deliverable d1 state of the art of conventional and ... · in intermodal transport ... technicatome...

DELIVERABLE D1State of the Art of conventional and innovative techniques

in intermodal transport

Annex 1: Survey on intermodal transfer technologies

Public

CONTRACT N°: 2000-AM.10005

ACRONYM : ITIP

Innovative Technologies forInter-modal Transfer PointsInnovative Technologies forInter-modal Transfer Points

TITLE : Innovative Technologies for Intermodal transfer Points

MAIN AUTHOR: Edoardo Peterlini (Euretitalia s.r.l.)

PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR: PTV Planung Transport Verkehr AG (DE)

PROJECT PARTNERS : EURA A/S (DK)Euretitalia s.r.l. (IT)Heusch/Boesefeldt GmbH (DE)NTUA (GR)Technicatome SA (FR)VTT (FI)

PROJECT START DATE : April 2000 DURATION : 48 months

DATE OF ISSUE OF THIS REPORT : June 2001

Project funded by the EuropeanCommunity under the ‘Competitiveand Sustainable Growth’ Programme(1998-2002)


ITIP – D1, Annex 1 – Survey on intermodal transfer technologies 2

TECHNICAL AND ORGANISATIONAL DESCRIPTION OF ELEMENTS

LIST OF CONTENTS

For the technical and organisational description of possible new and improbable existingsystems an inquiry form and additional items or parameters have been used. The followingelements have been described in the framework of this study:

1 TRANSHIPMENT EQUIPMENT AS ELEMENT OF THE MEANS OFTRANSPORT ITSELF 6

1.1 ACTS – ABROLL CONTAINER TRANSPORT SYSTEM 71.1.1 The ACTS technique 71.1.2 Description of the System 71.1.3 Transport Cycle 81.1.4 Diffusion of the System 111.1.5 General Evaluation 111.1.6 Compatibility 121.1.7 Conclusion 13

1.2 Bimodal Techniques 141.2.1 Introduction 141.2.2 System 141.2.3 The Loading Unit 161.2.4 Present situation in Europe 161.2.5 General Evaluation of the Bimodal System 171.2.6 Conclusion 18

1.3 Mercedes Benz (MB-) Kombi Lifter 19

1.4 Semi-trailer equipped with side loader 21

1.5 ULS 23

1.6 SeIf - Unloading Ship(s) 261.6.1 Ships with Revolving (or Swinging) Cranes 261.6.2 Ship Equipped with Gantry Cranes 261.6.3 The LASH Carrier 271.6.4 The SEABEE Ship 271.6.5 Ship with Cargo Section Located above pier 28

2 TRANSHIPMENT DEVICES 29

2.1 Fast Transfer TECHNICATOME COMMUTOR Handling Device 29

2.2 Krupp Fast Handling Device 30



3 TRANSHIPMENT AND INTERNAL TRANSPORT DEVICES 32

3.1 Terminal Truck with Lifting Device for Swap Bodies 32

3.2 SeIf loading AGV Robot 32

4 INTERNAL TRANSPORT EQUIPMENT 33

4.1 Shuttle Wagon (Navette) 34

4.2 Multi Trailer System (MTS) 34

4.3 Skid/Pallet (Longitudinal Conveyor) 35

4.4 Moving Train 35

4.5 Skid/PalIet (Cross Conveyor) 35

4.6 Conveyor Concepts 364.6.1 “Equipment to equipment conveyor” 364.6.2 “Internal transport conveyor” 384.6.3 Overhead conveyor 38

4.7 Bi-directional Rail mounted Shuttle “B+” 38

4.8 Train Movement and Positioning Devices 384.8.1 Semiautomatic fixed installations 394.8.2 Automatic fixed installations 404.8.3 Traction Robots and Locomotives with Remote Control 404.8.4 COMMUTOR Train Transfer and Positioning Devices 414.8.5 Conclusions 41

5 STACKING DEVICES 43

5.1 Portal Crane for Stacking 43

5.2 One-Arm Crane (Stack Lifter) 43

5.3 High-Rack Handling Device for Shelf-Store 445.3.1 Shelf Store Hall 445.3.2 Hall for Cross Transport Device (Skid / Pallet System) 455.3.3 High Rack Handling Device with Transversal Bridge 46

5.4 Mechanical Storage 46

6 TECHNICAL AND ORGANISATIONAL CONCEPTS 47

6.1 Technicatome COMMUTOR Concept 476.1.1 Introduction 476.1.2 Conceptual basis 486.1.3 Different applications of the COMMUTOR Concept 50



6.2 KRUPP Fast Handling System 516.2.1 Identification System 516.2.2 Transhipment Area 516.2.3 Movement of the train through the plant 526.2.4 Conveying and Storage Technology 526.2.5 System Control 526.2.6 Civil Engineering 526.2.7 Production Forms 53

6.3 Automated Guided Vehicle System and Automated Stacking Crane 546.3.1 Introduction 546.3.2 MSS Concept 546.3.3 Navigation 556.3.4 Intelligence: System Concept 566.3.5 Vehicle Concept 566.3.6 Safety Provisions 576.3.7 Reliability 586.3.8 Maintainability 586.3.9 Future 58

6.4 CARGO 2000 CONCEPT 59

6.5 NOELL FAST TRANSHIPMENT SYSTEM 63

7 TERMINAL AND TERMINAL NODE CONCEPTS IN EUROPE 64

7.1 RAIL TERMINAL CONCEPTS 647.1.1 Noell Megahub 647.1.2 Commutor 647.1.3 Krupp Fast Handling System 657.1.4 Transmann Handling Machine 657.1.5 Noell Fast Transhipment Terminal (SUT) 657.1.6 CCT Plus 667.1.7 RoadRailer 667.1.8 Compact Terminal Tuchschmid 667.1.9 Gateway Terminal HUPAC 677.1.10 Lättkombi Terminal 677.1.11 Train Coupling Sharing/Cargo Sprinter 677.1.12 North East Terminal Paris 687.1.13 Irun and Portbou Terminal 687.1.14 Rail Terminal Maasviakte 68

7.2 BARGE TERMINAL CONCEPTS 697.2.1 Barge Express (BEX) 697.2.2 Rollerbarge 697.2.3 Self unloading Vessels 70

7.3 RO-RO TERMINAL CONCEPTS 717.3.1 FlexiWaggon 717.3.2 G 2000 Ro-Ro 717.3.3 Shwople Train 717.3.4 Shwople Barge 71



7.4 SEA TERMINAL CONCEPTS 727.4.1 Container Pallet Transfer (CPT) System 727.4.2 Thamesport 727.4.3 Coaster Express (CoEx) 737.4.4 Train Loader 737.4.5 River-Sea Push Barge System 747.4.6 Combined Traffic Carrier Ship/Barge (CTCB) 74

7.5 NODE TRANSPORT SYSTEMS 757.5.1 Combi-Road 757.5.2 Selbsttägis Signalgeführtes Triebfahrzeug 757.5.3 Internal Transport Node Maasvlakte (MTS/AGV) 76

7.6 INNOVATIVE TRANSSHIPMENT UNITS 777.6.1 Cassettes 77

7.7 INNOVATIVE BUNDLING NETWORK CONCEPTS 787.7.1 RAIL CONCEPTS 787.7.2 DEDICATED ROAD CONCEPTS 827.7.3 RO-RO CONCEPTS 827.7.4 BARGE CONCEPTS 837.7.5 NODE CONCEPTS 85

7.8 CLASSIFICATION OF INTERMODAL TRANSPORT TERMINAL IN EUROPE 867.8.1 RAIL – ROAD TERMINALS 867.8.2 BARGE – ROAD TERMINALS 867.8.3 BARGE – RAIL – ROAD TERMINALS 867.8.4 MARITIME FULL CONTAINER TERMINALS WITH ROAD AND RAIL CONNECTIONS 867.8.5 MARITIME FULL CONTAINERS TERMINALS WITH ROAD – RAIL – BARGE

CONNECTIONS 867.8.6 RAIL – ROAD BIMODAL TERMINALS 867.8.7 RAIL – RAIL TRANSFER TERMINALS 86



1 Transhipment Equipment as Element of the Means of Transport itself

In this functional category in which the external means of transport are fitted with transhipmentequipment we have found the following elements:

1. ACTS

2. Bimodal Technique

3. MB Kombi Lifter

4. Semi-Trailer with Side Loader

5. U.L.S.

6. Self-Unloading Ship(s)

which are described in detail hereafter.



