Module 1-D
Railway Intermodal Transportation
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What is “Intermodal”?
• Passenger
• A journey that involves two or more transportation
modes between origin and destination
• People self-transfer between modes at a connection
point
• Freight
• A shipment that uses two or more transportation modes
between origin and destination
• Bulk: single cargo transloaded from one mode to another
• Unitized: Package transferred from one mode to another
• Must physically move cargo between modes at a terminal
• Unitized (container or trailer) intermodal drives growth
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Rail Passenger Intermodalism
• Rail serves some portion(s) of trip
• Intercity (passenger rail)
• Suburban (commuter rail, rail rapid transit)
• Urban (rail rapid transit, light rail transit, streetcar)
• Most rail travel is intermodal when door-door trip is
considered
• Intermodal connections are an important factor for
traveler using rail modes
• Rail must connect at station/stop locations
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Potential Connecting Modes
• Pedestrian
• Personal bicycle
• Bikeshare service
• Personal motor vehicle
• Traveler driven
• Chauffeured
• Taxicab
• Rental car
• Transit bus
• Airliner
• Ferry
• Intercity rail*
• Light rail/streetcar*
• Rail rapid transit*
• People mover
• Chairlift
• Personal rapid transit
*Involved
in rail-rail connection
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Traveler Choice of Passenger Rail
• Traveler generally has multiple options for trip
• Desirability of rail use in trip depends upon:
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Nature of trip
Traveler characteristics
Travel time for rail portion(s) of trip
Cost for rail portion(s) of trip
Existence of connections between rail and other modes
Time required to make connection
Physical ease of transfer to/from rail
Seamlessness of transfer to/from rail
• Facilitating intermodal connections helps build rail
market share
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Aspects of Connectivity
• Physical
• Can we transfer from one mode to the other?
• Temporal
• Is the timing of the transfer process convenient?
• Cognitive
• Can we easily figure out how to make the transfer?
• Transactional
• Can we seamlessly conduct the transfer transaction?
• Comfort, Safety, and Security
• Do we perceive the transfer as comfortable and safe?
• Reliability
• Can we effect the transfer dependably?
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Direct Physical
• Rail serves common station or
point with other modes.
• Transfer requires a short walk.
• Rail mode may also accommodate
personal vehicle (e.g., bicycle, ATV,
snowmobile, auto) with passenger
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Indirect Physical
• AirTrain links facilities at Newark Liberty
International Airport with the nearby
Northeast Corridor rail line.
• Passengers can easily transfer between airlines
and rail services offered by Amtrak and New
Jersey Transit.
• AirTrain also connects with airport parking,
hotel shuttles, and car rental services.
• AirTrain operates 24/7/365 and has 3-minute
headways during peak hours.
• Fare ($5.50) is included in the rail ticket price.
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Temporal
• Services connected should have
sufficient temporal separation
to permit transfer
• Temporal separation should not
unduly lengthen trip time
• Traveler’s desired trip start and
end times, trip purpose are a
factor
• Travelers benefit from ease in
obtaining schedule information
for each participating mode
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Cognitive
• Can the traveler easily
understand how to make the
transfer?
• During pre-trip planning
• When making the transfer
• Maps and signing in stations are
important aids to the unfamiliar
traveler
• Most important in large facilities
• Facility performance can degrade
when connecting passengers are
poorly informed or confused
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Other Aspects
• Transactional
• Traveler should be able to easily purchase intermodal trip
• Seamless trip purchase/reservation would be ideal (“virtual travel
agent”)
• Single ticketing also a good goal
• Comfort, safety and security
• Must provide traveler with reassurance of these items
• Rail sometimes has a negative connotation in one or more areas
• Reliability
• Traveler will avoid rail service perceived to be unreliable
• Real-time data helps traveler deal with disruptions
• Transaction system should help rebook if trains cancelled or late
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Intermodal Freight Operations
• Railroad intermodal transportation is typically described as
either:
• Trailer on flatcar (TOFC)
• Container on flatcar (COFC)
• Intermodal is a seamless service marketed by railroad,
motor carrier, steamship line, or third party
• Roles of modes
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•
•
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Motor carriers perform pick-up and delivery
Railroads perform land-side line-haul
Steamship lines perform intercontinental movement
Barge may also play a role in domestic service
• Terminal facilities provided by port, steamship line,
