LTR 121: English for International Transport and Logistics: Autumn 2013 (Last Update 23 Novembre 2013)

Professor David O. NELSON is teaching 
LTR 121:  English for International Transport and Logistics:  
Le Conservatoire National Des Arts et Métier in Paris this autumn 14 October to 9 December
Notes and Readings for the first Eight classes are posted here

Class 1: Introduction 

Fork Lift Safety Guide (Class 1)

Class 2: Intermodal Container Transportation FINAL

Reading for Class 2

Class 3: US Freight and Supply Chains (FINAL)

Reading for Class 3

Class 4: International Freight Contracts and Maritime Shipping

Reading for Class 4 (INCOTERMS)

Class 5: Transportation and Climate Change
Reading for Class 5 Transportation and Climate Change

Class 6: EU Import, Export and Transit Procedures
Reference for Class 6  EU Customs Information Portal

Class 7: Airlines and Air Express
Reading for Class 7 Airlines and Air Express

Class 8: Mid Term Examination
Required Vocabulary Words
Sample Questions

LTR121:A useful INCOTERMS diagram for you

LTR121 Vocabulary List for Mid Term Examination (Classes 1 through 7)

Click here

for the list of words that will covered on the Mid Term Examination for LTR121

LTR 121: English for International Transport and Logisitics: Autumn 2013 SAMPLE ESSAY QUESTIONS FOR THE MID TERM EXAM

Question 1

Your firm has found a new very low cost supplier for a product that will greatly reduce your firm’s costs and increase your profits.  But the supplier is inexperienced working with overseas markets.

What INCOTERM regime would you suggest for shipping your new supplier’s products to France and why?

Question 2

List the five steps in the supply chain and describe what happens in each step.  Then describe the supply chain for a particular product of your choice.

If have you trouble choosing a product consider writing about cheese, fish, wine or bread.

Question 3

Describe the 6 steps necessary to export goods from the European Union to a foreign country. 

LTR 121: English for International Transport and Logisitics: Autumn 2013 ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATE 17 NOV 2013

Next 3 Classes  (Links to Class Notes are found on this blog)

–EC Import, Export and Transit Procedures  25 NOV

–Airlines and Air Freight  2 DEC

–Mid Term Exam 9 DEC

Mid Term Exam 9 DEC  

–Vocabulary (~50%)

–INCOTERMS (~25%)

–Short Essay (~25%)

– Notes for Classes 5 and 6 contain sample questions

-  Sample Essay Questions are found in the Notes for Class 5 and Class 6

December 9 will be Professor Nelson's last class this year. 

–The rest of the course will be taught by a different instructor

More Americans in Paris: The American Society of Civil Engineers will be meeting at CNAM next week.

I'll be making several presentations and moderating two sessions at the three day meeting. 

Click here for more details
Or click here for the conference website

American Rail Seminar: Guest Lecturer | T R Hickey

Mr. Thomas R. Hickey of Malvern, Pennsylvania was a guest in the seminar on Monday 28 October 2013

Mr. Hickey, an industry consultant and former senior executive with passenger railroads in New Jersey, Delaware and Texas, spoke on the restoration of passenger rail service to the northern suburbs of Philadelphia. 

Click Here for More Details from Mr. Hickey's Remarks

Automated Metro Operations: Challenges and Opportunities: Looking for Feedback

Over the last 30 years the global transit industry has made remarkable progress with development

Subterranean downtown station
on Copenhagen's UTO Metro 

and operation of fully automated passenger rail systems.  These systems operate with no onboard staff to provide economically attractive, safe, frequent and efficient urban transport services. 

In North America, similar systems are commonly deployed to support large airport terminal complexes.  Elsewhere in the world they are rapidly expanding as a mechanism to provide general purpose urban transportation.  Today, there are 48 lines in 32 cities that provide Unattended Train Operation (UTO) for general public transport using trains that carry more than 100 passengers. 

Like all heavy rail rapid transit (Metro) systems the UTO Metros operate on an exclusive guideway with no highway or pedestrian crossings at grade.  Unlike legacy Metros, the innovative systems use modern technologies to automatically operate each train including propulsion, brakes, doors and train spacing.  Automated barriers (Platform Screen Doors) and/or sophisticated intrusion detection systems prevent passengers and trespassers from entering the train’s guideway space.

Until recently, all of the UTO systems were new, designed and constructed from the ground up for driverless operations.  But, in the last five years transport agencies have started to convert some of their oldest lines to driverless operation.  Nuremberg’s U-Bahn was converted in 2008 and more impressively Paris RATP converted its oldest and busiest metro line to fully automated operation in 2012.   Sao Paulo Brazil is starting to convert portions of their network to UTO.  Paris is hard at work converting a second legacy line to UTO.

I've prepared that attached draft paper concerning this topic for presentation at ASCE's 3rd International Conference on Urban Public Transportation Systems to held at the Conservatoire National Des Arts et Métier in Paris later this month.  

The paper is based on the reported experiences of many UTO metros and onsite visits to interview management operating or building several UTO lines.  It is designed to introduce UTO metro operations to the American public transit community, highlight the benefits of UTO operation and review the challenges that must be addressed in building a new UTO line or converting an existing line to UTO.

Click here to download a copy of the draft paper for review and comment.