Assessment Methods for Innovative Operational Measures and Technologies for Intermodal Freight Terminals

The topic of freight transport by rail, is a complex theme and, in recent years, a main issue of European policy. The legislation evolution and the White Paper 2011 have demonstrated the European intention to re-launch this sector. The challenge is to promote the intermodal transport system to the detriment of road freight transport. In this context, the intermodal freight terminals play a primary role for the supply chain, they are the connection point between the various transport nodes and the nodal points where the freight are handled, stored and transferred between different modes to final customer. To achieve the purpose, proposed by the EC, are necessary the performances improvement of existing intermodal freight terminals and the development of innovative intermodal freight terminals. Many terminal performances improvement is have been proposed and sometime experimented. They are based both on operational measures (e.g. horizontal and parallel handling, faster and fully direct handling) and on innovative technologies (e.g. automatic system for horizontal and parallel handling, automated gate for data exchange) inside the terminals, with often-contradictory results. The research work described in this paper (developed within the EU project Capacity4Rail) focusses on the assessment of effects that these innovations can have in the intermodal freight terminals. The innovative operational measures and technologies have been combined in different scenarios, to be evaluated by a methodological approach including to other an analytical methods and simulation models. The output of this assessment method are key performance indicators (KPI) setup according to terminals typologies the proposals and related to different aspects (e.g. management, operation and organization. In the present work suitable KPIs (e.g. total/partial transit times) for to evaluate have been applied. Finally, in addition to methodological framework illustrated, a real case of study will be illustrated: the intermodal rail-road freight terminal Munich-Riem (Germany)

Analytical methods and simulation models to assess innovative operational measures and technologies for rail port terminals: the case of Valencia Principe Felipe terminal

The topic of freight transport by rail is a complex theme and, in recent years, a main issue of European policy. The legislation evolution and the White Paper 2011 have demonstrated the European intention to re-launch this sector. The challenge is to promote the intermodal transport system to the detriment of road freight transport. In this context intermodal freight terminals, play a primary role for the supply chain, they are the connection point between the various transport nodes and the nodal points where the freight are handled, stored and transferred between different modes to final customer. To achieve the purpose, it is strengthen the improvement of existing intermodal freight terminals and the development of innovative intermodal freight terminals towards higher performance (ERRAC, 2012). Many terminal performances improvements have been proposed and sometime experimented. They are normally basing on combinations of operational measures and innovative technologies (e.g. automatic horizontal and parallel storage and handling, automated gate and sensors for tracking systems data exchange) tested in various terminals, with often-contradictory results. The research work described in this paper (developed within the Capacity4Rail EU project) focusses on the assessment of effects that these innovations can have in the intermodal freight terminals combined in various alternative consistent effective scenarios. The methodological framework setup to assess these innovations is basing on a combination of analytical methods based on sequential algorithms and discrete events simulation models. The output of this assessment method are key performance indicators (KPIs) selected according to terminals typologies and related to different aspects (e.g. management, operation and organization). The present paper illustrates the application of the methodological framework, tuned on the operation of various intermodal terminals, for the validation on today operation and the assessment of possible future scenarios to the case study of the Principe Felipe sea-rail terminal in Valencia

Analytical methods and simulation models to assess innovative operational measures and technologies for rail port terminals: the case of Valencia Principe Felipe terminal

[EN] The topic of freight transport by rail is a complex theme and, in recent years, a main issue of European policy. The legislation evolution and the White Paper 2011 have demonstrated the European intention to re-launch this sector. The challenge is to promote the intermodal transport system to the detriment of road freight transport. In this context intermodal freight terminals, play a primary role for the supply chain, they are the connection point between the various transport nodes and the nodal points where the freight are handled, stored and transferred between different modes to final customer. To achieve the purpose, it is strengthen the improvement of existing intermodal freight terminals and the development of innovative intermodal freight terminals towards higher performance (ERRAC, 2012). Many terminal performances improvements have been proposed and sometime experimented. They are normally basing on combinations of operational measures and innovative technologies (e.g. automatic horizontal and parallel storage and handling, automated gate and sensors for tracking systems data exchange) tested in various terminals, with often-contradictory results. The research work described in this paper (developed within the Capacity4Rail EU project) focusses on the assessment of effects that these innovations can have in the intermodal freight terminals combined in various alternative consistent effective scenarios. The methodological framework setup to assess these innovations is basing on a combination of analytical methods based on sequential algorithms and discrete events simulation models. The output of this assessment method are key performance indicators (KPIs) selected according to terminals typologies and related to different aspects (e.g. management, operation and organization). The present paper illustrates the application of the methodological framework, tuned on the operation of various intermodal terminals, for the validation on today operation and the assessment of possible future scenarios to the case study of the Principe Felipe sea-rail terminal in Valencia.Capodilupo, L.; Furió Pruñonosa, S.; Marinacci, C.; Ricci, S.; Rizzetto, L. (2016). Analytical methods and simulation models to assess innovative operational measures and technologies for rail port terminals: the case of Valencia Principe Felipe terminal. En XII Congreso de ingeniería del transporte. 7, 8 y 9 de Junio, Valencia (España). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1445-1455. https://doi.org/10.4995/CIT2016.2015.3398OCS1445145