railroad, customer, or third party
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Intermodal Activities
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Intermodal Truck/Rail Comparison
Truck
Source: BNSF Railway
Intermodal Train
Unit of Shipment
1 truckload
1 train (250 truckloads)
Labor (2000 mile trip)
1 person
26 people (1 train)
Frequency of Service
Daily / Hourly
Daily (if volume warrants)
Often less than daily
Annual Volume Required for
Daily Service
365
91,250
Transit
Mile/day: 500
Average MPH: 50
Operates: 10 hrs/day
Mile/day: 500
Average MPH: 21
Operates: 24 hrs/day
Route Infrastructure
Unlimited use of Federal
and State road system
Use of privately owned rail
network with limited use of
alternate networks
Route Options
Virtually unlimited:
many route options
between origin and
destination
Normally just one viable
route between origin and
destination
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Rail Intermodal Freight Traffic Milestones
• Railroads begin offering TOFC service in the early 1950s
• many small, non-mechanized terminals
• service in general freight trains
• 1955-Railroads create Trailer Train Corporation (now TTX) to
manage intermodal railcar pool
• 1968-1970: ISO standards for containers published
• 1976: Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act sets path
for deregulation of rail container traffic
• 1977: first double stack rail car introduced
• 1980: Staggers Rail Act further deregulates rail container traffic
• 1980s: Global trade propels container traffic growth
• 2000s: Trucking companies popularize domestic use of COFC
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Growth of Rail Intermodalism
Annual Intermodal Volumes
(Sources: AAR & IANA)
16000000
14000000
Units
12000000
10000000
8000000
6000000
4000000
2000000
0
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
Year
The economic recession affected recent intermodal trends, in common with all freight movement.
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US Rail Intermodal Flows in Tons-2011
Source, U.S. FHWA
• Rail lines serve as a “land bridge” for Pacific rim goods destined for the east coast and Europe
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Intermodal Containers
• Allow unitized movement of goods
• Domestic and international versions
• Configurations include box, tank, flatbed
• Stackable
• Dimensions
• length
• 20 ft, 40 ft, 45 ft for international use
• 48 ft, 53 ft for domestic use
• width: 96″ international, 102″ domestic
• height: 4 ft, 8 ft, 8.5 ft, 9.5 ft
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© Sea Box, Inc.
Graphics © Sea Box, Inc.
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Intermodal Trailers
• Common lengths are 28 ft, 48 ft, 53 ft; width is 102″
max.
• 80,000 lb GVW with tractor
• Modified construction to withstand railroad service
loads
• reinforced doors
• lift rails
• All configurations used; dry van and refrigerator
most common
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Railcars
• Flatcar
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Traditional car with deck
May be outfitted for TOFC or single stack COFC
89’ length permits two marine containers
Some are semi-permanently connected
• Spine car
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Lightweight design without full deck
May be outfitted for TOFC or single stack COFC
Often combined into permanently connected units (3, 5, or 10)
Each unit handles a single trailer or container
• Well car
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Lightweight design without deck
Designed to provide clearance with double stacked containers
Some can handle trailers in well
Often combined into permanently connected units (3 or 5)
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Maxi-Stack IV Double-Stack Car
• Articulated 3-platform design optimizes balance between tare weight and
cargo weight
• Container sizes
• Well: 20 to 53 ft containers
• Upper: 40 to 57 ft containers
• Platform load limit: 116,800 pounds
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Loading Equipment
Gantry crane (upper left)
• transfer only
• 25–50 ton lift capacity
• span 32-76 ft
• 5-8 container lift height
2) Straddle loader (upper right)
• transfer/storage
• 50 ton capacity
• span 15-20 feet
• 2-5 container lift height
3) Side loader (lower right)
• transfer/storage
• 22–45 ton lift capacity
• 2-3 container lift height
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Carless Technologies
The RoadRailer® may be handled over the
highway like any conventional semitrailer
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Or coupled in trains of up to 150 trailers
Coupler Mate
Bogie
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1. Hostler trailer positions
trailer.
2. Trailer air suspension lifts
rear of trailer, tractor backs
trailer onto rail bogie.
3. Trailer air suspension is
vented. Steel coil springs
lift tires clear of rail.
4. Tractor backs trailer to
coupling with balance of
train.
5. Tractor leaves leading
trailer on landing gear. Air
lines are connected and
landing gear is raised on
second trailer.
6. Rail locomotive backs
CouplerMate® to trailer. Air
lines are connected and
landing gear is raised on
all trailers.
