A simulation study for designing a rail terminal in a container port

ABSTRACT

Rail terminals in port container terminals play an important role for transshipping containers between rail wagons and port container terminals. This paper addresses a case study for designing a new rail terminal which is planned to be constructed in a port container terminal. A design process including an analytical calculation and a simulation study was proposed. The analytical approach was used to estimate the facility size and the simulation was used to evaluate proposed design alternatives in more detail. Design parameters were the number of transshipment lanes, the number of cranes, and the traffic flows inside the rail terminal.

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