Assessment of the potential opportunities and limitations for intermodal transport: Case: Finland and the South Ostrobothnia region

Abstract

Reducing CO2-emissions across all industries has become a paramount objective for society. Rail-road transport has been proposed as a method to reduce emissions of the transporta-tion sector. Intermodal transport is a major part of the European Union’s TEN-T transporta-tion network policy.

Benchmarking intermodal transport is a method to assess the circumstances under which intermodal transport is most beneficial. Global transportation chains are complex and there-fore benchmarking intermodal transport can be complex. Intermodal transport benchmark-ing can be done for a part of the transportation chain or the entire chain. Benchmarking should also focus on a perspective such as financial, environmental, or logistical.

This study analyses data from the Finnish transportation sector to assess the potential oppor-tunities and limitations for rail-road intermodal transport in Finland and the South-Ostrobothnia region. It uses statistical data to assess the demand for intermodal transport as well as estimate the potential financial and environmental benefits intermodal transport could provide for the region. It also analyses statistics about various goods exported from South-Ostrobothnia as road freight to understand the potential logistical challenges of shift-ing those goods onto rails.