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Transcript of intermodal transportation Project
Introduction
Transport in the Republic of India is an important part of the nation's economy. Since
the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, development of infrastructure within the
country has progressed at a rapid pace, and today there is a wide variety of modes of
transport by land, water and air. However, India's relatively low GDP per capita has
meant that access to these modes of transport has not been uniform.
Motor vehicle penetration is low by international standards, with only 103 million cars on
the nation's roads. In addition, only around 10% of Indian households own a motorcycle.
At the same time, the automobile industry in India is rapidly growing with an annual
production of over 4.6 million vehicles, and vehicle volume is expected to rise greatly in
the future.
In the interim however, public transport still remains the primary mode of transport for
most of the population, and India's public transport systems are among the most heavily
used in the world. India's rail network is the 4th longest and the most heavily used
system in the world, transporting over 6 billion passengers and over 350 million tons
of freight annually.
Despite ongoing improvements in the sector, several aspects of the transport sector are
still riddled with problems due to outdated infrastructure and lack of investment in less
economically active parts of the country. The demand for transport infrastructure and
services has been rising by around 10% a year. with the current infrastructure being
unable to meet these growing demands. According to recent estimates by Goldman
Sachs, India will need to spend US$1.7 trillion on infrastructure projects over the next
decade to boost economic growth, of which US$500 billion is budgeted to be spent
during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan
intro to intermodal
The 21st century have seen a renewed focus on intermodal freight transportation driven
by the changing requirements of global supply chains. Each of the transportation modes
(air, inland water, ocean, pipeline, rail, and road) has gone through technological
evolution and has functioned separately under a modally based regulatory structure for
most of the 20th century. With the development of containerization in the mid-1900s, the
reorientation toward deregulation near the end of the century, and a new focus on
logistics and global supply chain requirements, the stage is set for continued intermodal
transportation growth.
. A more descriptive term for this process would be “multimodal,” because of a lack of
effective and efficient connectivity for both freight and information among and between
the various modes on shipments under a single freight bill. Container-based
transportation services are an important part of intermodal transportation and the
backbone of international trade. Container transportation is a major component of
intermodal transportation and international commerce
Almost all types of freight carriers and terminal operator may thus be involved in
intermodal
transportation, either by providing service for part of the transportation chain or
by operating an intermodal transportation system (network).
A well functioning transport system is essential to our national prosperity and defense.
Advances in freight transport and logistics in recent decades have been a major source
of
productivity growth in the Indian economy.
Many of the advances in freight transportation have been in intermodal transportation.
However, the term intermodal is often used to identify the important overall
advances in freight transportation and logistic of recent years.
Intermodal is more than simply taking a container from a ship or factory, transferring it to
railroad, and eventually transferring it to drayage contractor for delivery to consignee. It
involves conducting business within existing governmental policies and regulations,
managing the transfers between modes through the use of developing technologies,
and the
interactions between many intermediaries to enable the seamless and real time
tracking,
scheduling documentation and delivery of the intermodal shipment to the customer.
Intermodal freight transport is also defined as the transport of goods in containers that
can be
moved on land by rail or truck and on water by ship or barge during a single journey.
Literature review
“movement of goods in one and the
same loading unit or vehicle, which uses successive, various modes of transportation
(road,
rail, water) without any handling of the goods themselves during transfers between
modes”.
Intermodal transportation may be defined as the transportation of a person or a load
from
its origin to its destination by a sequence of at least two transportation modes, the
transfer
from one mode to the next being performed at an intermodal terminal.
intermodal freight transport is defined as the use of two or more modes to move a
shipment from origin to destination.
of logisticallylinking a freight movement with two or more transport modes
intermodal freight transport is defined as the use
of two or more modes to move a shipment from origin to destination.
Intermodal transportation, with the options of integrating multiple modes, provides a
flexible response to the changing supply chain management requirements in global
markets
and distribution systems.
it can be defined as sequential use of two or more forms of transportation during a
single journey
Intermodal Freight Transportation, broadly defined as the transportation
of a load from its origin to its destination by a sequence of at least two transportation
modes, the transfer from one mode to the next being performed at an intermodal
terminal.
intermodal freight transportations refers to
a multi-modal chain of container -transportation services.
it is a process of transporting freight and passengers by means of a system of
interconnected networks, involving various combinations of modes of transportation, in
which all of the components are seamlessly linked and efficiently combined
“The concept of transporting passengers and freight
on two or more different modes during a single journey in such a way that all parts of
the transportation process, including the exchange of information are efficiently
connected and coordinated”.
The term intermodal transportation, or intermodalism, refers to the use of
coordinated transportation of cargo on single trip.
it is the shipment of the cargo and movement of the people involving more than one
mode of transportation during a single, seamless journey.
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, animals and goods from one
location to another
Background
history
Objectives
Scope
main part-transportation
History
Humans' first means of transport were walking and swimming. The domestication of
animals introduces a new way to lay the burden of transport on more powerful
creatures, allowing heavier loads to be hauled, or humans to ride the animals for higher
speed and duration. Inventions such as the wheel and sled helped make animal
transport more efficient through the introduction of vehicles. Also water transport,
including rowed and sailed vessels, dates back to time immemorial, and was the only
efficient way to transport large quantities or over large distances prior to the Industrial
Revolution.
The first forms of road transport were horses, oxen or even humans carrying goods
over dirt tracks that often followed game trails. Paved roads were built by many early
civilizations, including Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley Civilization.
The Persian and Roman empires built stone-paved roads to allow armies to travel
quickly. Deep roadbeds of crushed stone underneath ensured that the roads kept dry.
The medieval Caliphate later builttar-paved roads. The first watercraft were canoes cut
out from tree trunks. Early water transport was accomplished with ships that were either
rowed or used the wind for propulsion, or a combination of the two. The importance of
water has led to most cities, that grew up as sites for trading, being located on rivers or
at sea, ofter at the intersection of two bodies of water. Until the Industrial Revolution,
transport remained slow and costly, and production and consumption were located as
close to each other as feasible.
The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century saw a number of inventions fundamentally
change transport. With telegraphy, communication became instant and independent of
transport. The invention of the steam engine, closely followed by its application in rail
transport, made land transport independent of human or animal muscles. Both speed
and capacity increased rapidly, allowing specialization through manufacturing being
located independent of natural resources. The 19th century also saw the development
of the steam ship, that sped up global transport.
With the development of the combustion engine and the automobile at the turn into the
20th century, road transport became more viable, allowing the introduction of
mechanical private transport. The first highways were constructed during the 19th
century with macadam. Later, tarmac and concrete became the dominant paving
material. In 1903, the first controllable airplane was invented, and after World War I, it
became a fast way to transport people and express goods over long distances.[23]
After World War II, the automobile and airlines took higher shares of transport, reducing
rail and water to freight and short-haul passenger.[24] Spaceflight was launched in the
1950s, with rapid growth until the 1970s, when interest dwindled. In the 1950s, the
introduction of containerization gave massive efficiency gains in freight transport,
permitting globalization.[21] International air travel became much more accessible in the
1960s, with the commercialization of the jet engine. Along with the growth in
automobiles and motorways, this introduced a decline for rail and water transport. After
the introduction of the Shinkansen in 1964, high-speed rail in Asia and Europe started
taking passengers on long-haul routes from airlines.[24]
introduction
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, animals and goods from one
location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline,
and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations.
Transport is important since it enables trade between people, which in turn establishes
civilizations.
Transport infrastructure consists of the fixed installations necessary for transport,
including roads, railways, airways, waterways, canals and pipelines and terminals such
as airports, railway stations, bus stations, warehouses, trucking terminals, refueling
depots including fueling docks and fuel stations, and seaports. Terminals may be used
both for interchange of passengers and cargo and for maintenance.
Vehicles traveling on these networks may
include automobiles, bicycles, buses, trains, trucks, people, helicopters, and aircraft.
Operations deal with the way the vehicles are operated, and the procedures set for this
purpose including financing, legalities and policies. In the transport industry, operations
and ownership of infrastructure can be either public or private, depending on the country
and mode.
Passenger transport may be public, where operators provide scheduled services,
or private. Freight transport has become focused on containerization, although bulk
transport is used for large volumes of durable items. Transport plays an important part
in economic growth and globalization, but most types cause air pollution and use large
amounts of land. While it is heavily subsidized by governments, good planning of
transport is essential to make traffic flow, and restrain urban sprawl.
Mode
A mode of transport is a solution that makes use of a particular type of vehicle,
infrastructure and operation. The transport of a person or of cargo may involve one
mode or several modes, with the latter case being called intermodal or multimodal
transport. Each mode has its advantages and disadvantages, and will be chosen for a
trip on the basis of cost, capability, route, and speed.
Traditional means
Walking
In ancient times, people often covered long distances on foot. Walking still constitutes
an important mode of transport in urban areas. In the city of Mumbai, to further improve
the transit conditions for pedestrians, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development
Authority, has commenced the construction of more than 50skywalks, as part of
the Mumbai Skywalk project.
Palanquin
Palanquins, also known as palkis, were one of the luxurious methods used by the rich
and noblemen for travelling. This was primarily used in the past to carry a deity or idol of
a God, and many temples have sculptures of God being carried in a palki. Later on, it
was primarily used by European noblemen and ladies from the upper classes of society
prior to the advent of the railways in India.[12] Modern use of the palanquin is limited
to Indian weddings and Pilgrimage.
Bullock cart and horse carriage
Bullock carts have been traditionally used for transport, especially in rural India.
The arrival of the British saw drastic improvements in the horse carriages which were
used for transport since early days. Today, they are used in smaller towns and are
referred as Tanga or buggies. Victorias of Mumbai are still used for tourist purposes, but
horse carriages are now rarely found in the metro cities of India. In recent years large
cities have banned the movement of bullock carts and other slow moving vehicles on
the main roads.
Bicycle
Bicycles are a common mode of travel in much of India. More people can now afford to
own a cycle than ever before. In 2005, more than 40% of Indian households owned a
bicycle, with ownership rates ranging from around 30% to 70% at the state level.[2] Along with walking, cycling accounts for 50 to 75% of the commuter trips for those in
the informal sector in urban areas.
Even though India is the second largest producer of bicycles in the world, a significant
prejudice against bicycle riding for transport exists in some segments of the population,
generally stemming from the status symbol aspect of the motor vehicle. In India, the
word "bike" generally refers to motorcycle, and "cycle" refers to bicycle.
Pune was the first city in India to have dedicated lanes for cycles. It was built for
the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games.
However, recent developments in Delhi suggest that bicycle riding is fast becoming
popular in the metro cities of India. The Delhi government has decided to construct
separate bicycle lanes on all major roads to combat pollution and ease traffic
congestion.
