Measures available to local authorities to support sustainable modal shift strategies

Paper in proceeding, 2013

Intermodal road-rail transport (IRRT) has a significant urban dimension, which affects the modal shift potential and the environmental benefits of rail freight. Policy planning must therefore consider the interactions of urban freight and IRRT instead of handling them as separate policy concerns. This paper aims to identify solutions applicable by local authorities to increase the modal shift and environmental improvement potential of IRRT. The results indicate how local authorities can integrate rail freight in their long-term development plans, and by this create new possibilities for rail freight that are needed to in order to achieve a sustainable freight transport system in the face of ever-increasing road transport volumes.