An Integrated Methodology for the Multi-Objective Optimization of Port Railway Capacity: The Case Study of the Port of Trieste

Abstract

The relevant pressure exerted on ports following the advent of globalization and containerization has contributed to transform the role of such intermodal transport facilities, increasing their complexity with reference to both performed activities and involved actors. The potential of solid hinterland connections in enhancing port competitiveness has sustained the larger embracement of the railway mode, which has proved to be a financially and environmentally sustainable solution, especially on long hauls. However, the limited residual capacity currently characterizing several railway network and nodes may threaten the accommodation of additional future traffic volumes and, thus, it requires the adoption of a coordinated strategy to more efficiently manage existing railway infrastructures, other than the realization of some new ones. In this regard, an integrated methodology has been developed to specifically model, simulate and optimize port railway processes, as part of a more complex system, imposing the maximization of capacity with the concurrent minimization of used shunting locomotives, to varying of infrastructural and operational conditions. This combination of techniques has been applied to the case study of the Port of Trieste, Italy, showing the greater influence of tracks availability over changes in the operational conditions, in terms of a shorter duration of specific administrative tasks and the employment of more shunting locomotives.

Capacity Assessment in Freight-Passengers Complex Railway Nodes: Trieste Case Study

“…The port of Trieste is located on the Adriatic coast, because of the port's nautical and geographical advantages, traffic is increasing rapidly in terms of both total yearly throughput and railway share for freight transfers Despite the long penetration in the Adriatic Sea, marine traffic is interested in calling at Trieste because it shortens the distance to Central Europe compared to other ports and reduces the transit time compared to North European range ports [53].…”