Showing papers on "Rail freight transport published in 1995"

Medium distance intermodal rail transport

Abstract: The dissertation describes the results of the TERMINALS study, a study on medium distance intermodal road and rail transport, an focuses on two research objectives. The first research objective is to determine the interrelationship between transshipment terminal locations, number of terminals, shuttle train length, and system performance. It was taken into account that in principle all road transport over distances further than 100 km (62 mi) is suitable to be shifted towards intermodal rail transport, on the condition that transport quality and costs are comparable to, or better than, the quality and costs of road haulage. The second research objective is to determine which future technical logistic innovations in road, rail and inland shipping transport will probably take place, in what way the innovations of the inland shipping and road modes in the Netherlands hamper a strong growth on intermodal rail transport, and how the rail mode can face the innovations by the introduction of new technical and logistic developments in intermodal rail transport.

Operations and safety considerations in high-speed passenger/freight train corridors

Abstract: A research project that recommends operations- and safety-related improvements to mixed traffic (freight and passenger) rail lines when passenger train speeds are increased to above 130 km/hr (80 mph) is described. Three cases representing different physical plant configurations are simulated, and train delays are compared. The means of achieving the required levels of safety are presented.

Multiple system for transporting general freight by road, rail and sea and intermodal and/or combined methods of transport

Abstract: The object of the invention is to reduce freight-transportation costs by a plurality of freight-loading variations which considerably reduce empty running. This object is achieved by a multiple structural system for means of transport (lorries, trailers, road-rail semi-trailers, etc.) which travel by road, even if only partially, although other forms of transport can benefit from the system in question. The multiple transport system enables the use of road traffic, railway vehicles or any type of freight container to be optimized.

Combined freight transporting system

Abstract: The combined freight transporting system uses road and rail transport. The transfer station has at least one switching track (G2-G5) close to a through track (G1) for goods trains (Z3-ZX). The spacing between parallel wagons is less than 0.3m. there is a unit (H13,H46) on the switching track which ends in front of a running-off ramp (1-4). The transfer unit serves for the temporary receiving of a goods train for loading or unloading using a transporter (L1-L6). The transporter can be switched from the transfer unit to the goods train or vice versa with the aid of a pallet (8). The goods train can be loaded or unloaded by a transfer unit at each side of the through track.

Commercialising Australia's interstate rail freight transport: Some ownership and investment issues

Abstract: The paper addresses the issues of rights of way ownership and application of consistent investment appraisal techniques across modes of transport There are linkages between ownership, rights of way, competitive strategies and market contestability which will have a significant bearing on the choice of investment criteria used by commercialised railways Investment methodologies in competing modes of land transport must be consistent Investment in individual elements of railway infrastructure must be integrated with the overall cost recovery strategy of the operator Major railway projects must be submitted to both financial and economic evaluation, so that the interests of individual railway authorities and the community are considered

Rail-Road Interconnectivity in the Alpine Freight Transport.Bottlenecks and Policies from an Austrian-Italian Perspective

Abstract: Trans-Alpine freight transport suffers because of severe road congestion due to under-capacity of roads and causes considerable environmental damages in the transit countries, particularly in Austria and Switzerland, but also in Italy. The obvious strategy of shifting trans-Alpine flows from road to rail is hampered by several factors such as Jack of coordination among the various national railway companies, lack of provision of competitive services (e.g., blocktrains, etc.), and insufficient efforts to increase and promote combined transport. One of the key problems is the disintegrated policy approach which does not conceive road and rail as complementary modes of transport, but still as competitive ones. Using the five dimensions - hardware, software, orgware (institutions), tinware, and the environment - as a checklist the current paper makes a modest attempt to identify areas of major concern for road and rail. The paper looks more specifically at the case of combined road/rail freight transport as part of a single, virtual mobility network for trans-Alpine freight transport. (authors' abstract)