This document discusses synchromodal freight transport. It begins by defining intermodal freight transport and identifying challenges such as road transport dominance and environmental impacts. It then defines synchromodal transport as integrating transport modes for better capacity use with lower costs and impacts. Key aspects are mode-free booking and flexible switching. Challenges of synchronizing multiple transport chains and operational coordination are also discussed. Finally, it presents a hierarchy of decision problems for synchromodal network design, service pricing, and operational resource scheduling.

1. BEHZAD BEHDANI
D E L F T U N I V E R S I T Y O F T E C H N O L O G Y
T R A N S P O R T & P L A N N I N G D E P A R T M E N T
SYNCHROMODAL FREIGHT
TRANSPORT SYSTEM

2. What is discussed here
2
 Intermodal freight transport
 Challenges for intermodal freight transport
 What is synchromodal freight transport?
 Challenges in synchromodal transport
 Hierarchy of decision problems in a synchromodal
freight transport system

3. Intermodal freight transport
3
 Definition by European Commission (1997) for
Intermodal Freight Transport :
“the movement of goods in one loading unit, which uses
successively several modes of transport without handling
of the goods themselves in transshipment between the
modes”.
Container
terminal
Container
terminal
Main transport
(Inland waterway or rail)
A typical intermodal freight transport system

4. Challenges for intermodal transport
4
 Single-mode road transport is the dominant transport
mode in Europe with a market share of about 80% (in
terms on tonne-kms).
 Advantages: flexibility (e.g., in case of disturbances),
door-to-door transport solutions, competitive pricing,
customer-made solutions, reliability, speed, gets more
sustainable as compared to rail and IWW transport,
and high accessibility
 Disadvantages: congestion, negative external effects,
less safe than rail and IWW transport, increasing costs
due to inclusion of external costs into price of road
freight transport, and less scale economies than rail
and IWW transport
Source: Bart Wiegmans (2012) Intermodalism: Competition or Cooperation?

5. Environmental impact of road transport
5
 Although heavy good vehicles only make up 3% of
the European vehicle fleet and 7% of driven
kilometres, they account for almost a quarter of
road transport CO2 emissions, or about 6% of total
EU greenhouse gas emissions (European
Commission, 2013). This is expected to rise to 8%
by 2020.
 Lorries are also responsible for 20% of road
congestion in the EU. The road congestion is even
more important around port areas as it has an
adverse effect on the competitive position of a port
as a location for logistics businesses.
Source: European Commission (2013). Climate Action Plan

6. Barriers for intermodal transport
6
1. Operational problems, for example:
 Train decoupling
 Use of rail infra for both passenger/freight transport
 Terminal opening hours
2. Organizational problems, for example:
 Co-ordinations between multiple partners and timing of
road haulage
3. Economical problems , for example
 High transshipment cost
Source: Wichser, J. (2001). Technical and operational developments needed for a better market success of
intermodal freight transport.

7. What is synchromodal transport?
7
 Core idea:
Integration of transport volumes and modes in order to
better use the capacity with fewer cost and negative
effects on the environment
 Possible benefits:
 Increasing the flexibility in transport choices
 Increase the utilization of rail and inland waterway
 Optimal use of available capacity on the network
Sea
Terminal
Inland
Terminal
Barge
Train
Truck
Integrated view

8. What is synchromodal transport?
8
 Paul Ham (2012):
Making optimal use of all modes of transport and available
capacity, at all times, as an integrated transport solution.
 Lucassen & Dogger (2012):
Constantly tuning inside and between good chains,
transport chains and infrastructure so that given the
aggregated transport demand, and at any moment in time,
the best modality can be chosen.
 van Riessen (2013):
Synchromodal transport planning is intermodal transport
planning with the possibility of real-time switching between
the modes.

9. What is synchromodal transport?
9
 Key aspects to synchromodal transport are:
 Mode-free booking
 Joint planning and coordination for a network of
chains and not for individual chains
 Bundling of flows and services
 Flexible switching between modalities
 Visibility, situational awareness and information sharing

10. Characteristics of synchromodal transport
10
Source: Lucassen, I. & Dogger, T. (2012). Synchromodality pilot study - Identification of bottlenecks and
possibilities for a network between Rotterdam, Moerdijk and Tilburg, s.l.: TNO.

11. Characteristics of synchromodal transport
11
 Mode free booking
 Dynamic planning of transportation
 Switching modes of transport in real time
 Decision making based on network utilization
 Combining transport flows (volume)
 Cooperation between actors in the transportation
chain
 Information availability and visibility among actors
Source: Ham, P. (2012). Synchromodality.