Hand-pulled rickshaw
This type of transport are still available in Kolkata wherein a person pulls the rickshaw
by hand. The Government of West Bengal proposed a ban on these rickshaws in 2005
describing them as "inhuman". Though a bill aiming to address this issue, termed as
'Calcutta Hackney Carriage Bill', was passed by the West Bengal Assembly in 2006, it
has not been implemented yet. The Government of West Bengal is working on an
amendment of this bill to avoid the loopholes that got exposed when the Hand-pulled
Rickshaw Owner's Association filed a petition against the bill.
Cycle rickshaw
Cycle rickshaws were introduced in India in the 1940s. They are bigger than a tricycle
where two people sit on an elevated seat at the back and a person pedals from the
front. In the late 2000s, they were banned in several cities for causing traffic congestion.
Cycle rickshaws have been a feature of Delhi streets since Indian independence in
1947, providing the cheapest way around the capital. The Delhi Police recently
submitted an affidavit against plying of cycle rickshaws to ease traffic congestion in the
city but it was dismissed by the Delhi High court. In addition, environmentalists have
supported the retention of cycle rickshaws as a non-polluting and inexpensive mode of
transport.
Urban public transport
Public transport is the predominant mode of motorised local travel in cities. This is
predominantly by road, since commuter rail services are available only in the
seven metropolitan cities of
Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune, while dedicated city
bus services are known to operate in at least 25 cities with a population of over one
million. Intermediate public transport modes like tempos and cycle rickshaws assume
importance in medium size cities. However, the share of buses is negligible in most
Indian cities as compared to personalized vehicles, and two-wheelers and cars account
for more than 80 percent of the vehicle population in most large cities.
Traffic in Indian cities generally moves slowly, where traffic jams and accidents are very
common. India has very poor records on road safely—around 90,000 people die from
road accidents every year. At least 13 people die every hour in road accidents in the
country,also in the year 2007 road accidents claimed more than 130,000 lives,
overtaking China.
A Reader's Digest study of traffic congestion in Asian cities ranked several Indian cities
within the Top Ten for worst traffic.
Tram
The advent of the British saw trams being introduced in many cities including Mumbai
and Kolkata. They are still in use in Kolkata and provide an emission-free means of
transport. The nationalized Calcutta Tramways Company is in the process of upgrading
the existing tramway network at a cost of 24 crore (US$4.37 million). Presently the
limited tram system in India is extremely slow and technologically backward, new light
rail projects are being proposed rather than tram projects which have one reason or
another not been very successful in the country.
Bus
The oldest Indian state transport undertaking is North Bengal State Transport
Corporation founded by the Raj Durbar of Koch Bihar Kingdom regime. on 1 April 1945
with three buses and three trucks. It is still vibrant and running, providing service to
commuters of North Bengal region. Buses take up over 90% of public transport in Indian
cities, and serve as a cheap and convenient mode of transport for all classes of society.
Services are mostly run by state government owned transport corporations. However,
after the economic liberalisation, many state transport corporations have introduced
various facilities like low-floor buses for the disabled and air-conditioned buses to attract
private car owners to help decongest roads. Bengaluru was the first city in India to
introduce Volvo B7RLE intra-city buses in India in January 2006. Bengaluru is the first
Indian city to have an air-conditionedbus stop, located near Cubbon Park. It was built
by Airtel. The APSRTC has introduced Buses with two coaches.These Buses are
allowed to operate only in the Greater Hyderabad. It is acknowledged as the single
corporation having the largest fleet in the world. This has been certified by the
Guinness World Records for being the largest bus operator in the world.
The city of Chennai houses Asia's largest bus terminus, the Chennai Mofussil Bus
Terminus. In 2009, the Government of Karnataka and theBangalore Metropolitan
Transport Corporation flagged off a pro-poor bus service called the Atal Sarige. The
service aims to provide low-cost connectivity to the economically backward sections of
the society to the nearest major bus station.
Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS)
New initiatives like Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems and air conditioned buses have
been taken by the various state government to improve the bus public transport
systems in cities. The idea of a BRT concept in India - based on the successful system
in Curitiba, Brazil - was first introduced in the year 2000 in the form of a feasibility study
for Bangalore carried out by Swedish consultants but was not implemented at the time.
Today, however, the concept has caught on and Bus Rapid Transit systems already
exist in Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Jaipur with new ones coming up
inKolkata Hyderabad Lucknow and Bangalore. High Capacity buses can be found in
cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Nagpur and Chennai.
Taxi
Most of the traditional taxicabs in India are either Premier Padmini or Hindustan
Ambassador cars.
Depending on the city/state, taxis can either be hailed or hired from taxi-stands. In cities
such as Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad,taxis need to be hired over phone,
whereas in cities like Kolkata and Mumbai, taxis can be hailed on the street. According
to government of India regulations, all taxis are required to have a fare-meter
installed. There are additional surcharges for luggage, late-night rides and toll taxes are
to be paid by the passenger. Since 2006, radio taxis have become increasingly popular
with the public due to reasons of safety and convenience.
In cities and localities where taxis are expensive or do not ply as per the government or
municipal regulated fares, people use share taxis. These are normal taxis which carry
one or more passengers travelling to destinations either en route to the final destination,
or near the final destination. The passengers are charged according to the number of
people with different destinations. A similar system exists for autorickshaws, known as
share autos.
Auto Rickshaw
An auto rickshaw is a three-wheeler vehicle for hire that has no doors and is generally
characterised by a small cabin for the driver in the front and a seat for passengers in the
rear. Generally it is painted in yellow, green or black colour and has a black, yellow or
green canopy on the top, but designs vary considerably from place to place. The color
of the autorickshaw is also determined by the fuel that it is powered by, for
example Ahmedabad andDelhi have green autos indicating the use of Compressed
Natural Gas, whereas the autos of Mumbai, Bangalore have black autos indicating the
use of diesel.
In Mumbai and other metropolitan cities, 'autos' or 'ricks' as they are popularly known
have regulated metered fares. A recent law prohibits auto rickshaw drivers from
charging more than the specified fare, or charging night-fare before midnight, and also
prohibits the driver from refusing to go to a particular location. Mumbai and Kolkata are
also the only two cities which prohibit auto rickshaws from entering a certain part of the
city, in these cases beingSouth Mumbai and certain parts of downtown
Kolkata. However, in cities like Chennai, it is common to see autorickshaw drivers
demand more than the specified fare and refuse to use fare meter.
Airports and railway stations at many cities such
as Chennai, Bengaluru, Mysore and Hubballi-Dharwad provide a facility of prepaid auto
booths, where the passenger pays a fixed fare as set by the authorities for various
locations.
Suburban railway
The railway transit systems in India include Suburban Railway, Rail Rapid Transit or
Metro systems and Monorail.
The present suburban railway services in India are limited and are operational only
in Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad . TheMumbai Suburban
Railway is the first rail system in India which began services in Mumbai in 1867,
transports 6.3 million passengers daily and has the highest passenger density in the
world. The first rapid transit system in India, the Kolkata Suburban Railway, was
established in Kolkata in 1854. Its first service ran between Howrah and Hooghly
covering a distance of 38.6 km (24 mi).
Urban mass rapid transit
The first modern rapid transit in India was the Kolkata Metro that started its operations
in 1984. The Delhi Metro in New Delhi is second conventional metro and began
operations in 2002. TheNamma Metro in Bengalore is India's third operational rapid
transit and began operations in 2011. Currently, rapid transit systems have been
deployed in these cities and more are under construction or in planning in several major
cities of India.
Monorail
Monorail in India is generally considered as feeder system for the Metro train.
The Mumbai Monorail will be the first monorail in India since thePatiala State Monorail
Trainways closed in 1927. The first portion of the first line is scheduled to be operational
by May 2012. The Thiruvananthapuram Monorail is under construction and will start
operating in 2016. It will India's second largest monorail network. Many other Indian
cities have Monorail projects, as a feeder system to the Metro, in different phases of
planning.
Green background for the systems that are currently under construction. Blue
background for the systems that are currently in planning.
System City Opening
Year
System
length
No.
of
No. of lines
under
(km) lines construction
Mumbai Monorail Mumbai 2012 20 2 1
Thiruvananthapuram
Monorail
Thiruvananthapura
m2016 22.50 2 1
Chennai Monorail Chennai 2014 57 3
Bangalore Monorail Bangalore 60 3
Delhi Monorail Delhi 90 6
Indore Monorail Indore
Kanpur Monorail Kanpur 63 6
Kolkata Monorail Kolkata 72 2
Kozhikode Monorail Kozhikode 2015 35 1
Navi Mumbai
MonorailNavi Mumbai 2013 38 2
Patna Monorail Patna 32 4
Pune Monorail Pune 52 2
Aizawl Monorail Aizawl 2015 5 1
Other local transport
Motorcycle and scooter
Motorised two-wheel vehicles like scooters, motorcycles and mopeds are very popular
mode of transport due to their fuel efficiency and ease of use in congested roads or
streets. The number of two-wheelers sold is several times that of cars. There were 47.5
million powered two-wheelers in India in 2003 compared with just 8.6 million cars.
Motorcycles and scooters can be rented in many cities. Wearing protective headgear is
mandatory for both the rider and the pillion-rider in most cities.
Automobile
Private vehicles account for 30% of the total transport demand in urban areas of India.
An average of 963 new private vehicles are registered every day in Delhi alone. The
number of automobiles produced in India rose from 63 lakh (6.3 million) in 2002-03 to
1.1 crore (11.2 million) in 2008-09. However, India still has a very low rate of car
ownership. When comparing car ownership between BRIC developing countries, it is on
a par with China and exceeded by Brazil and Russia.[64]
Long distance transport
Railway
Rail services in India, first introduced in 1853, are provided by the state-run Indian
Railways under the supervision of the Ministry of Railways. Indian Railways provides an
important mode of transport in India, transporting over 18 million passengers and more
than 2 million tonnes of freight daily across one of the largest and busiest rail networks
in the world. The proposal to construct to build the highest railway track in the
world from Manali to Leh overtaking current record of Beijing-Lhasa Railway line has not
been taken up for implementation. By 1947, the year of India's independence, there
were forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit,
becoming one of the largest networks in the world. Indian Railways is divided into
sixteen zones, which are further sub-divided into sixty seven divisions, each having a
divisional headquarters.
