Railway System for Intermodal Freight Transport: its Concept and relevant Approach of Improvement

Abstract

At present, because surface freight transport excessively depends on truck transportation, various social problems have been brought and become more and more serious. Therefore, relevant policies and measures have been made in developed countries from 1990′s, in order to shift freight transport from truck to the mode with a large quantity of transportation such as railway, ships, etc. Then nowadays, a competitive transportation system needs to be formed by a combination with railway and truck, that is intermodal freight transport system. This study focuses on how railway is used for logistics system. A fundamental concept about Railway System for Intermodal Freight Transport (RIFT-System) is proposed, based on the analysis on the current problems in railway transport. And corresponding approach to improve the railway system is constructed. Finally, a case study using the Kagoshima and Nagasaki railway in Kyushu region, Japan, is shown.