This issue of Transport covers a range of subjects including rail and road infrastructure design, traffic control, road tolling and high speed rail appraisal. Kaewunruen et al. (2012) report on a collaborative research project run by the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Railway Engineering and Technologies to ascertain the reserved capacity of Australian railway prestressed concrete sleepers designed using the existing design code. Their briefing describes the development of a new limit states design concept and the implication for both the railway and the public community. A paper by Sermpis et al. (2012) investigates the signal control approaches necessary to implement a new tramway system in Athens. Baeza and Vassallo (2012) report on the level of accuracy of actual traffic compared to the initial estimates made by both the government and the concessionaire for toll motorway concessions in Spain. Their paper explains the reasons behind such deviations and the significant bias towards overestimation, and identifies the consequences on social welfare. Castro et al. (2012) review and compare the main models for speed prediction on two-lane rural highways, using a case study incorporating nine highway sections located on different terrain types. Their paper makes recommendations regarding which models to use under specific conditions. López Pita et al. (2012) analyse the impacts (in terms of demand and market share) of high-speed rail services on the important Madrid–Barcelona air route, and compare against other cases. Rajbongshi et al. (2012) report on a new sampling strategy for undertaking structural evaluations of pavements which only involve covering partial lengths of the road in question. Conceição Luzia et al. (2012) describe the main results obtained from two doctoral theses investigating the behavioural implications of using crushed limestone as unbound granular layers (granular sub-base and base) in road pavement design. Finally, Zakeri et al. (2012) investigate the changes in resistance of railway tracks to lateral displacement using the single sleeper push test on the frictional concrete sleeper (B70-F) and compare the results against those for the standard sleeper, B70.
The editorial advisory panel is aware that our readership encompasses many different strands within the transportation field: transport planning and infrastructure; industry and academia; roads and railways; air and water. Our main challenge is to try to ensure that, during the course of a year's issues, our journal will publish papers drawn from across all these strands, so that you will all find something of interest, and will spread the word among your colleagues. If you find your particular area is unrepresented, why not consider writing a paper yourself; we are always grateful for suggestions for future issues. The panel looks forward to hearing from you.
