The Microsimulation Model for Assessing the Impact of Inbound Traffic Flows for Container Terminals Located near City Centers

Abstract

The growth of container transport places increasing demand on traffic, especially in situations where container terminals are located near the city centers. The main problem is traffic congestion on networks caused by the integration of Heavy-Duty Vehicles and urban traffic flows. The main objective is to identify the critical traffic parameters which cause negative organizational and environmental impacts on the existing and future traffic demand. A micro-level traffic simulation model was implemented for the testing of the proposed framework-based supply, demand, and control layers. The model was generated and calibrated based on the example of a mid-size Container Terminal “Brajdica” and the City of Rijeka, Croatia. The results indicate that the critical parameters are Queue Length on the approach road to the Container Terminal and the Stop Delay on the main city corridor. High values of these parameters cause negative effects on the environment because of increased fuel consumption and the generation of extra pollution. Due to this problem, a sensitivity analysis of the traffic system performance has been conducted, with a decrement of Terminal Gate Time distribution by 10%. After re-running simulations, the results indicate the impact of subsequent variation in Terminal Gate Time on the decrease of critical parameters, fuel consumption, and vehicle pollution.

Automation of the Road Gate Operations Process at the Container Terminal—A Case Study of DCT Gdańsk SA

“…Inside their yards and container blocks, high demand external peaks coupled with capacity and equipment availability problems can influence negatively on the reliability and performance of the terminal. In addition to these challenges, environmental effects stemming from idling trucks have further emerged as a serious problem, as the emissions have negative impact on the whole communities living in the surroundings [15][16][17][18].…”

The Stochastic Frontier Model for Technical Efficiency Estimation of Interconnected Container Terminals

“…This fact can be confirmed by the evidence that selected ports i.e., terminals are organized into a North Adriatic Port Association (NAPA) whose basic function is to prevent or decrease the overall influence of individual ports on the North-Adriatic transport corridor. Due to the high significance of the North-Adriatic transport corridor, as the main European Gateway for Far-East container traffic with destinations in Central and Eastern Europe, it is very important to estimate the technical efficiency levels and compare differences within selected NAPA terminals [66].…”

Analysis of the Overhead Crane Energy Consumption Using Different Container Loading Strategies in Urban Logistics Hubs

“…Some publications investigate the issue of the impact of intermodal terminals on logistic processes in the city [18]. From the perspective of urban logistics, some publications focus on studying the impact of freight traffic serving intermodal terminals on city congestion as well as the impact of using intermodal terminals in cities to reduce air pollution [19,20].…”