Assessing the ecological impacts of transportation infrastructure development: A reconnaissance study of the Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya.

Transportation infrastructure, such as railways, roads and power lines, contribute to national and regional economic, social and cultural growth and integration. Kenya, with support from the Chinese government, is currently constructing a standard gauge railway (SGR) to support the country's Vision 2030 development agenda. Although the actual land area affected by the SGR covers only a small proportion along the SGR corridor, a significant proportion of the area supports a wide range of ecologically fragile and important ecosystems in the country, with potential wider impacts. This study used a qualitative content analysis approach to gain an understanding and perceptions of stakeholders on the potential ecological impacts of the interactions between the SGR and the traversed ecological systems in Kenya. Three dominant themes emerged: 1) ecosystem degradation; 2) ecosystem fragmentation; and 3) ecosystem destruction. Ecosystem degradation was the most commonly cited impact at while ecosystem destruction was of the least concern and largely restricted to the physical SGR construction whereas the degradation and fragmentation have a much wider footprint. The construction and operation of the SGR degraded, fragmented and destroyed key ecosystems in the country including water towers, protected areas, community conservancies and wildlife dispersal areas. Therefore, we recommend that project proponents develop sustainable and ecologically sensitive measures to mitigate the key ecosystem impacts.

Coletiva de imprensa: anúncios do Governo SP - 19/10/2020

O Governador João Doria anunciou nesta segunda-feira (19) que a vacina contra o coronavírus em desenvolvimento pelo Instituto Butantan é a mais segura em fase final de testes no Brasil. Estudos clínicos com 9 mil voluntários com idade entre 18 e 59 anos no país mostram que apenas 35% tiveram reações adversas leves após a aplicação, como dor no local da aplicação ou dor de cabeça. Não houve qualquer registro de efeito colateral grave durante a testagem. “Os primeiros resultados dos estudos clínicos realizados no Brasil comprovam que, entre todas as vacinas testadas no país, a Coronavac é a mais segura, a que apresenta os melhores e mais promissores índices no Brasil. É, de fato, a vacina mais avançada neste momento”, declarou o Governador. “A vacina do Butantan foi a que apresentou menor índice de efeitos adversos e melhores resultados até o presente momento”, acrescentou Doria. O desenvolvimento da vacina no Brasil foi iniciado em julho, por meio de parceria entre a biofarmacêutica Sinovac Life Science, com sede em Pequim, e o Butantan. A Coronavac é um dos imunizantes mais promissores em fase final de estudo em todo o mundo e produzida com base em tecnologia similar à de outras vacinas produzidas com sucesso pelo Butantan. As reações mais comuns entre os participantes do estudo após a primeira dose foram dor no local da aplicação (19%) e dor de cabeça (15%). Na segunda dose, as reações adversas mais comuns foram dor no local da aplicação (19%), dor de cabeça (10%) e fadiga (4%). Febre baixa foi registrada em apenas 0,1% dos participantes e não há nenhum relato de reação adversa grave à vacina até o momento. O estudo no Brasil foi iniciado em 21 de julho e prevê a participação total de 13 mil voluntários, todos profissionais da saúde que atuam no atendimento a pacientes com COVID-19. Eles estão sendo acompanhados pelos 16 centros de pesquisa distribuídos por sete estados e o Distrito Federal. A partir deste mês, a testagem do potencial imunizante contra o coronavírus está sendo ampliada para voluntários idosos, portadores de comorbidades e gestantes. “A vacina Butantan é a mais segura em termos de efeitos colaterais. É a vacina mais segura neste momento não só no Brasil, mas no mundo”, afirmou Dimas Covas, Diretor do Instituto Butantan. Até dezembro, o Butantan receberá 46 milhões de doses da Coronavac, sendo 6 milhões de doses da vacina já prontas para aplicação. Outras 15 milhões de doses devem chegar até fevereiro de 2021. A vacina desenvolvida entre a Sinovac e o Butantan é uma das mais promissoras do mundo. Ela utiliza tecnologia já conhecida e amplamente aplicada em outros imunizantes produzidos pelo Butantan.

