Intermodal transport

Intermodal transport (combined) - type of transport consisting in the carriage of cargo by means of transport of various modes of transport. This means that more than one transport branch is used for transporting cargo, while using only one loading unit, e.g. a container on the entire transport route.

Organization of transport

Combined transport in practice most often involves combining car transport with rail transport. Car carriers deliver cargo for rail transport. Rail is transported by rail to the destination station. Containers, swap bodies or car semi-trailers are used for transporting loads. It is best to use containers and car bodies to prevent traditional, expensive reloading methods. It also allows the use of various ways of loading and unloading rail freight. The use of car semi-trailers largely facilitates the implementation of transport in the "home-house" system, consisting in the carriage of cargo from the place of shipment to the destination. In turn, specialized wagons called platforms are used to transport rail loads. They are adapted to transport all types of containers. Intermodal transport is also carried out using single parcels and conventional freight trains.

Intermodality as a modern challenge

The inter-branch transports occupy an important place in the development of new transport technologies. Two groups can be distinguished, in which means of transport occur as:

• vehicles of a particular mode of transport transported at a particular stage of the transport cycle on a vehicle of other modes of transport,
• vehicles of various modes of transport in a combined transport cycle.

Main contemporary reasons for the development of intermodal transport:

• the need to increase efficiency in transport,
• globalization and the related increase in demand for transport by sea, especially containers,
• a several-fold increase in the turnover of container sea returns.
• The growing demand for cargo transport has long been one of the main reasons for the development of cargo units (packages, pallets, containers). This enabled the mechanization of reloading work, and thus reduced their labor consumption and time-consuming.

Intermodal transport, multimodal, combined - differences

For many years, the above-mentioned terms were used interchangeably, because they did not have a generally recognized definition. Finally, the European Economic Commission of the United Nations, the European Conference of Ministers of Tourism and the European Commission in the document "Terminology on Combined Transport" defined the following concepts as follows:

• Intermodal transport - carriage of cargo in a cargo or full truck loadway using two or more branches of transport, without reloading of goods,
• Multimodal transport - carriage of cargoes through two or more branches of transport,
• Combined transport - intermodal transport, in which the main part of the journey in Europe is carried out by rail, inland waterway or sea transport, and the sections of coach or feed, as short as possible, by road transport.

The ambiguity of the terms given above results in the fact that in practice usually additional terms are used to explain the technology, e.g. container intermodal transport or rail-road combined transport.

Advantages and disadvantages of intermodal transport

The advantages of intermodal transport

• Reduction of transport costs
• Ensure fast and timely delivery of cargo, especially in international transport
• Reducing the risk of damage to the goods
• Increasing the possibility of one-off transport of a larger batch of cargo
• Increasing the availability and quality of transport services
• The increase in the number of possible modes of transport
• The possibility of using different ways of loading and unloading.

Disadvantages of intermodal transport

• Necessity to use specialized handling devices (e.g. cranes, cranes, self-propelled machines), which give the possibility of transporting multi-ton cargo units outside the reach of stationary equipment
• Necessity of equipping railway terminals with appropriate reloading devices.

Examples of Intermodal transport

• Rail-truck intermodal transport: This type of intermodal transport involves two different modes of transportation. It involves the transportation of goods by both rail and truck. This type of transportation is often used to transport goods over long distances and is especially useful when it is necessary to transport goods to areas that are not well serviced by rail or truck alone.
• Ship-truck intermodal transport: This type of intermodal transport is used to transport goods by both ship and truck. It is used when a shipment needs to be transported over a large distance and is not easily accessible by truck alone. This type of transportation is also used when a shipment needs to be delivered to areas that are not well serviced by shipping ports.
• Ship-rail-truck intermodal transport: This type of intermodal transport is used when a shipment needs to be transported over a long distance and requires multiple modes of transportation. This type of transportation involves the combination of both ship, rail, and truck transportation. This type of transportation is especially useful for transporting goods to areas that are not accessible by either sea or land transportation.

Other approaches related to Intermodal transport

Intermodal transport refers to the use of two or more modes of transport, such as road, rail, air or sea, to move goods. It is a growing trend in the logistics industry, as it allows cargo to travel through different transportation modes in a single shipping unit. Other approaches related to intermodal transport include:

• Short-sea shipping - the use of coastal and inland waterways for the transportation of freight, usually within a certain region or between two countries. It is a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly alternative to road and air transport.
• Intermodal rail - the combination of rail, road and sea transportation to move goods between different continents. This approach combines the benefits of both rail and sea transport, providing reliable delivery times and lower costs.
• Intermodal containerization - the use of standardized containers for transportation of goods between different modes of transport. This approach simplifies the loading and unloading processes, allowing for secure and efficient handling of goods.

In conclusion, intermodal transport is an increasingly popular approach in the logistics industry, and other approaches such as short-sea shipping, intermodal rail and containerization are being used to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of transportation of goods.

Intermodal transport — recommended articles

Combined transport — Types of transport — Transloading — Sea freight — Transport infrastructure — Container depot — Multimodal transport system — Multimodal transport — Break bulk cargo

References

• Crainic, T. G., & Kim, K. H. (2007). Intermodal transportation. Handbooks in operations research and management science, 14, 467-537.
• Jones, W. B., Cassady, C. R., & Bowden Jr, R. O. (2000). Developing a standard definition of intermodal transportation. Transp. LJ, 27, 345.
• Verma, M., & Verter, V. (2010). A lead-time based approach for planning rail-truck intermodal transportation of dangerous goods. European Journal of Operational Research, 202(3), 696-706.