Abstract
PurposeRoad haulage has been the most widely used mode of freight transport in many European countries for several decades. Given the attention to sustainable transport in this century, the rail-road combined transport may result to be a good alternative, under specific conditions, to road haulage. This paper analyses the main conditions to make the option competitive, using a simplified method useful for the stakeholders involved in decision processes.MethodRelevant cost items have been identified since previous studies available in literature. The proposed formulas consider the different phases of transport chain and have been used to investigate such parameters as the external costs and the location of terminals.ResultsIf the pre- and post-phases are too long or simply too onerous, the economic advantages of the rail section may not be sufficient to guarantee the convenience of the combined transport. It can be economically competitive over long distances, even when the drayage covers greater distances.ConclusionsThe method has been used to examine those situations, in terms of distance covered and frequency of the service, in which rail-road combined transport can be cost-effective as an alternative to the full-road solution. The obtained range can be reviewed based on the services, such as shuttle trains to connect seaports with dry ports: the short distance covered may be more convenient due to the high quantities of goods as well as the fixed train composition and path allocation, which means lower terminal cost and times. Finally, some innovative proposals have been introduced.
Highlights
Introduction and state of the artThe European White Paper on transport 2011 [1] envisages that freight transport is likely to continue being mainly carried by trucks over short and medium distances
The external costs make combined transport competitive, since - if only the internal costs were considered the economic advantage obtained by using the rail mode for the main distance would not be enough to offset the costs of the transhipment operations, or the higher costs for the initial and final road traction
The paper confirms, and contributes with further details obtained from different sources, what Santos et al [16] obtained in their study: the advantage on the external costs is lower when the drayage is of an excessively high proportion, since negative aspects of road transport play a greater role
Summary
Introduction and state of the artThe European White Paper on transport 2011 [1] envisages that freight transport is likely to continue being mainly carried by trucks over short and medium distances (roughly, below 300 km). According to some aims outlined in [1], 30% of road freight over 300 km, such as rail or waterborne transport, should be shifted to other modes of transport by 2030; this value is expected to rise to more than 50% by 2050, as a result of the introduction of efficient green freight corridors. Intermodal transport can be defined as combined transport, according to the definition outlined in Directive 92/106/CEE: “a transport between EU Member States where the lorry, the trailer or semi-trailer with or without motor coach, the swap body or the container cover the initial or final part of the travel, as short as possible, by road while the prevailing intermediate one by railway, sea or inland waterways”
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