Interface design for the coordination of container freight infrastructure with urban logistical services

Paper in proceeding, 2007

We conceptualize a node-centric approach to design container freight itineraries in an urban hin-terland networked to a seaport. The intention is to develop a physically realizable basis for inter-modal systems retrofit. This approach addresses the topological complexity of nodes and characterizes the time composition of freight. We anticipate that the sparse format of terminal dynamics described here lays the foundation for an activity-based approach with novel scheduling schemes. This in turn may demonstrate how intermodal production systems provide a major increase in the flexible capacity of the system in consolidating unit loads through providing gateway functions across modes.