Trajectory-based Multimodal Transport Management for Resilient Transportation

Abstract

The transport of goods and persons with two or more transport carriers (road, rail, air, inland waterway, sea) results in multipartite transport chains whose profitability depends on the cost-effectiveness of the transport carriers involved as well as on the capability of multimodal transport management. Currently, differences with regard to the technical equipment used and infrastructural facilities available as well as administrative and public organizational structures in place are the major obstacles to comprehensive multimodal transport management within and beyond European Union (EU) borders. Though information and communication technologies (ICT) have entered into all traffic and transport systems, the levels of ICT penetration achieved in controlling, monitoring, and managing of system operation and processes is currently quite different. One of the reasons for that is the lack of homogenous ICT standards and, as a result, the technological barriers for interconnectivity between different systems, processes, applications, and stakeholders. The proposed trajectory-based concept is considered as suitable approach to perform the smart and adaptable planning, operation, and management of systems with dissimilar structures, a wide diversity of actors, and distributed responsibilities. It is therefore expected that it will be especially well suited to facilitate multimodal transport management for future Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). Based on the "transport trajectory" formulation introduced here, it will be shown that a trajectory-based status description is generally possible for all transport-relevant components and processes. The expected benefit of the trajectory-based transport management is illustrated by means of selected transportation scenarios.