Integrated Planning for the Intermodal Container Terminals of the CR Express based on Markov Process

Abstract

The Belt and Road initiative (BRI) is committed to strengthening the connectivity among countries and building a comprehensive transport network. The China Railway Express (CR Express) as an important part of the BRI has become a new type of intercontinental trade transport mode between Asia and Europe. With the development of the CR Express, China’s coastal ports have become the transfer hub connecting the CR Express with other Asian countries. In this paper, an intermodal container terminal system composed of a maritime container terminal and a railway container terminal is studied. The system consists of railway and truck as two kinds of distribution modes, which is considered as the dual-channel supply chain system. This paper explores the Markov process used in that supply chain system to study the intermodal container terminal system. Numerical analysis manifests the influence of the railway distribution rate. The result shows that cooperation strategy can help to make better use of the reserved terminal and reduce the expected storage time. The cooperation strategy is beneficial to both the terminal operators and the consigners.