The rail network traverses through the length and breadth of the country, covering more
than 7,000 stations over a total route length of more than 65,000 km (40,000 mi) and
track length of about 115,000 km (71,000 mi). About 22,224 km (13,809 mi) or 34% of
the route-kilometre was electrified as on 31 March 2012. Indian Railways is the world's
largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.4 million employees. As
to rolling stock, IR owns over 200,000 (freight) wagons, 50,000 coaches and 8,000
locomotives. It also owns locomotive and coach production facilities. It operates both
long distance and suburban rail systems on a multi-gauge network
of broad, metre and narrow gauges, and is in the process of converting most of the
metre gauge and narrow gauge tracks into broad gauge in a project called Project
Unigauge.
The Indian Railways runs a number of special types of services which are given higher
priority. The Rajdhani trains introduced in 1969 provides connectivity between the
national capital, Delhi and capitals of the states. On the other hand, Shatabdi
Express provides connectivity between centres of tourism, pilgrimage or business. The
Shatabdi Express trains run over short to medium distances and do not have sleepers
while the Rajdhani Expresses run over longer distances and have only sleeping
accommodation. Both series of trains have a regular speed of 110 to 140 km/h (81 to
87 mph) but average speed of less than 100 kmph. The 12001 Bhopal
Shatabdi express, however, runs at a peak speed of 150 km/h on small stretches which
makes it the fastest train in India. The other specialised services operated by the
Railways are the Duronto Express and Garib Raths that provide cheap no-frill
airconditioned rail travel. Besides, The Indian Railways also operates a number of
luxury trains which cater to various tourist circuits.
The Indian Railways has also initiated a number of highly ambitious projects to provide
connectivity to the remote and inaccessible areas of the country. The 738 km
long Konkan Railway with 2000 bridges and 91 tunnels is one such highly difficult
project through fragile mountainous terrain of the Konkan region to connect two
important port cities of Mangalore and Mumbai by a short route and was constructed in
1991-1998. Another such highly ambitious project is the Kashmir Railway, the Kashmir
valley part of which was completed in 2009.
Proposals have been made to construct high-speed railway lines in India but no
concrete action has been taken. In 1999, the Konkan Railway Corporation introduced
the Roll On Roll Off (RORO) service, a unique road-rail synergy system, on the section
between Kolad in Maharashtra and Verna in Goa, which was extended up
to Surathkal in Karnataka in 2004. The RORO service, the first of its kind in India,
allowed trucks to be transported on flatbed trailers. It was highly popular, carrying about
1,10,000 trucks and bringing in about 74 crore worth of earnings to the corporation till
2007.
As the railway tracks from Kandla, Pipavav, Mundra and other ports in Saurashtra to
Ahmedabad and Palanpur and then to Rewari via Ringas are not electrified, freight
trains (goods trains) with containers double-stacked ply on this route to Rewari junction
and then take the containers further north from Rewari. Infringements like low road
overbridges and foot overbridges that fouled with double-stacked containers were either
dismantled or raised in years 2004-06 for running these freight trains. In India freight
(goods) trains can carry standard containers double-stacked on flat-bed wagons with
normal axle load of about 22 tonnes and do not require special low-bed wagons unlike
in other countries that have (relatively narrow) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge.
They carry almost 4000 tonnes per rake which is almost twice the load a normal goods
train can haul. Some double-stacked container freight trains on this route through
Rewari station also carry "high cube" containers that are 2896 mm (9 ft 6 inch) high
(higher than standard containers that are generally 8 ft or 2.438 mm high) on special
low-well wagons owned by private clients. Some private logistics operators have built
container storage yards north of Rewari near Garhi Harsaru for this purpose.
International
Rail links between India and neighbouring countries are not well-developed. Two trains
operate to Pakistan - the Samjhauta Express between Delhi and Lahore, and the Thar
Express between Jodhpur and Karachi. Bangladesh is connected by a bi-weekly train,
the Maitree Express that runs from Calcutta to Dhaka. Nominal rail links
to Nepal exist — passenger services betweenJaynagar and Bijalpura, and freight
services between Raxaul and Birganj.
No rail link exists with Myanmar but a railway line is to be built through from Jiribam (in
Manipur) to Tamu through Imphal and Moreh. The construction of this missing link, as
per the feasibility study conducted by the Ministry of External Affairs through RITES Ltd,
is estimated to cost 2,941 crore (US$535.26 million). An 18 km railway link
with Bhutan is being constructed fromHashimara in West Bengal to Toribari in Bhutan.
No rail link exists with either Tibet, China or Sri Lanka, A railway line is being built
from Siliguri to Rangpo in Sikkim but there are no plans to extend it further north
towards Tibet.
Road
India has a network of National Highways connecting all the major cities and state
capitals, forming the economic backbone of the country. As of 2010, India has a total of
70,934 km (44,076 mi) of National Highways, of which 200 km (124 mi) are classified
as expressways. Under National Highways Development Project (NHDP), work is under
progress to equip some of the important national highways with four lanes; also there is
a plan to convert some stretches of these roads to six lanes. However congestion and
bureaucratic delays en route ensure that trucking goods from Gurgaon to the port
in Mumbai can take up to 10 days
As per the National Highways Authority of India, about 65% of freight and 80%
passenger traffic is carried by the roads. The National Highways carry about 40% of
total road traffic, though only about 2% of the road network is covered by these
roads. Average growth of the number of vehicles has been around 10.16% per annum
over recent years. Highways have facilitated development along the route and many
towns have sprung up along major highways. Road transport Benchmark Freight Index
(BFI) initiative taken in India in recently by transit.
All national highways are metalled, but very few are constructed of concrete, the most
notable being the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. In recent years construction has
commenced on a nationwide system of multi-lane highways, including the Golden
Quadrilateral and North-South and East-West Corridors which link the largest cities in
India. In 2000, around 40% of villages in India lacked access to all-weather roads and
remained isolated during the monsoon season.
To improve rural connectivity, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (Prime Minister's
Rural Road Program), a project funded by the Central Governmentwith the help
of World Bank, was launched in 2000 to build all-weather roads to connect all
habitations with a population of 500 or above (250 or above for hilly areas).
As per 2009 estimates, the total road length in India is 3,320,410 km
(2,063,210 mi); making the Indian road network the third largest road networkin the
world. At 0.66 km of highway per square kilometre of land the density of India’s highway
network is higher than that of the United States (0.65) and far higher than that of China's
(0.16) or Brazil's (0.20).
Type of Road Length
Expressways 950 km (590 mi) as of 2011
National Highways 66,590 km (41,380 mi)
State Highways 131,899 km (81,958 mi)
Major District Roads 467,763 km (290,654 mi)
Rural and Other
Roads2,650,000 km (1,650,000 mi)
Total Length3,300,350 km (2,050,740 mi)
(Approx)
Buses are an important means of public transport in India, particularly in the countryside
and remote areas where the rail network cannot be accessed and airline operations are
few or non-existent. Due to this social significance, public bus transport is predominantly
owned and operated by public agencies, and most state governments operate bus
services through a State Road Transport Corporation. These corporations, introduced
in the 1960s and 1970s, have proven extremely useful in connecting villages and towns
across the country.
Aviation
Rapid economic growth in India has made air travel more affordable. Air India, India's
flag carrier, presently operates a fleet of 95 aircraft and plays a major role in connecting
India with the rest of the world. Several other foreign airlines connect Indian cities with
other major cities across the globe.
A large section of country's air transport system remains untapped, even though
the Mumbai-Delhi air corridor was ranked 10th by Amadeus in 2012 among the world's
busiest routes. India's vast unutilised air transport network has attracted several
investments in the Indian air industry in the past few years. More than half a dozenlow-
cost carriers entered the Indian market in 2004-05.
Length of runways
Airports
with paved
runways[116]
Airports
with unpaved
runways[116]
3,047 m (10,000 ft) or more 21 1
2,438 to 3,047 m (8,000 to
10,000 ft)59 4
1,524 to 2,438 m (5,000 to 8,000 ft) 74 6
914 to 1,524 m (3,000 to 5,000 ft) 83 42
Under 914 m (3,000 ft) 14 48
Total 251 101
Waterways
India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form
of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks. The total navigable length is 14,500 kilometers
(9,000 mi), out of which about 5,200 km (3,231 mi) of river and 485 km (301 mi) of
canals can be used by mechanised crafts. Freight transport by waterways is highly
underutilised in India compared to other large countries. The total cargo moved by
inland waterways is just 0.15% of the total inland traffic in India, compared to the
corresponding figures of 20% for Germany and 32% for Bangladesh.
Cargo that is transported in an organised manner is confined to a few waterways
in Goa, West Bengal, Assam and Kerala. The Inland Waterways Authority of India
(IWAI) is the statutory authority in charge of the waterways in India. It does the function
of building the necessary infrastructure in these waterways, surveying the economic
feasibility of new projects and also administration and regulation.
Other modes
Pipelines
Length of pipelines for crude oil is 20,000 km (12,427 mi).
Length of Petroleum products pipeline is 15,000 km (9,321 mi).
Length of Natural gas pipelines is 1,700 km (1,056 mi).
Pipeline transport sends goods through a pipe, most commonly liquid and gases are
sent, but pneumatic tubes can also send solid capsules using compressed air. For
liquids/gases, any chemically stable liquid or gas can be sent through a pipeline. Short-
distance systems exist for sewage, slurry, water and beer, while long-distance networks
are used for petroleum and natural gas.
Cable transport is a broad mode where vehicles are pulled by cables instead of an
internal power source. It is most commonly used at steep gradient. Typical solutions
include aerial tramway, elevators, escalator and ski lifts; some of these are also
categorized as conveyor transport.
Spaceflight is transport out of Earth's atmosphere into outer space by means of
a spacecraft. While large amounts of research have gone into technology, it is rarely
used except to put satellites into orbit, and conduct scientific experiments. However,
man has landed on the moon, and probes have been sent to all the planets of the Solar
System.
Suborbital spaceflight is the fastest of the existing and planned transport systems from a
place on Earth to a distant other place on Earth. Faster transport could be achieved
through part of a Low Earth orbit, or following that trajectory even faster using the
propulsion of the rocket to steer it.
Elements
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is the fixed installations that allow a vehicle to operate. It consists of a
way, a terminal and facilities for parking and maintenance. For rail, pipeline, road and
cable transport, the entire way the vehicle travels must be built up. Air and water craft
are able to avoid this, since the airway and seaway do not need to be built up. However,
they require fixed infrastructure at terminals.
