SACRAMENTO & DENVER -- The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) today announced that PB, acting on behalf of the Authority, has chosen Intermap TechnologiesTM Corp's NEXTMap® 3D digital elevation models as the preferred GIS mapping datasets to assist in the design of the high-speed rail system linking northern and southern California.
PB is the program manager for the California High Speed Train Project (CHSTP). Intermap's highly accurate and cost-effective elevation models, based on its proprietary Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) technology, will be used by the regional consultant teams under contract with CHSRA to perform preliminary environmental planning and engineering work on the project.
Established in 1996, the CHSRA is chartered to plan, design, construct, and operate a state-of-the-art high-speed train system that stretches from San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento in the north, through the Central Valley, to Los Angeles and San Diego in the south. With bullet trains operating at speeds up to 220 mph, the express travel time from downtown San Francisco to Los Angeles will be approximately 2 ½ hours. Intercity travelers (trips between metropolitan regions) along with longer-distance commuters would enjoy the benefits of a system designed to connect with existing rail, air, and highway systems.
Under the terms of the agreement, preliminary engineering and design, project-level environmental studies, and right-of-way preservation analyses will be based on Intermap's high-resolution elevation data. The Company has already delivered datasets to several of PB's authorized regional consultants (ARC), and will continue to supply data to other contractors throughout various stages of the project. Intermap datasets available to PB and its regional consultants include digital terrain models, digital surface models, and orthorectified radar images.
"The planning stage requires the use of mapping data that is more current and reliable than existing USGS data, and considerably less expensive than a custom fly project,” said Tony Daniels, CHSTP Program Manager. “Intermap's NEXTMap® datasets fit the project accuracy needs perfectly and the immediate availability of the product was a major factor in selecting NEXTMap® as the preferred data tool for the regional consultant teams under contract working on the project.”
According to Mehdi Morshed, CHSRA Director, “the ability to easily export NEXTMap® data into existing CAD applications is an incredible time-saver for our contractors, allowing all of the regional consultant teams to work independently but also to share data and work collaboratively.” Likewise, Garth Lawrence, Intermap's senior vice president of operations, said, “The Intermap executive team is both thrilled and proud that the Company's wide-area NEXTMap® dataset has already enabled the various entities involved in this project to seamlessly connect with each other. Knowing we are aiding some of the geospatial industry's sharpest engineering minds in their quest to deliver a safe, cost-efficient, and environmentally favorable high-speed train system, the likes of which has never been attempted in the United States, means a lot to each and every Intermap employee.”
About PB
PB (Parsons Brinckerhoff) is a global leader in developing and operating infrastructure around the world, with 10,500 employees dedicated to meeting the needs of clients and communities in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia-Pacific regions. PB offers skills and resources in strategic consulting, planning, engineering, program and construction management, and operations for all modes of infrastructure, including transportation, power, community development, water, and the environment. For more information, visit www.pbworld.com.
About Intermap Technologies
Intermap Technologies Corp. (TSX: IMP.TO, AIM: IMAP.L) enables customers to facilitate better decision-making and create applications for numerous commercial, governmental, military, and consumer products through the purchase of high quality and affordable 3D geometric datasets. The Company is proactively remapping entire countries and building unprecedented national databases, called NEXTMap®, consisting of highly accurate digital geometric maps that include elevation data.
Demand for NEXTMap® data is growing as new commercial applications are emerging, including geographical information systems (GIS), engineering planning, transportation, automotive, navigation, flood, irrigation, environmental management and planning, telecommunications/wireless network planning, aviation, simulation, and 3D visualization. Internet applications include virtual tours, topographic maps, and computer games. Datasets are also used to add interactive intelligence to airborne and satellite imagery.
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Intermap employs more than 425 people worldwide, with additional offices in Calgary, Detroit, Jakarta, London, Munich, Ottawa, and Prague. For more information, visitwww.intermap.com.
Contacts:
PB Americas
Judy Cooper
212-465-5332
pressroom@pbworld.com
Intermap Technologies
Kevin Thomas, Vice President, Marketing
303-708-0955
kthomas@.intermap.com
Intermap Reader Advisory
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, which include certain assumptions with respect to the future business and operations of the Company. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of such information may prove to be incorrect. All such forward looking statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. The Company's actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that the Company will derive therefrom. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.
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