graded asphaltpavements

• reference values of the noise emission asdetermined by the CPX method

• description of the CPX method inclu-ding the definition of method variablesand requirements on supplementarycalibration of the measuring device

• paradigm for use in contracting andpreparation of tender documents.The system is a first attempt in Denmark

for contracting noise reducing asphalt sur-facings. The system has some limitationsand several subjects need to be addressedin the future development of the system.

Especially there is a need for better know-ledge on the accuracy offered by the CPXmethod, and for the development of app-ropriate acceptance criteria to be used incontracting.

Effect of Intensified AutomaticSpeed Control and DecreasedTolerance on Traffic Safety

Title: Effect of intensified automatic speed controland decreased tolerance on traffic safetyAuthor: Riikka Rajamäki and Mikko MalmivuoSeries: LINTU Reports 1/2008Language: Finnish with English abstractAvailable at: www.nordicroads.com/reportsname: Automatic Speed Control

A 43 kilometres long automatic speed con-trol area has been implemented on mainroad 51 west of Helsinki. In September 2007,intensified automatic speed control was tes-ted along this section. During this phase thenumber of monitored hours was stronglyincreased, all speeding incidents were reac-ted to, and the public was extensively infor-med about the scheme. The current surveyexamined the effect of intensified control ontraffic behaviour, the number of violations toprocess, and police workload.

As a result of the intensified control andthe lowered penal threshold, the averagespeed of the traffic decreased by 3–4 kilo-metres per hour at various measurementpoints. Later, speeds slightly increased: thelong-term effect is thusestimated to be 2–3 kilo-metres per hour. Duringthe survey, the share ofboth major (more than 20km/h) and minor spee-ding dropped to half, andat some measuring pointsto a third. The trafficspeed distribution becamenarrower, and the distancebetween vehicles grewslightly. The share of dri-vers driving fairly slowly orvery slowly (more than 10

km/h below the speed limit) increased alittle, but the numbers were still so low thatthey should have no significant effect onthe general fluency of the traffic.

During the intensified control experi-ment, the cameras picked up 3.4 per centof the traffic volume as speeding, compa-red to approximately 10 per cent at othertimes. 0.4 per cent of the traffic volumedrove at a significant (more than 10 km/h)overspeed, the normal share being approx-imately 3 per cent. Based on the observedchange in average speeds it was estimatedthat in addition to the effect of previousautomatic speed control, intensified auto-matic control decreases the number ofaccidents leading to personal injuries byapproximately 7 per cent, and the numberof lethal accidents by 13 per cent.

The intensified control of a 43 kilomet-re road section required the work of 4–6people. If it were assumed that the resultsof the survey could be applied as such tothe entire 2 000 km road network current-ly under automatic control, the intensifiedautomatic control would save tax payersapproximately EUR 13 million, includingsavings from fewer accidents. This calcula-tion does not include the annual income ofmore than EUR 40 million from fines resul-ting from intensified control since, in asocio-economic sense, fines are not consi-dered a saving but an income transfer.


PUBLICATIONS

The Safety of Trams – Methodsfor Collision Prevention in TramTraffic

Title: The safety of trams – methods for loweringthe probability of certain types of collisions intram trafficAuthors: Ragnar Hedström and Sven FredénSeries: VTI rapport 603Language: Swedish with an English summaryAvailable at: www.nordicroads.com/reports,name: Safety of trams

Tram traffic and road traffic are two trans-port systems which must operate in thestreet zone under conditions that are tosome extent dissimilar, and this can resultin conflicts and accidents. The most com-mon accident in tram traffic is a collisionbetween a tram and a road vehicle, but col-lisions also occur between trams. In mostcases there are no injuries, or very slightones, but the cost of repairing the materialdamage and providing replacement trafficis often quite high.

The external environment in cities withtram traffic is often complex with a largequantity of information that must be inter-preted and evaluated by the other groupsof road users. The tram often approachesfrom the rear, and conflicts occur when acar turns to the left in order to cross thetram line. The frequency and magnitude oftram accidents are associated with the safe-ty measures that have been introduced, e.g.various types of light signals, road signs,markings on the street surface, etc., butalso with the behaviour and attitudes ofother groups of road users. It is thereforeimportant that the traffic environmentshould be dealt with in a holistic perspecti-ve which takes account of the differentgroups of road users.