Terminals such as airports, ports and stations, are locations where passengers and
freight can be transferred from one vehicle or mode to another. For passenger
transport, terminals are integrating different modes to allow riders to interchange to take
advantage of each mode's advantages
The financing of infrastructure can either be public or private. Transport is often
a natural monopoly and a necessity for the public; roads, and in some countries
railways and airports are funded through taxation. New infrastructure projects can
involve large spendings, and are often financed through debt. Many infrastructure
owners therefore impose usage fees, such as landing fees at airports, or toll plazas on
roads. Independent of this, authorities may impose taxes on the purchase or use of
vehicles.
Vehicles
A vehicle is any non-living device that is used to move people and goods. Unlike the
infrastructure, the vehicle moves along with the cargo and riders. Unless being pulled by
a cable or muscle-power, the vehicle must provide its own propulsion; this is most
commonly done through a steam engine, combustion engine, electric motor, a jet
engine or a rocket, though other means of propulsion also exist. Vehicles also need a
system of converting the energy into movement; this is most commonly done
through wheels, propellers and pressure.
Vehicles are most commonly staffed by a driver. However, some systems, such
as people movers and some rapid transits, are fully automated.
For passenger transport, the vehicle must have a compartment for the passengers.
Simple vehicles, such as automobiles, bicycles or simple aircraft, may have one of the
passengers as a driver.
Operation
Private transport is only subject to the owner of the vehicle, who operates the vehicle
themselves. For public transport and freight transport, operations are done
through private enterprise or by governments. The infrastructure and vehicles may be
owned and operated by the same company, or they may be operated by different
entities. Traditionally, many countries have had a national airline and national railway.
Since the 1980s, many of these have been privatized. International shipping remains a
highly competitive industry with little regulation, but ports can be public owned.
Function
Relocation of travelers and cargo are the most common uses of transport. However,
other uses exist, such as the strategic and tactical relocation of armed
forces during warfare, or the civilian mobility construction or emergency equipment.
Passenger
Passenger transport, or travel, is divided into public and private transport. Public
transport is scheduled services on fixed routes, while private is vehicles that provide ad
hoc services at the riders desire. The latter offers better flexibility, but has lower
capacity, and a higher environmental impact. Travel may be as part of daily commuting,
for business, leisure or migration.
Short-haul transport is dominated by the automobile and mass transit. The latter
consists of buses in rural and small cities, supplemented with commuter rail, trams and
rapid transit in larger cities. Long-haul transport involves the use of the automobile,
trains, coaches and aircraft, the last of which have become predominantly used for the
longest, including intercontinental, travel. Intermodal passenger transport is where a
journey is performed through the use of several modes of transport; since all human
transport normally starts and ends with walking, all passenger transport can be
considered intermodal. Public transport may also involve the intermediate change of
vehicle, within or across modes, at a transport hub, such as a bus or railway station.
Taxis and Buses can be found on both ends of Public Transport spectrum, whereas
Buses remain the cheaper mode of transport but are not necessarily flexible, and Taxis
being very flexible but more expensive. In the middle is Demand responsive
transport offering flexibility whilst remaining affordable.
International travel may be restricted for some individuals due to legislation
and visa requirements.
Freight
Freight transport, or shipping, is a key in the value chain in manufacturing. With
increased specialization and globalization, production is being located further away from
consumption, rapidly increasing the demand for transport. While all modes of transport
are used for cargo transport, there is high differentiation between the nature of the
cargo transport, in which mode is chosen. Logistics refers to the entire process of
transferring products from producer to consumer, including storage, transport,
transshipment, warehousing, material-handling and packaging, with associated
exchange of information. Incoterm deals with the handling of payment and responsibility
of risk during transport.
Containerization, with the standardization of ISO containers on all vehicles and at all
ports, has revolutionized international and domestic trade, offering huge reduction
in transshipment costs. Traditionally, all cargo had to be manually loaded and unloaded
into the haul of any ship or car; containerization allows for automated handling and
transfer between modes, and the standardized sizes allow for gains in economy of
scale in vehicle operation. This has been one of the key driving factors in international
trade and globalization since the 1950s.
Bulk transport is common with cargo that can be handled roughly without deterioration;
typical examples are ore, coal, cereals and petroleum. Because of the uniformity of the
product, mechanical handling can allow enormous quantities to be handled quickly and
efficiently. The low value of the cargo combined with high volume also means that
economies of scale become essential in transport, and gigantic ships and whole trains
are commonly used to transport bulk. Liquid products with sufficient volume may also be
transported by pipeline.
Air freight has become more common for products of high value; while less than one
percent of world transport by volume is by airline, it amounts to forty percent of the
value. Time has become especially important in regards to principles such
as postponement and just-in-time within the value chain, resulting in a high willingness
to pay for quick delivery of key components or items of high value-to-weight ratio. In
addition to mail, common items sent by air include electronics and fashion clothing.
Impact
Economic
Transport is a key necessity for specialization—allowing production and consumption of
products to occur at different locations. Transport has throughout history been a spur to
expansion; better transport allows more tradeand a greater spread of people. Economic
growth has always been dependent on increasing the capacity and rationality of
transport. But the infrastructure and operation of transport has a great impact on the
land and is the largest drainer of energy, making transport sustainability a major issue.
Modern society dictates a physical distinction between home and work, forcing people
to transport themselves to places of work or study, as well as to temporarily relocate for
other daily activities. Passenger transport is also the essence of tourism, a major part
of recreational transport. Commerce requires the transport of people to conduct
business, either to allow face-to-face communication for important decisions or to move
specialists from their regular place of work to sites where they are needed.
Environment
Transport is a major use of energy and burns most of the world's petroleum. This
creates air pollution, including nitrous oxides and particulates, and is a significant
contributor to global warming through emission of carbon dioxide, for which transport is
the fastest-growing emission sector. By subsector, road transport is the largest
contributor to global warming. Environmental regulations in developed countries have
reduced individual vehicles' emissions; however, this has been offset by increases in
the numbers of vehicles and in the use of each vehicle. Some pathways to reduce the
carbon emissions of road vehicles considerably have been studied. Energy use and
emissions vary largely between modes, causing environmentalists to call for a transition
from air and road to rail and human-powered transport, as well as increased transport
electrification andenergy efficiency.
Other environmental impacts of transport systems include traffic congestion and
automobile-oriented urban sprawl, which can consume natural habitat and agricultural
lands. By reducing transportation emissions globally, it is predicted that there will be
significant positive effects on Earth's air quality, acid rain, smog and climate change.
measures
Buses on the Delhi BRTS. Delhi was one of the first cities in the World to introduce
CNG powered buses
The National capital New Delhi has one of the largest CNG based transport systems as
a part of the drive to bring down pollution. In spite of these efforts it remains the largest
contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions in the city.
In 1998, the Supreme Court of India published a Directive that specified the date of April
2001 as deadline to replace or convert all buses, three-wheelers and taxis in Delhi
to Compressed Natural Gas.
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation was the first State Transport
Undertaking in India to utilise bio-fuels and ethanol-blended fuels. KSRTC took an
initiative to do research in alternative fuel forms by experimenting with various
alternatives— blending diesel with biofuels such as honge, palm, sunflower, groundnut,
coconut and sesame.
main part intermodal
Introduction
Intermodal Freight Transportation, broadly defined as the transportation
of a load from its origin to its destination by a sequence of at least two transportation
modes, the transfer from one mode to the next being performed at an intermodal
terminal. Container-based transportation services are an important part of intermodal
transportation and the backbone of international trade.
Intermodal transportation may be defined as the transportation of a person or a load
from its origin to its destination by a sequence of at least two transportation modes, the
transfer from one mode to the next being performed at an intermodal terminal.
intermodal freight transportations refers to a multi-modal chain of container -
transportation services. This chain usually links the initial shipper to the final consignee
of the container (so-called door-to-door service) and takes place over long distances.
Transportation is often provided by several carriers.
Container transportation is a major component of intermodal transportation and
international commerce. Intermodal transportation is not only about containers and
inter-continental exchanges, however. On the one hand, a significant part of
international trade that is moved in containers does not involve ocean navigation,
land transportation means providing the intermodal chain. On the other hand, other
types of cargo may be moved by a chain of transportation means and require
intermodal transfer facilities, as illustrated by the definition the European Conference of
Ministers of Transport (1993) gives for intermodal transportation: “movement of goods in
one and the same loading unit or vehicle, which uses successive, various modes of
transportation (road, rail, water) without any handling of the goods themselves during
transfers between modes”.
The term “intermodal” has been used in many applications that include passenger
transportation and the containerization of freight. A more descriptive term for this
process would be “multimodal,” because of a lack of effective and efficient connectivity
for both freight and information among and between the various modes on shipments
under a single freight bill. intermodal freight transport is defined as the use of two or
more modes to move a shipment from origin to destination. An intermodal movement
involves the physical infrastructure, goods movement and transfer, and information
drivers and capabilities under a single freight bill. The concept of logistically linking a
freight movement with two or more transport modes is centuries-old. The recent focus
has been on containerization; however, intermodal transportation encompasses all
single-bill shipments using multiple modes.
The term intermodal transportation, or intermodalism, refers to the use of
coordinated transportation of cargo on single trip. Ocean carriers, railroads, and
trucking companies cooperate and interact in the movement of standardized
units (containers and trailers) for increased efficiency of their operations,
increased use of infrastructure, and to provide better service and more choices
for their customers.
Intermodal transportation lowers transportation costs by using each mode on the
portion of the trip to which it is best suited. It reduces congestion on overstressed
infrastructure components and brings higher returns from costly infrastructure
investments.
Other benefits of intermodal transportation are beyond the commercial interests
of the involved companies. The use of rail transportation rather than trucking
decreases the amount of accidents, reduces highway deterioration, and brings
higher fuel efficiency (1.4- to 3.4-times more efficient than trucking). A properly
organized system of intermodal transportation is environment friendly,
conserves natural resources, reduces the social problems of trucking industry
employees, and provides economy with services that allow its growth.
There are two overlying intermodal systems that interact, supplement each other,
and utilize common infrastructure. International intermodal shipping is based on
the cooperation between ocean carriers and railroads. Railroads allow steamship
companies to extend their sphere of influence beyond the gates of ports and help
ocean carriers to attain higher productivity of operations by transferring
containers between ports. Domestic intermodal industry involves trucking
companies and railroads and is based on the intermodal movement of trailers,
domestic containers, and rail-highway vehicles (RoadRailers). Trucking
companies enroll into arrangements with railroads to decrease their costs and
improve overall efficiency of their service.
Intermodalism experienced fast growth in the 1980s, after a series of railroad,
trucking and ocean shipping deregulations and after the invention of
doublestack railcars and RoadRailers. The 1980s are also called as the era of
“intermodal revolution”.
