Planning of hinterland transportation in the EGS network

An intermodal container transportation network is being developed between Rotterdam and several inland terminals in North West Europe: the EUROPEAN GATEWAY SERVICES network. To use this network cost-efficiently, a more integrated planning of the container transportation is required. The most relevant aspects of such a planning are identified with a new model. This model introduces three new features to the intermodal network planning problem. Firstly, a combination of a path-based formulation with a minimum flow network formulation is used. Secondly, overdue deliveries are penalized instead of prohibited. Thirdly, the model combines self-operated and subcontracted services. Two versions of the model are applied at two different levels. At a tactical level, the optimal service schedule between the network terminals is determined, considering barge or rail modes and both operation types. The most influential costs in this problem are determined. Another version of the model is applied at an operational level. With this model the impact of a disturbed service is determined, by comparing the undisturbed planning with the best possible update after the disturbance. Also the difference between an optimal update and a usual local update is measured, defined as the relevance. It is shown that each of the models is suitable for solving the problems. Properties that indicate a disturbance with a high impact or relevance are identified. Points of attention for the manual planning are recommended and a focus for automated planning is proposed.