1.1 ACTS – ABROLL CONTAINER TRANSPORT SYSTEM

The following explanations summarise the ACTS transportation system for rail road transport,and similar systems like Germanys RSS or MSTS. ACTS stands for Abroll ContainerTransportsystem, RSS for Roland Umschlag Schiene Strasse.

1.1.1 The ACTS technique

The technique ACTS was developed by Multilift BV, Dronten, The Netherlands.

It consists basically of lorries equipped with special hydraulic jib and skip containers; to extendutilisation of the system to the rail transport, special swivel frames are mounted on flatwagons; these swivel frames permit, in connection with the lorry, to transfer skip containers toand from rail.

1.1.2 Description of the System

The system requires no special equipment of the terminals: it is only necessary to haveaccess to the wagons by road; the roads shall be of adequate dimensions; they must permitfree access of heavy lorries to all the wagons involved in the loading operations; in fact thelorries require adequate spaces in order to position themselves at an angle of 450 degressrequired for the transhipment of the loading unit.

The system consists of three basic elements:

• the ACTS loading unit,• the chain lift equipment mounted on truck chassis,• the turntables mounted on a wagon.

1.1.2.1 Loading Units

The loading units are composed of two basic elements: a sub-frame and a container fixed onthe sub-frame. The sub-frame is a standard element composed of two main girders and threetransversal elements; this structure supports rollers and locking axles for a chain lift system inorder to permit loading operations by lorry, stability rollers and blockage devices.

The sub-frame structure is provided for the coupling with the lorry’s or the turntable’s structureto obtain sure and safe fixation of loading units and to resist any damages occurring duringthe road / rail transport or the shunting operation.On the sub-frame a loading unit is fixed; there are various types of containers – special unitsfor bulk freight, for palletised freight, flat containers and others.The dimesnions of a standard bulk freight container are - 5950 mm length, 2500 mm widthand 2500 mm height with a tare weight of about 2600 kg. The total gross weight amounts toabout 20000 kg



1.1.2.2 Lorries

Lorries are fitted with a special hydraulic jib (in accordance with AFNOR or DIN standards),with a counter frame for guiding and fixing the loading units and for the application ofstabilisers. Total weight is about 29.000 kg.

Normally lorries are used; the utilisation of a trailer is possible but operations are verycomplicated: the trailer also needs loading/unloading equipment. In some cases trailers are inuse that only transport one unit: in that case the lorry transfers its own loading unit and then,empty, unloads the unit-unit (actual consignment) from the trailer; from here onwards tran-shipment is the same as usual.

It is important to note that in cases where there is a lorry plus a trailer the total weight on theroad is higher than 50 tons which is not allowed by the European Highway Code and thelegislation in most European countries.

1.1.2.3 Wagons

Wagons are generally bogie flat wagons equipped with three turntables (in some particularcases two); each turntable can accept a loading unit of 5.950 mm length (in some particularcases 7.300 mm long) weighing up to 20.000 kg.

The standard flat wagons have a tare weight of about 26-28 tons, and the wagons designedfor this special purpose have a tare weight of about 24-25 tons; the high tare of vehicles is dueto the equipment mounted on the wagons: the total weight of three turntables is about 6.000kg.Older wagons have a total max. weight on rail of 80 tons, modern wagons one of 90 tons.Therefore three ACTS units of a total weight from 18 to 22 each can be transported.

1.1.3 Transport Cycle

The container transportation road-rail-road is functioning as follows (see figure below).



The container is loaded by the sender. For each material the right type container is available.After having loaded the container (with the chain lift - system) the truck brings it to the neareststation, where a wagon with turntables is ready to receive it after swinging-out the turntable by450 degrees. The driver drives his truck backwards to the turntable. The reflectors mountedon both sides of the turntable serve as orientation points for the driver.With the help of a chain system mounted on the lorry the container is now pushed onto thewagon. The special construction of the turntable, in combination with the push possibility ofthe chain lift system makes a constant movement of the loading unit from the truck to thewagon possible. For this movement, which lasts less than two minutes, the driver does nothave to leave his cabin.After moving the loading unit from the truck to the wagon the turntable will be turned back.Dependent on the weight, the turntable will be turned back by hand or with a cable linked tothe truck.Now the turntable is locked and the wagon is ready for transportation.

The cycle at the station of arrival is basically the same, just the other way round.It has to be noted that there are stability problems during transhipment and the driver doesalso have to pay attention to the different heights of truck and wagon due to possible differentlevels because of springs and earth base.

1.1.4 Diffusion of the System

Switzerland is the main user, today 60/80 bogies wagons carrying 3 loading units each are inservice. They are generally used for the following services:

• transport of waste;• transport of vegetables;• transport of loam;• general purpose.

In the Netherlands only a small number of bogies wagons carrying 3 loading units each is inuse. The only use known in Netherlands is transport of waste to the incinerator.In other European countries there are similar systems and in some cases these road systemshave been adapted for railroad exchange.

1.1.5 General Evaluation

The existing transport cases are all regional services with low level of traffic.

The main advantages are:

• no special equipment is needed in rail stations for the transhipment of loadingunits;

• loading units are suitable for rail or road transportation;



• short transhipment time for a single box in a small yard;• simple to control as operated by one man only;• efficient transfer technology.

The main disadvantages are:

• equipment of all lorries;• relative high tare of equipment of wagons;• high total weight of the lorry with the ACTS loading unit;• high cost of loading unit and equipment;• high demand of space for transhipment operations.

The balance of advantages/disadvantages seems corresponding to the effective diffusion ofthose systems.

The efficiency of the system is relatively good: the load/tare ratios are comparable to the ratiosof containers, the special equipment mounted on vehicles give high tares of rail and roadvehicles. The system can efficiently operate with a small number of elements: a very limitednumber of lorries and wagons can operate 50-100 loading units.

The system is very flexible and it is not depending on fixed equipment at the rail - roadtranshipment point.

The costs of loading units, however, are higher than standard loading units, the costs of theequipment of lorries and wagons are also high.

1.1.6 Compatibility

ACTS boxes can be vertically transhipped from the wagon, but can not be vertically moved onlorries. Therefore it seems to be complicated to adapt them in the terminals equipped withvertical transhipment devices.

ACTS wagon can drive in normal trains (coupling type and strength) but there are someconditions to be respected: improvements on strength and fixing devices of turntables andboxes are being developed.Concerning the compatibility of ACTS loading units to conventional Combined Transport (CT)equipment three options have been identified:

Fig. : Adaptation of ACTS loading units to conventional CT equipment



The costs of different adaptations cannot be evaluated in the framework of this study.

1.1.7 Conclusion

The ACTS system is a modern road system, based on lorries with hydraulic jib and skipcontainers; the system can operate also in connection with rail and can then be a solution forroad - rail transport.

For the transhipment road – rail the system needs no fixed equipment in the terminals. It doesneed good road access to the wagons (pavement) and space, however.

The system characteristics and its own cost structure seems to locate the optimal utilisation ofACTS at a low level of traffic, for regional flows of special or industrial goods and also wastetransport to the treatment plants.

Cost assumptions are only qualitative because the system today operates only with very smallquantities of load-units and therefore no practical evaluation of the B-point in the graph belowis possible.