In the 1990s, after the passage of the Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act in 1991, governmental institutions recognized the benefits that the
whole society gains from intermodal transportation in the form of reduced
highway congestion and pollution. Intermodal projects in both freight and
passenger intermodal transportation are often sponsored or co-financed by
governmental funds. An example of such project is the current intention of the
government to fund construction of an intermodal yard on Long Island.
History of Intermodal
Transportation
The idea of using different modes of transportation for one unit of freight has
been around for hundreds of years. There are several factors that influenced the
development of intermodal transportation, slowing it down in some periods and
advancing it in others. Generally, the best conditions ever for the use of
intermodal transportation are experienced today, thanks to the existence of
information technologies, specialized technical devices, good level of demand,
and legal support. Ones of the major factors that influence development of
intermodal transportation are also governmental regulations.
Changes in these conditions have been accompanying intermodal transportation
and influencing its development so that it could evolve to a service that is
helping to support the growth of global and US economy.
Although it does not comply with today’s sense of the term “intermodal
container”, the first known commonly used container is the barrel. It was
independently developed by cultures across the world and has been used for
thousands of years as a storage and transportation unit. The practical properties
of the barrel, its cooperativeness and handiness allowed it to survive until today.
The first use of box-shaped containers to carry freight intermodally most likely
occurred in England in 1792 when a horse-powered tramway hauled coal on iron
crates to a canal where the crates were transferred to boats. Even though this
service was introduced more than 200 years ago, it involved the use of a crane
and the containers were used to carry up to two tons of freight.
American railroads were experimenting with wooden baggage crates on flatcars
form the 1830s to the 1940s. These forerunners of modern container-on-flatcar
(COFC) service had wheels for moving them on and off the cars without any
special equipment and were intended to shorten the layover of passenger trains
in stations.
Intermodal is more than simply taking a container from a ship or factory, transferring it to
railroad, and eventually transferring it to drayage contractor for delivery to consignee. It
involves conducting business within existing governmental policies and regulations,
managing the transfers between modes through the use of developing technologies,
and the interactions between many intermediaries to enable the seamless and real time
tracking, scheduling documentation and delivery of the intermodal shipment to the
customer.
Intermodal freight transport is also defined as the transport of goods in containers that
can be moved on land by rail or truck and on water by ship or barge during a single
journey. Many changes have occurred in intermodal transportation over the past century
and some of the key historical developments in India have been:
Transportation using canals
Sea-train Intermodal service
Truck-Rail Intermodality
Land Bridges
Pipelines
Cargo Containers
Air-Surface Intermodality
Today “intermodal” is often associated with a variety of transportation activities and is
often used to refer many of the important overall advances in freight transportation and
logistics of recent years.
Freight transportation is a joint enterprise of the private sector and government. Private
firms provide nearly all the direct service to shippers and own transportation equipments
and some portions of the infrastructure. The government provides major infrastructure
components like ports and harbors, airports and airways, and inland waterways.
The transportation industry is rapidly changing due to technological advances and
search for faster and cheaper ways to transport freight across the globe.
Intermodal freight transport is a system for transporting goods, particularly over longer
distances and across international borders, which uses a combination of two or more
individual modes, such as road haulage and rail freight, or road haulage and inland
waterway barge, to achieve the most economic, efficient and environmentally-friendly
delivery of loads to their destination.
Typically, such operations involve the movement of either:
complete, driver-accompanied, road vehicles which travel on the road and then
transfer on to a rail wagon for the long haul leg of the journey.
unaccompanied articulated semi-trailers carried piggyback-style on rail wagons,
or ISO-type shipping containers or intermodal swap bodies which are transferred
from road to rail and vice versa;
road vehicles carrying ISO containers direct to a port or to a rail terminal for rail haul
to a port for short-sea or deep-sea shipping, or to an inland waterway
terminal for transport via canal barge;
Freight (invariably in bulk loads) deep-sea shipped from the point of origin then
transferred on to a barge or lighter for onward shipment to an inland port.
The 21st century have seen a renewed focus on intermodal freight transportation driven
by the changing requirements of global supply chains. Each of the transportation modes
(air, inland water, ocean, pipeline, rail, and road) has gone through technological
evolution and has functioned separately under a modally based regulatory structure for
most of the 20th century. With the development of containerization in the mid-1900s, the
reorientation toward deregulation near the end of the century, and a new focus on
logistics and global supply chain requirements, the stage is set for continued intermodal
transportation growth.
The growth of intermodal freight transportation will be driven and challenged by four
factors:
Intermodal transport continues to be significant in the movement of freight. The railroad
industry reports an approximately fivefold growth in trailer and container traffic on the
railroads from 1965 to 1995. Although trailer and container traffic is frequently foremost
in mind when intermodal transport is discussed, it is important to note
that many other commodities can in fact be intermodal shipments. For example, all
grain moves off the farm by truck before being connected to those movements that will
continue by water or rail, and a significant portion of grain transported by rail goes to
water transportation. Many other bulk or semibulk commodities such as fertilizers and
building products move intermodally. Another intermodal bulk commodity is coal, which
goes by road, rail, or river before transfer to rail and river for domestic delivery or to
ocean for export. Increasingly, traditional trucking movements from small packages to
less than truckload (LTL) and truckload (TL) shipments are spending part of their time
on rail. Infact, all air express shipments are inherently intermodal, with truck links
connecting with air linehaul at origin and destination. If intermodal transport were
measured as all multiple-mode single-bill shipments rather than the historical narrow
measure of containerized freight, the tremendous significance of intermodal movements
in the logistics and supply chain structure would be more apparent.
True broad measurement of intermodal movements would also affect the perspectives
of private and public organizations toward the importance of developing intermodal
infrastructure and information and communications capabilities.
Overall, intermodal transport, both containerized and multiple-mode noncontainerized,
has performed satisfactorily in the last half of the 20th century as logistics has grown as
a profession and responded to deregulation. However, to encourage and allow broadly
defined intermodal transport to become as effective and efficient as it needs to be for
future global market and supply chains, four issues need to be addressed.
(a) measuring, understanding, and responding to the role of intermodalism in the
changing customer requirements and hypercompetition of supply chains in a
global
marketplace;
The internationalization and globalization of resources and markets will place demands
on intermodal transport in ways never witnessed before. Two- and three-party
partnerships will give way to fully integrated supply chains. The competitive world of the
future may well be centered between global supply chains and their supporting modal
and intermodal capabilities. Linehaul movement and local delivery require intermodal
transport as a critical element of supply chain physical execution. This potential for
worldwide competition between global supply chains has sometimes been labeled
hypercompetition and places new requirements on execution and implementation,
including the coordination and integration of intermodal movements. Customers in the
future will be indifferent to global sourcing issues and will expect their order to be
delivered at the right place, at the right time, in the right condition, and for the right
profit. In order to fully understand this global role and permit effective and efficient
planning, response, and resource investment for intermodal transport, accurate and
appropriate measurements must exist. Most measurements have focused on
containerized intermodal transport. The 21st century needs to have a set of measures
for the broader definition of intermodalism, all single-bill multiple-mode shipments. This
new intermodal measurement would supplement the historical modal measurements
that are a residual of regulation and the needed focus during modal development in the
20th century. Future resource investments, education, and training will require full
understanding of the actual and potential interaction between modes that affects the
entire transport industry and the infrastructure and information technology that supports
and enables effective and efficient execution of intermodalism in global supply chains.
For the understanding of and response to intermodal needs, transportation and
intermodal measurements need to be recast for the broader definition of all multiple-
mode single-bill shipments.
(b) the need to reliably and flexibly respond to changing customer
requirements with seamless and integrated coordination of freight and equipment
flows through various modes;
The marketplace of the future will have a diversity of demand worldwide and a
multiplicity of sourcing and trading patterns. All of this diversity will be in response to
customers’ expectations and requirements for small and quickly delivered lot sizes or
shipments.
Inventory will be held only briefly for staging, such as cross-docking, and the future
focus will be primarily on inventory in transit and not inventory in storage, distribution
centers, or warehouses. E-commerce will have a substantial future role in the supply
chain process and will reinforce information and communications as key factors in
supply chains and their intermodal components. The customer will expect highly
coordinated and customized delivery by the supply chain with great flexibility as the
marketplaces shift and change, driven by increased information flows to the final
consumer or producer. In addition, the almost unlimited range of sourcing options and
market opportunities will drive rapid and constant change, requiring continued
commitment to innovation in intermodal operational and information and
communications technology. Reliability levels (i.e., the removal of variance) will be a
higher requirement to permit satisfaction of customer demand while minimizing the
costs of the supply chain. A single freight bill, possibly a single supply chain
bill, will be tendered through electronic means.
Customers will expect the intermodal and transportation systems supporting supply
chains to be focused on speed, flexibility, variance elimination, and relationships with
other members of the supply chains that permit profit potential for all. The intermodal
capability will have to be integrated and seamless, with better connections between the
modes at all points.
(c) knowledge of current and future intermodal operational options
and alternatives, as well as the potential for improved information and
communications
technology and the challenges associated with their application; and
To be able to optimize transport options, managers will have to be highly
knowledgeable in all of current and future intermodal options and alternatives. This
need may well drive heightened transportation education at all levels, from elementary
and secondary education to fundamentals at the undergraduate level, managerial
issues at the master’s degree level, and conceptual or strategic issues at the doctoral
level. Much of this education will be focused toward the operational, marketing,
financial, economic, and competitive factors of modes and intermodal execution. This
focus must also include the development of innovations such as equipment technology
evolution through concepts such as FastShip, which proposes to reduce ocean shipping
time by half, and RoadRailer, the blended railtruck technology that permits substantially
lower-cost transfer between the modes without lift devices and therefore uses smaller-
scale facilities. It will also require an understanding of the fundamentals of linehaul and
terminal structure, capacity, and execution so as to understand the options and
alternatives in dealing with growing constraints on the operational side.
All of this knowledge and the resulting management are driven by current and future
technology and information capabilities and advances. As shippers and users of supply
chain structure continue to implement enterprise-wide relational software and
databases, transport and intermodal companies in supply chains will be challenged as
well as empowered by information technology and communications capability. As
increasingly more pieces of freight equipment, and possibly the freight itself, become
electronically tagged for tracking and operational execution, the data available to
manage linehaul and terminal operations will increase dramatically. This increased
information-communications technology will give the supply chain managers, and those
who contract with supply chain companies, information to make management decisions
regarding intermodal trade-offs, alternatives, and options that are just beginning to be
fully evaluated and operationalized today. This level of informationcommunications
capability will provide significant challenges to enable information flows in both
directions between the marketplace and the sourcing of materials. This capability will
also apply to both private- and public-sector applications and management of
infrastructure.