Coletiva de imprensa: anúncios do Governo SP - 05/10/2020

O Governador João Doria anunciou nesta segunda-feira (5) a abertura do período de matrículas para o ano de letivo de 2021 na rede estadual a partir desta terça-feira (6). O prazo para os alunos que já fazem parte da rede vai até o dia 16 de outubro e a solicitação deve ser feita pelo aplicativo Minha Escola SP ou pela plataforma Secretaria Escolar Digital (SED). “Para os alunos que ainda não fazem parte da rede estadual, o prazo da matrícula vai até o dia 30 de outubro. Os pais e interessados podem procurar qualquer escola estadual, a diretoria de ensino ou os postos do Poupatempo em todo o estado de São Paulo”, explicou Doria. No momento na matrícula, alunos e responsáveis poderão selecionar oportunidades adicionais oferecidas pela Secretaria Estadual da Educação como os cursos idiomas oferecidos pelos Centro de Estudos e Línguas; o modelo de ensino técnico do Novotec desenvolvido em parceria com o Centro Paula Souza; o 4º ano opcional do ensino médio; e a matrícula em escolas de tempo integral. “O ano de 2021 será um grande desafio para todas a áreas. Na educação, não será diferente. Precisamos fazer a busca ativa dos alunos para o último bimestre de 2020, que começa neste mês. E engajar todos os nossos estudantes e seus responsáveis para realizarem as matrículas para o ano que vem. Não podemos deixar nenhum aluno para trás”, destacou o Secretário de Educação, Rossieli Soares. O Governo de São Paulo manteve a volta opcional das aulas para alunos do ensino médio e Educação de Jovens e Adultos (EJA) da rede estadual a partir de quarta-feira (7). Para as escolas que atendem alunos do ensino fundamental, a data prevista de retorno foi alterada para o dia 3 de novembro. Tanto o calendário de retomada presencial como a realização de atividades de reforço nas escolas municipais, estaduais e privadas dependem da autorização de cada prefeitura. “O Governo de São Paulo decidiu iniciar o retorno pelos alunos matriculados no ensino médio e na Educação de Jovens e Adultos porque são os ciclos de ensino que podem ser mais afetados pela evasão escolar, prejudicando os estudantes mais vulneráveis. A volta às aulas está condicionada, evidentemente, à autorização dos prefeitos de cada um dos 645 municípios de São Paulo”, afirmou o Governador. A reabertura deve respeitar limites máximos de alunos e protocolos sanitários. Nas redes privadas e municipais, a educação infantil e os anos iniciais do ensino fundamental podem ter até 35% dos alunos por dia em atividades presenciais. Para os anos finais dos ensinos fundamental e médio, o limite máximo é de 20%. Na rede estadual, só é permitido o atendimento de até 20% em todas as etapas. Para a volta gradual às aulas, o estado disponibilizou R$ 50 milhões por meio do Programa Dinheiro Direto na Escola para aquisição de materiais de higiene e adaptação de banheiros. Para garantir a segurança da comunidade escolar na rede estadual, a Secretaria da Educação vai distribuir 12 milhões de máscaras de tecido, 300 protetores faciais de acrílico, 10.168 termômetros a laser, 10 mil totens de álcool em gel, 221 mil litros de sabonete líquido, 78 milhões de copos descartáveis, 112 mil litros de álcool em gel e 100 milhões de unidades de papel toalha. Os alunos que desejarem também terão a opção em 2021 de cursar o 4º ano do ensino médio para aprofundar os conhecimentos e corrigir possíveis lacunas na aprendizagem em determinadas disciplinas. A medida visa contribuir com a formação integral dos alunos e apoiá-los no ingresso ao ensino superior, se assim desejarem. Para isso, os interessados deverão manifestar interesse em permanecer na rede na estadual e cursar o 4º ano a partir desta terça-feira (6) e posteriormente confirmar esta solicitação em dezembro. Ele também deve escolher entre 3 e 13 disciplinas para compor seu currículo. A oferta de vagas vai variar de acordo com a disponibilidade da escola. Em janeiro serão oferecidas aulas de reforço para os alunos que optarem. Os alunos que concluíram o ensino fundamental poderão aderir ao Novotec Integrado, uma modalidade do programa que permite que os estudantes cursem o ensino médio integrado ao técnico na mesma escola e no mesmo turno. Os cursos serão alinhados com o interesse dos estudantes e com as demandas do mercado. Haverá opções como Administração, Informática para Internet, Logística, Desenvolvimento de Sistemas, Marketing, Serviços Jurídicos, Guia de Turismo e Contabilidade. O aluno que optar por essa modalidade receberá certificado de conclusão do ensino médio com habilitação técnica. Depois de expandir o Programa de Ensino Integral para 247 novas unidades no ano passado, o Governo de São Paulo anunciou que mais escolas poderão manifestar interesse em aderir ao programa neste ano. As escolas de Ensino Integral têm carga horária estendida, entre 7h a 9h, fomentam o protagonismo juvenil e o desenvolvimento cognitivo e socioemocional.

Optimization of seat allocation with fixed prices: An application of railway revenue management in China.

