High-Speed Rail System - Assignment Example

High Speed 2 (HS2) (London – Birmingham Phase) Number Outline I Introduction II High-speed railway A) History about HSR B) HSR different countries like Japan, France, Germany, China, any other C) Benefits of HSR D) Comparison of HSR with other modes of transport III HSR – London to Birmingham IV Procurement for High Speed Rail- A) Procurement in general, importance, role of mangers and role of clients B) Strategy for the procurement of HSR a) Quality b) Costs and funding c) Time d) Risks e) Sustainability f) Project stakeholders V Forms of contract VI Conclusion Reference List Introduction High-speed rail system will owned by railway companies and will improve transport system between various destinations in England. High-speed rail will be characterized by high fixed costs and low variable costs thus reducing fares. The high fixed costs are attributed to the design of the rail network and railway construction costs. Users will enjoy economies of scale since there is a reduction in per unit cost as well commuting time is reduced. High-speed rail is classified as being lean since it does not experience shortcoming similar to those experienced by current rail system (Zhou and Shen, 2011). High-speed railway High-speed rail is a type of transport mode, which uses electric rails to offer transport at a faster speed than the current carriage railway. It may have a speed ranging from 200km/h to 350km/h. The European Union considers high-speed railway to be equivalent to 200-300km/h, while in India and Australia they consider it 250-500km/h. In Japan, they have the 300km/h rails in operation. This type of train operates specifically on areas where there are minimum closings. Mostly high-speed trains are meant for human transport (Zhou and Shen, 2011). History about HSR High-speed railway is an invention of the Japanese as Japan was the first country to design and use to help this form of transport to reduce congestion in their cities. They develop an electric rail, which was travelling at a speed of 145km/h. At that time, the Japanese engineers wanted to develop a form of train that was faster and reliable mode of transport to ease the congestion in cities of Tokyo and Osaka. In 1963, they were able to produce an electrical rail that operates at a speed of 256km/h, which was used including the time of Olympics in 1964. This train eased transport in Japan. In 1965, the Japanese and the French introduced a similar rail but United Kingdom became the first European country to have a regular service of rail, which travels at 200km/h in 1976.Since, then there has been a construction in various parts of Europe. There is also a construction of high-speed rail services between countries such as, Belgium, Britain, and France. There is a high-speed rail between London and Paris as well as Brussels –London (Zhou and Shen, 2011). HSR different countries like Japan, France, Germany, China, any other Currently Japan and France are operating high-speed rails. France has a conventional rail, which operates at a speed of 575km/h. while France operates unconventional rail, which operates at a speed of 581km/h. China, which has the world largest population, has a rail that operates at a speed of 500km/h, and it became the sixth country to develop high-speed rail in the world. Germany operates high-speed rail that covers 450 km/h and were the third country in the world to operate such a facility. Other countries that are operating high-speed rails include Spain, Russia, Italy South Korea, and Taiwan. High speed rail in these counties usually are constructed in congested cities to ease transport (Department of transport, 2010) Benefits of HSR The aim of High-speed rail is to maximize social welfare. The cost –benefit technique attempts to indentify the social costs and benefits associated with a High-speed rail over a longer period and tries to quantify them by expressing them in a common monetary unit. Consider maintenance cost, noise, pollution from dirt and exhaust fumes, and loss of landscape and general disfigurement of the environment. Its social benefits include savings in journey time to existing systems, possibly few accidents, and deaths (De Rus, 2008). Much the same set of costs and benefits applied to the construction of the High-speed rail linking between London and Birmingham. A thorough cost-benefit study of this major project would have taken into account, among other things, the building, and maintenance cost of the High-speed rail and associated rail links. The possible loss of jobs on modes of transport, the compensation paid to land trains; and environmental damage caused by the new rail line and tunnel terminals. Benefits would include the time saved by travellers; the possible reduction in congestion on roads and airports; and the additional jobs created to run the system and to build the new trains and infrastructure (Hanley, 2005). The underlying principle of the technique is to maximize social benefits in relation to costs, both usually expressed in a common monetary unit. Social benefits include all those effects of a policy change that increase social welfare, and social cost includes all those that that reduce social welfare. An increase in net social welfare can be written as equal to gross benefits minus gross social costs((De Rus, 2008). Viewed in this way, cost-benefited analysis is an alternative technique for resource allocation in the public sector to that of allocation by the market mechanism. It enables the decision –maker to choose from the alternative projects that which maximizes net social benefit. This narrow object of the maximization of net social benefit of a given project should in principle, however be consistent with the broader objectives of allocation and distribution (De Rus, 2008). Cost –benefit analysis provides a wide scope for public expenditure decisions, which are not at the aggregate level, but for the pro vision of a specific good service. There are