Digitalization and Automation in Intermodal Freight Transport and Their Potential Application for Low-Income Countries

This paper presents an assessment of enabling technologies in intermodal freight transport. It first identifies the technologies used in intermodal freight transport globally using a systematic literature review. Then, it characterizes intermodal freight transport in the context of low-income countries to assess the potential application of digitalization and automation for the countries. Countries with a per capita gross national income (GNI) lower than $1025 are categorized as low-income countries. To achieve the objectives, a review was undertaken of 147 published articles from Scopus, Web of Science, and Transport Research International Documentation (TRID). Furthermore, distinctions of intermodal transport in low-income countries were also characterized using gray literature. A number of enabling technologies applied at components of intermodal transport were identified. The results demonstrated that several enabling technologies such as wireless communication technology, sensors, positioning technology, and web-based platforms are highly utilized in intermodal freight transport globally. In contrast, electronic data interchange (EDI), wireless communication technologies, and web-based platforms also have potential applications in low-income countries, and their adoption should be studied further.

Road Freight Transport Cost

The goal of this research was to measure the cost of road freight transport in the 20 European countries with the highest recorded quantity of tonne-kilometres and assess their competitiveness. Cost competitiveness was measured by four main cost categories: fuels, drivers' wages, tyres and tolls, and the results show large cost variances between countries. The countries with the lowest road freight transport cost were Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania, and those with the highest costs were Norway, Austria, and the UK. The largest differences in costs were met in tolls and other road taxes, followed by drivers' wages, fuels, and finally, tyres.

The "freight frame" model as a method of freight transport traffic urban organization

The paper justifies the use of the "freight frame" as a method of organizing the movement of freight vehicle in large metropolitan areas on the example of Samara city district. The study presents the characteristics of the "freight frame" of major European cities, Kazan and Moscow. A comparative analysis of approaches to the organization of the movement of freight vehicle on the basis of the "freight frame" of Russian cities and cities of foreign countries is carried out. Based on the use of the Yandex.Traffic service, an analysis of the congestion of the main transport highways of the city was carried out, a map of the transport accessibility of the city of Samara was compiled with the calculation of the transport accessibility indices of its districts. To analyze the load of freight transport in the Samara region and the city of Samara, the intensity and composition of the traffic of freight transport on the major streets of the city were calculated using the NETVISION Traffic software and hardware complex, differentiated by months and day time. The result of the analysis allowed to identify the most significant problems of traffic management. On the basis of the used methods of freight traffic analysis, the necessity of implementing the "freight frame" model in the city of Samara was justified. A set of sequential measures is proposed to ensure the step-by-step formation of the freight frame model.