China Railway Corporation (CRC) has been paid more attention to passenger transportation revenue, with its increase proportion in transportation revenue. Due to the price regulation, the only way CRC can improve ticket sale profit is to find a best seat allocation scheme. This study focuses on the optimization of railway revenue management problem in China with consideration of i) customer behaviors including their arrival and purchase preferences, ii) a specific ticket booking mechanism called "seat-based control". To evaluate the performance of seat-based control, we build a Discrete-Time Markov Chain model to describe the ticket reservation process and then design a genetic algorithm to find approximate solutions. The performance of proposed method is tested in two experiments with two other benchmarks. Finally, we apply it to practical data of the Nanning-Guangzhou high-speed railway line.

The Health and economic effects of light rail lines: design, methods, and protocol for a natural experiment.

BACKGROUND: The health impacts of community design have been studied extensively over the past two decades. In particular, public transportation use is associated with more walking between transit stops and shops, work, home and other destinations. Change in transit access has been linked with physical activity and obesity but seldom to health outcomes and associated costs, especially within a causal framework. Health related fiscal impacts of transit investment should be a key consideration in major transit investment decisions. METHODS: The Rails & Health study is a natural experiment evaluating changes in clinical measures, health care utilization and health care costs among Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW) members following the opening of a new light rail transit (LRT) line in Portland, Oregon. The study is prospectively following 3036 adults exposed to the new LRT line and a similar cohort of 4386 adults who do not live close to the new line. Individual-level outcomes and covariates are extracted from the electronic medical record at KPNW, including member demographics and comorbidities, blood pressure, body mass index, lipids, glycosylated hemoglobin, and health care utilization and costs. In addition, participants are surveyed about additional demographics, travel patterns, physical activity (PA), and perceived neighborhood walkability. In a subsample of the study population, we are collecting direct measures of travel-related behavior-physical activity (accelerometry), global positioning system (GPS) tracking, and travel diaries-to document mechanisms responsible for observed changes in health outcomes and cost. Comprehensive measures of the built environment at baseline and after rail construction are also collected. Statistical analyses will (1) examine the effects of opening a new LRT line on chronic disease indicators, health care utilization, and health care costs and (2) evaluate the degree to which observed effects of the LRT line on health measures and costs are mediated by changes in total and transportation-associated PA. DISCUSSION: The results of the Rails & Health study will provide urban planners, transportation engineers, health practitioners, developers, and decision makers with critical information needed to document how transit investments impact population health and related costs.

A dynamic bid price approach for the seat inventory control problem in railway networks with consideration of passenger transfer.

Railway seat inventory control aims to maximize ticket sale profits by determining a selling policy on the reservation horizon. This paper introduces a dynamic bid price approach in railway seat inventory control problem. Multi-dimensional demand is taken into consideration in modeling the problem, in which passenger transfer is our main focus. A new approximate approach is designed to this problem. Numerical examples are presented to evaluate the efficiency of this approach. Simulation experiments are conducted to verify the impact of transfer under different scenarios.

Optimizing a desirable fare structure for a bus-subway corridor.

This paper aims to optimize a desirable fare structure for the public transit service along a bus-subway corridor with the consideration of those factors related to equity in trip, including travel distance and comfort level. The travel distance factor is represented by the distance-based fare strategy, which is an existing differential strategy. The comfort level one is considered in the area-based fare strategy which is a new differential strategy defined in this paper. Both factors are referred to by the combined fare strategy which is composed of distance-based and area-based fare strategies. The flat fare strategy is applied to determine a reference level of social welfare and obtain the general passenger flow along transit lines, which is used to divide areas or zones along the corridor. This problem is formulated as a bi-level program, of which the upper level maximizes the social welfare and the lower level capturing traveler choice behavior is a variable-demand stochastic user equilibrium assignment model. A genetic algorithm is applied to solve the bi-level program while the method of successive averages is adopted to solve the lower-level model. A series of numerical experiments are carried out to illustrate the performance of the models and solution methods. Numerical results indicate that all three differential fare strategies play a better role in enhancing the social welfare than the flat fare strategy and that the fare structure under the combined fare strategy generates the highest social welfare and the largest resulting passenger demand, which implies that the more equity factors a differential fare strategy involves the more desirable fare structure the strategy has.

Emission Projections for Long-Haul Freight Trucks and Rail in the United States through 2050.

