combined transport

Electric trucks (e-trucks) play an important role in reducing CO₂ emissions especially on short distances in pre and post-carriage in combined road-rail freight transport (CT). Using the example of a CT terminal, this article highlights the logistical and energy challenges involved in using e-trucks to establish suitable charging infrastructures and ensuring a reliable power supply.

Global strategies for reduction of CO2-emissions and energy consumptions force large production facilities to reconsider rail transport as valid alternative for inbound in car manufacturing and for other time critical logistics. Both are demanding in time precision and volume. A disruptive approach using also CPS (cyber physical systems) is applied to introduce terminals with a direct access to motor ways and to rail infrastructures by autonomous systems as core in a new type of terminal superstructures. This brings about a leap frog improvement regarding dynamic and flexibility in response to factories demands’. A scenario is presented and promising qualitative key results are reported. The results have the potential to lay the foundation for further activities in planning and erecting a first terminal and a high volume and high quality multi model transport network in Europe within the context of TEN-T Urban Nodes developments.

Combined transport is currently discussed as an approach with a positive influence on the “Modal Split”. At the same time combined transport is characterized by some challenges which can be confronted by means of economic methods. Contrary to cost-value ratios, little attention was paid to price. Against this background, the present article defines pricemanagement and highlights the requirements for price management in combined transport. It concludes with an illustration of the potentials of price management in combined transport.