Fig. : Qualitative cost comparison of ACTS and Vertical Transhipment Systems

The graph shows schematic relations between the total cost of systems and traffic volume(number of loading units). The ACTS system can start with small investment for small trafficflows; a growing volume is directly related to the increase of investment in loading units,wagons and lorries. For vertical transhipment of loading units the investment in fixedequipment e.g. cranes has to be done before starting the operation. But then it does not haveto be adapted to the growing volume for some time. Only when the maximum capacity of theequipment is exceeded an additional investment is necessary.



1.2 Bimodal Techniques

This section summarises studies undertaken on “the bimodal system in Europe”.

1.2.1 Introduction

The bimodal system was born about thirty years ago in USA and there are a number of trailerswhich have been experienced with. Originally only one trailer axle was mounted on the trailer(because the max. weight in the USA is higher than in Europe).

Later the increasing dimensions and weights made the use of railway bogies necessary;bogies today are detachable from trailers.

Since the system has been introduced in Europe many bimodal solutions based on trailersand detachable railway bogies have been developed and today there is a large number ofprototypes.

1.2.2 System

The basis of the system is a special road trailer: to circulate on railways the trailer istransformed into a railway vehicle.To transform the trailer it is necessary to mount it on special bogies and to couple all railwaysdevices (as, for example, brake pipes).

Each trailer is supported at the ends by the bogies and each trailer is then connected to thefollowing one. There are different types of couplings.

To couple this special vehicle to locomotives or to standard railway vehicles it is necessary tohave special bogies on both ends carrying coupling gears and buffers or the sameintermediate bogie with a special adapter with buffers. The operation of re-railing a bimodalloading unit is shown in the following figure.



Fig. : Operation Scheme Bimodal System



1.2.3 The Loading Unit

The basic loading unit for the European bimodal system is a trailer as permitted by Europeanroad laws. Maximal characteristics of a trailer are:

length 12,5 ÷ 13,65 mwide 2,5 m (2,6 only refrigerated)height on road 4 mmax. total weight on road 37 t

There is a wide range of trailer configurations but the most utilised trailer is the three axles boxtype.

1.2.4 Present situation in Europe

In Europe many different systems were developed which are summarised in the followingtable:

Technique by country“bimodal” FERROSUD Italy“road railer” ARBEL ROAD RAIL France“semirail” REMAFER France“rail trailer” S.&.M. France“road railer ROADRAIL EUROPE Germanykombitrailer TALBOT Germany

ACKERMANN-FRUEHAUFTRAILERZUG

Coda- E STORK Alpha Engineering Netherlands,NS Netherlands Spoorwegen DenmarkWagon Union Sweden

Transtrailer TAFESA SpainThere is also a road railer in Great Britain.

Systems are all different and it is in general not possible to couple trailers of different types.

The UIC working group tested all systems to have a common basis of evaluation (onlytechnical evaluation) and there already is a standardisation document (UIC leaflets). Amerger from kombi trailer and semi rail originated and became the new kombi rail. The firstprototype was agreed by the UIC.This kombi rail permits larger compatibility. In effect bimodal technical characteristics do notallow the use of different types of trailers on single trains: for example the coupling system canbe direct (trailer to trailer) or indirect (made by support traverses); the trailer is mounted on thebogie with many different solutions also for safety devices. Despite the great number ofsolutions and prototypes, only a German company BTZ (Bayerische Trailerzug) and FS Italyhave ordered about 200 trailers (150 roadrailers by BTZ and 20 “bimodal” Ferrosud FS).



It seems that a first regular service will be Munich - Verona and a future regular service fromHolland to the Milan area is also envisaged.In Europe today no regular service exists and only prototypes are circulating to make tests.

1.2.5 General Evaluation of the Bimodal System

Today only in America there is some experience with regular service. The US Triple CrownCompany (owned by important railway companies such as Santa Fe and Southern Pacific)owns practically all the “bimodal” trailers existing; the total amount of bimodal trailers in theUSA is about 3000 (wagons owned by the railway company are about one million).

All these evaluations are theoretic because there are no comparable experiences for the useon European railways; the American exploiting system is quite different, so are the rail androad laws; also the American railway system is far from European characteristics (distances,train frequencies, weights allowed, train characteristics and railways rules).These differences do not allow to use the USA exploitation experiences for precise evalua-tions on European routes.

The bimodal system's main advantages are:

• No fixed terminal installations necessary, the system needs only a special road tractor (forterminal operations).

• Good tare/load ratio of 28-30 t of load and 15-16 t of tare (trailer and bogie), total weight onrail 42 to 43 t.

• Moderate reduction of transport equipment costs.• Possibility to transport a high number of trailers on a single train (30 - 40 trailers per train).• Possibility to reach customers with no direct railway access (pre- and post-haulage by

road).• It is impossible to open trailer doors while the trailers are mounted on the bogies.

Main disadvantages are:

• The system needs complete trains or sections of trains of bimodal type.• The “bimodal” trailer has a stronger chassis as usual and therefore the payload of the

trailer is reduced (by about 2 to in relation to standard road trailers).• Operators at terminals are obliged to assemble a wagon from a number of elements

(bogies, trailers and connections) and then to form a long train; these operations take timeand a number of tests are mandatory (braking and coupling tests before train departure).

• It has to be kept in mind that equipment property and exploitation involve procedures thatdiffer from the traditional and are therefore in conflict with road or rail rules.

• Any defect on one trailer involves a full stop of the train.



1.2.6 Conclusion

Taking into account the technical and operational parameters one can draw the followingconclusions:

• The bimodal system allows to operate on small terminals with very economic equipment.• The tare/pay-load ratio is reasonably good, but on the road it is lower in comparison with

standard lorries.• Due to rather good tare load/train length relation bimodal systems may have advantages

on links with restricted trail length.• Due to the characteristics of bimodal vehicles (bimodal vehicles need reduced train

longitudinal forces and special interface bogies to be coupled with locomotives or wagons;marshalling is not allowed) specific rules for trains operations are required.

• In each terminal the number and type of bogies must correspond to the number of trailersand to the number of trains.

• Therefore to avoid transport of bogies between different terminals, a balance of trafficflows and good management of the system is necessary.

• Bimodal is not a fast handling technology in the narrower sense. Bimodal systems arenormally stand alone projects on fixed relations and they are not element of the logisticalchains of containers and swap bodies.

• Terminal equipment of Combined Transport (CT) terminals is not needed due to the factthat bimodal semi-trailers are transhipped only horizontally.

• Vertical transhipment of bimodal units is not possible because they are not equipped withthe appropriate devices (corner fittings, grapple pockets).

• The bimodal system today is moderately successful in the USA; there are yet somedifficulties in Europe.



1.3 Mercedes Benz (MB-) Kombi Lifter

The Mercedes-Benz Kombi-Lifter (MB Kombi Lifter) is described mainly by the following items:

The MB Kombi-Lifter is a rail-wagon with installed equipment for transhipment of swap-bodies.The swap-bodies are positioned over the rail-track directly by the truck. Afterwards the trainwith the MB Kombi-Lifter-wagons drives under the boxes, positions and lifts them upsequentially (hydraulicly or by air pressure). When the swap-bodies are locked by the MBKombi-Lifter, their legs have to be lifted manually (to be automated in future).

Standard swap-bodies according to CEN 284 (types: 7,1 5m; 7,45m; 7,82m) as they are usedanywhere for road transport can be used without any modifications. The accurate positioningof the swap bodies - which is one of the crucial points – over the track is still in developmentstatus. One main advantage may be that the transfer function between road and rail will bedecentralised so that many extensively used terminals can be supported in taking tran-shipment away from there. On the other hand the operation of trains between these smallerloading stations has to be organised in an economic way. The following time standards havebeen provided by the developer:

Time to arrange an outgoing train of 20 swap-bodies (incoming of the first truck until outgoingof train): 1:06 hLatest delivery of the last two swap-bodies by truck: 15 minutes prior to train departure.

