development of small-scale intermodal freight transportation in a ...

transport since forwarders and hauliers have better possibilities of using intermodal services
than the industries’ in-house transport departments. The main reasons are that professional
transport companies most often operate on a larger scale and that they are more
likely to possess the needed expertise.
Furthermore, if intermodal transport can increase its quality or decrease the price level,
large new markets may open up. Increased environmental awareness of consumers can induce
a substantial lift if the price level is in the same range as for all-road transport. In line
with saturation on the roads and in the air, intermodal road-rail transport can also take on a
role as the prime alternative for fast transport. Growth in this market niche, however, requires
a significant increase in service level and organisation, but it also facilitates potentially
high revenues.
Road transportation is currently very competitive within the EU. Prices are down, service
levels are up and deregulation is ahead of rail transportation (STONE, 1997, p. 5). However,
hauliers face problems due to congestion, which induces costs and problems to keep
agreed service levels, new legislation for the internalisation of external costs and a price
level that is not likely to be persistent. Turning to intermodal transport is a viable way of
addressing these problems.
Also the railways face problems. EU directive 91/440 on competition and revitalisation of
railways (The Official Journal, 1991) forces them to be profitable also in business economic
terms. The presently bad profitability keeps new actors away from entering the industry
on a large scale, but “pearls” have been picked, which has caused the national railways
to concentrate on the profitable lines, hence giving up old objectives concerning spatial
coverage. Wagonload traffic is seriously problematic. On the one hand cancellation of
wagonload services means that intermodal transport can win transport volumes, but on the
other hand it means that single intermodal wagons cannot be moved by wagonload services
on low-flow transport relations. Moreover, increasing intermodal flows at wagonload’s expense
33 does not fulfil the political goals for intermodal transport and the predatory behaviour
causes frictions within the railways.
Moreover, pressure for better productivity will force the operators to utilise the equipment
for more hours each day. In order to realise this, the current operations based upon nightleaps
have to be modified. Fortunately, two trends point in the direction of better track access
during daytime for intermodal trains. Firstly, as intermodal transport competes with
rapid road haulage, intermodal trains have enjoyed higher priority on the railway lines during
the past few years. Secondly, the extension of the European train network with dedi-
33 BUKOLD (1997, p. 2) asserts that subsidies for intermodal services have caused this “cannibalism-effect”,
but it does not appear in the statistics due to lack of data.
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