(d) constraints on and coordination of infrastructure capacity, including policy
and regulatory issues, as well as better management of existing infrastructure
and broader considerations on future investment in new infrastructure.
All the supply chain capability and the related information-communications options are
of little value if the infrastructure is constrained and the equipment carrying the freight
cannot efficiently and effectively execute the requirements of the customer.
Infrastructure and equipment capacity can be evaluated in two contexts, static and
dynamic, and it is the dynamic capacity that is the concern for the future.
Static infrastructure and equipment capacity is purely the physical space available for
linehaul or terminal operations and the nonmoving carrying capacity of the equipment. It
is a physical measure of infrastructure and equipment but is not a reliable capacity
measure of either. Dynamic capacity, on the other hand, deals with the throughput that
is derived from operating static infrastructure and equipment capacity. Dynamic capacity
is a factor of speed and the lack of variability, which causes slowdowns or reworking of
the process.
Concerns are beginning to grow regarding constraints on the dynamic capacity of
intermodal linehaul connectors and terminals that are becoming the mainstay of supply
chains. In addition, impediments are growing on the ability, particularly in densely
populated areas, to expand the static capacity of the infrastructure. Limitations on
financial and physical resources constrain the ability to add new static capacity. These
constraints call for intermodal transport to develop information-communications and
management capability for efficient and effective linehaul transit as well as coordinated
and integrated connections through terminals to other modes. Once again, information
systems are becoming significant and critical to this effective coordination and
integration.
There is additional concern with the static capacity of terminals generally located in or
near large population centers, whose populations in part drive supply chain demand.
However, the physical transport of goods creates environmental externalities such as
congestion, air and water quality impacts, and noise and light complications for society,
particularly in metropolitan regions. The physical aspects of terminals in urban areas are
complicated further by the desire of local municipalities and regions to maximize the tax
base, frequently through commercial alternatives, such as retail operations and tourism,
rather than transportation, intermodal, and supply chain facilities.
The growth of world populations is heightening global demand for products. The
absolute volume of shipments is increasing and will continue to increase. Linehaul or
terminal infrastructure built decades ago is being stretched to accommodate the
volumes moving intermodally in conjunction with supply chains. A focus of concern for
intermodalism continues to be the connectors between the transport linehaul and the
terminals, as seen in specific provisions in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st
Century (TEA-21) and the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA).
Transport managers, policy makers, planners, and taxpayers will have to continually
address these inherent difficulties through innovative technology, both physical and
electronic; land use and transportation planning; and management of existing
infrastructure.
INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION AND SUPPLY CHAINS
Intermodal transportation, with the options of integrating multiple modes, provides a
flexible response to the changing supply chain management requirements in global
markets and distribution systems. The integrating of modes requires a process or
systems approach for execution and "a higher degree of skill and broader knowledge of
the transportation/supply chain processes, information, equipment, and infrastructure.
Intermodal transport, as it moves from a focus on infrastructure components to a holistic
focus on process or systems, will have more viability and applicability in the world of
global supply chain management.
A supply chain is defined as a set of three or more organizations directly linked by one
or more of the upstream and downstream flows of products, services, finances, and
information from a source to a customer, and supply chain management is defined as
the systemic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions and the tactics
across these business functions within a particular company and across businesses
within the supply chain, for the purposes of improving the long-term performance of
the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole.
The components of supply chains, much like the modes of transportation, have existed
for many years. It is in this time of information and communications technology and
capability that the supply chain processes, and the modes supporting those processes,
are gaining the capability of being integrated. This integration can permit the
optimization of trade-offs between the components of supply chains as well as between
the service and cost aspects of the modes within supply chains. Information capability
and supply chain relationships will require careful balancing of all the business
objectives of both the customers and the providers. Supply chain participants must
respond and compete in the global marketplace, which is evolving rapidly.
INTEGRATED INTER MODAL TRANSPORTATION
An integrated intermodal transport system is a significant and critical factor in the
successful execution of supply chains, both domestically and internationally. The
awareness of and requirements for options in the intermodal execution of supply chains
are being driven heavily by information and communications systems. One example that
is gaining global implementation and effectiveness is the use of relational databases -
the electronic ability to integrate and operationalize related but different data sets. This
comprehensive ability to understand and assess the total supply chain capability and
performance will place new demands on supply chain participants, including the
transport system. New demands on the transport system will require a rethinking of
transportation policy and investment.
Perspectives
Intermodal transportation, particularly container-based, is steadily growing and will
continue to do so in the foreseeable future. This is accompanied by the evolution of the
regulatory, economic, and technological environment of the industry. Enhanced
planning and management procedures and decision technologies are thus required,
offering both great opportunities and significant challenges for the Operations Research
community. On a general note, while many significant methodological advances have
been achieved and several have been successfully transferred to actual practice, many
problems have received scant attention. Moreover, advances in vehicle, infrastructure,
and communication technologies yield new problems and require that problems already
studied be revisited. In this section, we identify some of these trends, opportunities, and
challenges.
Container terminals, mainly located in ports, are a case in point. Most research
dedicated to this area is very recent and aimed at operational issues. This may be
explained by the fact that terminals are often seen as bottlenecks in freight
transportation and efforts are therefore dedicated to improving their efficiency and
productivity. The development of comprehensive models for strategic and tactical
planning of container terminals offers significant research opportunities. Moreover, the
trend one observes in container terminal automation makes this research direction
extremely timely. How to represent automatic operations in planning models raises
interesting questions, however. The automation of container terminals also
opens up research opportunities in real-time decision and control of operations.
Automated equipment collects and transmits data in real-time. This data, together with
historical information and the plan of operations, could be used to automate and, in
some case nearly optimize, real-time decisions. New models are required, as well as
appropriate solution methods. Automation of terminals also requires revisiting
operational planning models.
Compared to terminals, more work has been dedicated to carrier strategic and tactical
planning issues. Yet, new problems emerge and many challenging research
opportunities exist. Enhancing the models to better represent operation characteristics
and to better integrate line and terminal activities is such an opportunity; integrating a
representation of resource (vehicles, power, manpower) circulation and scheduling is
another. The planning and operations of the “new” rail intermodal-service networks,
operating regular and fixed services on a full-asset-utilization basis and enforcing
advance bookings, define new challenging problems for Operations Research and
Transportation Science.
The more comprehensive integration of the time-dependency of decisions and of the
stochasticity of data and operations into strategic/tactic models is a major research
challenge and opportunity. Indeed, many models aimed at strategic and tactical
planning issues are static and almost all are deterministic. The conventional wisdom
seems to be that such models plan based on “average” forecast data, while actual
operations provide the “recourse” to adjust the plan to the day-to-day reality..
The growth in the deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and the
electronic society will continue to impact the planning and operations of freight
transportation.
ITS and e-business technologies and procedures increase the flow of data, improve
the timeliness and quality of information, and offer the possibility to control and
coordinate operations in real-time. Research is required to adequately model the
various planning and management problems under ITS and real-time information and to
develop efficient solution methods. These efforts must target carriers, terminals, as well
as the entire intermodal chain.
The scheduling, assignment, dispatching, routing, and re-routing of equipment are
obvious and challenging subjects. As important is the impact on planning
The uncertainties related to the operation of each element of the chain,
the relations among these uncertainties, as well as their propagation within the
intermodal chain are of prime importance in this context and pose considerable
modeling and algorithmic challenges.
Recent years have brought to the forefront security issues related to transportation,
ports, and border crossing. Planning and operations models and methods must be
revisited and new ones must be proposed to address these issues, for each participant
in the intermodal chain, as well as for the entire chain.
Most problems mentioned in this Chapter are NP-Hard and the formulations proposed
are large-scale, mixed-integer combinatorial models. Stochastic, time-dependent
formulations make resolution efforts even more difficult. And the need to build more
comprehensive models is not making them any easier to solve. Significant research
must thus be dedicated to the methodological aspects, including the study of models to
develop stronger formulations and bounds
Technical Devices in Freight Intermodal Transportation
The complexity of intermodal transportation, which requires different types of
modes to cooperate, requires a large variety of equipment that is often very
specialized. Moreover, the technology needs often vary for international and
domestic market. The equipment for intermodal operations must be well
managed so that it is suitable and available in the right time at the right place.
The equipment is owned by leasing companies or by the steamship, railroad or
trucking operators. In some cases, independent parties acquire and maintain
equipment that is interchanged between more users.
Piggybacks
Piggybacks are highway trailers used for intermodal transportation. They can be
carried on flatcars equipped with hitches or on special lightweight spine or
skeleton cars. On some routes piggybacks must be carried on suspended railcars
due to low clearances.
The history of highway trailers is in fact a history of increasing the legal limit of
their size. As the U.S. economy has grown, the need for ever higher capacity
trailers has been rising so that the legal limit increased from 35 to 40, 45, 48, 53 up
to 58-foot long and 102 inch wide trailers. The instant changes worry designers of
intermodal flatcars and spine cars that ended up putting three 58' trailers on two
cars.
Containers
According to the ISO definition, a freight container is a piece of transport
equipment that meets the following requirements: It is of permanent character
and strong enough for repeated use. It is specifically designed for transporting
goods by more than one mode without intermediate reloading. It has fittings that
permit easy handling when being transferred from one mode to another. It is
designed for easy filling and emptying. It has an internal volume greater than
one cubic meter.
Containers that are used for freight transportation in the U.S. are basically
divided into two groups: ISO standard containers and domestic containers. The
difference between the two groups is mainly in size; ISO corner castings are
common for both types.
ISO Standard Containers
ISO Series 1 standard containers are intended for intercontinental use and
consequently must be built to fulfill the requirements of shipboard service. ISO
containers are 8, 8½, 9 or 9½ foot high, 8 or 8½ foot wide and come in variety of
lengths ranging from 10' to 45'. The most common containers in international
transportation are 20 and 40 foot long, 8 foot high and 8-foot wide dry vans.
Containers are equipped with standardized corner castings that serve as
securement and lifting points.
ISO containers exist in over 20 types that can be divided into two groups –
general cargo containers and specific cargo containers. General cargo containers
are not intended to carry some particular category of cargo. Specific cargo
containers are those intended for cargos that require temperature control, for
liquids and gases, for dry bulk solids and for items such as cars or livestock.
From a physical appearance perspective, containers can be broken into three
general types: boxes, platforms, and tanks. The typical sample of box container is
“dry van”, some box containers are ventilated, refrigerated or have an open top.
Platforms or “flatracks” are intended to carry odd-shaped cargo that does not fit
in a box container or is difficult to load on other types of container. Tanks are
large barrels enclosed within a steel framework and carry liquids or dry bulk
solids. Since these substances are usually very heavy, tank containers are not
produced in lengths over 20'.