Time to dismantle an incoming train of 20 swap-bodies (incoming of the train until outgoing ofthe last truck): 70 minutesThe first two swap-bodies are leaving the terminal: 10 minutes after train arrival.

A standard train of combined transport has the length of 700 m, consists of about 40 railcarsand has a carriage capacity of 64 loading units.

The figure below demonstrates the positioning and loading process of with the MB KombiLifter:



Positioning and Loading Process with the MB Kombi Lifter System



1.4 Semi-trailer equipped with side loader

Side loader, Seitenlader or Kranmobile of this category are semi-trailers equipped with specialcrane devices to handle the loading units. The following description is based on the type KM32 - 298 of the manufacturer Klaus as a reference equipment.An additional manufacturer of comparable technology is e.g. HAMMAR MASKIN AB, Sweden(see Cargo Systems 3/93).

The equipment is capable of lifting, transferring, stacking and transporting all containers from20’ - 40’. The high mobility is combined with the double sided operation and a lifting capacityof maximum 32 tons.A rack cannot be served, because of the geometrical movement possibilities of the handlingdevice (see Fig. 5.2.1.4/1).

The complete unit consists of a tractor and a three axle, compulsory steered semi-trailer fittedwith front and rear hydraulic Kranmobil aggregates. The aggregates are hydraulically adjust-able to accept all containers in the 20’ - 40’ range. The standard version with an adjustablespreader allows for all ISO, DIN, Sealand and inland containers of the Deutsche Bundesbahn(DB) to be used.

The containers can be picked up from both sides and set down either onto a chassis or ontothe ground. Furthermore, the containers can be lifted from a rail wagon and transferred ontothe chassis, from the left to the right and vice versa, as well as stacked two high on the rightside. Also, containers stacked in rows with a minimum of 3” space between them can be liftedout and loaded for transportation.

The containers are lifted by using a spreader incorporating a hydraulic twist lock turningsystem with a visible marker. In place of the spreader, the well tested rope slings can be usedwith connections for the lower corner castings. By using the clamp-attachment (grappledarms) with the standard spreader also swap bodies can be lifted and transferred.

In terminal areas between 70-90 containers a day can be handled, the number of deliveriesdepends to a large extent on the distance to be travelled. The Klaus Kranmobil KM 32 - 298has been in service with the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB), freight and shipping lines as well astransport and industrial organisations for many years as an indisputable link in the combinedroad-rail transport of containers.Other applications with less carriage capacity or a fixed spreader are possible. The operationas such is shown in the pictures below:

The main advantages of the side loader are:

• it replaces stationary equipment or small sized terminals,• it is a mobile, quick and inexpensive handling system being one-man-operated,• it offers double sided on/off loading from railway wagons or storage points to its own

chassis or other road vehicles,• it can safely pick containers out of rows if these are at least 3” apart and the containers are

stacked two high,• it offers simple but safe operations by means of a portable, remote control panel,• it requires no specially prepared surface area to work on,



• it requires no specially developed tractor unit.

Side loader (type Klaus Kranmobil)

Transport vehicles equipped with a transhipment technology like the ‘Kranmobil' seem to showgood performance on small yards with a restricted catchment area for pre- and post haulageand with clients asking for additional handling (transhipment) by the shipper because they lacktheir own equipment. For terminals of European scale, which are part of the internationalnetwork with medium and large volumes they are useful as additional devices only. A numberof them serving a train at the same time will interfere with each other and conflicts areunavoidable in the loading lanes.



1.5 ULS

In the early 1980s the German Minister of Research and Technology launched several studiesto develop an alternative system for (combined) goods traffic.Aim was to ensure that the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) could handle the forecastedincreasing amount of goods, especially in Combined Transport.

One main element of these studies was the ULS, which stands for 'Umschlagfahrzeug Lassig /Schwanhausser’. Lassig and Schwanhausser are the names of the inventors of the concept,‘Umschlagfahrzeug’ means transhipment vehicle.The basic idea is to transfer boxes in a railway station in a way similar to passengers.

The following requirements were requested:

• autonomous driving on track,• integration into and of existing DB-systems,• transhipment of ISO-Containers and DB-Inland-Containers in the sizes 20’, 30’ and 40’ as

well as swap bodies,• transhipment of boxes

• from Container-Flat-Wagon to Container-Flat-Wagon,• from Container-Flat-Wagon to ramp and vice versa,• from Container-Flat-Wagon to trucks and vice versa,

• transhipment under the catenary,• service of siding tracks,• adherence to gauges according to EBO II (DB regulations for building and operations of rail

infrastructure),• carry the ULS as a goods-traffic-wagon in the normal train with disconnected gear,• ability to pull two charged Container-Flat-Wagons.

The transhipment vehicle which was developed in this framework consists of a vehicle underframe with a driver-cabin on either side and a cranepart in-between.

The cranepart consists of two middle frames, able to be hoisted and lowered, four swing-outjibs with one screw jack each, a spreader-bridge and the spreader which is hanging on ropesunder the bridge.

After the positioning of the transhipment vehicle at the side of a loaded Container-Flat-Wagonor truck, the jibs will be swung out and lowered to support. Now the spreader-bridge is able tomove on the track next to the the container to be transhipped. Than the spreader is loweredand coupled. The container is hoisted and moved via the bridge. By swinging out the jibs tothe other side of the transhipment vehicle the container can be deposited on a second flatwagon, truck or on the ramp. The principle is shown in the picture below.



Operation of ULS

The positioning is accurate for automatic transferThe ULS prototype has been tested in DB operations and re-developed several timesImprovement possibilities concern the spreader, the screw jacks and the coupling andinformation system.

ULS I, e.g., consists of a two-fold spreader, whereas ULS IV has a single spreader frame withintegrated grappled arms.The screw jacks were developed to tranship swap bodies of up to 2.76 m height. The height ofthe pavement above rail surface is up to 300 mm and the surface for the screw jacks is up to250 mm under the actual rail track surface.

A low cost revision would consist of only two axle bogies instead of the expansive three axlebogies but is not able to drive in normal trains. The hoisting frame could be simplified as well.

The positioning system works either manually or automatically. In the manned operationscheme the driver is positioning the ULS and the container towards the pins (spigots) with theaid of four video cameras. The automatic operation needs a fixed tag on both sides of theContainer-Flat-Wagon in the centre between the pins (spigots). On the transhipment vehicle alaser detector is installed. Below one meter the accuracy is +/- 1 cm.

Four different vehicles have been built and have been in service for the DB, some are still inuse for the Austria Federal Railways (ÖBB). The price for one unit has been about 1.5 Mio DM(07 Mio ECU) in the early 1980s.



After the testing phase the DB stopped operating with the ULS.

As main reasons the following were given:

• long cycle times due to the complexity of the mechanical and positioning system (newpositioning including operating the swing-out jibs and screw jacks),

• investment expenses due to the mixed requirement of using the carriage as a goods-traffic-wagon in normal trains and its mandatory ability to pull two wagons,

• strategic decision not to serve intermediate stops at low equipped terminals and sidingtracks.



1.6 SeIf - Unloading Ship(s)

Some container vessel operators use ships which are equipped with on-ship transhipmentdevices or which are capable to unload/reload themselves without using fixed terminalinstallations. The following types are detailed below:

1. ships with revolving (or swinging) cranes,2. ships equipped with gantry cranes,3. the LASH Carrier,4. the SEABEE Ship,5. ships with the cargo section located above pier.

1.6.1 Ships with Revolving (or Swinging) Cranes

The revolving crane is flexible and of low cost. Two cranes can be combined to handle heavyloads. Containers are either lifted with the use of four chains which are locked in the uppercorner fittings or by another technique that makes use of a special frame. A hook is propelledvia a rope. The main disadvantage of this equipment in the container handling is therefore itslow productivity due to the pendulum swing.

The swinging crane reduces the swing disadvantage: it uses a heavy lift gear with a boom thatswings between king pots. Multipurpose container ships are sometimes equipped withdifferent deck cranes, inland vessels are often equipped with one crane on a telescopic post.