many benefits associated with these high-speed rails if it is implemented in the United Kingdom. High-speed rails move at a high speed of more than 300km/h. This will ease communication, as people will be able to travel at the shortest time possible to their destinations. They will also ensure that population is evenly distributed as people will be able to live in a certain town and work in another. Unlike road, transport where 300km will take more than 4 hours when there is no traffic jam, high-speed rail takes one hour. High-speed rail will ensure resources are distributed among towns as people working in a certain town will receive their salary and go to a certain town to spend it there (Department of transport, 2010). The construction of high-speed rail will also bring in the issue of increased tourism, as tourists will be able to visit many areas where high-speed rail is connected. This is because high-speed rails bring in low fare as compared to frights and cars. This will bring in new growth areas as tourism resorts will be constructed which in turn will create jobs, improving the living standards of the people. The other economic benefit will include the appreciation of land value, development of new public infrastructures like; hospitals, schools, administration centres, even factories. There is also a flow of capital because of the infrastructure of the high-speed rail((De Rus, 2008). Comparison of HSR with other modes of transport Road transport- Road transport is very advantageous. It can be use in various forms of intermodal transport. When compared to other modes, road transport provides greater accessibility to transporters. For instance, transport tracks can collect goods exactly at the shippers’ premises and deliver them to a ship a railway terminal or an airport. As such, road transport provides fast physical distribution of good. Furthermore, it can be scheduled or unscheduled depending cargo to be transported or the operation underway. The fact the tracks can even transport goods in small quantities and deliver them on door-to-door basis makes it more flexible. Due to this great extent of flexibility road transport can be classified as being agile. No other mode of transport can react quickly to changes in journey like road transport, which adapts to circumstance very fast. However, road transport is not lean. It encounters numerous shortcomings such as accidents, high pollution, high social costs, and traffic congestions (Barnhart and Laporte, 2007). Carrier Rail transport- Railway transport, which provides the second stage in intermodal transport is normally scheduled. Railway is mostly owned by privately railway companies and transport containerized goods. Occasional, rail transport can be unscheduled due to the demand be by the transporters or the frequency of rail services in the country. According to Sabri & Sheikh (2010, p 206) rail transport is characterized by high fixed costs and low variable costs. Railway users enjoy economies of scale since there is a reduction in per unit cost as the shipment volume increased. Railway transport is classified as being lean since it does not experience shortcoming similar to those experienced by road transport. It is however, not as flexible as road transport and therefore not agile. For increased flexibility rail transport, depend on road transport to have goods reach their final destination (Barnhart and Laporte, 2007). Sea Transport- Sea transport forms the third leg of the intermodal cost model. It is undeniable that containerization is a major boost to shipping. It facilitates rapid movement of good and easy handling of the goods. See transport is mostly schedule and fixed. It also requires proper development of ports and provisions of handling facilities such to handle transfer of cargo from trains or trucks to ships. Sea transport is agile and changes to adapt with new developments. For instance, it changes to adapt new economic, social, and political systems(Barnhart and Laporte, 2007). HSR – London to Birmingham The construction of high a speed railway will be beneficial to the people of England because it will connect Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, East Midlands, London, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam. . This train will reduce hours spent to arrive to various destinations. The journey from Edinburg to Liverpool will reduce from 4hours 50 minutes to 3 hours 42 minutes, which is 2 minutes late as compared to a flight. The journey from Leeds to Canary wharf will reduce from 2 hours 58 minutes to 1 hour 39 minutes. This is 3 times faster than a flight, which takes 4 hours 25 minutes. From Canary wharf to Birmingham, the high-speed train will take 1 hour 10 minutes as compared to car and the current railway, which takes 2 hours 45 minutes and 2 hours respectively (Department of transport, 2010). The high-speed rail from London to Birmingham will have two destinations London and Birmingham. It will also have two interchanges at Heathrow and Birmingham, it will also have one cross rail at London which will connect with the other rail. This proposed high-speed rail line is shown in the figure below. I t will provide direct connections to Heathrow, Cross rail and the great western mainline. This will ease crowding in various areas because people will be able to choose non-crowded. The areas, which are within the reach of the proposed HSR, include; Heathrow airport, the city of London, Reading and Canary wharf (Department of transport, 2010). The proposed high-speed rail will have a capacity to allow 14 train services to operate in 1 hour. It will also conform to the European practice of allowing 555 passengers in one train. The rail will also provide services to some destinations such as North Wales, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, and Crewe(Department of transport, 2010). (Department of transport, 2010) The high-speed rail will allow longer trains to be used between the two destinations