This work develops an integrated model approach for estimating emissions from long-haul freight truck and rail transport in the United States between 2010 and 2050. We connect models of macroeconomic activity, freight demand by commodity, transportation networks, and emission technology to represent different pathways of future freight emissions. Emissions of particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and total hydrocarbon (THC) decrease by 60%-70% from 2010 to 2030, as older vehicles built to less-stringent emission standards retire. Climate policy, in the form of carbon tax that increases apparent fuel prices, causes a shift from truck to rail, resulting in a 30% reduction in fuel consumption and a 10%-28% reduction in pollutant emissions by 2050, if rail capacity is sufficient. Eliminating high-emitting conditions in the truck fleet affects air pollutants by 20% to 65%; although these estimates are highly uncertain, they indicate the importance of durability in vehicle engines and emission control systems. Future infrastructure investment will be required both to meet transport demand and to enable actions that reduce emissions of air and climate pollutants. By driving the integrated model framework with two macroeconomic scenarios, we show that the effect of carbon tax on air pollution is robust regardless of growth levels.

Combining direct and indirect impacts to assess ecosystem service loss due to infrastructure construction.

The destruction of natural habitats and the associated loss of Ecosystem Services (ES) are rarely jointly assessed and quantified in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Based on a terrestrial transport infrastructure project, the objective of this paper is to quantify the potential loss of ES associated with direct and indirect impacts, and illustrate their contribution to decision-making for route options. We first quantify how much of each type of ES is generated by different land units in the absence of the infrastructure (baseline conditions). We then estimate ES loss caused by infrastructure construction in a way that discriminates among different types of ES and losses because some ES, in addition to losses that are directly proportional to the surface impacted, can show additional indirect losses associated with landscape connectivity. In addition, we illustrate how the assessment of threshold effects in particular ecosystem types that may be most sensitive to their occurrence can affect the estimation of ES loss. We compare implementation options to provide an example of how choices can be improved by assessing ES loss associated with a combination of direct and indirect impacts. This kind of analysis could be used more generally to assess development projects simply by adapting the framework of analysis to the type of project and the ecosystems concerned.

Train repathing in emergencies based on fuzzy linear programming.

Train pathing is a typical problem which is to assign the train trips on the sets of rail segments, such as rail tracks and links. This paper focuses on the train pathing problem, determining the paths of the train trips in emergencies. We analyze the influencing factors of train pathing, such as transferring cost, running cost, and social adverse effect cost. With the overall consideration of the segment and station capability constraints, we build the fuzzy linear programming model to solve the train pathing problem. We design the fuzzy membership function to describe the fuzzy coefficients. Furthermore, the contraction-expansion factors are introduced to contract or expand the value ranges of the fuzzy coefficients, coping with the uncertainty of the value range of the fuzzy coefficients. We propose a method based on triangular fuzzy coefficient and transfer the train pathing (fuzzy linear programming model) to a determinate linear model to solve the fuzzy linear programming problem. An emergency is supposed based on the real data of the Beijing-Shanghai Railway. The model in this paper was solved and the computation results prove the availability of the model and efficiency of the algorithm.

Environmental risk analysis of hazardous material rail transportation.

An important aspect of railroad environmental risk management involves tank car transportation of hazardous materials. This paper describes a quantitative, environmental risk analysis of rail transportation of a group of light, non-aqueous-phase liquid (LNAPL) chemicals commonly transported by rail in North America. The Hazardous Materials Transportation Environmental Consequence Model (HMTECM) was used in conjunction with a geographic information system (GIS) analysis of environmental characteristics to develop probabilistic estimates of exposure to different spill scenarios along the North American rail network. The risk analysis incorporated the estimated clean-up cost developed using the HMTECM, route-specific probability distributions of soil type and depth to groundwater, annual traffic volume, railcar accident rate, and tank car safety features, to estimate the nationwide annual risk of transporting each product. The annual risk per car-mile (car-km) and per ton-mile (ton-km) was also calculated to enable comparison between chemicals and to provide information on the risk cost associated with shipments of these products. The analysis and the methodology provide a quantitative approach that will enable more effective management of the environmental risk of transporting hazardous materials.

Integrated risk reduction framework to improve railway hazardous materials transportation safety.

Rail transportation plays a critical role to safely and efficiently transport hazardous materials. A number of strategies have been implemented or are being developed to reduce the risk of hazardous materials release from train accidents. Each of these risk reduction strategies has its safety benefit and corresponding implementation cost. However, the cost effectiveness of the integration of different risk reduction strategies is not well understood. Meanwhile, there has been growing interest in the U.S. rail industry and government to best allocate resources for improving hazardous materials transportation safety. This paper presents an optimization model that considers the combination of two types of risk reduction strategies, broken rail prevention and tank car safety design enhancement. A Pareto-optimality technique is used to maximize risk reduction at a given level of investment. The framework presented in this paper can be adapted to address a broader set of risk reduction strategies and is intended to assist decision makers for local, regional and system-wide risk management of rail hazardous materials transportation.

