Quality and energy evaluation of rail-road terminals by microsimulation

The aim of this paper is to present a method to evaluate the quality and energy performance of inland freight terminals, using a quantitative approach based on traffic microsimulation models. The transport of goods should meet requirements of environmental sustainability and combined transport can be an eco-friendly option for medium/long distance connections, in which the railway mode can provide its efficiency if properly accessible. The analysis of the terminal aims at quantifying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) by traffic microsimulation. The relevant features of the typical phases of the internal process are represented and the traffic flow data of arrivals are disaggregated by specific service needs. The model is used to compare the chosen indicators in different scenarios, varying the arrival rates for trucks and reducing the duration of check-out and cranes operations. Results of quality and energy are also reported disaggregated for the differ-ent types of service lines.