Intermodal Freight Transport

Intermodal Freight Transportation conceptualizes intermodal transport as a set of physical, logical, financial and contractual flows, examining the barriers that impact intermodal freight services and the resulting performance variables. The book covers transport modes, agents, supply and demand patterns, key drivers, trends influencing the freight transportation sector, the evolution of supply and logistics chains, and the impacts of technological advancements, such as autonomous vehicles and e-commerce. In addition, the book covers transport agents, such as shippers, freight forwarders, integrators, and customs, as well as the demand for freight transport services and the key properties of goods. Readers will find a variety of new tools for analyzing and building effective transport chains that addresses component technology, information, responsibility, and financing dimension, along with sections on key organizational, regulatory, infrastructure and technological barriers. The book concludes with a look into the future of the freight transport sector. Presents a step-by-step approach that introduces key topics for understanding efficient intermodal transportation Focuses on the concept of fitness between the modes of transport profiles Contains numerous, real-world case studies throughout Examines performance metrics

Applying sophisticated management techniques to freight transport offers the potential for significant cost savings as well as greater efficiency. Yet the inherent complexity of intermodal transport presents many challenges. This practical textbook on the operations of intermodal transport and logistics focuses on the practical concerns and the basics of operations, such as vehicles, containers, handling operations, logistics management and optimisation. All chapters are written by field specialists, and the volume includes additional chapters on economics, law and the environment to put the practical topics into context. It presents a balanced textbook for postgraduate students and also a reference text for those in industry or the public sector involved in the planning of intermodal freight transport.

This book provides an introduction to the whole concept of intermodal freight transport, the means of delivering goods using two or more transport modes, recounting both European experience and UK developments and reporting on the extensive political influences on this form of transport. This is placed into context with reference to developments in North America and Asia. Detailed explanations are given of the road and rail vehicles, the loading units and the transfer equipment used in such operations. In particular, the role of the Channel Tunnel in the development of long-haul combined transport operations between the UK and Europe is considered.

. . . the book will be a valuable resource for students, researchers, policy makers and practitioners. Competition and Regulation in Network Industries The book is well balanced. . . The authors depict the reality of this complex world and identify the right strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Bart Jourquin, European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research . . . the editors and the expert contributors provide a timely overview of the present role and challenges of intermodal freight transport. . . the book will not only be appealing to academics and researchers with an interest in the emerging field of intermodal transport research. As the book is largely kept at an executive and policy level, it is also appealing to practitioners and policy makers. . . the book is a valuable contribution to the study of intermodal freight transport as a new transportation research application field. It is an essential reading for all stakeholders in the field of intermodal freight transportation, providing them with insight and tools to address the mounting academic and practical challenges in this segment of the transport and logistics market. Theo Notteboom, Journal of Transport Geography This book explores the great challenge of increasing the scope of intermodal freight transport. In view of the current dominant role of road transport and the increasing difficulties in coping with a growing number of vehicles in an efficient and sustainable way, intermodal freight transport could be considered a viable alternative. However, the book makes recognition of the fact that there is still a need to improve the performance of the intermodal transport system. The expert contributors provide an overview of the present role of intermodal freight transport, address opportunities to significantly improve current performance, and demonstrate design and modelling tools used to analyse and support this performance. Requirements for the implementation of intermodal innovations are also prescribed, and policies needed to improve competitiveness are outlined. Many factors contributing to the performance and competitiveness of intermodal freight transport are explored, from technological and organisational innovations through to institutional settings and policy frameworks. This comprehensive range of topics will attract a broad audience including academics, researchers, policymakers and practitioners involved in the design and development of freight transport systems. It will also strongly appeal to those with an interest in the future of freight transport.

This book presents a specific technical solution, called intermodal transport, which became the basic technological solution that made it possible to provide global interregional transport. Every day, new technical, technological, and organizational solutions appear that significantly affect the further development of this industry. However, there are certain local differences between regions. In addition, an essential factor is the exchange of experience between scientists from different countries. Accordingly, the purpose of this monothematic book is to acquaint readers with the achievements of scientists dealing with this topic and living in different regions. Scientists and specialists from Poland, Germany, Great Britain, USA, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Italy, Kazakhstan, and Lithuania participated in the writing of individual chapters of this book. This book is intended for professionals, teachers, students, and others who are interested in new approaches to solving transport problems.

This book provides an introduction to the whole concept of intermodal freight transport, the means of delivering goods using two or more transport modes, recounting both European experience and UK developments and reporting on the extensive political influences on this form of transport. This is placed into context with reference to developments in North America and Asia. Detailed explanations are given of the road and rail vehicles, the loading units and the transfer equipment used in such operations. In particular, the role of the Channel Tunnel in the development of long-haul combined transport operations between the UK and Europe is considered.

Much work has been done on port governance yet little has addressed intermodal terminal governance, despite the clear similarities. This book fills that gap by establishing a governance framework for situating analysis of intermodal terminals throughout their life cycle. A version of the product life cycle theory is amended with governance theory to produce a framework covering each stage of the terminal’s life cycle, from the initial planning to the many decisions taken regarding the public/private split in funding mechanisms, ownership, selecting an operator, specifying KPIs to the operator, setting fees, earning profit, ensuring fair access to all rail service operators, and finally to reconcessioning the terminal to a new operator, managing the handover and maintaining the terminal throughout its life cycle. An institutional analysis of stakeholder relations, situated within a governance framework, illuminates these issues and enables not only conceptualisation and greater understanding of the geography of intermodal transport, but also decision-making and goal-setting by planners and policy makers. This book thus has three functions: first, as a textbook on the planning and operation of intermodal terminals; second, as a presentation of recent empirical research on intermodal terminal governance; third, as a framework for future research in which the broad field of analysis of intermodal transport can be viewed through a single lens and used to inform geographers, policymakers and planners.