Domestic Containers
Containers built exclusively for domestic use in the U.S. do not have to follow
such strict rules regarding size since they are intended for rail and highway
service only. Domestic containers have standard ISO corner castings located at
the 40-foot positions to permit stacking with 40-foot ISO containers. The practice
of seamless stacking of domestic and ISO containers is especially useful in
doublestack cars and in terminal operations in terminals.
The most commonly used domestic containers are 45, 48, and 53-foot high cube,
102 inch wide (i.e., wider than the ISO standard) and 9½ foot high dry vans. The
45-foot domestic containers are often accepted for international transportation,
even though they are higher and wider than the standard ISO 45-foot container.
Chassis
The chassis is nothing more than a trailer designed to haul containers. It consists
of skeletal frame platform with twistlocks that secure the container in place, a
boogie assembly, landing gear, kingpin, and the necessary electrical and
pneumatic equipment.
Chassis for containers can be extendable so that they can be employed to haul
containers of different lengths. Although the main advantage of containers over
piggybacks is that containers can be carried on doublestack railcars, a container
can also be transported on a chassis that rides piggyback on a train.
Railcars
The two largest steamship carriers (i.e., American President Companies and
Maersk Sealand) and Trailer Train own majority of intermodal railcars. Railroads
themselves own only a small amount of intermodal cars.
Carless Technology
Carless technology combines the two transportation modes of rail and truck into
one. It seeks to maximize rail haul efficiency by eliminating the railcar itself. This
approach yields additional benefits in the ease of loading and unloading, and in
minimizing the need for facility investments.
There are two commonly used systems in carless technology: RoadRailer and
RailTrailer. Both of them are using strengthened trailers that can switch modes
between highway and railroad, and eliminate the need for a flatcar or skeleton
car while moving by rail.
RoadRailer is the older of the two concepts and emerged in 1981. The Mark IV
trailer had a pair railroad wheels permanently attached between the two axles
with highway wheels. The railroad wheels were suspendable by a mechanical
system and ere attached to the trailer at all times. The disadvantages of the Mark
IV system are high tare weight, high technological complexity, and tendency to
derailment.
Trailers of the next generation of RoadRailer, Mark V, do not carry their railroad
wheels at all times. The detachable two-axle rail boogies are equipped with
brackets to hold the trailer body and a rail braking system. This approach
decreases the capital cost (the boogie can be used for another haul while the
trailer is in highway mode) and increases the possible weight of payload.
The other carless concept, RailTrailer, is similar to RoadRailer. Only the railroad
boogies hold trailers in corners and are compatible with containers that have ISO
corner castings and fulfill the minimum strength requirements. Organization of
trains with both RoadRailers and RailTrailers is possible; nonetheless, it requires
special type of railroad boogie.
Switching between modes is very similar in both carless systems. After the trailer
is located at its place above rails, a pneumatic air-ride system elevates the trailer
and the rail boogies are brought to the trailer’s ends. Then the trailer is lowered
so that it sits on the railroad boogies and its rubber wheels are drawn away from
the rails. The whole procedure takes less than ten minutes.
One of the biggest advantages of carless technology is the ease of terminal
operations. No special equipment is needed to switch to rail mode and back to
highway mode. There is no need for conventional switching because trailers can
be moved by tractor to their place. The economies of terminal operations make
RoadRailer and RailTrailer able to compete with motor carriers at distances as
short as 200-300 miles.
INTERMODAL DIRECTION FOR THE FUTURE:
FASTER, BETTER, SMARTER, AND MORE PROFITABLE
Customers of global supply chains in the future will continue to demand faster supply
chain delivery of their commodities and products. Speed—or total transit time through
the supply chain—will continue to be a necessary factor for intermodal transport.
Customers will demand better execution of the supply chains, represented by quality
and reliability.
Customers will also have more access to information through the use of information
communications capabilities only dreamt of in the past, and that information will drive
higher expectations of performance as well as provide the foundation for alternatives,
options, and continued change. Finally, customers and supply chain operators will want
all of this done more cheaply, or in a more appropriate perspective, more profitably.
Therefore, evaluating the life-cycle cost of prospective technology applications is
essential. Intermodalism will be a significant and critical factor in the success of
hypercompetition among supply chains of the future. Its more significant role in global
supply chains will require an understanding of supply chain management, the needs
and requirements of the marketplace, the capabilities and advances in information and
communications technology, and the continuing challenges and constraints on transport
infrastructure. It might be argued that the future driver of the intermodal process and
options in supply chains needs to come from the demand or supply chain side of the
equation rather than the traditional supply or mode-carrier side. But from wherever the
future impetus for intermodalism comes, additional insights need to be gained through
measuring it in its broader definition and not just the historical containerized context. An
increased awareness of the scope and magnitude of broadly defined and measured
intermodalism will heighten the need for intermodal education and training for those
being asked to manage and execute both new intermodal technologies and information
communications systems and the increasingly constrained infrastructure of
intermodalism.
Limitations
Findings
Recommendations
Conclusion
Intermodal Freight and Fleet Management Operation is the future of the transportation
that promises a seamless intermodal transportation system that is efficient, safe,
flexible, and environmentally sound, and meets the needs of the travelers and industry
alike.
There are several important reasons why governments need to be actively involved in
advanced Intermodal freight transportation.
The availability of quality-focused, cost-effective intermodal freight transportation
services can affect how well the firms in a region can compete economically in the
battlefield of regional and global economic competition. Thus, jobs, incomes, and
growth all depend significantly on logistics capabilities. Governments have an interest in
promoting inter-modal freight transportation expertise: in stimulating the development of
up to date interrnodal freight transportation services providers; and in reducing
regulatory and other barriers to the ability of providers to offer attractive services.
Intermodal freight transportation services and the fees paid by service providers for
facilities, transportation, and information services, and taxes can be important sources
of revenues to governments.
Actions in the intermodal freight transportation domain can have important
environmental, health, and safety consequences and these are important concerns of
governments. Often, governments are the major providers of transportation
infrastructure that supports the provision of inter-modal freight transportation services,
such as air and ocean cargo facilities, intermodal transfer terminals, and others.
For some modes, the levels of congestion and delays in transportation and terminals
are an important issue. Therefore, governments are actively involved in planning,
investment, pricing, and/or operational decisions that influence the provision of capacity
and the pricing and time dependent availability of facilities and services.
Often, the logistics services sector is a sector with many small and medium-sized
enterprises.
In many countries, governments are concerned with viability and survival of such
enterprises, and want to ensure this survival through providing awareness programs,
educational and resource-expansion export.
Although freight transportation has benefited from improvements in information and
equipment technologies over the past years, the progress linking the evolving
information and transportation systems has been slowed by lack of network
infrastructure, and lack of expertise in some sectors that participate in the freight
transportation system.
Recent Trends
TRENDS IN INTERMODAL FREIGHT TRANSPORT
Transportation services, not only in the intermodal industry, tend to be complexand very customer-sensitive. Intermodal transportation deals with large volumesof information that is impossible to manage in paper form. Therefore one of thekey factors for success in intermodal transportation is the use of informationtechnology to collect the information and process it.The first computer-based information systems were developed in the 1980s, longtime before the emergence of the Internet, and served the rail industry. The keynetworks necessary for the operation of intermodal transportation are even todayin most cases separated from Internet infrastructure, to keep it independent andsafe.
Rail-
Intermodal rail technology has changed rapidly especially in the areas of automation
and flat car equipment. Most advances have been incremental changes to existing
technologies. Articulated cars represent the type of technology. Articulated cars are light
in weight, have lower purchase prices, are less expensive to maintain, and prevent
cargo damage by eliminating most slack action and roll dynamics between cars.
The government and rail industry are developing Intelligent railroad System that will
incorporate evolving information into train operations and maintenance. Some of them
are client service system and a train control and dispatching system. Other
developments are :
Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS),
Positive Train Control(PTC),
electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes,
automatic equipment identification tags for all equipments,
way side equipment sensors to identify defects on passing trains,
and intelligent grade crossings to reduce grade crossing collisions.
Motor Carriers
Most of the advances in this mode are in fuel efficient factors and lighter and stronger
trailers with increased cargo capacity. Also the commercial vehicle operations(CVO)
initiative, which is a part of the intelligent Transportation system is expected to improve
administrative efficiency, highway data collection, safety and reduce operating costs to
commercial vehicles.
Aviation-
Aviation continues to expand its role in intermodal freight transportation in shipment of
high value and time sensitive cargo. Large aircrafts can accommodate 20 and 40 foot
international organization for standardization (ISO) ocean containers. However until
lighter and stronger sea air containers are developed and used, the additional handling
cost of transferring cargos between the heavier ISO ocean containers and the ISO air
containers will continue to be more costly than all ocean service. To accommodate this
growth and enhance safety the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is engaged in a
comprehensive program to modernize Air Traffic (ATS) Control System. This includes
replacing radar surveillance systems, modernizing voice communication systems
introducing enhanced automated navigation aids, data links, and improved weather
systems.
Water ways
Today’s containers vessels have 50 % more cargo capacity than those of 1975 and
some are triple the size. An 8000 twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU) ship was developed
in 1997 and 13000 TEU ship design is currently being studied. When these ships were
produced in 1970s, they required many waterways and ports to be deepened to
accommodate the increasing drafts of these vessels
Equipment
Containers, also known as intermodal containers or as ISO containers because the
dimensions have been defined by the ISO, are the main type of equipment used in
intermodal transport, particularly when one of the modes of transportation is by ship.
Containers are eight feet (2438 mm) wide by eight feet (2438 mm) high. Since
introduction, there have been moves to adopt other heights, such as eight feet six
inches (2591 mm), nine feet six inches (2896 mm) and ten feet six inches (3200 mm).
The most common lengths are 20 feet (6096 mm) nominal or 19 feet - 10½ in (6058
mm) actual, 40 feet (12192 mm), 48 feet (14630 mm) and 53 feet (16154 mm), although
other lengths exist. They are made out of steel and can be stacked on top of each other
(a popular term for a two-high stack is "double stack"). On ships they are typically
stacked up to seven units high. They can be carried by truck, rail, container ship, or
aeroplane. When carried by rail, containers can be loaded on flatcars or in container
well cars. In India, stricter railway height restrictions (smaller loading gauge and
structure gauge) prohibit containers from being stacked two high, and containers are
hauled one high either on standard flatcars or other railroad cars.
Open-topped versions covered by a fabric curtain are used to transport larger loads. A
container called a tanktainer, consisting of a tank fitted inside a standard container
frame, allows liquids to be carried. Refrigerated containers are used for perishables.