In conclusion swinging cranes are a low cost, multi-purpose handling equipment but have lowproductivity in container handling for overseas shipping. However, their advantages for thecoastal shipping and the inland waterways must be considered.

1.6.2 Ship Equipped with Gantry Cranes

From the operational point of view the gantry crane is the most advantageous on-shipcontainer handling equipment. It can work almost up to its full capacity for a long time withoutsignificant pendulum problems.

Apart from the price, the major disadvantage of the gantry crane is an immense top-sideweight. The weight of the crane, plus any additional ballast required must be subtracted fromthe deadweight capacity. Installation is possible on overseas container ships and inlandvessels.

Conclusion: As maritime container terminals increase in number and throughput, ship-bornegantry cranes are more and more replaced by shore cranes. The cost of a ship-borne gantryis half of that of a shore crane but the utilisation of the equipment is low. Concerning InlandWater Transport studies show that the concept of barges equipped with gantries is not costeffective, since additional riverside infrastructure is needed, whose utilisation again is low.Also, due to the height of the equipment, problems are caused in case of low bridges abovethe waterway.



1.6.3 The LASH Carrier

The general design of the LASH (Lighter Aboard Ships) vessel is very similar to that of aconventional carrier. Transverse bulkheads divide the vessel into holds which are fitted tostow tiers or barges. Barges are also stacked two high on the hatch cover of each hold.Larger LASH vessels have seven holds containing 16 stacks of barges and can stow a total ofup to 90 barges, 1/3 of them being on the top of the hatch covers.

The main handling equipment of the LASH vessel is a portal crane that runs along the deck,picks up barges and stacks them in the ship holds or conversely moves them from the holdsinto the water. The lifting strength is about 500 tons and the cycle time for one barge is about20 minutes.

In some circumstances the LASH vessel may also carry containers instead of barges.A disadvantage of the LASH concept is that the lighters can be handled only if the sea is calmand thus the ship has to be unloaded in a protected area.A number of LASH ships are now in operation.

Conclusion: The LASH carrier is a barge carrier with self unloading capabilities and a verysignificant handling productivity in tons/hr.

1.6.4 The SEABEE Ship

SEABEE is another type of barge carrier that employs a completely different hustling system.An enormous lift platform (about 32m x 23m) capable of lifting 2700 tons is located at thestern. The elevator can lower down into the water and allows two lighter / barges to flow overit. With this two lighters/barges, each having a maximum dead-weight of about 1070 tons, canbe raised out of the water to the level of a cargo deck. Rail-mounted trolleys are then pushedunder the lighters and carry them along the length of the ship to their stowage position.

The SEABEE concept has some variations (USSR, USA, Bacat I, Bacat IL) that concernmainly the barge weight and the handling equipment for transporting and storing the bargesinside the ship. The first two Soviet barge carriers of the “Seabee” type entered service in1979.

The productivity of the SEABEE concept (in tons/hr) can be seen in the following table incomparison with the productivity of other handling systems.



Table: Comparison of SEABEE concept with other handling systemsShip type Average hourly cargo handling rate for ship in tons/hrGeneral cargo ships 70 - 80Container ship 3 00-600Roll-on / roll-off ship 200 - 400LASH carrier 1.200- 1.500SEABEE ship 2.500 - 3.000

Source: Ships and Shipping of tomorrow, R. Schonkecht, J. Lusch, M. Schelzel, H. Obenaus,McGregor, 1983.

Conclusion: The SEABEE carrier is a barge carrier with self unloading capabilities and a verysignificant handling productivity in tons/hr.

1.6.5 Ship with Cargo Section Located above pier

These are multi-hull ships which are equipped with a cargo section that can be positioned ona finger pier.Another technical solution of the same idea is named Sealift concept. The ship can ballastdown below a dedicated container flat supported between two finger piers. Containers arepre-loaded onto large flats, similar to the hatch covers of a container ship. The specific designenvisages a 384 TEU vessel able to carry four flat of 96 TEU each.

The concept behind the latter system is to enable small export terminals, which may not beable to justify ship-to-quay handling equipment, to handle containers on a regulars basis.

The disadvantages of the latter system are:

• Additional civil engineering investment for the quay installation.• At least one lift truck or reach stacker is necessary to store containers on flats.• It would not be possible to handle this type of vessels in tidal conditions, except at very

specific times, a fact which would severely disrupt a timetable.• Lashing of all containers is needed since all are “on deck”.

Conclusion: The above concept is in its initial phase of design. Although (after the solution ofits inherent problems) it could offer some advantages mainly for the coastal and / or inlandwaterway



2 TRANSHIPMENT DEVICES

In this functional category we have found the following systems:

1. Fast Transfer TECHNICATOME COMMUTOR Handling Device2. KRUPP Fast Handling Device

The Fast Transfer TECHNICATOME COMMUTOR Handling Device and the KRUPP FastHandling Device are described in detail hereafter.

2.1 Fast Transfer TECHNICATOME COMMUTOR Handling Device

These COMMUTOR fast transfer handling devices are essentially composed of thetranshipment equipment which has been designed and developed as an entity of the loadingunits (container and swap body), the rolling stock (wagon or truck) and the spreader.

This COMMUTOR transhipment equipment is equipped with a typical spreader allowingautomatic handing. The spreader uses the bottom lift technique in order to be able to handledifferent types of loading units on its own. It can be:

• “static”, with a fixed length, able to handle all the loading units present on a wagon duringonly one move,

• or “mobile”, with adjustable length.

The transhipment equipment is:

• a uni-directional bridge crane, perpendicular to the rail track moving within one “span” cor-responding to a wagon which has been accurately positioned in this span,

• a bi-directional rolling gantry crane, moving in two directions, perpendicular and parallel tothe rail track.



2.2 Krupp Fast Handling Device

The automatic unloading and reloading of flat-wagons in the planned transhipment plant - andin general between two service places - is carried out by Fast Handling Devices. The opera-ting range of the system spans one loading track, one empty track and one service positione.g. for transhipment to a cross conveyor or skid / pallet-system.

The rail of the crane bridge is elevated on one side in order to show the cross conveyoroperation.The Fast Handling Devices can be moved over the whole length of the transhipment area inorder to achieve redundancy. The Fast Handling Devices are designed to be adaptedindividually to varying configurations of transhipment plants. By extending the bridge alsostorage lanes can be served. An application for roadside operation is foreseen.

The loading units are picked up by a spreader. The spreader is equipped with telescopicpivots for different container length as well as gripping pliers / grappler arms for swap bodiesand semi-trailers.All typical container lengths (20’, 24’, 30’, 40’ and 49’), swap bodies (between 6.25m and13.6m) and semi-trailers up to 13.6 m can be transhipped automatically.The loading units can have a maximum weight of 42 t.

After pick up of the loading units by the Fast Handling Devices the bodies are transhipped tothe feeder position for the internal transport.The cycle time of one transhipment, i.e. from picking the loading unit, via transport to thefeeder position up to the back move to the picking position for the next loading unit amountbetween 35 seconds for containers and 72 seconds for semi-trailers.As described before the Fast Handling Devices are designed for fully automatic operation. Foremergency service a manual control is foreseen.

In the transhipment area there is no catenary installed. The train enters drawbn by its ownengine up to an exchange point. Afterwards the train is moved by a switching engine or by aspecial train - push / pull -device through the transhipment area.

The whole Fast Handling System is carried out by the following components:

• crane way,• crane bridge,• trolley with lifting gear,• telescopic spreader,• absolute distance measuring system,• sensors and data transmission unit.



