Transport Notes
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The goal of Transport Notes series is dissemination of recent experiences and innovations in the World Bank Group’s transport sector operations.
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Publication Geohazard Management in the Transport Sector(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-03) Muzira, Stephen; Humphreys, Martin; Pohl, WolfhartGeohazards can result in significant loss of human life as well as cause extensive damage to infrastructure. The magnitude and frequency of geohazard events ranges from earthquakes and tsunamis to landslides and flash floods. In the most severe cases involving the low frequency but more intense geohazards like earthquakes or tsunamis, the primary concern, ex ante, is on the minimization of the potential loss of life and property, damage to infrastructure, and ensuring continuity in the functionality of public and private services. In the higher frequency, lower impact, geohazards, such as landslides, flash floods, and rock fall, proper planning remains vital, but is often overlooked in transition and developing economies. In the transport sector, proper planning for this category of geohazards can realize significant savings in construction costs, avoiding cost over-runs, repair costs and costly delays, and subsequent maintenance costs. This technical note provides a summary of the typology of geohazards, prospective mitigation measures, and current practices in managing geohazards. It also outlines some key recommendations to facilitate improved management of geohazards in the transport sector.Publication Improving Secondary and Local Roads in Albania : Lessons from a Programmatic Approach(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-03) Humphreys, Martin; Guxho, Artan; Ishihara, SatoshiAlbania has made considerable progress since transition in overcoming the legacy of nearly forty years of autarky. But despite significant progress and some of the fastest rates of gross domestic product (GDP) growth in South East Europe, it remains one of the impoverished countries in Europe, with the majority of the population, and the majority of the poor, living in rural areas. These areas, despite the acknowledged links between infrastructure provision and poverty reduction, are currently poorly served by infrastructure, with the majority of the secondary and local road network in poor condition, and often impassable in inclement weather. Accordingly, in 2006, the Prime Minister established a task force to prepare a program to improve a significant proportion of the secondary and local network and requested the assistance of the World Bank to prepare, and contribute to the financing, of such a program. This transport note summarizes the experience of the World Bank and details the key factors underpinning what has became a very successful program, together with the main lessons learned.Publication Improving Local Roads and Creating Jobs through Rapid Response Projects : Lessons from Armenia Lifeline Roads Improvement Project(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-02) Ishihara, Satoshi; Bennett, Christopher R.In late 2008 the Republic of Armenia requested the Bank's assistance to mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis. This technical note describes how the Lifeline Road Improvement Project (LRIP) was prepared and implemented as a Rapid Response Project, prepared in only six weeks. This project saw over 150 km of roads improved and almost 12,000 person-months of employment generated during an eight month period between May to December 2009. The lessons learned may guide other projects with similar objectives.Publication Planning and Implementation of Road Use Charging : Options and Guidelines(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-11) Jung Eun, Oh; Vukanovic, Svetlana; Bennett, Christopher R.Road use charging is used by agencies for activities ranging from revenue collection, through demand and environmental management. It is applied on individual road segments, such as an expressway, or over geographic areas, such as zones in a city or even an entire country. When a government is considering implementing a road use charging system, it needs to consider four broad issues: (i) the technology to adopt; (ii) how it will be operated; (iii) how compliance will be enforced; and (iv) the social impact of the system. This transport note addresses each of these four issues, and presents guidelines towards implementing a successful road use charging scheme.Publication Assessment of Road Funds in South Asia Region(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-12) Guillossou, Jean-Noel; Stankevich, NatalyaSustaining an adequate level of resources for road maintenance has been a continuous issue worldwide, including in South Asia. Since the late 1990s South Asia has developed different models of Road Funds (RFs), at the national level, or in the case of India at the state and local level, to improve sources of financing for road maintenance and development. The World Bank South Asia transport team has carried out a review of RFs in the region to draw lessons learned from the past experience. The review provides the analytical underpinning for advising governments on how to improve the performance of existing RFs or how to establish new RFs for road maintenance, and for providing guidance to the World Bank for revising its transport sector strategy in relation to road policy reforms in the South Asia region.Publication Railways in Development : Global Round-Up 1996-2005(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-09) Amos, Paul; Thompson, LouThis Transport Note has been prepared as an adjunct to the 2006-07 updating of the World Bank's Railways Databases. It uses the databases for inferences on aggregate trends as well as other Bank documents and sources of policy information. It provides a high level view of traffic and policy developments. Particular emphasis is given to the Bank's six regions of operations at a time when the Bank's Transport Strategy is being updated with the intention of increasing the attention given to the role of railways in development. For completeness, important policy developments in the higher income countries are also summarized. The Note has been prepared by Paul Amos, Transport Adviser to the World Bank and Lou Thompson, Railway Consultant, and formerly Railways Adviser to the World Bank. While the content has drawn upon the broad experience and expertise of the Bank in the railway sector, any views expressed herein are strictly those of the authors.Publication Railways in Development : Global Round-Up 1996-2005(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-09) Amos, Paul; Thompson, LouThis Transport Note has been prepared as an adjunct to the 2006-07 updating of the World Bank's Railways Databases (www.worldbank.org/railways). It uses the databases for inferences on aggregate trends (and so subject to the caveats provided in the Explanatory Note cited) as well as other Bank documents and sources of policy information. It provides a high level view of traffic and policy developments. Particular emphasis is given to the Bank's six regions of operations at a time when the Bank's Transport Strategy is being updated with the intention of increasing the attention given to the role of railways in development. For completeness, important policy developments in the higher income countries are also summarized.Publication How a Road Agency Can Transform Force Account Road Maintenance to Contracting(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-06) Andreski, Adam; Seth, Subhash; Walker, WendyRecent international trends in the reform of road management, point to the need to transform force account road maintenance services. With Force Account, funding tends to be erratic; management of equipment and its support facilities inadequate, planning, supervision and execution require high standards of staffing, quality control may be poor; and reporting systems weak. Contracted works have the advantages that payment of work is done to specification, rates are known making budgeting and planning easier, risk is transferred from the Public Sector to the Private Sector, and the profit motive tends to promote efficiency and reduce unnecessary waste. An International Labour Organization study in Cambodia found that contracted road maintenance is 24 percent cheaper than force account and Talvitie found contracting out gave 5-15 percent in efficiency gains. Many countries have already gone through this process and every country has a different experience. This paper brings a systematic approach with a focus on situation analysis, identification of options, developing transformation strategy, addressing social issues, management options, and monitoring efficiency and effectiveness of the program.Publication Surfacing Alternatives for Unsealed Rural Roads(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-05) Henning, Theuns; Kadar, Peter; Bennett, Christopher R.Despite extensive road construction programs over the last century, a substantial proportion of roads remained unsealed especially in developing and emerging economies. As these economies develop, the demand arises to seal previously unsealed roads. The most economical transition point between unsealed and sealed roads depends on many conditions that need to be evaluated. The purpose of this Note is to provide guidance for decision makers, engineers and administrators on selecting the most appropriate surface for unsealed road given the prevailing conditions. It is based on the report "Surfacing Alternatives for Unsealed Roads" (report 37192).Publication Highway and Railway Development in India and China, 1992-2002(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-05) Harral, Clel; Sondhi, Jit; Guang Zhe ChenThis Note compares the development of highway and railway infrastructure in India and China during 1992 and 2002. It examines key strategies pursued by the countries including China's highway financing schemes; China's planning, design, tendering, and supervision of construction; potential lessons learned from India's highway sector development; the comparative financial and operational performance of the two countries; and lessons learned from China railways, particularly its ability to achieve to achieve higher output and productivity.