Using simulation to evaluate emerging transportation concepts

ABSTRACT

Recent cargo growth projections for the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach have the container traffic tripling over the next 10 to 15 years. The majority of these containers will pass through the LA basin via truck or rail and onto the rest of the country. To accommodate the anticipated growth in trade, an inland port has been proposed to be built in the desert region of Southern California. There are numerous physical challenges associated with the transportation infrastructure to move containers from the Port to the inland region and there are public pressures to remove trucks from highways and onto rail to reduce congestion, pollution, and improve safety. Simulation offers the ability to demonstrate and evaluate transportation concepts and is being used to assess the capacity of regional rail infrastructure and to explore the potential capabilities of emerging freight transportation concepts such as a high-speed magnetic levitation (MagLev) technology.