How to make modal shift from road to rail possible in the European transport market, as aspired to in the EU Transport White Paper 2011

The total demand for freight transport in Europe has increased significantly in recent decades, but most of it has been handled by road transport. To fulfil the modal shift targets set in the EU White Paper 2011, it will be necessary to double rail’s market share from today’s 18 %, by 2050. Translating this into reality means rail will have to handle 3 to 4 times the cargo volume it does today. With this in mind, the paper develops a vision of an efficient rail freight system in 2050. Methodology To achieve the above objective, the research applies literature survey and group discussion methodology and applying a system approach. Keeping on board the EU Transport White Paper 2011 modal shift targets, as well as future freight demand and customer requirements, the current research attempts to answer the following three critical questions: -How can rail offer the quality of service that will attract customers and fulfil the targets? - How can rail offer its customers a price that is competitive with road? - How can rail offer the capacity to meet the increased demand from modal shift

Railroad Transportation Energy Efficiency

Chris Barkan - Professor and Director, Railroad Engineering Program Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Rail transportation is widely touted as the most energy efficient form of overland transport with correspondingly low environmental impact. This presentation will consider the basic physical factors that contribute to railroad efficiency. Then it will describe research being conducted by the University of Illinois Railroad Engineering Program to further improve the energy efficiency of railroad intermodal transportation, which is the fastest growing and most energy intensive form of rail freight transportation in North America

Global Trade Impacts: Addressing the Health, Social and Environmental Consequences of Moving International Freight Through Our Communities

Examines freight transportation industry trends; the impact of global trade on workers, the environment, and health in both exporting and importing countries; and organizing strategies and policy innovations for minimizing the damage and ensuring health

An intercompany dispatch support system for intermodal transport chains

A critical problem in an intermodal transport chain is the direct meet at the transhipment nodes. This requires information technology and modern communication facilities as well as much closer collaboration between all the concerned transport operators in the chain. The TELETRUCK system - currently under development at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz DFKI GmbH) - is a dispatch support system that tackles those problems. Intercompany planning, scheduling, and monitoring of intermodal transport chains will be supported by our system. It aims at providing smooth access to railway time tables and rail-based transport services and - much more important - at allowing for the planning of both, exclusively road-based and combined journeys and showing their cost-effectiveness, where- and whenever possible. We will describe our approach - based on intelligent agent technology - both the current state of implementation and our goal of the very next future

Impacts of a Tracking and Tracing System for Containers in a Port-Based Supply Chain

Purpose - Intermodal transport chains often appear as “black boxes” to the cargo owners and their clients, who lose track of the container until it arrives at the final end of the chain. The paper discusses why a tracking and tracing system should represent an important added value for them. Design/methodology/approach - We describe here the configuration and features of a novel low-cost system to track and trace containers in an intermodal supply chain, provide information to shippers regarding delays and other unexpected events, and assist terminal operations accordingly. We then analyze the positive impacts of such a system over the entire supply chain, identifying the requirements of the main chain actors regarding the availability of information and how the proposed system contributes to the fulfillment of those requirements. Findings - The visibility of containers throughout the entire supply chain provides multiple benefits for shippers, terminals and transport providers. Research limitations/implications - The operational and economic benefits of the system are clear, but the lack of historical data does not allow for a quantitative estimation of those foreseen benefits. Practical implications - Intermodal terminals might see this type of information systems as an opportunity to generate added value for their customers, including shippers and carriers. In a scenario with high competition levels between terminals, this added value could represent the competitive advantage necessary to guarantee the growth of a terminal without requiring expensive investments and costs. Originality/value - The paper describes the benefits provided by the system to the main stakeholders of the intermodal supply chain and provides some conclusions with respect to those benefits and to future developments.Fundación de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla FIUS-2284Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España) TEC2013-47286-C3-3-