increasing the capacity by 200% as well as releasing capacity within the network. The release of the capacity within the network, will allow a number of trains to travel between Milton Keynes South Midlands leading to development of housing capacity. The journey from London to Birmingham will take 4l9 minutes instead of the current 1 hour 2 4 minutes. It will also reduce the journey from West Midlands to London to 31 minutes. The services of this rail will also affect positively destinations such as Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow. These areas will have timesaving of 30 minutes from the current rail (Department of transport, 2010). The construction of this high-speed rail is precipitated by increase in demand of rail services in the United Kingdom. The increase in demand is due to increase in population in towns of United Kingdom. PROCUREMENT FOR HIGH SPEED RAIL- Acquisition or procurement of in the Great Britain means the construction of the facility/ rail. Before the construction begins, there will be a need for a project manager who will head the whole project. The procurement will entail the selection of the contractor who will complete the project designing the rail acquiring land that will be used in the construction installing security systems that will ensure the high speed rail operate safely avoiding instances of terrorists’ acts. It will also entail the materials of the construction are acquired in time and are of good quality. All this will be made possible if there are enough resources to complete the project (Department of transport, 2010). Procurement in general, importance, role of mangers and role of clients Procurement is the activities, cost, and assets associated with purchasing and providing raw materials, supplies, services, and outsourcing necessary to support the firm and its activities. Sometimes this activity is assigned as part of a firm’s inbound logistic purchasing activities. Project managers are expected to identify risks upfront during the occurrence of the planning work. All possible risks should be identified and for each risk, they are required to ascertain the chances of its occurrence and the possible harm it will do to the project. High-risk events must have specific plans for their mitigation so that they do not recur. Project managers should adopt processes whereby potential risks are assessed during the entire project period (Gido and Clements, 2010). After commencement of the project, updated risk assessments should be made to ascertain if additional risks have arisen that, require management. Efficient project managers resolve problems at the earliest (Bracey, 2007; Brenck, Beckers, Henrich and Hirschausen, 2005). Project managers are liable to cooperate with government agencies that conduct site visits at construction projects. Any objections raised by them in the context of failure to comply with lawful procedures must be attended to and rectified immediately. Safety standards prescribed by government agencies have to be complied with in terms of mechanical precautions and processes(Gido and Clements, 2010). It is very important for project managers to take efficient care of work and material specifications that are significant features of facility design. Specifications in the context of components and required quality are important elements of documentation that describe a facility. Usually, such documentations include specific stipulations about construction design while referring to the commonly accepted specifications that are used in construction. The project manager has to formalize separate specifications for different construction activities such as transport, testing and welding. He is also expected to modify the specifications in reflecting local policies, circumstances, local regulations, availability of materials, and any other specific circumstances. In fact, performance specifications have been developed recently in the context of the ways in which operations at constructions have to be carried out. Instead of outlining the required construction procedures, they specify the required quality and performance of the completed facility. The specific ways in which such performance is achieved depends upon the attitude and competence of the project manager (Duncan, 1996). The project manager must show forth various personalities that can be interwoven together. The manager is effective when he or she is a good communicator displaying strong interpersonal skills and strong team building skills. Critical to any project are the project constraints of time, cost, and quality. A disciplined approach to any project management process requires that the project manager is tactful and knowledgeable to manage the project within the constraints. However, this takes planning as one of the responsibilities of the project manager (Heldman, 2009). The project manager must also be aware of all or most of the resources available to the project before kickoff and during the life cycle. The resources here may include people, equipment, and funds. Having this perspective helps the project manager to determine the amount of money committed to the project by the project sponsors. Based on this, the project manager can use project budgeting tools to draw up an acceptable budget that will get the approval of the project sponsors. It is always desirable that the project budget is pegged to the actual money availed by the project sponsors. Financial costing and other financially related matters in any project are critical. Effectively managing these factors determines the success of the project. A project manager should be able to constitute a project management team that is able to employ “cost estimation tools and techniques” (Schwalbe, 2009, p.263). A variety of financial oriented tools may be used within a project. Some can be integrated as applications while others are specific and stand-alone. The conventional tools such as the net present value (NPV) which uses cash