3 Transhipment and Internal Transport Devices

Another functional category are transhipment and internal transport devices. This means thatthe vehicles are equipped to serve both functions. The following systems can be listed and arepartly described hereafter:

1. Terminal Truck (Swap Body)2. Self Loading AGV Robot

3.1 Terminal Truck with Lifting Device for Swap Bodies

This kind of equipment is a special vehicle with a hydraulic lifting equipment, able to transhipand transport mainly swap bodies in the lengths from 7.150 mm up to 8.130 mm (according toDIN EN 284). It is also possible to transport containers and move trailers and semi-trailerswith one-man-operation.

One manufacturers example is the INNOVA Wechselbrücken-Hubwagen (lifting vehicle forswap bodies). All safety measures and regulations according to state of the art have beentaken into account in the design procedure in order to ensure a continuous and risklessoperation. The engine has been developed as a “Mittelflur-Powerpack” (situated beneath theplatform between the axis), with a 10w noise and allowing easy maintenance.Some vehicles are in operation, today.

3.2 SeIf loading AGV Robot

The self Loading AGV robot is:• an AGV• a robot

As an AGV, Automatic Guided Vehicle, it is an autonomous transporter of boxes able totransfer boxes from one location to another, with free movement in all directions. It is anautomotive and autonomous vehicle, self-propelled without any wire or physical link, either forenergy or for navigation. It can navigate by reference to passive beacons set in the ground.The move of the AGV can be longitudinal with normal run by symmetrical rotation of thewheels or transversal by rotation of the wheels on a 90° angle. The vehicle can therefore drawin below a storage table with accuracy.

This AGV robot is self loading and is able to handle boxes by itself: it can pick up a box dis-posed on a storage table or set a box down on a storage table, by means of an auxiliaryvertical move of the platform of the vehicle. Of course, this AGV can also be loaded orunloaded by means of a crane or any other vertical transhipment device.



4 INTERNAL TRANSPORT EQUIPMENT

In this functional category we list the following systems, which are described in detail here-after:

1. Shuttle Wagon (Navette)2. Multi Trailer System (MIS)3. Skid/Pallet (Longitudinal Conveyor)4. Moving Train5. Skid/Pallet (Cross Conveyor)6. Other Conveyor Concepts7. Bi-directional Rail mounted Shuttle “B+”8. Train Transfer and Positioning Devices



4.1 Shuttle Wagon (Navette)

The shuttle wagons are automatic and autonomous wagons, designed for the COMMUTORconcept to ensure with accuracy the longitudinal transfer of boxes along a rail track.

For the COMMUTOR high flow application - as each overhead crane moves the boxes withinits span –shuttle wagons are used when span changing is needed: they move the boxes fromone span to another.The shuttle wagon is self propelled, electrically fed by a cable trolley situated on the rail sideand able to position itself with accuracy within a span.

Obviously, these shuttle wagons can be used for any other application, e.g. for the automatictransportation of boxes within a terminal or between terminals.

4.2 Multi Trailer System (MTS)

The multi trailer system (MTS) has been designed and developed by ECT, especially for theDelta Terminal, where it is now successfully employed in the main transportation system.The system basically consists of a heavy duty tractor coupled to a train of five trailers(wagons).

The tractor is a customized 415 horsepower FTF design, capable of towing up to 400 tons.The FTF is equipped with an automatic coupler, operated from the driver’s cabin, for couplingand uncoupling complete trains.Each trailer is fitted with two steerable four wheeled axes connected by means of a computerdesigned steering mechanism that results in the trailer’s exact tracking of the truck’s path.

Each trailer may carry one 40’ or 45’ container or two 20’ containers with a total weight of upto 50 tons. The trailers are designed to be used in conjunction with chassis loaders on thecrane. The MTS is in fact a buffer in itself, capable of accepting the fluctuations in crane cycle-time without delay to the crane.This results in better crane production with fewer drivers necessary for transport per cranethan a yard tractor/chassis operation. At the Delta Terminal, an average performance of 40containers per crane operating hour are achieved using two tractors per crane.

In the buffers, located in the stack, the MTS-trains are towed in by the tractor and uncoupledwhen lined up. The driver then picks another train from the buffer and proceeds to the crane inmuch the same way as is done in the tractor/chassis operation.

The total savings in the transportation system costs of the MTS, compared to the conventionalyard tractor/chassis system, is about 20% in ECT’s situation. Although requiring more capita!cost, the system results in substantial savings in labour, maintenance, energy, tires, lessdamage, safer handling and higher crane productivity.



4.3 Skid/Pallet (Longitudinal Conveyor)

Skid or Pallet Systems can be utilized for longitudinal movement of loading units or transportcrosswise (perpendicular) to the rail track or other tracks in a terminal as well as in theapplication of crosswise transport of units in a Fast Handling System linking rail and road.Other applications are possible.

The skid systems consist of passive frames to carry the loading units and guide ways whichcompose also the actuation system. The pallets are self propelled, but need guide ways andpower and data lines.

4.4 Moving Train

The moving train supports the Krupp Fast Handling System and has therefore been describedabove.The main advantage is, that no further equipment for longitudinal movement of loading units isnecessary and all loading unit are passing the transhipment plant automatically being movedon rail cars. Therefore the transhipment area can be very compact.

4.5 Skid/PalIet (Cross Conveyor)

A skid and pallet system can be used for the transport of loading units between fixed points orfeeder-points. It allows quick transfer with high performance under automatic control. Thefollowing description refers to the cross conveying system used in a Fast Handling Systemlinking rail and road, but other applications are possible as well.

The pallet system takes over the loading units from the handling system on the rail track sideand moves them into the store or directly to the feeder position which is in the railroad terminaland directly to the truck loading lane.

The cross conveyor consists of single, electro-mechanically accelerated palettes controlled bythe central processing unit. They are operating on rails which are situated in the cross lane.

In a further level beneath, a second rail-system allows the retrieval of empty pallets. At therespective end of the conveyor there is a crossbar lifting table to connect both transportsystems and to allow a circuit movement of pallets. In the middle of the lane a third crossbarlifting table is possible. The truck and train loading is disconnected and two circuits arerunning in an opposite direction. An appropriate control and security system is integrated. Bymeans of this configuration of cross conveyors one can react flexibly and individually to thecourse of events of the transhipment process.

The cross conveyor serves the following functions:

• transport into the storage area,• transport to the feeder position for direct transhipment to the truck lane,• buffer for the fast unloading of trains as well as



• pre-sorting when reloading of the train.

The pallets are designed to carry all common types of loading units including semi-trailersOne pallet consists of the following components:

• framework with• drives, working separately and independently,• trestles which can be slewed by Electro cylinders for the saddle plates of semi-trailers,• sensors, central processing unit, energy and data transmission system, absolute

distance measurement system,• emergency service unit.

One cycle contents the following activities:

• transport of a loaded pallet,• lowering of the cross bar lifting table,• moving of new pallets in the table,• lifting of the table,• set down of loading unit.

A more simple application are transfer tables which consist of only one level and one palletwhich moves between two feeder places to exchange loading units between fixed installationwhich can not communicate directly or which have to operate independent from each other.

4.6 Conveyor Concepts

The basic designs of conveyor concept were included:

1. The “equipment to equipment conveyor”2. The “internal transport conveyor”3. The “overhead conveyor”

In the framework of this study, it has been decided to focus on one system only, the“equipment to equipment conveyor”. The reason for this selection was that it is a designalready

The Equipment to Equipment Conveyor has been implemented and tested by some manufac-turers, while the rest are still in preliminary stage of design or in prototype forms. Neverthelessall three are described hereafter:

4.6.1 “Equipment to equipment conveyor”

This transhipment device must be considered as an additional equipment in the transhipmentactivity, that can interchange containers between harbour crane (or self-unloading ship) andthe internal transport.



The basic concept of this container “Equipment to Equipment” Conveyor is to match the pro-ductivity of two pieces of equipment and to provide buffers where possible to even outtemporary differences in cycle times.

Matson Terminals Inc. has developed a conveyor of this type to support the sea sideoperations of a container terminal. This conveyor was installed in the company’s containerterminal in Los Angeles. The equipment is rubber tiered and follows the shore side craneautomatically.

