2003-03-15 There might be a very logical explanation for this. It may be that the document is checked by a computer program that is meant to pick out the work "metre(s)" and/or "meter(s)" and change it to yard(s). However, the program may ignore words that contain the word metre or meter as a suffix or are connected to another word or number with a hyphen (-) as is below.
So, the reporter sent in his report using metres, but the program used to edit, switched everything to yards, except the "40-metre", because it was thought of as a suffix and not a unit. If the reporter had written "40 metre" the program may have picked up on the word metre and switched it. Just a guess. John ----- Original Message ----- From: "Han Maenen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, 2003-03-12 15:35 Subject: [USMA:25110] Yards and meters in one article > All aboard the Luas, even if it is only for a few hundred yards By Christine > Newman > > As the new Luas tram glided soundlessly to a halt yesterday in Sandyford, Co > Dublin, onlookers gathered at the side of the track to witness their > transport of the future. > Local people watched the first live test of the 40-metre tram which will run > from Sandyford to St Stephen's Green. > The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, officially unveiled the tram and > then took a trip on the public transport, an unusual form of travel for a > government minister. > Men, women and many children waited at the junction for the tram to arrive. > They first had sight of it as it crawled at snail's-pace down the track, > leading one local wag, aged about eight, to remark: "It'd better go faster > than that!" > Once the Minister, the Department and the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) > as well as assorted media were aboard, however, it moved off at normal > speed, only to come to a halt a few yards down the line as the Minister > invited members of the public to take the short trip. > After many people eagerly climbed aboard to experience their first journey > on the Luas, the tram moved along smoothly while people in the crowd waved, > applauded and took photographs. > The Minister said: "Luas will play a major role in persuading the travelling > public of the merits of public transport." > The benefits offered by Luas extended well beyond shorter journey times and > ranged from improved quality of life to commercial development in > neighbourhoods within the line's catchment area, he said. > While yesterday's trip was only a few hundred yards down the track and back, > next year it is expected that the 9 km journey from Sandyford to St > Stephen's Green will take only 18 to 20 minutes. > The RPA chairman, Mr Padraic White, said trams would run every five minutes > in peak hours. Each would carry 315 passengers, and the line would > accommodate up to 3,800 passengers an hour in each direction. > Yesterday's was the first of the 14-tram fleet which is expected to arrive > at the Sandyford depot over the coming months. > > Han > Historian of Dutch Metrication, Nijmegen, The Netherlands >
