MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Report Infrastructure
MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION PREFACE From Las Vegas to La Paz, cycle lanes, car-sharing schemes and high-speed railway lines are appearing at a rate of knots. We take a closer look at some pacey progress. ILLUSTRATOR Tomi Um
PEDAL POWER PENANG
FULL SPEED AHEAD TAIWAN
Traffic gridlock has become the frustrating norm in Southeast Asia. That’s why the state government of Penang is rolling out a plan to open up the roads for cyclists. As a first step, officials have earmarked more than 200km for specially designated bicycle routes around the state. In August last year, a 1.2km trial stretch was set up in the serene Tanjung Bungah suburb, where motorists began to see green lanes on the roads. The next phase is a 12.5km shared-lane project from the affluent Queensbay neighbourhood to the city centre, which will be completed later this year. Around $9m (€6.7m) has been committed with a group of five private developers to help with a decidedly ambitious blueprint. “Penang is very active when it comes to cycling,” says municipal council building department director Yew Tung Seang. “We are moving towards becoming a bicycle state.” Consecutive phases promise an even more tantalising idea for the state: a nascent bike-share system. Penang is soliciting proposals from private companies and has identified 24 potential bike stations throughout state capital George Town. By the third quarter of this year Yew hopes interested parties will come forward to help alleviate the pressure on the city’s jammed streets. — jc
Since it was completed in 2007, Taiwan’s high-speed rail has had a considerable impact on the nation’s society and economy. The 345km of track has not only shortened journey times between cities and towns but also had the happy side-effect of leading to the development of new urban centres. Built along the island’s western corridor (which is home to a massive 94 per cent of Taiwan’s population), the high-speed network has made it possible for travellers to make same-day trips between Taipei in the north and Kaohsiung in the south.
SOMETHING’S AFOOT LAS VEGAS Tax incentives and cheap office space lured Zappos CEO and founder Tony Hsieh – and his huge online shoe shop – to downtown Las Vegas. You would assume that having arrived, any ambition to get people moving around the city would involved footwear – which only serves to make his subsequent actions even more surprising. Project 100, fuelled by Hsieh’s finances and utopian vision, will put a sharable fleet of 206 vehicles, 120 bikes and three shuttles in the hands of Las Vegans by the end of this year. “When you are in our core service area
you can either be behind the wheel of one of a few different vehicles, in the backseat being driven by a concierge, in a shuttle or on a bike within five minutes,” says Project 100 founder Zach Ware. The organisation believes cost is the biggest barrier for the movement of people, and that its subscription model makes a partially high-end transport mix affordable – Project 100 placed the largest single order for the all-electric Tesla Model S in North America. In this sun drenched, resource intensive city of sins we think anything to reduce the amount of cars on the roads is a step in the right direction. — tma
RELIGIOUS RAIL SAUDI ARABIA
JEWEL IN THE CROWN SINGAPORE As Shanghai and Dubai unveil new developments for their airports, Singapore’s Changi airport is making sure it is not left behind with the launch of Project Jewel: a multi-use glassand-steel complex with shops and restaurants. It will occupy around 70 per cent of the building while also providing inbound travellers with hotel facilities and a chance to recuperate in a large indoor garden with a 40-metre-high waterfall. “When completed, Project Jewel will challenge existing norms about what an airport experience should be like and raise the
104 — issue 74 — TRANSPORT SURVEY
bar for airports around the world,” says Philip Yim, CEO of Jewel Changi Airport Development, the property manager for the project. Construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2014 and the development is set to open by 2018. Estimated to cost around $1.2bn (€849m), it is not without its critics. But in the minds of officials the fight to become the preferred stopover point in Asia for global travellers trumps any opposition. “For Changi airport to stay ahead of other competing air hubs, a game changer is necessary. Project Jewel is important to Changi’s strategy of becoming a leading air hub globally,” says Yim. — jc
The journey between Taipei and Kaohsiung, which previously took five hours, can now be completed in just 90 minutes. Taipei and Kaohsiung are also developing into sprawling metropolitan areas as people make the decision to relocate to towns that have access to highspeed rail stations. Next year, four new stations will join the high-speed rail network, which will result in far better connectivity for a number of smaller communities. By following the lead of the Japanese Shinkansen model, Taiwan has created an efficient and comfortable high-speed rail service that has revolutionised domestic travel. — vl
Leading a Spanish consortium to build a 450km-long highspeed railway line through the Saudi desert is not the easiest job in the world – especially when you’re a woman working in one of the most conservative societies on the planet. Ineco special-projects director María Sanchez Palomo takes it all in her stride though, travelling across the Saudi desert and around the Mediterranean to ensure this €6.75bn project is completed by 2015. The rail line will connect the holy sites of Jeddah-Medina and Mecca, allowing millions of devout Muslims to complete the Hajj pilgrimage faster than
ever before. Up to 60 million passengers are expected to complete the two-and-a-half hour journey each year. While the usually sticky issue of land acquisition hasn’t been an issue in the desert, the shifting sands, strong winds and extreme temperatures have provided design challenges. Vast protection walls have been built and the electrified double track has incorporated special air-conditioning technology to help regulate intense heat. It is hoped the project will inject new life into the international presence of Spanish rail, boosting prospects for other high-profile contracts such as the line between São and Rio de Janeiro. — la
