Search Results (12)

Compared to road trucks, the use of trains to move goods along railway lines is a more sustainable freight transport system. In Norway, where several main lines are single tracks, the insufficient length of many of the existing passing loops considerably restricts the operational and economic benefits of long trains. This brief technical note revolves around the possible upgrade of the Røros line connecting Oslo and Trondheim to accommodate 650 m-long freight trains as an alternative to the heavily trafficked Dovre line. Pivoting on regulatory standards, this exploratory work identifies the minimum set of infrastructure modifications required to achieve the necessary increase in capacity by extending the existing passing loops and creating a branch line. The results indicate that 8 freight train routes can be efficiently implemented, in addition to the 12 existing passenger train routes. This brief technical note employs building information modeling software Trimble Novapoint edition 2024 to position the existing railway infrastructure on topographic data and visualize the suggested upgrade. Notwithstanding the limitations of this exploratory work, dwelling on capacity calculation and the design of infrastructure upgrades, the results demonstrate that modest and well-placed interventions can significantly enhance the strategic value of a single-track rail corridor. This brief technical note sheds light on the main areas to be addressed by future studies to achieve a comprehensive evaluation of the infrastructure upgrade, also covering technical construction and economic aspects. Full article

This paper presents an enhanced hub location model tailored to port–hinterland logistics planning, grounded in the Capacitated Multiple-Allocation Hub Location Problem (CMAHLP). The formulation incorporates nonlinear cost structures, hub-specific operating costs, adaptive capacity constraints, and a feasibility condition based on the Social Net Present Value (NPVsocial) to support the design of intermodal freight networks under asymmetric spatial and socio-environmental conditions. The empirical case focuses on Spain, leveraging its strategic position between Asia, North Africa, and Europe. The model includes four major ports—Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, and Algeciras—as intermodal gateways connected to the 47 provinces of peninsular Spain through calibrated cost matrices based on real distances and mode-specific road and rail costs. A Genetic Algorithm is applied to evaluate 120 scenarios, varying the number of active hubs (4, 6, 8, 10, 12), transshipment discounts (α = 0.2 and 1.0), and internal parameters. The most efficient configuration involved 300 generations, 150 individuals, a crossover rate of 0.85, and a mutation rate of 0.40. The algorithm integrates guided mutation, elitist reinsertion, and local search on the top 15% of individuals. Results confirm the central role of Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona, frequently accompanied by high-performance inland hubs such as Málaga, Córdoba, Jaén, Palencia, León, and Zaragoza. Cities with active ports such as Cartagena, Seville, and Alicante appear in several of the most efficient network configurations. Their recurring presence underscores the strategic role of inland hubs located near seaports in supporting logistical cohesion and operational resilience across the system. The COVID-19 crisis, the Suez Canal incident, and the persistent tensions in the Red Sea have made clear the fragility of traditional freight corridors linking Asia and Europe. These shocks have brought renewed strategic attention to southern Spain—particularly the Mediterranean and Andalusian axes—as viable alternatives that offer both geographic and intermodal advantages. In this evolving context, the contribution of southern hubs gains further support through strong system-wide performance indicators such as entropy, cluster diversity, and Pareto efficiency, which allow for the assessment of spatial balance, structural robustness, and optimal trade-offs in intermodal freight planning. Southern hubs, particularly in coordination with North African partners, are poised to gain prominence in an emerging Euro–Maghreb logistics interface that demands a territorial balance and resilient port–hinterland integration. Full article

This study addresses the critical environmental challenge of increasing carbon emissions from Thailand’s freight transport sector, focusing on container movement in the strategic Lat Krabang ICD–Laem Chabang Port corridor. The research quantifies and compares CO₂ emissions between rail and road container transport modes to identify potential carbon reduction strategies. A comprehensive activity-based methodology was employed, incorporating fuel consumption testing across multiple load conditions, detailed transport activity mapping, and the application of locally relevant emission factors. The results demonstrate that rail transport produces 32.82 kgCO₂eq/TEU compared to 53.13 kgCO₂eq/TEU for road transport, representing a 38.23% emission advantage. Fuel consumption testing revealed a power relationship between train weight and fuel consumption (y = 0.1121x^0.5147, R² = 0.97), indicating improving efficiency with increased loading. Terminal operations contribute significantly to rail transport’s emission profile, accounting for 36% of total emissions. The current modal split presents substantial opportunities for emission reduction through increased rail utilization. This study identifies and evaluates practical carbon reduction strategies across operational, technological, and policy dimensions, with priority interventions including load factor optimization, terminal efficiency improvements, locomotive modernization, and differential road pricing. This research contributes empirical evidence to support sustainable freight transport development in Thailand while establishing a methodological framework applicable to emission assessments in similar corridors throughout developing economies. Full article

This study aims to elucidate the implications of carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets on corridor logistics, with a focus on the burgeoning high-speed rail express sector. Acknowledging carbon emissions taxation as an integral component of transportation costs, it examines the competitive dynamics among four cargo transport modes: high-speed rail (HSR), conventional rail, aviation, and road transport. Within a strategic game framework, carriers are analyzed based on freight rates, speed, safety, reliability, and convenience to assess their utility. A dynamic game model and a solution approach are developed, aiming to optimize freight-related variables, maximize carriers’ generalized profits, and enhance shippers’ utility. Empirical validation is provided through case studies in Xi’an and Lanzhou, northwest China, affirming the model’s efficacy. The findings reveal the strong competitive edge of the high-speed rail express in the corridor, offering valuable insights for carrier pricing strategies, emission tax rate setting, and macro-policy adjustments in the transport sector. Full article

The issues that determine the capacity of railway infrastructure are topical in situations that are reaching operating limits. According to the objectives of the European transport policy, it is assumed that up to 30% of road freight over 300 km should shift to other modes such as rail or waterborne transport by 2030. The transport system should become more competitive and efficient in the use of resources. This places high demands on the railway infrastructure, which is mainly operated in a mixed transport mode, with both passengers and freight. It is necessary to increase the capacity of these lines as a priority. The intent of this paper is to propose procedures that will simply and accurately determine the quantification of benefits for increasing the throughput performance of the line. For the initial estimates and assessments of investment measures, it is advantageous to use analytical methods to determine the throughput performance. The methodological approach for determining the throughput performance in the anticipated timetable and case study were approximated on the example of the rail freight corridor marked “Amber” that passes through Slovakia. Analytical procedures have been proposed according to the methodology used on the railways of Slovakia, and the quality issues were assessed using a new approach for determining the optimal and critical throughput performance. The mentioned procedures are advantageous for assessing infrastructural measures from the point of view of a railway infrastructure manager. Full article

This paper introduces the concept of R4 (road-rail-ro-ro), a concept increasingly used in transport and logistics research circles that defines the modern concept of the transport chain as it passes through the intermodal use of rail, road, and ship via ro-ro. The integration of the new rail-road freight services into the reference supply model allows us to define the supply model for the design scenario on which the evaluation is now focused in terms of service-mode demand shares and in terms of design network flows and performance indicators carried out by demand-supply interaction models applied to all available service-modes. The use of strength-weaknesses-opportunities-threats analysis (SWOT) allows for the identification of some strategies to enhance and improve the current rail and maritime corridors in order to attract more customers using the different services, ultimately triggering the involvement of more actors in generating bigger and better integrated logistic chains using intermodality. The SWOT analysis allows the identification of a series of measures in order to adapt, maintain, enhance or exploit the aspects arising from the expert analysis. Full article

This paper studies the possibilities of closer integration of short sea shipping, with other components of the Trans-European Transport Networks, shifting a significant share of road freight onto rail corridors and inland waterways. A numerical model of transport networks is used to support the calculation of the main parameters driving transport decisions, for multiple pairs of origin/destination representing statistical regions of the European Union, and for different, alternative intermodal and unimodal transport chains. Results are presented using a geographic information system. This approach is applied in a case study dedicated to the evaluation of the competitiveness of transport chains based on short sea shipping between Portugal and The Netherlands, integrated with other components of Trans-European Transport Networks (rail freight corridors and inland waterways), compared to road haulage-based transport chains. Conclusions are drawn regarding the geographical scope of the relative competitiveness of these transport chains and policy investment insights are presented. Full article

Impact analysis of the construction and commissioning of a rail freight infrastructure must contemplate the regional economic system in its entirety, since that impact extends beyond the direct contribution to the increase in production, and the consequent generation of income from capital and remuneration of labor incorporated in such activity. The objective of this research is to know the effects that a rail freight infrastructure produces in a region with a low population, such as Extremadura (Spain). For this purpose, the calculation of the total impact produced by the rail freight corridor on the regional economy of Extremadura has been made, which will correspond to the sum of the direct, indirect and induced impacts. For its determination, a simulation tool has been created from Input-Output tables that allow you to compare different impact levels depending on the intensity of the investments made, or the activity developed following the launch of the new rail corridor. The research concludes with the profitability of the action because for a planned investment of 160 M€ for 3 years in the freight rail corridor from Extremadura, every euro invested returns in more than 2 euros to the Extremadura’s productive system, creating more than 4100 jobs. Full article

It is now widely accepted that the locations of intermediate facilities, such as logistics platforms or inland ports, are key elements of multimodal freight distribution networks and heavily influence their effectiveness. This crucial role of localization decisions is even more significant if we consider their impact on the external costs of the entire logistic corridor, with reference to the cost components associated with environmental sustainability. This paper faces a facility location problem concerning a port system network serving inbound container flows arriving by sea and travelling via road and/or rail towards the hinterland. The aim is to evaluate the impact of externalities on the overall management of the distribution network, including location decisions, flow routing and transport mode choice. We present a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model having the goal of minimizing both the location and shipping costs, while accounting for external cost components. In particular, as a novel environmental issue, we propose three different objective functions including congestion, air pollution, and, incidentally, noise and infrastructure deterioration. We allow the containerized flows to be split among several capacitated facilities and road and rail transport modalities. The reported computational experimentation refers to different intermodal freight logistic networks through real data derived from the logistic network departing from the maritime terminals associated with the port of the Ligurian region towards their main destinations in the north-west side of Italy. Finally, we evaluate the impact on both flows and total costs due to a closure or a capacity reduction on some links of the network. The evidence of the impact of sustainability external costs on the design and management of the multimodal logistic network under analysis is emphasized. Full article

Synchromodality is a freight transport process in which information is exchanged expeditiously in order to maximize the benefits of different modes of transport and transport nodes in terms of efficiency and environmental impact. The aim of the study is to analyze the problems of synchronized intermodal traffic management between the main port and inland transport nodes in European transport corridors and to find reliable solutions to these problems. Therefore, the main purpose of this article is to investigate the problem of the distribution of containers transported by rail between two transport terminals in a synchronous transport network. A specific optimization model is presented in this article. This optimization task is formulated as a stochastic integer programming model between the terminals located in Vilnius and Klaipeda Seaport, the essence of which is as follows: (a) to minimize the waiting time for container cargo at the location—terminal No. 1; (b) to minimize the total journey time of the train; (c) to minimize the waiting time for containerized cargo at the point of arrival—terminal No. 2. Full article

The section of Via Baltica going through the territory of the Republic of Lithuania is the most traffic intensive land logistics corridor in the country. The annual transportation volume has been increasing on this road; thus, the reduction of pollution caused by vehicles has become important. If gas emissions are regulated, and carriers have to pay pollution taxes, this does not apply to noise levels. The article presents the traffic intensity in this logistics corridor, measurements of the noise level at the characteristic points, its relation to the number of vehicles passing through it and an expert evaluation of proposed methods for noise energy reduction. Environmental noise is an unwanted or harmful sound that propagates in terms of both duration and geographical coverage. Noise is associated with many human activities, but road, rail and air traffic noises have the greatest impact. Due to irrationally arranged transport network, the transit flow of freight transport crosses residential areas of the city, places of rest and recreation of the population, causing high noise levels in adjacent areas. This is the biggest problem for the urban environment. Environmental noise affects many Europeans and is therefore considered by society to be one of the biggest environmental problems. This article presents an assessment of a new traffic noise algorithm. The presented expert survey on noise energy reduction allows choosing the most appropriate method for reducing noise energy in Via Baltica transport logistics corridor. Based on the expert survey, a hierarchical table for noise energy reduction was compiled. It will allow assessing the validity of individual noise energy reduction solutions. It has become relevant for improving infrastructure of other transport corridors and choosing the most appropriate solutions to reduce vehicle noise pollution. A further application of this model can be focused on economic evaluation, forecasting of expected benefits and so on. Full article

This paper discusses how to promote high-speed rail (HSR) freight business by solving the congestion problem. First, we define the existing operation modes in China and propose the idea of relieving congestion by reserving more carriages of HSR passenger trains for freight between cities with large potential volume or small capacity. Second, we take one HSR corridor as a case to study, and use predictive regression and integrated time series methods to forecast the growth of HSR freight volume along the corridor. Finally, combined with forecast results and available capacity during the peak month of 2018, we offer suggestions on the mode adoption in each segment during the peak month from 2019 to 2022. Results demonstrate: (1) Among all 84 Origin-Destination (OD) city flows, the percentage of those monthly volumes over 1 ton increases from 17.9% in 2018 to 84.6% in 2022, and those over 30 tons rise from 3.6% to 26.2%. (2) Among the segments between seven main cities in the HSR corridor, T-J should be given priority to operate trains with reserved mode; the segment between X and J deserves to reserve most carriages during the peak month in the future. Specifically, our model suggests reserving 5.3–10.1 carriages/day for J-X, and 4.8–16.3 carriages/day for X-J during the peak month from 2019 to 2022. Full article