New Trends in Port Planning and Development - PART 1: Planning for Intermodal Transportation As an Integral Part of Future Port Planning

摘要

Until quite recently transportation access was regarded as a secondary consideration in port planning. The level of interest in intermodal issues is rising due to many factors, including trends in ship size, growing hinterlands, the changing focus of ocean carrier management and growing interest on the part of public officials in this medium of transportation. Recently, port planners have increasingly focused their attention on intermodal transportation as a key element in assuring the success of the ports. This paper focuses on rail movement of container traffic, the one exception is that local water transportation will be covered, an option which the author believes will grow in importance in the coming years. Over the decade, the terms of the debate about what constitutes adequate intermodal access has shifted in content. The current concerns about rail access include: providing enough space near the marine terminal areas to accommodate intermodal growth; ameliorating rail-high-way conflicts, improving vertical clearances on rail lines for double stack trains and funds allocation following the Interstate Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA).