Abstract
Over the last years, a myriad of road transportation problems have been subjected to an analysis of emissions and environmental external costs. Other modes of transportation have been studied with much less diligence despite overt interest of policy makers. In this paper we present the results of two case-studies from Belgium where inland shipping and road transport were compared. The first case looked at the short distance transport of municipal solid waste from an intermodal transshipment area south of the city of Antwexp to plants north of the city. Two transportation scenarios were evaluated: by inland shipping over the river Scheldt and through the basins of the port, or by truck on the cities major roads and highways. The second case looked at long distance transport of large single items (>60 tonnes) from the cities of Tournai and Likge to Antwerp. Inland shipping trajectories were compared to road transportation. It was found that emissions and impacts from the inland shipping scenarios are not always lower when compared to all-road haulage with modem trucks. This is explained by the fact that European legislation has succeeded in lowering emission standards of trucks systematically over the last decade. The poor performance of inland ships is mainly due to high emissions of PM but is also deteriorated by the need for extra transhipment and terminal road haulage. Emissions from inland ships are rather poorly known and there is an urgent need for real-life measurements and the further drafting of emission standards for inland ships and fuels. Nevertheless, inland ships clearly have lower fuel consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per tonne kilometre than trucks.
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