Multimodal, intermodal and terminals

The chapter looks at rail freight terminals, rail--sea interfaces, in particular, as part of a multimodal, or integrated transportation network. Terminals are key infrastructure for linking individual transport modes and governing and managing their interchange in a manner that creates a seamless and sustainable transportation system. Therefore, their performance is critical for maximising transport efficiency and modes integration. This chapter focused on how to measure the operational performance of rail freight terminals in a framework of integrated transportation network. In an increasingly competitive and commercialised world, there is an increasing demand to be able to rank transport options and routes in some way. Drawing on new material, this talk attempts to outline possible methods for how to measure the performance of rail terminals. It focuses on the identification of suitable methods to assess performance by key indicators. Intermodality demands for going beyond safeguarding the individual modes to ensuring the security of the intermodal inter-faces (terminals), the nodes that link and integrate passenger and freight flows. That demands for an integrated holistic approach built on the collaboration between international, national organisations and operators. The study put emphasis on the security challenges and threats to freight transport generally and in rail-sea interfaces more specifically. It moves onto the regulations already governing security in rail-sea interfaces. Finally, it focus on the role that infrastructure planning can play in improving security and offer some conclusions and recommendations for the futur