Transport infrastructure
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The goal of transport infrastructure is to ensure the basic conditions for the development of socio-economic system, as well as other elements of the economy.
Accordingly, transport infrastructure involves man-made basic facilities of roads (linear infrastructure) and transport points (infrastructure point). It affects the economy and society by creating favourable conditions for the movement of people and goods (cargo) in direct and indirect form. From an economic point of view the most important feature of transport infrastructure is the public nature of the services it provides. Of course, there are exceptions, there is also private transport infrastructure (ex. within company)
Transport - is a set of actions involving the movement of material goods in time and space by using appropriate technical means.
Transport infrastructure basically consist of three main groups:
- roads,
- transport points (airports, ports, etc.),
- auxiliaries used for the maintenance of roads and transport points.
Transport infrastructure consist of five main branches of transport:
- rail,
- car,
- pipeline,
- inland shipping and sea transport,
- air.
Intermodal transport
Intermodal shipping (combined transport) – involves moving goods on the different modes (means) of transport. This means that for the carriage of cargo, uses more than one branch of the transport, while at the same time using only one load unit e.g. a container for the whole journey.
Combined transport in practice usually consists of combining road transport and rail transport. Freight carriers provide loads of cars to rail transport. Successively by rail cargo is now transported to the station of destination. To carry goods, companies use containers, interchangeable car bodies or semitrailers.
Advantages and disadvantages of intermodal shipping
The advantages of intermodal transport:
- Reduced transportation costs,
- Ensuring a quick and timely delivery of cargo especially in international transport,
- Reduce the risk of damage to the goods,
- Increase the capacity of a single carriage of a larger batch of cargo,
- Increase the availability and quality of transport services,
- Increase the number of possible ways of transport,
- The ability to use different methods of loading and unloading.
References
- Intermodal freight transport @ Wikipedia.
- Janic, M. (2007). Modelling the full costs of an intermodal and road freight transport network. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 12(1), 33-44.
- Khadaroo, J., & Seetanah, B. (2007). Transport infrastructure and tourism development. Annals of Tourism Research, 34(4), 1021-1032.