TRANSPORT SURVEY — issue 74 — 105
MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION PREFACE From Las Vegas to La Paz, cycle lanes, car-sharing schemes and high-speed railway lines are appearing at a rate of knots. We take a closer look at some pacey progress. ILLUSTRATOR Tomi Um
PEDAL POWER PENANG
FULL SPEED AHEAD TAIWAN
Traffic gridlock has become the frustrating norm in Southeast Asia. That’s why the state government of Penang is rolling out a plan to open up the roads for cyclists. As a first step, officials have earmarked more than 200km for specially designated bicycle routes around the state. In August last year, a 1.2km trial stretch was set up in the serene Tanjung Bungah suburb, where motorists began to see green lanes on the roads. The next phase is a 12.5km shared-lane project from the affluent Queensbay neighbourhood to the city centre, which will be completed later this year. Around $9m (€6.7m) has been committed with a group of five private developers to help with a decidedly ambitious blueprint. “Penang is very active when it comes to cycling,” says municipal council building department director Yew Tung Seang. “We are moving towards becoming a bicycle state.” Consecutive phases promise an even more tantalising idea for the state: a nascent bike-share system. Penang is soliciting proposals from private companies and has identified 24 potential bike stations throughout state capital George Town. By the third quarter of this year Yew hopes interested parties will come forward to help alleviate the pressure on the city’s jammed streets. — jc
Since it was completed in 2007, Taiwan’s high-speed rail has had a considerable impact on the nation’s society and economy. The 345km of track has not only shortened journey times between cities and towns but also had the happy side-effect of leading to the development of new urban centres. Built along the island’s western corridor (which is home to a massive 94 per cent of Taiwan’s population), the high-speed network has made it possible for travellers to make same-day trips between Taipei in the north and Kaohsiung in the south.
SOMETHING’S AFOOT LAS VEGAS Tax incentives and cheap office space lured Zappos CEO and founder Tony Hsieh – and his huge online shoe shop – to downtown Las Vegas. You would assume that having arrived, any ambition to get people moving around the city would involved footwear – which only serves to make his subsequent actions even more surprising. Project 100, fuelled by Hsieh’s finances and utopian vision, will put a sharable fleet of 206 vehicles, 120 bikes and three shuttles in the hands of Las Vegans by the end of this year. “When you are in our core service area
you can either be behind the wheel of one of a few different vehicles, in the backseat being driven by a concierge, in a shuttle or on a bike within five minutes,” says Project 100 founder Zach Ware. The organisation believes cost is the biggest barrier for the movement of people, and that its subscription model makes a partially high-end transport mix affordable – Project 100 placed the largest single order for the all-electric Tesla Model S in North America. In this sun drenched, resource intensive city of sins we think anything to reduce the amount of cars on the roads is a step in the right direction. — tma
RELIGIOUS RAIL SAUDI ARABIA
JEWEL IN THE CROWN SINGAPORE As Shanghai and Dubai unveil new developments for their airports, Singapore’s Changi airport is making sure it is not left behind with the launch of Project Jewel: a multi-use glassand-steel complex with shops and restaurants. It will occupy around 70 per cent of the building while also providing inbound travellers with hotel facilities and a chance to recuperate in a large indoor garden with a 40-metre-high waterfall. “When completed, Project Jewel will challenge existing norms about what an airport experience should be like and raise the
104 — issue 74 — TRANSPORT SURVEY
bar for airports around the world,” says Philip Yim, CEO of Jewel Changi Airport Development, the property manager for the project. Construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2014 and the development is set to open by 2018. Estimated to cost around $1.2bn (€849m), it is not without its critics. But in the minds of officials the fight to become the preferred stopover point in Asia for global travellers trumps any opposition. “For Changi airport to stay ahead of other competing air hubs, a game changer is necessary. Project Jewel is important to Changi’s strategy of becoming a leading air hub globally,” says Yim. — jc
The journey between Taipei and Kaohsiung, which previously took five hours, can now be completed in just 90 minutes. Taipei and Kaohsiung are also developing into sprawling metropolitan areas as people make the decision to relocate to towns that have access to highspeed rail stations. Next year, four new stations will join the high-speed rail network, which will result in far better connectivity for a number of smaller communities. By following the lead of the Japanese Shinkansen model, Taiwan has created an efficient and comfortable high-speed rail service that has revolutionised domestic travel. — vl
Leading a Spanish consortium to build a 450km-long highspeed railway line through the Saudi desert is not the easiest job in the world – especially when you’re a woman working in one of the most conservative societies on the planet. Ineco special-projects director María Sanchez Palomo takes it all in her stride though, travelling across the Saudi desert and around the Mediterranean to ensure this €6.75bn project is completed by 2015. The rail line will connect the holy sites of Jeddah-Medina and Mecca, allowing millions of devout Muslims to complete the Hajj pilgrimage faster than
ever before. Up to 60 million passengers are expected to complete the two-and-a-half hour journey each year. While the usually sticky issue of land acquisition hasn’t been an issue in the desert, the shifting sands, strong winds and extreme temperatures have provided design challenges. Vast protection walls have been built and the electrified double track has incorporated special air-conditioning technology to help regulate intense heat. It is hoped the project will inject new life into the international presence of Spanish rail, boosting prospects for other high-profile contracts such as the line between São and Rio de Janeiro. — la
TRANSPORT SURVEY — issue 74 — 105