flows, investment rate of return (IRR), and the annual percentage yield (APY) are among the tools used to determine the financial value of the project undertaken (Lewis, 2002) Strategy for the procurement of HSR Quality: In order to ensure high quality the contractor must focus on producing a facility that satisfies the owner and relates quality to price and costs. However, to achieve the required level of quality, the government must give the contractor sufficient time. Quality control has to be planned, which seeks some level of order and quality control systems. After the government sets quality of design and standards, the contractor makes plans on how the required quality will be achieved by using workers, materials, equipments, and construction methods. The contactor is expected to provide long-term quality control by establishing systems and processes of a quality culture (Foster, 2009). Quality control represents a very important area for project managers because one of the most frequent reasons for breakdown of project management is bad quality management. This mostly results because of primary misconceptions held by the project manager and his team in terms of defining quality, which is classified by the client and the project developer. Even if a project manager considers that the project has been executed without any shortcomings, it may not prove to be successful if it does not meet the expectations of the client. Defective constructions can lead to excessive costs because facility functions can be weakened and even minor defects may require reconstruction, thus resulting in delay and increased costs (Rioux, 2008). If performance is optimized in one phase of the project, it may not prove to be of benefit entirely if added costs or delays occur in other areas. For instance, if money is saved on designing and excessive costs are incurred on construction, the objective is not fulfilled for project owners. It may become necessary to fragment the project amongst different specialists. However, there is a strong need to establish good coordination and communications between the participants so that all goals are effectively achieved. Improvement in productivity is an issue that is always of prime value and importance because of which the introduction of automated construction procedures and new materials is always preferred until the time they do not become more expensive or inconsistent with the required performance levels. Of critical importance are work quality and performance without which the project cannot become successful. This assumes more significance because project owners always seek to receive positive results. Therefore, project managers need to be conscious of the fact that they have to focus on cost effectiveness of project construction while also ensuring that different sections of participants provide competitive services (Fox and Cornell, 2004). Costs and funding: The cost of funding the high-speed rail will run into billions of sterling pounds. From London to West Midlands, it will cost £15.8 billion when not adjusted for risks. However if it is adjusted for inflation and other risks, it will amount to £ 17.4 billion. It should be noted that if it is constructed to Birmingham covering areas of Manchester, Leeds, Preston and York it will cost approximately £30 billion when not adjusted for risks. This cost is very high. It requires a funding that will have a value for money. The government has various options for funding. These include funding from businesses, cities that will benefit from the rail, local authorities, regional development agencies and European Union (Department of transport. 2010). Time: The project is estimated to take a period of 15 years and the cost of the project will be spread over that period. From the economic point of view, this project is viable(Department of transport. 2010). Risks: Risks can be classified into four categories namely external and site condition risks, economic and financial risks, technical and contractual risks, and managerial risks. External risks include unprecedented weather and climatic conditions for example rainfall, which could carry away or wash out the raw materials. These are aspects that the project may not have direct control over but which slows or halts the construction process. It also includes failure to corporate by the rural folks who may not accept the stipulated rates of buying the land on which the road is to be constructed or may totally be opposed to the building of the tunnel altogether. Economic and financial risks include abrupt change of government policies on the minimum wage in the course of the road construction period, delay or failure to process financial releases by donors in donor funded road construction projects. Of concern is inflation, which increases production costs since the unit cost of inputs, consequently increases. Loss of money value in forex exchange affects the costs of the imported inputs. Technical risks include contractors’ and/or donors incapacity to fully fund the project leading to premature stalling and improperly finished projects. It also encompasses the lack of or inadequate qualified staffing which could otherwise offer the best technical expertise (Department of transport. 