By designing a traffic environment thatis clear, easy to understand and to inter-pret, the number of conflict situations canprobably be reduced. Where tram traffic isintroduced in an existing urban environ-ment, finding solutions that will be entirelyconflict-free may be difficult. When arran-

gements are to be made for the provisionof tram traffic and road traffic in new areasof a city, it should be easier to find "good"solutions.

The ideas and judgments set out in thereport may be summarised in the followingconclusions:- In-depth cooperation among traffic

planners, urban planners and behaviou-ral scientists would be of great impor-tance in designing safe and functionaltraffic environments where both tramtraffic and road traffic operate at thesame time.

- Where tram traffic and road traffic ope-rate at the same time, warning devicesand safety installations must be desig-ned so that they give clear and under-standable signals as to what applies inwhich situation.

- The external design of trams should bediscussed from a safety perspective andnot, to such a large extent, from an aest-hetic perspective that is often the case atpresent. In view of the design knowled-ge of today, it should be possible to crea-te a vehicle that can be easily perceivedand interpreted by other road users.It is considered that an in-depth discus-

sion among the authorities and organisa-tions that, to various extents, are involvedwith the safety issues of tram traffic isurgently necessary. In this way, the condi-tions can be created for a uniform termino-logy and a more robust cooperation thatcan, in the long term, further improve anddevelop the approach to tram safety.

The report also discusses the problemconcerning collisions between trams. Thistype of accident can be prevented with sys-tems associated with the infrastructure orvia in-vehicle systems.

Driver Distraction

Title: Driver distraction. A review of the literatureAuthor: Katja KircherSeries: VTI rapport 594ALanguage: EnglishAvailable at: www.nordicroads.com/reports,name: Driver distraction

A multitude of methods has been used toassess the prevalence and the types of driverdistraction that occur, and to describe theconsequences in terms of driving performan-ce and crash involvement. There is strongagreement that distraction is detrimental fordriving, and that the risk for crashes increaseswith it. Only recently the method of remoteeye tracking has emerged, which enables realtime identification of visual distraction. So farthis method has mostly been used in drivingsimulators, and different algorithms that dia-gnose distracted drivers have been testedwith promising results.

Earlier research has shown that eyeglances away from the road rarely exceedthe duration of 2 seconds. Most ”normal”glances range from about 0.7 seconds toslightly above 1 second. In general, driversrather opt for repeated glances instead ofextending one single glance, if the secon-dary task demands attention for a longerperiod of time. It has been shown, however,that repeated glances have more detrimen-tal effects on driving performance than asingle glance of the same duration as oneof the repeated glances. Apparently the dri-vers look away from the forward roadwayagain before they are completely back “inthe loop”. Consequently, most algorithmsthat diagnose driver distraction based onglance behaviour do not only consider themost recent glance, but take the recentglance history into account.PH

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NORDIC NO. 1 2008 | 43

Benefits of MeteorologicalServices in Croatia

Title: Benefits of meteorological services inCroatiaAuthors: Pekka Leviäkangas, Raine Hautala, JukkaRäsänen, Risto Öörni, Sanna Sonninen, MarttiHekkanen, Mikael Ohlström, Ari Venäläinen &Seppo SakuSeries: VTT Research Notes 2420Language: EnglishAvailable at://www.nordicroads.com/reportsname: Meterological Services

This research report looks into the benefitsof hydrological and meteorological infor-mation services in Croatia. The benefitsgenerated by the day-to-day services wereinvestigated by the beneficiary sector. Eachsector was studied by different researchers.The methods used were multiple: literatu-re reviews and statistics, expert interviewsand workshops, and analytical, conceptualand qualitative model building and model-ling of expected impacts. Assuming thatthe annual budget of DHMZ (CroatianMeteorological and Hydrological Service)is about 8 million euros per year, this studyconcludes that the services delivered byDHMZ pay themselves back at least three-fold each year. Taking into account all theexcluded sectors, it is further concludedthat the factual ratio is even higher. Theresults seem to be in line with other rese-arch results. By improving the services,especially their delivery, substantial addi-tional benefits can be generated, justifyingthe investments in improving hydrologicaland meteorological services.

