The purpose of this report is to demonstrate usage of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for analyzing intermodal freight networks. A complete GIS network, focused on the state of Texas, is developed and used to examine impacts of price, time, location, and policy on shipper routing. This process begins with an exploration of existing GIS applications, and state of the practice within the intermodal freight industry. This information provides a framework for building a technically feasible and relevant application. Data acquisition and processing techniques for both geographic and attribute data are considered. Relevant processes for creation of a GIS network and data conflation are identified and demonstrated. These techniques are used to create a network modeling the complex interactions and transfer rules amongst modes. Finally, several case studies are developed using the completed network to exhibit the power of GIS applied to intermodal freight. The report concludes with a summary, and observations to assist others attempting to build upon these results.
. . . the book will be a valuable resource for students, researchers, policy makers and practitioners. Competition and Regulation in Network Industries The book is well balanced. . . The authors depict the reality of this complex world and identify the right strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Bart Jourquin, European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research . . . the editors and the expert contributors provide a timely overview of the present role and challenges of intermodal freight transport. . . the book will not only be appealing to academics and researchers with an interest in the emerging field of intermodal transport research. As the book is largely kept at an executive and policy level, it is also appealing to practitioners and policy makers. . . the book is a valuable contribution to the study of intermodal freight transport as a new transportation research application field. It is an essential reading for all stakeholders in the field of intermodal freight transportation, providing them with insight and tools to address the mounting academic and practical challenges in this segment of the transport and logistics market. Theo Notteboom, Journal of Transport Geography This book explores the great challenge of increasing the scope of intermodal freight transport. In view of the current dominant role of road transport and the increasing difficulties in coping with a growing number of vehicles in an efficient and sustainable way, intermodal freight transport could be considered a viable alternative. However, the book makes recognition of the fact that there is still a need to improve the performance of the intermodal transport system. The expert contributors provide an overview of the present role of intermodal freight transport, address opportunities to significantly improve current performance, and demonstrate design and modelling tools used to analyse and support this performance. Requirements for the implementation of intermodal innovations are also prescribed, and policies needed to improve competitiveness are outlined. Many factors contributing to the performance and competitiveness of intermodal freight transport are explored, from technological and organisational innovations through to institutional settings and policy frameworks. This comprehensive range of topics will attract a broad audience including academics, researchers, policymakers and practitioners involved in the design and development of freight transport systems. It will also strongly appeal to those with an interest in the future of freight transport.
Geographic Information Systems for Intermodal Transportation: Methods, Models, Applications examines the basic concepts and applications of Geographic Information Systems for Transportation. The book discusses the unique characteristics of each transportation mode-- highway, railway, waterway and airway—as well as the combined intermodal transportation network. The book shows how GIS generates vehicle routes and shorted paths, develops transportation demand models, analyzes spatial data, and how three-dimensional modelling is applied to the intermodal transportation. - Includes real-world case studies from diverse situations - Provides step-by-steps insights using data to deliver effective outputs for all stakeholders - Presents models and practices for using GIS techniques to solve intermodal transportation problems - Includes learnings tools such as chapter objectives, discussion questions and a glossary
This book explores how transportation models can play a role in a changing transport planning and policy making context. Most models are rooted in decades of development work and are geared to offer value-free, academic and explicit knowledge to transport planning experts. However, planning practice has changed dramatically over the years, resulting in a less technical rational view on the use of such knowledge – especially so in early, strategy making phases. More and more complex policy goals, integration of a wide area of other policy domains, a wider, ever-changing and much more mixed group of planning participants and much more focus on ‘wicked problems’. The book maps how this influences the effectiveness of transport modelling exercises and explores several state-of-the-art implementations. This book was published as a special issue of Transport Reviews.
This book will bring a state of the art overview of the research done in sustainable logistics. It will be structured along the four A's of sustainable logistics: awareness, avoidance, acting and shifting goods, and anticipation of new technologies.