Innovazioni operative e tecnologiche per i terminali intermodali merci: metodologie di valutazione e confronto

Questa ricerca di dottorato è incentrata sul tema del trasporto intermodale delle merci con particolare focus sui terminal ferro-gomma. Il tema di ricerca è stato scelto in base alla volontà della Comunità Europea di rilanciare il trasporto merci intermodale, che ha portato al finanziamento del progetto di ricerca Capacity4Rail, nell’ambito del 7° programma quadro, con lo scopo di definire le linee guida per il trasporto ferroviario del futuro

Discrete events simulation of Intermodal terminals operation. Modelling techniques and achievable results

A freight intermodal terminal represents one of the most significant bottleneck in logistic chains. The discrete event simulation is suitable to represent the terminal operations, enabling the identification of strengths and weaknesses. It also permits the evaluation ahead of time the changes that modify organizations or the workability of terminals. In this paper the modelling process is described for a railroad terminal based on the simulation platform Planimate©. This platform is suitable to deal with systems articulated with plenty of data and sub-processes, to be managed in parallel and for synchronized cycles controlled according to a time run. The model is organised according to a hierarchical structure composed by various subsystems: the highest level represents the layout of the terminal; the lower levels represent the operational areas, where the models manage integrated flows and elementary operations. Once the model has been built and is able to work, the achievable results are both in the field of operational management of the terminal (short-term application) and in the field of perspective analysis to check the feasibility and effectiveness of new scenarios, built by combining innovative technologies and operational measures (long-term application). The assessment of present and future scenarios is based on key performance indicators, which the model is able to calculate

Metodi analitici e modelli simulativi per la valutazione di misure operative e tecnologie innovative per i terminali ferroviari portuali: il caso del terminale di Valencia Principe Felipe

La ricerca descritta in questo articolo (sviluppata all’interno del progetto Europeo Ca-pacity4Rail) si focalizza sulla valutazione degli effetti che alcune innovazioni (ad esempio, movimentazione e immagazzinamento automatico orizzontale e parallelo, varchi automatici, sensori per lo scambio di dati e sistemi di tracciamento) possono portare nei terminali intermodali merci. La struttura metodologica utilizzata per valu-tare queste innovazioni si fonda sulla combinazione di metodi analitici basati su algo-ritmi sequenziali e modelli di simulazione ad eventi discreti. Il prodotto di questo me-todo di valutazione sono una serie di indicatori (KPIs) selezionati in base alla tipologia di terminale e relativi a differenti aspetti (ad esempio gestione, operazioni e organiz-zazione). Questo articolo illustra l’applicazione della struttura metodologica, rivolta alle operazioni di vari terminali intermodali, per la validazione delle operazioni odierne e la valutazione di possibili futuri scenari riferiti al caso di studio del terminale ferroviario portuale Principe Felipe di Valencia.The research work described in this paper (developed within the Capacity4Rail EU project) focusses on the assessment of effects that some innovations (e.g. automatic horizontal and parallel storage and handling, automated gate and sensors for data ex-change and tracking systems) can have in the intermodal freight terminals combined in various alternative scenarios. The methodological framework setup to assess these innovations is based on a combination of analytical methods based on sequential al-gorithms and discrete events simulation models. The output of this assessment method are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) selected according to terminal typologies and related to different aspects (e.g. management, operations and organization). This pa-per illustrates the application of the methodological framework, tuned on the opera-tions of various intermodal terminals, for the validation on today operations and the assessment of possible future scenarios to the case study of the Principe Felipe sea-rail terminal in Valencia

Present and future operation of rail freight terminals

Rail freight has not progressed coherently to economy: during the last century, the wagonload was the core business of railways, later declining in favor of combined transport, which include the notion of transshipment in an intermediate terminal. Terminals are a key element of transport services and, in this study, the main goal are methods suitable to evaluate the performances of different types of rail freight terminals: Rail to road for long distance and shorter range units transfer, Rail to rail for shunting and/or gauge interchange, Rail to waterways (sea and inland). The evaluation of the performances of terminals and the influence on them of innovative operational measures and technologies is based on a selected combination of tested analytical methods based on sequential application of algorithms and discrete events simulation models, capable to quantify different Key Performance Indicators

Analytical and simulation based methods for assessing measures and technologies capable to improve operation in railway freight terminals