The impact of artificial intelligence in the rail industry

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being introduced in enterprise systems due to the promising benefits that such a disruptive technology can present, even when taking into account its risks and challenges. In the rail industry, AI is being implemented to help improve train delays, reduce infrastructure and rolling stock maintenance costs, and to improve customer’s experience. In intermodal terminals, this technology helps improve passenger flow through hubs, avoids freight cargo losses and improves cargo monitoring inside the terminals. The aim of this investigation is to study the impact of Artificial Intelligence in the rail industry, and, in order to conduct this investigation, a quantitative methodology approach was used to answer three research questions. Initially, an analysis of the differences of sociodemographic factors on the knowledge about AI occurred. Posteriorly, an analysis of the influence of the benefits, risks and trust on the implementation of AI in the rail industry was conducted and, in order to expand the scope of the study outside the rail industry, an analysis of the impact of AI in the intermodal transportation systems was completed. The results show that sociodemographic differences among the respondent’s knowledge about AI exist, along with the confirmation that the factors of benefits, risks and trust influence the implementation of AI in the rail industry. Regarding intermodal transport systems, the same effects and additionally the awareness of AI were proved to influence the implementation of these kinds of systems.A Inteligência Artificial (IA) está a ser implementada em sistemas empresariais devido aos benefícios que esta tecnologia disruptiva pode apresentar, mesmo tendo em conta os riscos e desafios associados. Na indústria ferroviária, a IA está a ser aplicada para melhorar os atrasos na chegada de comboios, para reduzir os custos de manutenção tradicionais de comboios e da infraestrutura, e para melhorar a experiência do cliente. No que diz respeito ao transporte intermodal, esta tecnologia pode melhorar o fluxo de passageiros dentro dos hubs, evitar perdas de mercadoria e melhorar a sua monitorização dentro dos terminais logísticos. O objetivo desta investigação é o estudo do impacto da Inteligência Artificial na indústria ferroviária e, para tal, foi usada uma metodologia quantitativa para responder a três questões de pesquisa. Primeiramente, ocorreu uma análise das diferenças de fatores sociodemográficos no conhecimento de IA. Posteriormente, ocorreu também uma análise da influência dos benefícios, riscos e confiança na implementação da tecnologia de IA nos sistemas desta indústria e, adicionalmente, para expandir esta investigação para além da indústria ferroviária, ocorreu uma análise do impacto da IA nos sistemas de transporte intermodais. Os resultados obtidos permitem demostrar que existem diferenças sociodemográficas entre os inquiridos e existe também a confirmação da influência que os benefícios, riscos e confiança podem trazer para a implementação de IA nesta indústria. No que diz respeito aos sistemas de transporte intermodal, os mesmos efeitos já referidos e adicionalmente da noção da IA na implementação destes sistemas, são confirmados

Regulating privatized rail transport

Traditionally, transport regulation has been viewed as an exercise in second-best optimization, acknowledging the existence of huge information problems. Then the rail industry was deeply restructured worldwide to halt erosion of the sector's share of transportation markets. Restructuring took different forms in different countries, ranging from simple reorganization measures to extreme restructuring -with the private sector increasingly participating in the sector and with the provision of infrastructure separated from the provision of services. The authors argue that regulation of the rail industry cannot remain unaffected by these changes. New regulatory scenarios and issues have emerged. For example, contracts have to be defined for private participation and quality surveillance instruments must be defined. Traditional price controls have to be adapted to, and mechanisms designed to manage and plan infrastructure investments in, the new environment. Restructuring has brought new problems, too. Where licenses have been used, for example, several concessionaires have been unable to meet the objectives spelled out in the concession contract. Contracts should be flexible enough to take account of novel situations that may affect company performance. And yet, for the system to be credible, there cannot be systematic, unjustified deviations from the franchise objectives. Regulation of the sector should be simple and flexible, with license contracts designed to include the private sector and with industry organization adapted to local circumstances. Regulation should be governed by principles that foster competition and market mechanisms, wherever possible. At the same time, it should provide a stable legal and institutional framework for economic activity. Otherwise, regulators should refrain from intervening in the market-unless the goal of economic efficiency (subject to the socially demanded levelof equity) is in jeopardy.Municipal Financial Management,Banks&Banking Reform,Decentralization,Enterprise Development&Reform,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Railways Transport,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Water and Industry,Public Sector Economics&Finance