Inland Intermodal Freight Transport Modelling

People and goods mobility is a key issue in the vitalization of modern economies. An efficient transport system enables economic prosperity, supports regional cohesion, and improves the quality of life of the citizens. Conscientious of this, the European Union (EU) defined transport as a priority sector and the development of “a system that underpins European economic progress, enhances competitiveness and offers high quality mobility services while using resources more efficiently” as the paramount goal of European transport policy (European Commission, 2011). In the late decades, due to the globalization and to EU enlargement, the movement of people and goods in EU has experienced a fast growth, which had a major positive contribute in the development of the European economy. However, along with the positive impacts, some negative aspects emerged, such as congestion, air pollution, noise and accidents. Furthermore, the increasing transport’s dependence on fossil fuels contributes to the unsustainability of the today’s transport patterns. According to the EU Transport White Paper (European Commission, 2011), the transport sector is responsible for 5% of EU of gross domestic product (GDP) and provides more than 10 million jobs. For freight transport, the share of different modes is very unequal: 44% of goods are transported by road, 39% by short-sea shipping routes, 10% by rail, and 3% by inland waterways. This uneven distribution is even more evident for people’s transport (largely car journeys): 81% of passengers travel by road, 6% by rail, and 8% by air. The EU needs to change transport paradigm in order to increase the efficiency of its transport system. New competitive transport patterns are required and should emerge. Future priorities must focus on changing the freight and passengers transport from roads to less polluting modes and integrating different modes in the most efficient travel chain – e.g. road-rail, sea-rail, rail-air (European Commission, 2011).