12. Challenges in synchromodal transport
12
Shippers’ involvement
Mode- free booking
Shippers’
needs
identification
Shippers’
incentive
design
• What are the expectation of
customers and how they may
respond to synchromodal
transport services?
• Which factors may impact the
customers’ willingness to use the
service and which potential
shippers’ needs can be met by
synchromodality?
• How the expected benefits of
implementing a synchromodal
system must be used to
incentivise shippers? How gains
must be shared with customers,
e.g., by lower price or improved
service level (flexibility)?

13. Performance comparison: Intermodal transport
vs. road transport
13
Source: INRETS (2000). IQ - Intermodal quality Final report for publication.

14. Challenges in synchromodal transport
14
Synchronizing multiple
transport chains
Organizational
Coordination
Operational
Coordination
• How different actors in different
transport chains can be
coordinated? How risk/gains
must be shared? How
cooperation must be facilitated?
• How information must be shared
between different parties?
• How can a common platform be
designed to coordinate multiple
transport chains with different
characteristics involved? How an
ICT architecture must be planned
considering the inter-operability
challenges for different IT
platforms of different parts in the
chain?
• Is it necessary to have a neutral
actors to facilitate the process?

15. Different actors in different transport chains:
inland waterways
15
Source: Van Der Horst, M.R., De Langen, P.W. (2008) “Coordination in hinterland transport chains: a major
challenge for the seaport community”, Maritime Economics and Logistics 10 (1–2), 108–129

16. Different actors in different transport chains: rail
16
Source: Van Der Horst, M.R., De Langen, P.W. (2008) “Coordination in hinterland transport chains: a major
challenge for the seaport community”, Maritime Economics and Logistics 10 (1–2), 108–129

17. Different actors in different transport chains: road
17
Source: Van Der Horst, M.R., De Langen, P.W. (2008) “Coordination in hinterland transport chains: a major
challenge for the seaport community”, Maritime Economics and Logistics 10 (1–2), 108–129

18. Challenges in synchromodal transport
18
Operational challenges
Integrated
service design
Tension
between
dynamics and
quality
• How an integrated service network
including multiple transport modes
– with different characteristics,
e.g., different infrastructure
availability constraints- can be
planned and operationalized in the
real world?
• How can we evaluate/improve the
reliability and robustness of
synchromodal transport in terms of
operational uncertainties (e.g.,
unavailability of a service or
variations in the arrival/delivery
times) as compared to classical
intermodal transport?
• How the exceptional events (like
problems in a transport service)
can be handled in the real-time?

19. Horizontal and vertical collaboration in
hinterland transport
Horizontal collaboration
Inter-modality
Synchro-
modality
Uni-modality
Multi-
modality
Verticalcollaboration
19

20. Synchronized
System
Customer
Demand/
Need
Moving
Resources
Stationary
Resources
20
Multiple
Transport
Chains
What must be synchronized?

21. Hierarchy of decision problems in a
synchromodal freight transport system
21
Synchromodal
Network Design
Synchromodal
Service Pricing
Strategies
Intermodal Pricing
Strategies (Contract
Design)
Synchromodal
Service Design
Operational
Resource
Scheduling
Exceptional
Handling & Real-
time Switching
OperationalTacticalStrategic

22. 22
Synchromodal
Service Design
Operational
Resource
Scheduling
Customer
Demand/
Need
Stationary
Resources
Moving
Resources
Expected demand
Actual demand
Route/Frequency of service
(for each mode)
Different synchromodal requirements for
different decision problems

23. Suggested readings
23
 Lucassen, I. & Dogger, T., 2012. Synchromodality pilot study -
Identification of bottlenecks and possibilities for a network
between Rotterdam, Moerdijk and Tilburg, s.l.: TNO.
 Ham, P., 2012. Synchromodality. www. havenupdate.com/
index.php/download_file/view/1375/429/
 Behdani, B., Fan, Y. Wiegmans, B. and Zuidwijk, R., Multimodal
Schedule Design for Synchromodal Freight Transport Systems,
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2438851
 van Riessen, B., Negenborn, R. R., Dekker, R. & Lodewijks, G.,
2013. Service network design for an intermodal container
network with flexible due dates/times and the possibility of
using subcontracted transport. Available at:
http://www.synchromodaliteit.nl/wp-content/uploads/2013/
09/Preprint-Bart-van-Riessen.pdf

24. 24
Thanks for your attention.
For any questions or comments and if you
would like to have more information about
the content of this work, please contact me
at the following e-mail address:
B.Behdani@tudelft.nl