Unlocking Efficient and Sustainable Freight Transport in Europe: Intermodal Connectivity

Abstract

Intermodal Connectivity in Europe The European Intermodal Transport policy, targets intermodality in freight transportation that is friendly to the environment and efficient to its users. In Europe, Rail and barge services form the backbone of intermodal freight transportation chains (de Langen, 2017). Barges focus on short distances, while rails are used for long-distance transportation. Bare and rail are efficient freight transportation modes for bulk goods. The intermodal connectivity in Europe provides a gateway to the east, increasing reliability and reassurance. According to(Hainsch et al., 2022), the European Green Deal advocates for 75% of freight transported by road to shift to rail and inland water. This can be achieved by using appropriate technology and shipping facilities to ensure the shifting process is cost-effective and fast. The assumption is that the most significant part of the journey is run by rails and the shortest by water. Barges and rails are significant in this context. The modal shifts are subject to technical problems, operation difficulties, and regulations. The regulation problems include bureaucratic barriers such as strict rules and legislation to be enacted by outdated systems. Understanding the concept of multimodality is still a problem making it very confusing. The one-size-fits model is unlikely to work across Europe, which questions how intermodal connectivity will be enforced since it is very complex. Road transportation is detrimental in causing congestion, hindering economic activity, and the fumes released to the environment heightened pollution. There is a need to shift to greener modes. The costs of shifting from roads to inland waters and rail are very high, making it challenging to enact today. Barge transportation is tedious due to the complex interactions, such as the seaport systems, service schedule design, and the changes in the inland terminal networks. Europe is determined to create intermodals’ intermodal connectivity as a...