2010). The risks associated with this project include the likely hood of changes in prices of materials and labour to be used. Some of the materials will be imported attracting foreign exchange risk, which may lead to increased cost of the assets. There is also a problem of terrorism as well as sabotage. Terrorist may organize to bomb the project as a form of sabotage. As we all know, terrorists are individuals with poisoned mind to cause harm even when they are gaining nothing. They are happy to see destruction in the name of fighting for a certain cause. There is also a risk that individuals along the proposed line will resist the construction by colluding with the environmentalist or demanding huge sums of money for compensation for their properties (Lipnack and Stamps, 2006). Sustainability: Sustainable development is largely derived from concepts of environmental consciousness and sustainability. The process involves expanding systems engineering to purposely accommodate the principles and practices of ecological sustainability (Simpson, 2008). It also promotes working amongst engineers to adopt existing technologies while developing others that are not only sustainable but also meet societal needs. The sustainable development paradigm will definitely affect software deployment trends in systems engineering all to ensure that the sustainability of technologies and processes are acceptable to all users and particularly the environmentally conscious (Skibniewski and Hendrickson, 2003). Project stakeholders-– There are eight major stakeholder groups for High-speed rail. These are the economic infrastructure surrounding High-speed rail, educators, the Government and parliament, International Partners, the media, the science community, the security community, and the people. Each of these stakeholders has a stake, characterized by either monetary outlay or other types of investments or resources. Each impact High-speed rail funding. The challenge is for High-speed rail project managers to devise and develop value propositions and to deliver them successfully to heighten its responsiveness to and reap the benefits from its varied customers and stakeholders (Department of transport. 2010). The project gets its funding from the government, which has annual allocations (Aziz-Alaoui and Bertelle, 2009). Forms of contract The high-speed rail is a risky venture due to the many problems that the contractors will experience in completing the project. As a result, the contractor will have to meet several important requirements in order to ensure the security of the relationship between them and the government of Greater Britain. The relationship between government of Greater Britain and contractor will be defined by varied components within the contract that control the occurrence of losses in its (Department of transport. 2010). The contract will involve surety bonds to guarantee the performance of a construction contract. Surety bonds are necessary for public contracts to cover risk. The risk of default or failure of a contractor can be mitigated by use of surety bonds. The surety bond will offer a guarantee to the government of Greater Britain that the contractor will complete the high-speed rail and in time. There are three types of surety bonds available for the contractor. The first type is the bid bond, which guarantees that the bidder will enter into the contract and at the expected price. This bond also guarantees that the contractor will provide the payment and performance bonds required. The other type of bond is the payment bond, which offers a guarantee that the contractor will provide the required payments for the project. It guarantees that the contractor will adequately pay for labour and materials. The performance bond on the other hand offers protection from the risk of failure of the contractor to adhere to the conditions and terms of the contract (McDowall, 2005). These bonds provide surety for the government of Greater Britain and project managers by offering them direct protection from any default by the contractor. Additionally, surety bonds offer protection for suppliers, subcontractors, and workers. The bonds also offer some benefits to risk managers by reducing the inherent of risk in the project. Lenders, engineers, architects as well as the contractors themselves also benefit from them bonds. The lenders are offered the surety that the contract will be performed in accordance with all the terms therefore guaranteeing the security of loans provided. Surety bonds guarantee the owner of a property of the competence of the contractor due to having satisfied the prequalification review of the surety. Bonds are also helpful in reducing the number of unqualified contractors in the industry therefore reducing irresponsible competition. This in turn improves professionalism among contractors, positively influencing the performance in the contract (Russell, 2000). The contract will require requisitions that will help in mitigating risk in construction High-speed rail. The contractor reduces the risk of loss of materials through theft or damage by making material requisitions only when required. This type of arrangement reduces the possibility of uncertainty in the project since variability in the relationships between the parties in the contract is defined more comprehensively. As a result, uncertainty about the price of the materials is reduced. The quality of the project is also improved by existence of requisition arrangements because cases of material spoilage in storage are reduced. Invoicing the clients or developers at the right time ensures that the requisitions are received in adequate time to allow the project to continue smoothly (Nicholas, 2000). Requisitions also reduce the appropriations available at each stage of the project therefore any cases of overspending are noticed by the contractor and rectified. It also facilitates the control of funds and their usage. The appropriation is made for specific aspects of the project and has to be used for that. This reduces the possibility of the project going beyond the agreed cost therefore the risk of financial damages and loss is lowered significantly by having purchase requisitions (Duncan, 1996). The use of insurance will be vital to this contract managing the risks inherent in project. The insurance contracts have to include other parties involved in the contract besides the contractor and the government of Great Britain. The most commonly used is liability insurance, which protects the contractor from losses that might occur in the execution of the construction contract. The general liability insurance taken by the contractor before the commencement of the project is aimed