The advent of globalization and containerization in the second half of the last century has substantially affected previous trade patterns, putting a remarkable pression on ports. The role of such intermodal transport systems has become even more crucial due to the need of port customers for the provision of both maritime and logistics services, leading ports to assume an active part within the whole distribution channel. This condition has certainly augmented their complexity, because of the larger variety of performed activities and of involved stakeholders. Great attention has been then drawn to the establishment of solid hinterland connections, given their potential in rising port competitiveness. In this regard, the railway mode has revealed to be a financially and environmentally sustainable solution, especially on long hauls, and it is intended to be further embraced for freight transfers in the future. Nevertheless, the expected growth of train volumes poses a serious challenge to the quite limited residual capacity that characterizes many railway networks and nodes, requiring a prompt and coordinated action by the involved actors. To this end, existing railway infrastructures should be managed more efficiently and possibly complemented by new ones, according to a strategic vision for port advancements. In the light of such demanding task, the objective of this dissertation represents the development of a methodology to determine the optimal railway capacity, which has been applied to the case study of the Port of Trieste. The proposed approach consists of the integration of different techniques that have been used to model, simulate and optimize port railway processes. The combination with a multi-actor multi-criteria evaluation procedure has addressed the aim of prioritizing the main port railway operational features and of selecting the best scenario of intervention to enhance port railway capacity. Insights coming from process optimization have proved that the maximum annual amount of train flows largely depends on the availability of tracks at the Trieste Campo Marzio station, whereas it becomes almost stable beyond a certain quantity of deployed shunting locomotives. The results obtained through the optimization procedure have been confirmed by both the assessment applications, pointing out the relevance of infrastructural resources and of implementing infrastructural interventions to accommodate additional railway traffic volumes.
L’avvento della globalizzazione e della containerizzazione nella seconda metà del secolo scorso ha profondamente alterato la precedente struttura degli scambi commerciali, ponendo una rilevante pressione sui porti. Il ruolo di tali sistemi di trasporto intermodale si è fatto ancor più cruciale a seguito della richiesta dei clienti di fornir loro sia servizi marittimi che logistici, facendo così assumere ai porti una parte attiva all’interno dell’intera catena di distribuzione. Questa condizione ha indubbiamente comportato un aumento nella complessità di quei sistemi, vista la molteplicità delle attività svolte e degli attori coinvolti. Maggiore attenzione è stata dunque posta sulla definizione di validi collegamenti con l’entroterra, dato il loro potenziale nell’accrescimento della competitività dei porti. In tal senso, il trasporto su ferrovia si è dimostrato essere una soluzione sostenibile dal punto di vista finanziario ed ambientale, soprattutto sulle lunghe distanze, e si prevede venga adottato ulteriormente in futuro. Tuttavia, l’incremento atteso nei volumi di traffico ferroviario costituisce una sfida per la limitata capacità residua che caratterizza numerose reti e nodi ferroviari e, dunque, richiede di intraprendere un’azione pronta e coordinata tra gli attori interessati. A questo proposito, risulterebbe preferibile innanzitutto gestire in maniera più efficace le infrastrutture ferroviarie esistenti ed eventualmente integrarle con delle nuove opere, sulla base di una prospettiva strategica per lo sviluppo dei porti. Alla luce di ciò, l’obiettivo di questa tesi è rappresentato dallo sviluppo di una metodologia atta a determinare il valore ottimale della capacità ferroviaria portuale, con un’applicazione al caso studio del Porto di Trieste. L’approccio proposto consiste nell’integrazione di diverse tecniche, che sono state usate per modellare, simulare ed ottimizzare i processi ferroviari portuali. La loro combinazione con un processo di valutazione multiattoriale e multicriterio ha permesso di stabilire le priorità dei principali aspetti ferroviari in ambito portuale e di selezionare il miglior scenario di intervento volto ad aumentare la capacità ferroviaria. Le evidenze suggerite dall’ottimizzazione dei processi hanno dimostrato che il valore del massimo numero di treni annui dipende largamente dalla disponibilità di binari nella stazione di Trieste Campo Marzio, mentre risulta piuttosto stazionario oltre una certa quantità delle locomotive di manovra impiegate. I risultati ottenuti dalla procedura di ottimizzazione sono stati confermati da entrambi i processi valutativi eseguiti, evidenziando l’importanza delle risorse infrastrutturali e della realizzazione di interventi di tale natura, al fine di soddisfare volumi di traffico aggiuntivi.
A Methodology for the Optimization and Evaluation of Railway Capacity in a Multi-actor Context: The Case Study of the Port of Trieste / Caramuta, Caterina. - (2021 Apr 20).
A Methodology for the Optimization and Evaluation of Railway Capacity in a Multi-actor Context: The Case Study of the Port of Trieste
CARAMUTA, CATERINA
2021-04-20
Abstract
The advent of globalization and containerization in the second half of the last century has substantially affected previous trade patterns, putting a remarkable pression on ports. The role of such intermodal transport systems has become even more crucial due to the need of port customers for the provision of both maritime and logistics services, leading ports to assume an active part within the whole distribution channel. This condition has certainly augmented their complexity, because of the larger variety of performed activities and of involved stakeholders. Great attention has been then drawn to the establishment of solid hinterland connections, given their potential in rising port competitiveness. In this regard, the railway mode has revealed to be a financially and environmentally sustainable solution, especially on long hauls, and it is intended to be further embraced for freight transfers in the future. Nevertheless, the expected growth of train volumes poses a serious challenge to the quite limited residual capacity that characterizes many railway networks and nodes, requiring a prompt and coordinated action by the involved actors. To this end, existing railway infrastructures should be managed more efficiently and possibly complemented by new ones, according to a strategic vision for port advancements. In the light of such demanding task, the objective of this dissertation represents the development of a methodology to determine the optimal railway capacity, which has been applied to the case study of the Port of Trieste. The proposed approach consists of the integration of different techniques that have been used to model, simulate and optimize port railway processes. The combination with a multi-actor multi-criteria evaluation procedure has addressed the aim of prioritizing the main port railway operational features and of selecting the best scenario of intervention to enhance port railway capacity. Insights coming from process optimization have proved that the maximum annual amount of train flows largely depends on the availability of tracks at the Trieste Campo Marzio station, whereas it becomes almost stable beyond a certain quantity of deployed shunting locomotives. The results obtained through the optimization procedure have been confirmed by both the assessment applications, pointing out the relevance of infrastructural resources and of implementing infrastructural interventions to accommodate additional railway traffic volumes.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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