The main feature of this container conveyor is to bridge the gap between the yard crane andthe vessel crane, allowing direct transfer of containers between the two equipments withoutchassis or straddle carriers. Provision was made to use the container conveyor between twoyard cranes. This permits fast re-handing of containers from one area to another withoutintermediate handling by other manned equipment.

Advantages:

• Eliminates traffic interferences in the yard and under the crane• Reduces hoist travel• Improves crane productivity without major redesign in the crane structure• The rubber tyre conveyor can be assigned to different ship-cranes (one at a time)

Disadvantages:

• It is an additional equipment and that means additional! purchase and maintenance costs.• It was designed for a special purpose (ship to quay transfer) but is not very efficient in

other terminal activities in comparison with a straddle carrier. Note that a straddle carriercan be used -not so efficiently though- to do the conveyor’s job in the quay.

The primary container handler will be the yard crane. It will be matched to a vessel crane forvessel loading and discharging and, when not working vessels, to a defined area for servingcommunity truckers. The transtainer is used to service trucks during the times when the yardcrane is working the vessel or during peak periods when additional capacity is needed. It willoperate under the yard crane so that containers handled will be accessible to both.



4.6.2 “Internal transport conveyor”

The internal transport conveyor is build to shift containers horizontally between the shore sidecrane and a stacking crane (e.g. “Container” system Meeusen Consultants BV, Netherlands).This internal transport system seems to be similar to the Longitudinal Skid Pallet system andtherefore can be omitted.

4.6.3 Overhead conveyor

The specific design has been developed by Translift GmbH and IFK Karlsruhe but similar con-veyors have been developed by other designers too.It consists of an elevated crane way which is capable to carry a number of vehicles / trolleys.

The crane way is designed for straight line and bows. It is also possible to include switches.The vehicle is composed of a trolley with lifting gear and a telescopic spreader. A distancemeasuring system, sensors and a data transmission unit also have to be installed.

It could be possible to consider the type of conveyor as “additional internal transport” meanseven though this kind of designs has not been widely implemented up to now.Another type of overhead conveyor combines with “internal transport conveyors” andtranshipment devices to perform all the transport and handling activities on ship side. Thecrane way is build to outreach the quay wall to span the ship, which has to be moved in orderto reach all bays for container.

4.7 Bi-directional Rail mounted Shuttle “B+”

The bi-directional shuttle B+ is an automatic device designed for COMMUTOR.The purpose is to provide a dynamic storage (or mechanical storage) of boxes. The deviceensures:

• Gripping of boxes situated on storage tables from underneath. The gripping and the settingdown is performed by a vertical move of the main platform of the shuttle.

• Fast moves of boxes on two perpendicular axes by moves of the main platform of theshuttle on a network of orthogonal rail tracks.

4.8 Train Movement and Positioning Devices

Train Movement and Positioning Devices assist the train operation in the terminals. Thedifferent concepts available on the market in the moment are:

1. semiautomatic fixed installation:systems of chains and hooks move wagons or group of wagons



2. automatic fixed installations:special chariots in the space between rails move groups of wagons or in some cases com-plete trains

3. remote control locomotives move trains or train sections

4. COMMUTOR train transfer and positioning devices

Main advantages of these systems are:

• reduction of investment costs, through simplification of installations (mobile loadingmachinery, etc. are rendered unnecessary),

• reduction of operating costs, since there is no equipment for skilled labour assigned tohandling operations only,

• reduction of maintenance costs, through the use of rugged and sturdy equipment Thisequipment is in use over 3000 installations all over the world, in mines, petrochemicals,metal refineries, steelworks, agricultural co-operatives, cement works, container-terminals, railway companies.

The main producers of this specific equipment are De Dietrich (France) and Windhoff(Germany). Remote controlled locomotives are produced by many important companiesspecialized in shunting locomotives.

4.8.1 Semiautomatic fixed installations

Chains and hooks move wagons or group of wagons

These systems are used in small installations and can be useful only in case of low quantity ofwagons of groups of wagons. The cost of the equipment is very low. We list some kinds of thisequipment:

• SEMI-AUTOMATIC / SIDE CHAINManual fixing of a chain to a hook on the side of the wagon, the chain being pulled by a ropealongside the track.

• SEMI-AUTOMATIC / SIDE CARRIAGEAn electrical motor drive by means of gears a system of ropes; the ropes drives a carriagewhich runs on a section member or rail alongside the track. A rigid bar or sling is manuallyfixed from this carriage to a hook on the side of the wagon.

• (SEMI) AUTOMATIC / BALLAST VEHICLEAn electrical motor drive by means of gears a system of ropes; the ropes drive a two-axle bal-last vehicle on the main track, which is attached manually or automatically to the main cou-pling of the wagon.

A not common application is made for the barges. The system is especially designed for thehandling of barges and other vessels alongside quays. The rope drives two carriages along a



section member or rail along the quay, and the hawsers are mutually fixed to the carriages.

4.8.2 Automatic fixed installationsSpecial chariots in the space between rails move a group of wagons or in some casecomplete trains.The equipment is used in large terminals and shunting yards. The investment and mainte-nance costs are not very important. The equipment is based on chariots driven by a system ofropes; the ropes drive a carriage which runs on an auxiliary track inside the main track.Wagon axles are engaged by trolleys on the carriage activated by remote control.

Electric motors and gears control the movements of the ropes.Major installations have a lot of equipment of this kind and these are then connected to obtain:

• sequences of movements• parallel movements• combinations of movements.

Description of the system (e.g. WINDHOFF system)

The ends of the haulage cable are fixed to a low level carriage, which runs inside the maintrack on an auxiliary track, or even in some cases on the rail feet. The carriage is fitted withretractable arms and rollers, of which the transverse motions of extension and retraction canbe carried out at a predetermined point or by remote control at any location. The rollersengage the wheels of a wagon axle, so that the haulage force can be applied in eitherdirection.All hooking, unhooking and control operations are carried out by remote control, without theneed for personnel along the track at any stage of the marshalling operation.

This arrangement is suitable for repetitive operations, (wagons or complete rakes of 1500 tonsand over), enables precise positioning, passage over a weight-bridge, feeding a rocker, etc.,and is adaptable to most track gauges in use. It can obviously be included as part of acomplete automation system.There also is an automatic pusher (pushing only ), which consists of a unidirectional pushingdevice acting on the axles of the cars, without the use of hooks.

4.8.3 Traction Robots and Locomotives with Remote Control

Increasingly locos without driver on board are employed; the locos are remote controlled byan operator on fixed installations.

The weight of the loco can be:from 15 ÷20 t (for group of wagons)to 60 ÷ 90 t (for- heavy trains)

Speed can be very low 2-6 km/h in order to present vehicles to a fixed installation forloading/unloading and 10+15 km/h for transferring trains in shunting yards.



Different protocols of radio control are in use today and the robot can be equipped with auto-matic couplings. The cost of these robots is important and comparable with shunting loco-motives. The main advantage is the possibility of safe-operating without locomotive driver.

4.8.4 COMMUTOR Train Transfer and Positioning Devices

In the TECHNICATOME COMMUTOR process, the whole train must be moved and centeredby means of positioning devices, so that each wagon is positioned in the middle of its spanand right beneath its crane, before automatic handling can begin. One positioning deviceevery 5 wagons is needed to have the whole train positioned.

Several types and technological solutions have been developed:

• hydraulic (jack or motor)• chain or cable drive, with hydraulic winch.

The device commonly used pulls or pushes on a part of the wagon. The positioning systemmust comply with the following main requirements:

• Automatic operation for the positioning of the whole train, as soon as the train isinitially stopped in a correct range by the locomotive driver.

• Security : any risk of interference with the elements of the bogie must be eliminated,specially when the operation starts after the train stop.

