In some jurisdictions, trucks will carry two or three containers on trailers that travel along designated motorways. Several railways carry double-stacked containers aboard extended length trains that are propelled by multiple locomotives.
Design is important because traffic congestion occurs on roadways located near major intermodal terminals, even affecting terminal operations. Many main railway lines are operating near design capacity, while the recent introduction of larger container ships has prompted some ports to operate only marine-railway intermodal transfers. The alternative involves hundreds of trucks causing traffic gridlock on roadways that connect to main intermodal terminals.
Keywords: international trade, transportation management, logistics & supply chain, 3PL, third party logistics, managing traffic scheduling in cargo transportation