Figure. A meta-method description

Some distraction mitigation strategieshave been tested in driving simulators. Thedrivers were either advised to look back atthe road, or the interaction with the secon-dary task was terminated by the system.The results of those studies were mixed,and it could not clearly be shown that thecountermeasures tested improved drivingperformance. It has to be noted, however,that the results stem from driving simulatorexperiments, during which distraction wasinduced artificially. It is recommended totest both the algorithms used to diagnosedriver distraction and the countermeasuresin the field with naturalistic distraction.

ITS in Passenger Cars andMethods of Traffic Safety ImpactAssessment

Title: Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) in pas-senger cars and methods for assessment of traf-fic safety impact. A literature reviewAuthors: Astrid Linder, Albert Kircher, Anna Vadebyand Sara NygårdhsSeries: VTI rapport 604ALanguage: EnglishAvailable at: www.nordicroads.com/reports,name: ITS in passenger cars

The background of this study is that manyso called Intelligent Transport Systems(ITS) are currently developed and introdu-

ced in passenger vehicles aiming at provi-ding increased traffic safety. This providesa need to assess and evaluate the trafficsafety effect of these systems. This reporthighlights how the effects of these systemson traffic safety are evaluated and gives areview of some ITS which currently can befound in the car fleet. The technical sys-tems described in the report were selectedon the basis of that they should be “techni-cally complicated” meaning that they havea potential to improve traffic safety byreducing the number of crashes or by redu-cing the crash severity, and also be availablein the production of vehicles.

In the report 20 systems or groups of sys-tems are described. The report contains adescription of the background of why andhow the systems have been developed, inwhich vehicles they can be found as well asdetails about suppliers when applicable, ashort technical description about how thesystem works, publication of traffic safetyeffects when such have been found in theliterature, and future development plans.On the topic of statistical methods an over-view of how they work and the results thathave been published using these methodson ITS, are described. In addition, thereport contains a chapter consisting of asummary of ways of assessing safety effectsof new products or methods from otherareas such as food, nuclear power andpharmaceutical industries.

The conclusion of the review is thatmany intelligent systems that aim at sup-porting the driver in driving in a safe wayhave been developed and more will bedeveloped. Many systems that could impro-ve traffic safety are labelled as comfort ordriver support systems. There are currentlymany different ways of supporting the dri-ver in the task of driving the vehicle with-out becoming involved in a crash.Regarding the estimated and achievedimpact on traffic safety from these systemsit is still in many respects an open questionwhich evaluation methods to use.

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Danish Road Institute Helen Hasz-SinghGuldalderen 12DK-2640 HedehusenePhone +45 72 44 70 00Fax +45 72 44 71 05Email [email protected] www.roaddirectorate.dk

NORDICDENMARK

VTT Technical Research Centreof FinlandKari MäkeläP.O.Box 1000FI-02044 VTTPhone +358 20 722 4586Fax +358 20 722 7056Email [email protected] www.vtt.fi

FINLAND

Icelandic Road AdministrationG. Pétur MatthiassonBorgartún 7IS-105 ReykjavikPhone +354 522 1000Fax +354 522 1009Email [email protected] www.vegagerdin.is

ICELANDInstitute of Transport EconomicsHarald AasGaustadalléen 21NO-0349 OsloPhone +47 22 57 38 00Fax +47 22 60 92 00Email [email protected] www.toi.no

NORWAYNorwegian Public RoadsAdministrationThorbjørn Chr. RisanP.O. Box 8142 DepNO-0033 OsloPhone +47 22 07 35 00Fax +47 22 07 37 68Email [email protected] www.vegvesen.no

NORWAY

VTIMagdalena GreenSE-581 95 LinköpingPhone +46 13 20 42 26Fax +46 13 14 14 36Orderphone +46 13 20 42 69Email [email protected] www.vti.se

SWEDEN

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Requests for back issues, and notifi-cation of address changes.Readers outside the Nordiccountries: see Swedishaddress. Readers in theNordic countries: seeadresses above.

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Documents

Nordic Road and Transport Research 1-2008