Emergence of hierarchy in cost-driven growth of spatial networks.

One of the most important features of spatial networks--such as transportation networks, power grids, the Internet, and neural networks--is the existence of a cost associated with the length of links. Such a cost has a profound influence on the global structure of these networks, which usually display a hierarchical spatial organization. The link between local constraints and large-scale structure is not elucidated, however, and we introduce here a generic model for the growth of spatial networks based on the general concept of cost-benefit analysis. This model depends essentially on a single scale and produces a family of networks that range from the star graph to the minimum spanning tree and are characterized by a continuously varying exponent. We show that spatial hierarchy emerges naturally, with structures composed of various hubs controlling geographically separated service areas, and appears as a large-scale consequence of local cost-benefit considerations. Our model thus provides the basic building blocks for a better understanding of the evolution of spatial networks and their properties. We also find that, surprisingly, the average detour is minimal in the intermediate regime as a result of a large diversity in link lengths. Finally, we estimate the important parameters for various world railway networks and find that, remarkably, they all fall in this intermediate regime, suggesting that spatial hierarchy is a crucial feature for these systems and probably possesses an important evolutionary advantage.

Following the cognitive work analysis train of thought: exploring the constraints of modal shift to rail transport.

Environmental concerns show that transport is responsible for almost a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions, and it is also the fastest growing sector. Modal shift towards public transport could help slow down, or even reverse, this trend. There appear to be a number of constraints that are preventing this from happening. This paper explores the constraints to modal shift to rail transport from the perspective of cognitive work analysis, specifically the abstraction hierarchy, the contextual activity template and social organisational and cooperation analyses. Whilst these analyses may not present any new barriers, they do show how the constraints are interlinked in an explicit manner. These interrelations are important for two reasons. First, in consideration of constraint removal, one must anticipate the likely effects on the remainder of the system. Second, by linking functions and situations, new concepts of travel may be identified and explored. PRACTITIONER SUMMARY: The purpose of this study was to use a semi-structured approach to identifying constraints to modal shift from a variety of perspectives. It is argued that cognitive work analysis offers a new way of thinking about the modal shift problem and helps to generate new insights into potential solutions.

Separate and unsanitary: African American women railroad car cleaners and the Women's Service Section, 1918-1920.

The Women's Service Section (WSS) investigated federally controlled railroad stations and yards at the end of World War I. Few women worked in car cleaning before the war, and railroad management preferred to block women workers, especially African Americans, from gaining any kind of foothold in railroad work. African American women were the single largest group of railroad car cleaners during this period but they were routinely denied adequate facilities, including toilets, locker rooms, and dining facilities throughout the railroad system. By raising the issues of facilities, workers' rights, and public health, these women shaped federal policy and widened the agenda of the WSS to include a direct attack on segregated workplaces. This article argues that African American women car cleaners launched an industrial campaign that wove together concerns about racism, sexism, and health issues, and successfully removed barriers to women working in a predominately male industry.

Traffic optimization in railroad networks using an algorithm mimicking an amoeba-like organism, Physarum plasmodium.

Traffic optimization of railroad networks was considered using an algorithm that was biologically inspired by an amoeba-like organism, plasmodium of the true slime mold, Physarum polycephalum. The organism developed a transportation network consisting of a tubular structure to transport protoplasm. It was reported that plasmodium can find the shortest path interconnecting multiple food sites during an adaptation process (Nakagaki et al., 2001. Biophys. Chem. 92, 47-52). By mimicking the adaptation process a path finding algorithm was developed by Tero et al. (2007). In this paper, the algorithm is newly modified for applications of traffic distribution optimization in transportation networks of infrastructure such as railroads under the constraint that the network topology is given. Application of the algorithm to a railroad in metropolitan Tokyo, Japan is demonstrated. The results are evaluated using three performance functions related to cost, traveling efficiency, and network weakness. The traffic distribution suggests that the modified Physarum algorithm balances the performances under a certain parameter range, indicating a biological process.

Port wine landscape: railroads, phylloxera, and agricultural science.

It is easy to understand why regions that produce very fine goods such as port wine tend to conceal technological and scientific inputs and praise the uniqueness of the terroir. This paper suggests that, during the last decades of the nineteenth century, viticulture in the Douro region of Portugal was as much a product of soil, local farming traditions, and individual entrepreneurship as it was of modern state science and national politics for agricultural improvement. the unprecedented public projects of building a railroad and fighting phylloxera permanently changed the land of port wine. Moreover, those engineering practices of rationalization, simplification, and standardization that were inscribed on Douro's landscape proved essential for the Portuguese experience of modernization and nation-building.