at transferring the risk of uncertain occurrences from the contractor to the insurer (Abdulaziz,, 1990). In the formulation of the insurance contract, the insurer is given the responsibility of defending the insured in case the insured risk occurs. The insurer however has the responsibility to cover any damage to property caused by the contractors in their execution of the construction contract. The other aspect of the contract is arbitration clause. The contract should provide strategies to solve any disputes that may arise during the course of the contract. Given that some risks are unavoidable and unforeseen, the provision of a dispute handling mechanism among the parties privy to the contract serves to provide channels for managing such disputes fairly and promptly. Accordingly, the construction contract should have provision for arbitration, which is the process by which disputing parties present their case to a neutral third party who examines relevant facts and makes unbiased decisions thereof. Seeking the services of an arbitrator is aimed at reducing the time associated with litigation through the court process. The construction contract should include an arbitration clause indicating the possibility of seeking arbitration services, instead of litigation in case of a dispute requiring legal redress. Given that, arbitration costs are not always cheaper than litigation costs; the need for an arbitrator should be thoroughly considered before including an arbitration clause in the contract (Heldman, 2009). In the formation, execution, and retention of standard contract controls, risk management aims to reduce the severity of loss resulting from expected and unexpected occurrences. Through the process of arbitration, the management of loss or delay caused by disputes is enhanced by adopting out-of-court procedures. Arbitration allows disputing parties to resolve conflicting issues without the strict adherence to federal rules required by civil lawsuits. Disgruntled parties initiate the process by filing a claim as required by arbitration standards, and in accordance with the arbitration clause in the construction contract. To be effective in solving potential disputes amicably, the parties to a construction contract should construct an agreement that guarantees a fair resolution process (Lewis, 2002). Conclusion The conclusion of the project will ease transport problem in the United Kingdom, as the railway will provide an alternative means of transport to people living in Birmingham. The high-speed rail will be costly but the benefit will out way the cost. There will be economic benefit such as the development of new infrastructure slowing urban-rural migration. However, there will be negative side effects to some region because capital will flow to some regions especially from London to regions along the line. The project will also help reduce carbon emissions, which destroys environment. Reference List Abdulaziz, S. 1999. ‘The contractors guide to liability insurance.’ Reeves Journal:Plumbing, Heating, Cooling. Aziz-Alaoui, M. A. & Bertelle, C, 2009. From System Complexity to Emergent Properties. Sydney: Springer Verlag. Barnhart, C., & Laporte, G., 2007. Transportation. Amsterdam: North-holland Bracey, N. 2007. ‘Public private partnerships: risks to the public and private sector’ – 6th Global Conferences on Business and Economics. Brenck, A., Beckers T., Henrich, M. & Hirschausen, V. 2005. ‘Public and private partnership in new EU member countries of central and eastern Europe’. An economic analysis with case studies from the highway sector. De Rus, G., 2008. ‘The Economic Effects of High Speed Rail Investment: Discussion Paper No. 2008-16 revised October 2008’. Joint transport research centre, [online] 1 October. Available at: . [Accessed 20 March 2012] Department of transport. 2010. ‘High Speed Rail’. Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationary’s Office Duncan, W. 1996. A guide to the project management body of knowledge. North Carolina: Project Management Institute Sylva. Foster, S. 2009. PMAN 639 Managing Quality PKG 2-3 UMUC. New York:  Prentice Hall. Fox, A.J. & Cornell, H.A. 2004. Quality in the Constructed Project. New York: American Society of Civil Engineers. Gido, J & Clements, J. 2010. Successful Project Management. London: Cengage Learning. Hanley, R. 2005. Moving people, goods, and information in the 21st century: the cutting-edge infrastructures of networked cities. New York: Rutledge. Heldman, K., 2009. Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide. New York: John Wiley & Sons Lewis, P. J., 2002. Fundamentals of project management. New York: McGraw Hill. Lipnack, J. & Stamps, J., 2006. Virtual Teams: Reaching across space, time and organizations with technology. New York: John Whiley and Son. McDowall, E., 2005. ‘Risk Transfer in PPP projects’. Facilities management. Nicholas, J. 2000. Project management for business and technology: Principles and practice. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Rioux, M 2008. ‘A guide to the project management body of knowledge’. Project management institute, vol. 40, no.1, pp. 15-32. Russell, J. 2000. Surety bonds for construction contracts. Reston: American Society of Civil Engineers. Sabri, E. H., & Shaikh, S. N, 2010. Lean and agile value chain management: a guide to the next level of improvement, FT. Lauderdale, FL: Ross Publishers. Schwalbe, K. 2009. Information technology project management. Cambridge: Course Technology. Skibniewski, M. & Hendrickson, C. 2003. ‘Methods to Improve the Safety Performance of the U.S. Construction Industry: Technical Report’. Department of Civil Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University. Simpson, A., 2008. ‘Environmental management planning: A Canadian perspective’. Journal of Airport Management, 2(2), 110-114. Zhou, L. & Shen Z., 2011. ‘Progress in high-speed train technology around the world’. Journal of Modern Transportation, [online] 1 March. Available at: Read More