Book Review

This book was meant to disseminate the results of a national research project funded by the European Union. In this case, a standard structure could be expected containing the need for and the context of the research, the methodology used and the results obtained. But the book does a lot more than summarizing the research conducted. Each of the traditional items are of course reported throughout the different articles, but the emphasis is on original and provocative approaches. The evaluation of the latest trends in the sector, the impact of education and training on sector behaviour, the impact of culture, and the monitoring of reproductability and transferability of the evaluation procedure give an extra dimension to the analysis reporting. The main topic in itself too merits attention and praise since there is ample supply of training programmes, the quality of which, however, varies (a program useful in one situation may not apply to or even have a counterproductive effect in a different situation, and the need for training should be clearly evaluated before taking any action)

Improving port hinterland connection capacity: a comparative study of Polish and Belgian cases

The study takes a comparative approach by investigating the situation in the hinterlands of two different port areas in Europe: Antwerp (Belgium) and Gdansk-Sopot-Gdynia agglomeration (Poland). Both port centres have an important road hinterland connection that faces competition from other alternative modes of freight transport. However, the Port of Antwerp is already one of the leading ports of the continent while the ports of Gdansk and Gdynia are at the stage of building their competitive position. Also the importance of inland waterways in the transport systems in these countries is different – Belgium has a functioning network of waterways while Poland still has to develop it. The Belgian case is the E313 motorway, which makes the connection between Antwerp and Li�ge and further on also Germany. The motorway has competition from both rail and inland waterways, especially in dealing with port-bound traffic. The Albert Canal, which runs mainly in parallel with the motorway, is currently being subject to capacity expansion through the extension and elevation of a number bridges that cross the canal. Rail could specifically benefit from the potential re-activation of the Iron Rhine - an almost parallel connection to the motorway E313 between Antwerp and the German Ruhr area. The Polish case is focused on possible scenarios of freight traffic between Baltic port centre of Gdansk and Gdynia with important international harbour and fast developing regional centre - Bydgoszcz-Torun. At present the main connections between those urban areas are the state road 1, section of motorway A1 and railway CE-65. Gdansk, Torun and Bydgoszcz are also linked with Vistula river (part of international inland waterways E-40 and E-70) but so far it is not used extensively. The cases are analyzed separately. The added value of the paper is the comparative analysis which allows making conclusions that are valid for both environments. The results are of high relevance to policy makers in charge of alleviating port hinterland problems, and also to ports in the current highly competitive environment.

Editorial: Understanding funding and financing of transportation infrastructure

Investment in transport infrastructure is under pressure. On the one hand, the need for maintaining and/or replacing existing assets as well as building new ones is higher than ever. On the other hand, funding either for maintaining existing assets or building new ones, is severely constrained. Earlier literature proposed to combine all the above factors in the form of indicators that can describe the elements of the transport infrastructure delivery system. At the heart of this system lies the business model, which generates funding and attracts financing. System elements are drawn and kept together by the efficiency and flexibility of their contractual governance. An important element that determines the overall functionality of the system is the contextual setting: the implementation and transport mode contexts. This special issue brings together multiple research contributions that showcase the importance of understanding the funding and financing characteristics of transport infrastructure. A key common conclusion is that success or failure is not dependent on a single factor but rather a group of factors, which are not the same for all targeted outcomes. All papers, in their analysis of respective factors, identify “turning points” in their positive or negative effect on project performance

Prediction of late/early arrivals in container terminals - A qualitative approach

Vessel arrival uncertainty in ports has become a very common problem worldwide. Although ship operators have to notify the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) at predetermined time intervals, they frequently have to update the latest ETA due to unforeseen circumstances. This causes a series of inconveniences that often impact on the efficiency of terminal operations, especially in the daily planning scenario. Thus, for our study we adopted a machine learning approach in order to provide a qualitative estimate of the vessel delay/advance and to help mitigate the consequences of late/early arrivals in port. Using data on delays/advances at the individual vessel level, a comparative study between two transshipment container terminals is presented and the performance of three algorithmic models is evaluated. Results of the research indicate that when the distribution of the outcome is bimodal the performance of the discrete models is highly relevant for acquiring data characteristics. Therefore, the models are not flexible in representing data when the outcome distribution exhibits unimodal behavior. Moreover, graphical visualisation of the importance-plots made it possible to underline the most significant variables which might explain vessel arrival uncertainty at the two European ports

