After centuries of neglect, the land transport corridors connecting Asia and Europe are on the brink of a rebirth. From practically nothing, a revived network of these land corridors is likely to lead to a considerable share of the freight revenues being generated by the increased trade between Asia and Europe. That is why there is fierce competition among the major players for control in shaping the Asia-Europe railway transport corridors. However, there are also new and exciting possibilities for cooperation among the various players. We will extensively examine and evaluate the transport corridors linking Asia and Europe. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project will be assessed from the perspectives of the three countries involved: Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. It has been shown that the railroad will economically strengthen the region and better integrate the three host countries into international transport corridors. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad will certainly play a key role in helping to revive the Silk Road connection, thereby creating common interests and facilitating the transformation of the region. The BTK transport corridor will not only stimulate the economies of the countries involved but help wean them their off oil-dependence and restore their rightful place as major commercial hubs along the once-legendary Silk Road. The attraction of direct foreign investment and establishment of partnerships between the public and private sectors are key issues that will be explored in-depth in this book. By 2025, the region is expected to become a prosperous financial sector and transit area; a comprehensive strategy to that end which incorporates the principles of sustainable growth is being formulated by the countries involved.

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Revitalizing railways as a major sustainable transport mode in modern societies faces many issues and challenges. This in-depth overview places the importance of railways in the wider context of comprehensive sustainability, which encompasses sustainable development, social and economic equity and community livability. Some scholars have described the 21st century as a period of renaissance for railways and suggest this transport mode can fulfil people's desire for high mobility with low negative environmental, social, economic and financial impacts. In light of these new expectations for railways, in both passenger and freight transport worldwide, this book offers the latest research insights on the renewed interest about railway expansions and their wide-ranging environmental, socio-economic and even political implications.

Much work has been done on port governance yet little has addressed intermodal terminal governance, despite the clear similarities. This book fills that gap by establishing a governance framework for situating analysis of intermodal terminals throughout their life cycle. A version of the product life cycle theory is amended with governance theory to produce a framework covering each stage of the terminal’s life cycle, from the initial planning to the many decisions taken regarding the public/private split in funding mechanisms, ownership, selecting an operator, specifying KPIs to the operator, setting fees, earning profit, ensuring fair access to all rail service operators, and finally to reconcessioning the terminal to a new operator, managing the handover and maintaining the terminal throughout its life cycle. An institutional analysis of stakeholder relations, situated within a governance framework, illuminates these issues and enables not only conceptualisation and greater understanding of the geography of intermodal transport, but also decision-making and goal-setting by planners and policy makers. This book thus has three functions: first, as a textbook on the planning and operation of intermodal terminals; second, as a presentation of recent empirical research on intermodal terminal governance; third, as a framework for future research in which the broad field of analysis of intermodal transport can be viewed through a single lens and used to inform geographers, policymakers and planners.

This book provides valuable insight and critical appraisal of key areas of intelligent transport systems (ITS) for land transport in Europe. ITS is becoming increasingly important as the means to improving the efficiency, safety and comfort of the transport of people and goods while at the same time helping to minimize environmental damage and the contribution of transport to global warming.The material draws on over four years of study by the ROSETTA project — part of the European Commission 5th Framework Program. For each of the 12 areas addressed, the book provides a vision for their application, identifies key issues yet to be addressed and the future opportunities that the timely application and advancement of ITS can bring.