CARRIED AWAY

mass transport in keeping with new technology paradigms that we have witnessed over the past five years is probably best symbolised by the bullet train and the urban electric bus projects. Yet, as we enter the next decade, their true value may come into sharp focus and face some searching questions. There is no doubt at all that high-speed passenger train linkages between large urban centres is an imperative for better distributed economic growth with orderly urbanisation. But rail engineering experts are divided over the question of whether more appropriate and cost-efficient technologies would have fit the bill better. Developments in the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) technologies have already moved from the automobile industry to ensure higher levels of safety and productivity from existing locomotives. Blind spot detection, front collision warning and driver status monitoring systems are already combining to improve safety and enabling