ETC Conference Papers

Seminar
Day 3 (8 Sep 2023), Session 10, Freight Macro Flows, 14:00 - 16:00

Status
Accepted, documents submitted

Submitted by / Abstract owner
Gijs Kool

Authors
Gijs Kool - Research associate, Kühne Logistics University Hamburg
Prof. Dr. Hanno Friedrich - Associate Professor of Freight Transportation, Modelling and Policy, Kühne Logistics University Hamburg

Short abstract
This paper contains a market overview of intermodal rail transport (as of March 2023) in Europe including all 1000+ intermodal rail connections found.

Abstract
Motivation and literature
In recent years, interest in intermodal rail transport has increased among academics. This is mainly triggered by the European Union's ambition to decarbonize transport. The ambitions are described in the white paper on transport. One of the main goals is to shift thirty per cent of long-distance road freight over 300 kilometers to rail or waterborne transport by 2030 and more than fifty per cent by 2050 (European Commission, 2011). Intermodal transport plays an important role in execution. Several case studies have been done on intermodal transport within a specific region (Frémont and Franc, 2010 and Arnold et al., 2004), but only one empirical study is available with a holistic overview of intermodal transport in Europe. Because the transport market is an open market with many continuous changes in transport flows, the study is not up-to-date anymore. In addition, NUTS1-level statistics are available from 2020 on intermodal rail transport (UIC, 2020). However, there is a lack of data at NUTS2 level and NUTS3 level for microanalysis. In this study, we update the study by de Langen (2017) and try to fill the gap at NUTS2 and NUTS3 levels.

Objective
The main objective of this research is to propose a market overview of all intermodal rail connections in Europe on NUTS2-level and NUTS3-level as of March 2023. The market overview and dataset can serve as a starting point to define new public statistics on multimodal transport and for research by other scholars.

Outline and structure
The first step in the market-analysis is to analyze the market structure focused on the possible roles within the intermodal transport environment. For this purpose, 10 to 15 interviews are conducted with various market players in the intermodal transport environment. Based on the structure and the interviews, market players can be identified to map the market. In the second step, it is first determined which information is used to create a database with all rail connections of intermodal transport. Subsequently, it is examined which sources are publicly available that meet the criteria. This determines which measurable characteristics there are to build a database. The sources are described and it is explained how the information can be used. The third step then explains how the data can be verified using public information from railway network operators in individual countries in Europe and using secondary sources. The results section provides a broad overview of the market structure and available connections. The results show characteristics of the entire market and a division into market segments. A geographical analysis om NUTS3 level and market shares of the identified market players by operator, rail carriers and terminal operators are provided. Subsequently, the results and limitations of the study are discussed. This leads to recommendations for the use of the data and for further research. Finally, the database with 1000+ datasets (intermodal connections), including characteristics, will be published in the appendix.

(663 words)

Programme committee
Freight and Logistics