Editorial

Welcome to the November 2013 issue of Civil Engineering, which brings you four fascinating papers from across the globe.

We start in the UK with the story of the unique Emirates Air Line cable car across the River Thames, which is proving to be a vital transport link in London's fast-developing docklands. We then head east to Japan for a sobering report on the continuing aftermath of the Great East Japan earthquake, including the recent closure of all nuclear power stations. Coal is currently filling the gap, much of which comes from the Hunter valley in Australia – so we head south for our next paper on delivering the country's latest coal-export terminal. It's then back up to mainland Asia to learn how South Korea used public–private partnering for the first time on one of Seoul's new subway lines.

The Emirates Air Line is a £60 million project delivered in 15 months, opening just in time for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The cable car continues to provide a vital link across the River Thames, carrying over 30 000 people a week. Randall (2013) provides an overview of the design and construction of this unique project, which shows how civil engineers working as part of a multi-disciplinary project team can deliver novel infrastructure in challenging circumstances. The project continues the global trend for urban cable ways, including the previously reported Ngong Ping 360 cable car in Hong Kong (Tank et al., 2010).

The explosions and subsequent radiation leaks from Japan's Fukushima I nuclear power station continue to make the headlines. But recent media reports tend to overlook the immediate dire consequences of the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, which killed over 15 000 people as well as effectively wiping out the country's nuclear power industry. Inokuma and Nagayama (2013) describe the event in frank detail, including the damage to infrastructure, the casualties, the ongoing recovery and reconstruction programme, and – most poignantly – the lessons learnt. But while failings at Fukushima continue to make the news so too does the much more positive story that Tokyo is to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In 2004 Australia's New South Wales state government invited bids to develop a third coal-export terminal in the Port of Newcastle to help meet rising global demand for Hunter valley coal, particularly from Japan. Nine years and £1·6 billion later this massive project will be fully operational by the end of this year. The paper by Varming (2013) will particularly appeal to those involved in marine and harbour works, but innovations in the project's design and execution will be of interest to all. This and other recent Australian maritime projects, including the Port Botany expansion recently reported by Packer et al. (2013), reflect the country's recent economic boom – something the new Liberal government will be no doubt keen to sustain.

Seoul in South Korea is also witnessing rapid development, with the population now standing at over 10 million. The underground railway network has emerged as the only effective solution to keeping the city functioning effectively, with the initial 300 km of subway lines publicly funded and run by public corporations. However, as reported by Lee and Shin (2013), line 9 was the first to be privately part-funded and operated. They discuss the various issues encountered and conclude with a number of lessons learnt for future public–private partnering infrastructure projects worldwide.

I trust you enjoy the various papers and articles in this issue. I hope too they will encourage you and your colleagues to consider sharing your own experiences through this and other ICE Proceedings journals in the near future.