2005 Volume 8 Issue 2 Pages 002-014
With the global growth of economy and industry, international freight transport has become more and more important. In the meantime, containerization of international freight is the strong trend. Many sea shipping companies have introduced the large－sized vessels. How to collect these freight from factories and delivery them to customers efficiently and quickly, and environmentally, will directly impact not only on the enterprise's competitiveness, but also on the port efficiency and its position of world. Of course, many factors are related to port strategies. This study focuses on the surface transport connecting international container freight with railway. The objective is to show the possibility of intermodal freight transport including railway even in Japan.
Firstly, this paper analyses the situations and relevant issues in surface transport of international container freight. The necessities to construct an efficient surface transport system for these freights are discussed. And then, reasons about customers choosing the modes are investigated. Based on the distribution of freight at home, it is found that there are potential demands suitable for railway. As the preliminary stage, this study describes the possibility for constructing the intermodal transport system by railway for international container freight. Also some oversea situations are comparatively analysed. Finally, Some relevant measures for the system are proposed.