The topic of freight transport by rail is a complex theme and, in recent years, a main issue of European policy. The legislation evolution, the White Paper 2011 and many research projects promoted by EU Commission, e.g. Capacity4Rail (C4R), have demonstrated the European intention to re-launch this sector. One of the main objectives of C4R Project is to improve the performances of railway freight transport to reduce the market share of road freight transport. In this context railway freight terminals play a primary role for the supply chain: they are the connection among the various transport modes and the nodal points where the freight are handled, stored and transferred or shunted to final customer. Objects of this paper are methods and main results achieved by the research group of DICEA within the C4R Project. The main objective is to contribute to the increase of rail freight traffic through the development of future freight terminals, based both on innovative operational measures (e.g. horizontal and parallel handling, faster and fully direct handling) and on innovative technologies (e.g. automatic system for horizontal and parallel handling, automated gate for data exchange, driverless locomotives). The research work focusses on the assessment of potential effects of these innovations in railway freight terminals. Operational measures and technologies compose different scenarios, to evaluate by a methodological approach including both analytical methods and simulation models. The output of this assessment methods are key performance indicators (KPIs), e.g. total/partial transit time, setup according to analysed terminal typologies and related to different aspects (e.g. management, operation and organization). Finally, in addition to illustrated methodological framework, some results on selected case studies include the intermodal Munich-Riem rail to road freight terminal (Germany), the Hallsberg marshalling yard (Sweden) and the intermodal Principe Felipe rail-sea freight terminal in Valencia port (Spain)

Metodi analitici e modelli di simulazione per la valutazione d’innovazioni tecnologiche e operative dei terminali ferroviari merci

Il tema del trasporto merci su ferro è un argomento complesso e negli ultimi anni è, sempre più spesso, centrale nelle politiche Europee. L'evoluzione normativa in ambito comunitario e nazionale, il Libro bianco del 2011 e molti progetti promossi dalla Commissione europea come Capacity4Rail (C4R), hanno mostrato la volontà di rilanciare questo settore con la finalità di migliorarne le prestazioni con la conseguente riduzione della quota di mercato relativa al trasporto stradale. Inoltre, con una futura previsione di crescita della domanda di trasporto delle merci si evidenzia sempre più la necessità di sfruttare i vantaggi tecnico-economici derivanti dall’interazione di differenti modalità di trasporto (intermodalità). Si creano così i presupposti perché la promozione dell’intermodalità svolga un ruolo chiave per il raggiungimento dei suddetti obiettivi. In questo contesto i terminali ferroviari merci giocano un ruolo primario nella catena logistica; essi sono i punti di connessione tra le diverse modalità di trasporto dove le merci vengono trasferite, manipolate, stoccate e riordinate/smistate verso il cliente finale. In questo contributo vengono presentati i principali risultati che il gruppo di ricerca del DICEA ha conseguito nell’ambito del progetto Capacity4Rail il cui principale obiettivo è di contribuire all’incremento del trasporto merci su ferro attraverso l’implementazione dei terminali tramite l’adozione di nuove tecnologie (es. moduli automatici per il trasferimento diretto e parallelo, gate automatici per lo scambio documentale) e di soluzioni operative innovative (es. trasferimento parallelo e trasferimento diretto) valutandone gli effetti sull’operatività e la gestione dei terminali stessi. Misure e tecnologie operative sono state combinate in diversi scenari per essere valutati con un approccio metodologico che include metodi analitici e modelli di simulazione. Gli output sono rappresentati da alcuni indicatori di prestazione (KPIs) opportunamente elaborati rispetto a diverse tipologie di terminali analizzati e relativi a differenti aspetti (operativo, organizzativo e gestionale) relativamente ai seguenti casi di studio: il terminale intermodale ferro-gomma di Monaco-Riem (Germania), la stazione di smistamento di Hallsberg (Svezia) e il terminale intermodale ferro-mare Prìncipe Felipe nel porto di Valencia (Spagna). L’articolo è organizzato nelle seguenti parti: review delle misure operative innovative e delle nuove tecnologie per I terminali ferroviari merci e stazioni di smistamento; descrizione degli scenari elaborati integrando una selezione delle misure operative innovative e nuove tecnologie; illustrazione sintetica dei metodi e modelli utilizzati per la valutazione; definizione degli indicatori di performance; applicazione del quadro metodologico ai casi di studio identificati; Illustrazione dei risultati includendo il confronto con gli attuali scenari.In this paper are presented the main results of the research group of DICEA achieved within the project Capacity4Rail. The main aim is to contribute to increasing of the market share of the railway freight transport, through proposals to improve efficiency of the terminals adopting innovations measurements and new techonologies. The DICEA has evaluated the effects of these innovations. For three case studies have been analyzed technologies and operational measures, combined in different scenarios to be evaluated by analytical methods and simulation models. The outputs are represented by performance indicators (KPIs) about to different aspects: operational, organizational and management, properly processed according to the different types of terminals analyzed: the intermodal terminal of Munich-Riem, Hallsberg marshalling yard and Principe Felipe intermodal terminal in the port of Valencia