Inland waterway transport (IWT) stands out as one of the most sustainable modes of freight transport for port-hinterland connections. However, the full potential of IWT remains underutilized in Europe due to logistical inefficiencies. Specifically, the low loading factors of vessels and containers result in the need for more services to transport the same level of cargo, leading to increased costs and travel time, thereby diminishing market competitiveness. The aim of this paper is to develop a spatial-economic assessment of a cargo consolidation strategy for IWT, leveraging a discrete event simulation model that accounts for network characteristics, modal competition with road and rail services, travel time, and costs. It employs an evaluation framework that focuses on cost savings per TEU of different implementation scenarios. A case study on container flows in the Rhine-Alpine Corridor was conducted, evaluating three strategic locations for deploying a container freight station. Compared to the baseline scenario, only one implementation location resulted in positive cost savings, contingent on the annual proportion of less-than-container-load units eligible for consolidation. The study offers insights for infrastructure planning decision-making by identifying a convenient location for the container freight station and determining the necessary conditions of container flows that would enable the policy to be beneficial.

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Container transport via inland waterways currently faces several challenges affecting its competitiveness with other modes. These challenges include the high waiting time experienced by container barges and the low priority given to container barges in deepsea ports. To mitigate these challenges, a new concept known as the Modular Mobile Terminal (MMT) is introduced to create a dedicated floating barge handling and consolidation space for containers in deepsea ports. Based on this, the present study proposes an assessment methodology examining the feasibility of the MMT from a logistical and economic perspective. In doing this, a time optimization model was developed to determine the number of MMTs leading to the most time savings for container barges. It also helps target a market by finding the hinterland flows that can be positively linked to the MMTs. Afterward, an economic evaluation is conducted to determine the cost savings for the actors and determine under which conditions the actors would benefit from using the MMT system. The proposed methodology is then applied in a case study for the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam to derive insights into the efficiency and profitability of the MMTs. Results revealed that the MMTs would be most suitable for vessels transporting small cargo volumes below 60 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs). Furthermore, the analysis suggests that two MMTs would be optimal for the port of Antwerp, and four for the port of Rotterdam, to achieve an overall net benefit for all the actors. Thus, it can be concluded that the MMTs are most suitable for handling and consolidating cargoes from container barges with small call sizes.

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The overall objective of this research is to enhance the attractiveness of container inland waterway transport (IWT) and improve its competitiveness by increasing its modal share while reducing the negative societal and economic impact of container road transport. This will be achieved through the development of innovative logistics concepts such as cargo reconstruction, use of vessel trains and improved port operations with mobile terminals. At the current stage of the research, the first objective is to identify the actors involved in the system, preferences of these actors, important KPIs and the current practice for transport operations.@en

This paper analyzed the market developments and identified the current situation and challenges of container barge transport in deepsea and inland terminals. It was revealed that the major challenges of container IWT include; inefficient handling of barges, poor planning and coordination, lack of flexibility in container barge transport and low water levels. To solve these challenges, innovative solutions such as mobile terminals, vessel trains, cargo reconstruction, and smart navigation are proposed. The impact of these innovations is currently being examined by using the discrete event simulation (DES) model. @en

The use of containers in the freight transport system has increased dramatically over the years. This is as a result of the interplay between macro-- and microeconomic factors and the liberalization of markets, thereby enhancing the development of international logistics services within transportation systems. The physical distribution of cargo in this system involves an integrated logistics chain process to transport the containerized goods from the production location to the consumption location. Different logistics chain models have been used to examine the flow of the containerized goods from origin to destination, however, these models mostly capture a specific module of the chain. To address this, the paper examines the whole logistics chain by linking the interaction between the logistics cost, time, mode choice and assignment to the network, while connecting with the different innovations that could make container IWT more competitive. In doing this, a conceptual logistics model is developed which includes the logistics cost, time, and mode choice sub-models. The two first sub-models are developed at a disaggregated level to examine the logistics decisions for the individual cargoes. The logistics decisions are derived from the minimization of transport-related costs and time and form the input of the mode choice and assignment sub-models.@en