There is also the swap body, which is typically used for road and rail transport, as they
are built too lightly to be stacked. They have folding legs under their frame so that they
can be moved between trucks without using a crane.
INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF INTERMEDIARIES
Whilethe intermodal industry has experienced strong growth over much of the last two
decades, the industry has had a number of service problems that may prevent predicted
growth from occurring. Many of these service problems relate to the structure of the
intermodal industry and conflict between the intermediaries. This conflict has prevented
the close coordination and communications needed to optimize efficiency within the
industry.
The industry is structured around each individual mode of transportation and because of
intermodal transfers often require the coordination of government entities and multiple
private entities, physical and organizational bottlenecks sometimes develop the affect
the performance of the entire freight system. Conflict between the intermediaries, who in
the past have functioned predominantly within their own respective mode, has impeded
the formation of mechanisms to coordinate access to intermodal equipment, facilities,
and the flow of information between modes during intermodal operations
TECHNOLOGIES IN INTERMODAL FREIGHT MANAGEMENT
Developments in advanced technologies have been the greatest factor which influenced
changes in intermodal freight transportation. Some of the advanced technologies which
have thoroughly transformed the nation’s transportation system are information
technology used in freight transportation system.
Information Technology-
Information technology plays an important part in intermodal freight transport. IT has
enabled its users to plan, track audit and document intermodal shipments in real time.
Intermodal freight movement is increasingly become mode invisible as the ability to
interconnect and interchange information among the modes is optimized.
The Transportation efficiency act for the 21st century focused on maturing information
technologies and their development. The Indian department of Transportation (DOT)
created the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) architecture and drafting of related
standards. ITS represents the application of advanced technologies involving
information processing, electronics and communications, and management strategies,
to improve intermodal transportation system.
DOT was required to develop intermodal transportation data base (ITDB). The ITDB
provides a single data mining portal from all the Bureau of transportation statistics (BTS)
and DOT operating units. As companies connect, the growing use of internet and the
trends in electronic commerce appear to be improving the visibility of inventory and its
location within supply chains.
VEHICLE AND CARGO TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
Cargo Tracking Technologies include
Bar Code with Laser Read out,
Magnetic Card andStrip Reader,
Smart Cards,
Radio Frequency Cards,
Transponders and Readers.
Vehicle Tracking Technologies mainly employ the use of the positional information from
theGlobal Position System (GPS) which provides real-time tracking of the vehicle and
cargo
Automatic Equipment IdentificationAutomatic Equipment Identification (AEI) has replaced the labor-intensiveprocess of registering every piece of equipment (usually at the gate of port orterminal) manually. It provides automatic, quick, reliable, and accurate evidenceof containers and chassis.Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a system that automatically registersequipment that is passing by it. It consists of transponder, antenna, andtransmitter/reader. Transponder is a small active or passive device that isattached to the equipment to be tracked.- 41 -The transponder transmits a preprogrammed ISO-compliant signal, consisting ofan encoded set of characters to recognize the piece of equipment, in response toan interrogation by the transmitter/reader. The antenna picks up the signal andthe reader then demodulates the data, which contains information about type ofthe equipment, its size, owner and other specifications. The operation range ofRFID is 30 to 200 foot, depending on the type and manufacturer.Radio Determination Satellite Service (RDSS) can determine the geographicalposition of the equipment. The portable part of RDSS is more expensive thanRFID transponders and is installed in ships, trucks and locomotives rather thanon every container.In the RDSS system, an on-board receiver determines position based oninformation from satellites and transmits the position coordinates through asatellite to a central computer from which the information about geographicalposition is distributed.Electronic Data Interchange
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) provides a computer-to-computer exchange ofbusiness information between railroads, ocean carriers, ocean carriers, truckingcompanies, and third parties. The information has to be entered into the systemonly once and is available to all involved parties. EDI makes documents availablein formats standardized by ISO and ANSI so that they are readable by variouscomputer systems.EDI is essential for all intermodal systems and must be available to all involvedcompanies, including third parties, to work effectively. The information about ashipment is available prior to the arrival of a container or trailer to the terminal.When the drayman arrives in the terminal, all the paperwork for the haul is- 42 -already prepared and the trucker is directed to an exact place by the train wherethe container is picked up. The draymen usually does not leave the terminal laterthan 15 minutes after he or she had arrived.Use of the InternetThe role of the Internet in the intermodal industry is more or less limited to thecontact with the final customer since all the professional systems are run ondedicated networks. Intermodal companies and third parties use the Internet topromote their services and rates, advertise other services and hire personnel.Some carriers, such as the Triple Crown Services Company or Maersk Sealand,use the Internet as an interface for their customers to trace and check the status oftheir shipment.
BETTER INTERMODAL FLEET MANAGEMENT THROUGH TRACKING
AND LOGISTICS
Radiolocation or Navigational Systems have emerged with well developed cellular or
communication channels. This combines Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) with
paging, voice and data communication to a national or regional dispatch and logistics
node.
ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE (EDI)
EDI, systems take information from all available sources and make decisions and
performs controls to maximize efficiency. EDI systems can minimize unnecessary
paperwork by providing facility to perform transactions on-line.
EMERGING AND FUTURE TRENDS FOR INTERMODAL FREIGHT AND
FLEET MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS
INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM (ITS)
Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) is a system that improves transportation safety
and mobility and enhances productivity through the use of advanced communications
technologies. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) encompass a broad range of
wireless and wireline communications-based information and electronics technologies.
When integrated into the transportation system's infrastructure, and in vehicles
themselves, these technologies relieve congestion, improve safety and enhance
productivity.
ITS is one of the major emerging Intermodal Freight and Fleet Management Operations
technology.
ITS offers the following benefits:
•Increase of operational efficiency and capacity of the transportation system.
•Enhancement of personal mobility, convenience, and comfort.
•Improvement of safety of the transportation system.
•Reduction of energy consumption and environmental costs.
•Enhancement of the present and future economic productivity of individuals,
organizations and the economy as a whole
Vehicle information, Intermodal Freight Depot information and Intermodal Freight
Shipper Information are continuously available with the Fleet and Freight Management
System (ITS). Driver can request data and status information from the Fleet and Freight
Management System (ITS). Automated updates about traffic, weather, or schedule
updates are provided via messages or alerts to the driver from the Fleet and Freight
Management System (ITS).
INTERMODAL CONTAINER TECHNOLOGIES
Along with the development of the transportation systems there is also a need for the
standardization and modularization of container design.
Not only is the container sizes increasing but also the design is evolving to make
containers stackable, roll able and solid able onto freight carriers like ships, trucks, etc.
Recent innovations have included the use of advanced materials for higher capacity,
lower weight, better performance and life.
Other innovations have incorporated various electronic and mechanical design changes
for transportation of different kinds of goods. Examples: Refrigeration for perishable
goods, thermal protection, climate control, etc.
Since 1984, a mechanism for intermodal shipping known as double-stack rail transport
has become increasingly common. Rising to the rate of nearly 70% of intermodal
shipments, it transports more than one million containers per year. The double-stack rail
cars unique design also significantly reduced damage in transit, and provided greater
cargo security by cradling the lower containers so their doors cannot be opened. And a
succession of large, new domestic container sizes was introduced to further enhance
shipping productivity for customers. As early as the 1970s, doublestack designs and
equipment were introduced, but the cars were heavy and uneconomical to operate.
A common standard for containers would help ports to have standardized equipment
resulting in streamline of the transfer processes. It exploits technologies like tracking,
control and communication to form integrated carriers like FedEx.
ADVANCED CONTROL AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
Technologies have been integrated with real-time control and logistics decision-making
software; this approach is becoming widely adopted by trucking firms and distribution
service providers. This concept has produced successful organizations like Fed-Ex,
DHL, UPS etc.
Technology-based improvements such as real-time grade crossing supervision and
warning systems, supervisory control distributed networks; solid-state interlocking
controls will enhance railroad safety operational efficiency.
Challenges in IntermodalTransportationThe effectiveness of intermodal transportation systems is very critical to theirfunctioning. Even though intermodal transportation brings benefits in resourceconservation, decreased fuel consumption or in the form of improved truckdriver life quality, there exist many issues, both managerial and constructional,that employ engineers in order to keep the system alive.Effective Haul DistanceInterchange between transportation modes is an essential part of the container ortrailer intermodal transportation. The amount of time the cargo spends interminals makes it difficult for intermodal transportation to compete againstmotor carriers in short haul markets.Fig. 7Transit Time: Trucking vs. Intermodal- 44 -Long haul intermodal trains are, on the other side, at an advantage over motorcarriers because the trains can go virtually non-stop, whereas truckers cannotexceed their daily limits regarding the amount of hours they can drive. Theeffective distance of intermodal transportation is usually considered to be 500miles and with the exception of RoadRailers is rarely shorter than 400 miles. Seegraph in Fig. 7 for graphical interpretation of minimum door-to-door deliverytimes.Some technologies, such as RoadRailer or Iron Highway, are tough competitorsfor truckers. Making shipping freight intermodally “as simple as 1, 2, 3” for theircustomers and decreasing transfer delays to an absolute minimum make itpossible for intermodal companies to succeed in the competition. However, theextent to which these technologies have developed over the last twenty or tenyears, respectively, is not as great as expected.Railroad ClearancesThe highly efficient doublestack service, which is the base for U.S. intermodal
system, brings problems with overhead clearances. This problem is especiallypresent in the eastern states, where the terrain is broken and railroad tracks havegrown into the highly populated landscape with numerous underpasses, tunnelsand bridges. Some routes even do not allow operation of regular TOFC serviceand trailers must be loaded onto suspended cars in order to pass under the 19th
century clearances.Some routes of intermodal doublestack service have marginal limitations. Forexample, only two 8' high containers may be permitted on that route andcombinations of 8½', 9' and 9½' are prohibited. The biggest requirements have53-foot long 102-inch wide and 9½-foot high domestic containers placed on top.- 45 -The costs of improving clearances are extremely high. However, they are criticalfor intermodal operations on routes and are often funded jointly by oceancarriers, railroads and ports.Accessibility of TerminalsThe weak part of the U.S. intermodal transportation system is often accessibilityof intermodal terminals. Terminals that often have huge capacity are poorlylinked to the highway system and heavy truck traffic often interferes withcommuter traffic on highways in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles orChicago.The solution to this problem is to reduce the unnecessary truck trips by bringingrailroad terminals to ports and by using one terminal for more than one railroadcarrier. Such solutions are, however, very expensive and often are not supportedby the involved transportation companies.