Settlement of Macoma balthica larvae in response to benthic diatom films

The role of multi-species benthic diatom films (BDF) in the settlement of late pediveliger larvae of the bivalve Macoma balthica was investigated in still-water bioassays and multiple choice flume experiments. Axenic diatom cultures that were isolated from a tidal mudflat inhabited by M. balthica were selected to develop BDF sediment treatments characterized by a different community structure, biomass, and amount of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Control sediments had no added diatoms. Although all larvae settled and initiated burrowing within the first minute after their addition in still water, regardless of treatment, only 48-52% had completely penetrated the high diatom biomass treatments after 5 min, while on average 80 and 69% of the larvae had settled and burrowed into the control sediments and BDF with a low diatom biomass (<3.5 mu g Chl a g(-1) dry sediment), respectively. The percentage of larvae settling and burrowing into the sediment was negatively correlated with the concentration of Chl a and EPS of the BDF. This suggests higher physical resistance to bivalve penetration by the BDF with higher diatom biomass and more associated sugar and protein compounds. The larval settlement rate in annular flume experiments at flow velocities of 5 and 15 cm s(-1) was distinctly lower compared to the still-water assays. Only 4.6-5.8% of the larvae were recovered from BDF and control sediments after 3 h. Nonetheless, a clear settlement preference was observed for BDF in the flume experiments; i.e., larvae settled significantly more in BDF compared to control sediments irrespective of flow speed. Comparison with the settlement of polystyrene mimics and freeze-killed larvae led to the conclusion that active selection, active secondary dispersal and, at low flow velocities (5 cm s(-1)), passive adhesion to the sediment are important mechanisms determining the settlement of M. balthica larvae in estuarine biofilms

The Air Transport Sector after 2010: A Modified Market and Ownership Structure

This paper outlines the future possible scenarios that the air transport sector may evolve into after 2010, starting from the most important trends from the past and actual market developments. A big market shift was the liberalization which was introduced in the 1990’s, which led to an improved capacity utilisation for both passengers and freight. The impacts on and reactions from airlines have been different over continents and over types of companies. Furthermore, increasing importance has been attached to yield, pushing airline companies towards various forms of co-operation and integration. In the future, some more developments may change the air transport market. First, we may expect a stronger split between traditional air transport and niche markets. Second, privatisation may be strengthening, not only among airlines, but also in airports. Third, mergers and acquisitions may drastically shift the market and lead to new competitive balances. Fourth, the Southwest model, based on low costs and low fares, is likely to survive, although some maturity is observed, but new products emerge. Fifth, the relatively large number of bankruptcies is a new phenomenon for air transport. Carriers not belonging to strategic alliances turn out to be more likely victims. Sixth, increasing aggressiveness in company strategies and reactions is observed, including price cuts but also hostile takeover bids. Seventh, privatization is gaining pace, while on the other hand governments will continue to be an important player, be it on a different front: as infrastructure providers, market regulators and environmental protectors. Eight, air freight is still a growing market, with an own network which is gradually developing, next to the passenger network. A ninth and last tendency is the entry of&nbsp;more foreign and private equity capital, the latter of which may sometimes be at odds with the long-term strategies of the sector

Public-Private Partnerships in Port Areas:Lessons Learned from Case Studies in Antwerp and Rotterdam

The cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is a widely used approach for the appraisal of transport projects, but criticisms on it have led to the development of alternatives such as the BENEFIT approach. This book chapter analyzes three cases of infrastructure investments in port areas in Belgium and the Netherlands, by application of the BENEFIT approach. We find inter alia that differences in country performance on internationally accepted indicators can influence differences in infrastructure investments between countries. Moreover, infrastructure projects with larger revenue-generating possibilities will influence the PPP (public-private partnership) potential of this type of projects in a positive way. Applying different appraisal methods to the same infrastructure project might help to arrive at infrastructure project investment approvals that are well-documented.</p

Factors affecting the cost performance of transport infrastructure projects

The research objective of this paper is to identify the key factors that affect the cost performance of all types of transport infrastructure projects. The method used is the fuzzy set QUALITATIVE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS (fs QCA), which allows identifying combinations of factors that affect the cost performance. Results show that 30% of the projects, which are on cost, are explained by a good institutional context, a high ability to save costs, high revenue robustness, high transport market efficiency and acceptability and a mostly public financing scheme as core conditions, combined with good governance as peripheral condition. Also, 29% of the projects, which are over cost, are explained by an unfavourable financial-economic context and mostly a private financing scheme as core conditions, combined with inadequate governance as a peripheral condition. In the on-cost analysis, financing scheme and governance appear to be ‘positive’, while in the over-cost analysis, they appear to be ‘negative’, thus acting consistently and showing their importance, since they contribute respectively to the achievement or not of the cost target. These results can provide useful lessons to academics, practitioners, policy makers and all other stakeholders involved in transport infrastructure projects

Port Pricing. Considerations on Economic Principles and Marginal Costs

Pricing by ports and operators within ports is considered quite a complex and untransparant&nbsp;matter, and as such it is sometimes perceived as archaic. This often results in debates about&nbsp;subsidies, captive markets and the dredging and deepening of maritime access routes, raising&nbsp;questions concerning potential distortion of competition and/or abuse of monopolistic power.&nbsp;This paper starts from the most important scientific literature on port pricing (and port&nbsp;competition), and adds new empirical results while calculating the marginal cost of a port&nbsp;call. A distinction is made between four elements of marginal costs in port operations, being&nbsp;costs for provision of infrastructure, costs associated with the use of the transport mode,&nbsp;costs for supplying port services, and external costs. This material may constitute the basis&nbsp;for a meaningful debate on the implementation of a pricing approach that is grounded on the&nbsp;marginal cost principle