Intermodal freight transport

Common card · No. 257708

Intermodal freight transport is a transport system involving the transportation of goods when at least two means of transport are used. This means that two or more different transport modes are involved without changing load units during the time of transportation. The main idea behind intermodal transport is to utilize the strengths of different transport modes in one integrated transport chain, thereby improving the economic performance. It has been argued that economic performance is improved because the most suitable transport mode is used on each part of a trip. The main advantage of intermodal transport solutions is their comparatively low external costs. According to Forkenbrock (2001), the external cost of an intermodal train per tonne-km is only 28 % of the external cost of a general freight truck. However, the difference in external cost might be even greater than this as the cost of congestion was not included in the calculations. Because intermodal freight transport is less...

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