Source: Wabash National Corporation
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Freight Intermodal Terminal Elements
• Provision for loading/unloading railcars
• Box storage (long term or temporary)
• Vehicle storage (railcars/trailers/chassis)
• Check-in/check-out control
• Vehicle and box servicing/repair
• Security and lighting
• Office and administration
• Information systems
• Vehicle scales
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Major U.S. Intermodal Terminals
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Terminal Categories
• Low volume (<100,000 annual lifts)
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side loader operation
rail loading tracks of 500-1000 ft length
110 feet separation between tracks
separate parking areas for road vehicles
one way highway traffic circulation
• Medium volume (100,000-500,000 annual lifts)
• rail loading tracks 1,000-3,000 ft stubbed or flow-through
• side loader or straddle loader operation
• High volume (>500,000 annual lifts)
• rail unloading tracks 3,000 to 8,000 ft, flow through preferred
• straddle loader or gantry operation
• In all cases, a linear design is preferable
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Selected Recent Terminal Projects
Cost (M)
Annual
Size
Opened capacity, lifts (acres) Parking
Company
Location
State
UP
Rochelle
IL
CSX
Chambersburg
PA
UP
Joliet
IL
$
370.0
2010
CSX
North Baltimore
OH
$
175.0
NS
McCalla
AL
$
NS
Rossville
TN
NS
Greencastle
BNSF
$
181.0
1200
N/A
85
N/A
500000
785
3400
2011
630000
500
4000
97.5
2012
N/A
$
112.0
2012
N/A
316
2200
PA
$
97.0
2013
N/A
200
670
Edgerton
KS
$
250.0
2013
500000
433
1810
NS
Charlotte
NC
$
92.0
2014
200000
200
N/A
UP
Santa Teresa
NM
$
400.0
2014
225000
300
N/A
CSX
Winter Haven
FL
$
100.0
2014
300000
318
N/A
N/A
2003
720000
2007
N/A
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Remarks
Not presently reachable by
doublestacks
On 3900 acre dist. park
site; 1.2M lifts/yr at buildout
5 RMG cranes; 2000 acres
available for dist. Park; 2M
containers/yr handled at
buildout
Birmingham area
$52.5M federal share;
Memphis area
$45M Pennsylvania share
600 acres available in
Logistics Park; 5 gantry
cranes; 4300 stacking
spots; $35 million from
state of Kansas; 1.5M
lifts/yr at buildout
$15.7M federal share
Cost includes crew and
refueling facilities; Total
acres 2200
2-10000 ft arrv/dpt tracks; 3
RMG cranes; 932 acres
avail for dist. Park
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Roberts Bank, BC Marine Terminal
Container storage
8 rail tracks @3,500 ft
Truck gates
(14 lanes)
Access road
Area: 210 acres
Marine berths: 3 (3,609 ft)
Daily truck trips: 1,800
Other trips: 2,100
Annual TEU capacity: 900,000
Ground storage: 41,250 TEUs
10 Post Panamax gantry cranes
Marine berths (52 ft depth)
Image from GoogleEarth
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Marion, AR Intermodal Terminal
Union Pacific Mainline
Storage Tracks (8)
Ramp Tracks (4)
Annual box capacity: 375,000
Ground storage: 2,600 boxes
Ramp track capacity: 326 cars
Storage track capacity: 748 cars
Length shown ≈ 2 mi
Parcel width ≈ 960 ft
Access Road
Truck Gates
8 lanes
Image from GoogleEarth
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Future Issues for Intermodal Freight
• Improving the railroad system
• adding capacity to handle more business
• matching truck service characteristics
• increasing efficiency of intermodal equipment
• Funding needed improvements
• private sector
• public sector
• public-private partnerships
• Developing a short-haul intermodal system
• currently, intermodal is competitive for shipments >750 mi
• 88% of truck trips are 500 mi or less
• rail has a small overall market share
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Intermodal Trains and Railway Infrastructure
• Intermodal trains must be service competitive with trucks
• maximum speeds of 50-70 mph typical; such speeds
• consume track capacity
• require appropriate control system
• require high train power/weight ratio
• require higher track and alignment standards
• schedule requirements provide operating challenge
• Train lengths to 7,500 ft routine; may reach 10,000 ft if conditions
permit
• adequate passing siding length needed on single track lines
• multiple main track provides better capacity and operational flexibility, at
higher cost
• careful terminal design needed to avoid conflict with mainline operations
• Double stack trains need adequate clearances (20’ 3” min)
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Intermodal Corridors
Meridian Speedway
Crescent
Heartland
Terminal location
Proposed terminal
Norfolk
Greensboro
Birmingham
Charleston
Macon
Savannah
Shreveport
Jacksonville
New Orleans
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Copyright Restrictions and Disclaimer
Presentation Author
David B. Clarke
Director
Center for Transportation Research
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
600 Henley Street, Suite 309
Knoxville, TN 37901
865-974-1812
dclarke@utk.edu
It is the author’s intention that the information contained in this file be used for non-commercial, educational purposes with
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