Title: Optimisation of the port-hinterland intermodal container flow with inland hub capacity concern

Authors: Yunfeng Gao

Addresses: College of Transport and Communications, Shanghai Maritime University, 1550 Haigang Avenue, Shanghai 201306, China

Abstract: An intermodal transport operator usually needs to plan the routes to transport containers of multiple shippers to seaports achieving the goals of efficiency, economy, and sustainability. A model is proposed to optimise the port-hinterland intermodal container flow to minimise the transportation time, the transportation cost, and the carbon emission. The proposed model synchronously optimises the subproblems of flow distribution, node selection, and mode selection. Besides other common constraints, the model is also capable to handle the constraints of maximum transportation time, the storage capacity of inland hubs, and the transport capacity of truck, train, and vessel modes. The model can generate several intermodal routes to split and transport containers of a shipper if the shipper's container volume exceeds the inland hub's storage capacity or exceeds the capacity of transporting mode. The case study validates the effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm.

Keywords: intermodal transportation network; inland hub; port-hinterland; flow distribution; node selection; mode selection.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTL.2024.143142

International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, 2024 Vol.19 No.2/3, pp.328 - 352

Received: 19 Mar 2023
Accepted: 13 Sep 2023
Published online: 04 Dec 2024 *

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