Author(s)

E. Fornasiero & A. Libardo

Abstract

This paper brings to the topic of world shipments an investigation of more efficient multimodal routes from the commercial (time and consumption costs) and environmental (impacts) points of view. In particular, the freight relations existing between Asia and Europe, through the Suez Canal, have been investigated because of the constant growth of these relations, despite the Europe-America ones. European destinations are reached by alternative paths, which use road or railway connections starting from the main Mediterranean (Genova, Venezia, Trieste) or North European (Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Bremerhaven) ports. Environmental and commercial index values, evaluated for each possible route through an original software (written in the APL code), allow a comparison in order to identify which is the most sustainable transport chain relating to the different destinations. These results could be useful to re-organize a freight network in terms of managing and adjusting the existing infrastructures in order to obtain lower environmental impacts. Keywords: emissions, multimodal choice, maritime transport, railway transport, road transport. 1 Study overview and objectives A more sustainable transportation chain is sought in accordance with the European goals of planning in order to limit global warming [3], climate change and airborne pollution, thereby reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide, CO2). This research aims to optimize the existing use of multimodal networks (ship-train/ship-lorry), particularly for trans-oceanic shipments. Intercontinental freight delivery necessarily implies more

Keywords

emissions, multimodal choice, maritime transport, railway transport, road transport