Service network design for intermodal freight transportation

Summary form is only given; Multi and intermodal freight transportation refers to moving loads by a sequence of transportation modes linked by mode-to-mode transfers performed at intermodal terminals, generally without directly handling the goods. Such transportation systems and the carriers that provide the associated services are often organized according to consolidation principles. Consolidation of the shipments of different shippers into the same vehicles and of several vehicles into blocks (railroads) and convoys (rail, road and barge trains).Intermodal transportation is a core activity enabling global trade and supporting economic growth and social development. It is also also a mean toward more efficient and sustainable supply chains and transportation networks, within the city as well as for long-haul intercity exchanges. Achieving these goals requires the planning and management of efficient and timely transportation and terminal services, as well as of the resources required to provide these services. Operations research offers the modelling frameworks and solution methods to build these advanced planning methods. In this presentation, we discuss the complex issue of designing the tactical transportation plan for intermodal carriers, that is, to select the services that will be operated over the next activity season, their schedules and the associated transportation itineraries for the forecast demand. We focus on recent developments to enrich the scope of the planning activities and associated models, by integrating a number of operational issues. On the supply side, we examine the integration of the management of the resources required to provide the selected services while, on the demand side, we touch on the issue of the management of revenues.