A Combined Passenger/Freight Intermodal Transportation System

摘要

Intermodal transportation may be described as the coordinated sequential use of multiple modes of transportation. Intermodalism, enabled by the 1980's deregulation of the U.S. transportation industry, together with infrastructure improvements and technological innovations have made container freight transport more productive and efficient in terms of cost, service time, speed, reliability and safety. A typical intermodal freight transport system involves a chain of trips using modes such as ocean ships, low well trains and trucks. This pattern has been proven to be very efficient in transporting freight that is not time sensitive. With time sensitive or express shipments, however, a more expeditious pattern is required. This paper presents a model, which may be used for high-speed intermodal transport of time sensitive or express cargo shipments. A sequence of modes, traditionally used to carry passengers, such as airplane, high-speed rail and buses are used to create a combined passenger/freight intermodal transport system.