Determining a suitable location for an intermodal terminal is a critical element of the terminal establishment process, a decision on which the functionality of the entire intermodal freight distribution chain depends. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the criteria used for deciding on suitable locations for intermodal terminals in Croatia. First, quality indicators of intermodal terminals were identified: flexibility, safety and security, reliability, time, and accessibility. Based on these quality indicators, and in compliance with the European traffic policy and efficient functioning of intermodal transport, location criteria were formed and evaluated: legislative, environmental, goods flows, spatial, technical-technological, and organizational. Each criterion is divided further into subcriteria and evaluated using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method. The results of the study show that the criterion of goods flows has the most significant impact on the selection of the terminal location, followed by the spatial criterion. A position that connects to the European traffic corridor network is essential for a Croatian terminal's success.

Globalization and decentralization of production generate the intensive growth of goods and transport flows, mostly performed by the maritime transport. Ports, as the main nodes in the global logistics networks, are becoming congested, space for their expansion limited, and traffic in their hinterland congested. As a solution to these and many other hinterland-transport-related problems stands out the development of dry port (DP) terminals. Selection of their location is one of the most important strategic decisions on which depends their competitiveness in the market and the functionality of the logistics network. Accordingly, the evaluation and selection of locations for the development of the DP in accordance with the requirements of various stakeholders is performed in this paper, as a prerequisite for the establishment of an ecological, economic, and socially sustainable logistics network in the observed area. To solve this problem, a new hybrid model of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) that combines Delphi, AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process), and CODAS (Combinative Distance-based Assessment) methods in a grey environment is developed. The main contributions of this paper are the defined model, the problem-solving approach based on finding a compromise solution, simultaneous consideration of the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of the DP concept and its implementation in the regional international markets. The applicability of the approach and the defined MCDM model is demonstrated by solving a real-life case study of ranking the potential DP locations in the Western Balkans region. Based on the obtained results, it is concluded that in the current market conditions, it would be most realistic to open three DP terminals, in Zagreb, Ljubljana, and Belgrade.

The basic idea behind the concept of a dry port is a more efficient seaport access, movement of the seaport’s interface inland with the shift of flows from road to rail. The application of the concept results in a reduction of road transport to/from the seaport together with the associated broad social and environmental benefits. This paper examines the complex factors influencing the timeframes and location of close inland intermodal terminals with dry port characteristics - metropolitan intermodal terminals, as they are usually referred to - and their implementation, with a case study of the Sydney metropolitan region and Port Botany, Australia. The issues surrounding suburban freight terminals are a sub-set of the wider social and environmental problems of the interactions of seaports with their hinterland. Port Botany and its close inland intermodal terminals are very distinctive: there are very few ports in the world with such a well-developed network of close inland intermodal terminals. Nevertheless, the Moorebank terminal was first mooted in 2003 but the latest plans anticipate operations commencing in 2018. The paper illustrates some problematic aspects of long timeframes for the development of significant freight infrastructure.

Growing competition in the global market imposes the need for adequate planning of transportation processes and development of intermodal transport networks, whereby intermodal terminals play a key role. This paper proposes a methodology for prioritization of the intermodal terminal's development features, as the procedure in its planning process, leading to the design of the intermodal terminal in accordance with the needs of various stakeholders and the principles of the sustainable development. As the stakeholders often have conflicting interests and objectives, it is necessary to consider a broad set of requirements and developmental features that enable the fulfillment of the defined requirements. In order to solve the problem this paper proposes a new hybrid multi-criteria decision-making model that combines Delphi, Analytical Network Process (ANP) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) methods in the fuzzy environment. The applicability of the proposed model is demonstrated by solving an example of planning an intermodal terminal in Belgrade.Sustainability 2019, 11, 4102 2 of 20 gained substantial attention in recent years, in academic research (e.g., [5,6]), as well as in practice. For example, the European Union set the goals to shift 30% of the road freight transport over 300 km to other, more environmental friendly means of transport (such as rail and waterborne), by the year 2030, and more than 50% by 2050 [7]. These goals can be achieved only by more intensive development of the intermodal transport.One of the major subsystems of the intermodal transport is intermodal terminal representing the place of storage and transshipment of intermodal transport units between the different modes of transport [8]. Intermodal terminals play a significant role in achieving socio-economic and environmental sustainability [9], and their development has an impact on improving the competitive advantage in the market [10]. Accordingly, requirements, goals and needs of different stakeholders, such as investors, owners, operators of the terminal, terminal users, authorities and residents, have to be in taken into consideration in the process of intermodal terminal planning. Their demands are often conflicting; therefore, a solution that should fit all actors involved is the goal in the planning process. Thus far, the research in the area of intermodal transport planning focused mainly on finding the optimal location for intermodal terminals (e.g., [11][12][13]) or how to improve operational efficiency of inland intermodal terminals [14][15][16]. However, the research related to solving the intermodal terminal planning problems taking into consideration variety of methods is rather scarce. Papers dealing with terminal planning are mainly focused on the intermodal transport network planning or the selection of terminal location. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to define a methodology that comprehensively examines the different stakeholders' requirements based on which it defines and prioritizes development features ...

Intermodal transport enables energy, costs and time savings, improves the service quality and supports sustainable development. The basic element of the intermodal transport system is an intermodal terminal, whose efficiency largely depends on the subsystems’ technologies. Accordingly, the topic of this paper is the evaluation and the selection of the appropriate handling equipment within the intermodal terminal. As the decision-making on the handling equipment is influenced by different economic, technical, technological and other criteria, the appropriate multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods have to be applied in order to solve the problem. In this paper, a novel hybrid model which combines the fuzzy step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (FSWARA) and the fuzzy best-worst method (FBWM) is developed. The defined model is applied for solving the case study of selecting adequate handling equipment for the planned intermodal terminal in Belgrade. The reach stacker is selected as the most adequate handling equipment since it suits best the characteristics of the planned terminal in the given conditions and in relation to the defined criteria. Solving the case study demonstrated the justification for using the MCDM methods to solve these kinds of problems as well as the applicability of the proposed MCDM model.