Assessment of CO2 Emissions for Intermodal Freight Transport Systems and Truck-Only System: Case Study of Western-Eastern Europe Corridor

Intermodal freight transportation systems in the European Union (EU) are regarded to be more environmentally friendly than truck-only freight systems, particularly for long-distance haulage based on vessel (short sea or inland waterway) or rail and in terms of CO2 emissions. This research aims to examine whether the intermodal freight system really does emit less CO2 than its road-based counterpart. Based on a conceptualization of intermodal and truck-only systems, the simplified formulations for assessing CO2 emission are presented for seven different scenarios. Specifically, three different intermodal configurations are studied, the effect of two different rail power options are also examined, and finally for electric rail four different electricity generation scenarios are reviewed. The numerical formulation is consistently applied to an area where three freight systems are competing: A Western-Eastern Europe Corridor between Rotterdam, the Netherlands collecting freights from Belgium, Luxemburg, and France and Gdansk, Poland distributing them to Estonia and Latvia.