• Strength : the device develops a strength in relation with wagon rolling, slope, startingand acceleration, deceleration and braking, elongation or compression of the wagoncouplings, induced efforts by spreader during automatic handling. That gives an effortof more than 100 kN per device.

• Speed : the devices have a sufficient speed to allow a total positioning time under 3minutes for the train.

For a train of 750 m length, different kinds of positioning devices can be disposed along therail track in order to optimise the investment and operation:

• long stroke positioning device at the head of the train• short stroke positioning devices for the other elements between head and rear of the train.

4.8.5 Conclusions

In the modern shunting yards robots on rail and fixed installations can be integrated in order totransfer and position wagons. The above mentioned systems permit the automation of theoperations on rails and so it is possible to co-ordinate the transhipment system as well as tointegrate these systems in the general organization of automated terminals.

Today only very few container terminals have automation of the movements on rails becausethe automation of the terminals is not high (movements on road are not automated, tranship-ment operations are controlled directly by operators).



In the near future the automatic transhipment will also make the automation of the movementson road and on rail obligatory. The automatic means of storage will demand the automation ofthe movements.



5 STACKING DEVICES

In this functional category we have found the following systems:

1. Portal Crane for Stacking2. One-Arm Cane (Stack Lifter)3. High-Rack Handling Device4. Mechanical Storage

which are described in detail hereafter

5.1 Portal Crane for Stacking

The portal crane for stacking operations is very similar to the one designed for transshipment.In fact, in most cases the transshipment crane fulfils storage functions.

The semi-gantry crane consists of the following components:

• Crane way• Semi Gantry• Trolley with turntable and hoisting machinery• Anti Sway Device,• Telescopic Spreader• Control

5.2 One-Arm Crane (Stack Lifter)

The O & K Stack Lifter is similar to a deck crane of container vessels.The stack lifter is able to serve all areas in the terminal such as quayside, train and roadseparately so while working they are not interfering with one another.

The system's advantages compared with a standard transtainer (container-gantry crane) arethe following:

• underground foundation points with minimum loss of stacking space,• energy supply by permanently laid cables with slip ring assembly,• data transmission by slip ring assembly undisturbed by environment,• short travel distances due to compact yard,• practical arrangement of the number of stacks,• high definition angle measuring devices in enclosed spaces,• positioning independent of weather,• integration in the whole terminal control and monitoring system,• automatic positioning system with permanently programmed spots in the stacking area.

(Block, Bay, Row and Tier with two digital each. Loading positions are programmed byapproaching them once by hand – then the stack lifter approaches the target position



automatically including lifting and powering the container. Shortly before the spreaderor the container touches down, speed is slowed down automatically in order to avoidsetting the load down too abruptly),

• low noise level due to closed machine spaces,• maintenance of small surface, independent of ice and snow, machinery in heated

rooms...

The stack lifter consists of a foundation column, a basic jib, a top jib and a top turntable. Theoverall outreach between centre column and hoisting axle is 44.5 m, but other outreaches arepossible. The operators cabin is situated beneath the hoisting gear under the top turntable.Each stack lifter serves 1255 TEU stacking spaces over the entire range of 5 container-tiers.On average 36 duty cycles per hour are reached.

5.3 High-Rack Handling Device for Shelf-Store

For the short- and middle term storage of containers, swap-bodies and semi-trailers within theFast Handing Terminal a shelf store has been conceived as one possible element of theKRUPP Fast Handling System.

In order to meat the varying capacity-requirements the shelf store is of modular design andcan be configured according to the demands.The whole shelf store is composed of an end modul on the left and right side of 16 m lengtheach and several middle modules. These middle modules are carried out with lengths of 16 mand 32 m alternatively.The shelf modules usually have 3 up to 6 floors and 8 up to 16 columns. Due to this modularconcept the capacity meets the requirements and allows an optimal utilisation of the area ofthe estate.

In detail the whole Shelf Storage has the following components:

• Shelf Store Hall,• Hall for Cross Transport Device (Skid Pallet System),• High Rack Handling Device with Transversal Bridge,• Hoisting Bridge and• Channel Vehicle with• Telescopic Spreader.

For the components the following dimensions and parameters have to be taken into account:

5.3.1 Shelf Store Hall

The configuration of the Shelf Store Hall is influenced by the storage capacity of the specificlocation and the area available. The dimensions of all shelves are sufficient for containers andswap-bodies.The shelf for the semi-trailers which are situated in the ground floor of the shelf store have thesame dimensions except for their height.



The whole dimensions of the hall of the shelf store arise from the number of rows, floors andthe design of the middle modules. The width of the hall amounts to about 50 m for 12columns.

The whole hall for the shelf store is a steel construction with wall and t-roof shelter againstweather-influences and in order to reduce noise emission.

High Rack Storage applied for Rail- Road transfer- Cross Section

5.3.2 Hall for Cross Transport Device (Skid / Pallet System)

The Hall for the Cross Transport Device is situated between to Shelf Store Modules.In these lanes the cross transport of loading units and the vertical transhipment into the shelfby means of the High Rack Handling Device is carried out.

The High Rack Handling Device is foreseen to serve the shelf with those loading units whichwill be transported later. The main function is the transport in vertical direction, whereas thecross transport is applied more or less by the cross transport device.

This handling device has to span the whole width of the lane and has to have appropriateguide ways and rails above the last storage floor. Energy supply as well as transmission ofcontrol and regulatory impulses take place via separate electrical transmission units.The cross transport lane is sheltered in the same way as the shelf store.



5.3.3 High Rack Handling Device with Transversal Bridge

The Transversal Bridge moves on the guide ways and trails described above. This Trans-versal Bridge is carrying the Hoisting Bridge with the Channel Vehicle and the TelescopicSpreader. It mainly serves the transport of loading units into the foreseen row of storage.

The Transversal Bridge consists of the following components:• Bridge frame,• Drives, separated and individually operating,• vertical guide ways and rails for the Hoisting Bridge,• Carriage of a ropeway and Rope Drives,• Processing unit• Energy supply and Data transmission units, absolute distance measuring system• Emergency service.

Each Bridge is able to carry two vehicles in order to transfer one consignment normallycomposed of two swap bodies accompanied in one shelf. They are connected to the StoreHandling Device by a power and data line.

5.3.3.1.1.1

5.4 Mechanical Storage

Technical solutions for the mechanical storage of loading units of combined transport(Containers, Swap Bodies and Semi-Trailers) with very large volumes (throughput, cycle timeand weights) have not been seen in the moment. Technologies able to handle cars(“Mechanical Parking Garage”) are introduced on the market but have up to now not yet beendeveloped enough to handle large weights in an economic way.



6 TECHNICAL AND ORGANISATIONAL CONCEPTS

Besides the single elements whole concepts for the transhipment terminals are existing. Thebasic ones being:

1. Technicatome COMMUTOR Concept

2. Krupp Fast Handling System

3. Automated Guided Vehicle System and Automated Stacking Cane

4. Cargo 2000 Concept

5. NOELL Fast Transhipment System are described hereafter.

6.1 Technicatome COMMUTOR Concept

The French COMMUTOR concept with its applications are presented hereunder. It containsthe latest stage of the development. For technical details see the Annex.

6.1.1 Introduction

COMMUTOR is a concept for automatic and fast transhipment of loading units betweendifferent modes of transport (and not only a handling device).

It has been developed by TECHINICATOME for combined transport on behalf of the FrenchRailway Company SNCF. An experimental prototype facility has been built on the test site ofTRAPPES near PARIS in order to test and demonstrate the feasibility of all the technologicalcomponents of the system.

The innovation is that for high flow, loading and unloading of boxes is performed fullyautomatically and simultaneously on all the wagons of a train during a stopping time ofapproximately 15 minutes.

The elements and components of the system can be arranged in many combinations, so as tomeet the requirements of the different kinds of typical terminals.

A COMMUTOR system is essentially composed of:

• fast transhipment device, equipped with spreader• train and wagons positioning devices• flat storage, equipped with storage tables• catenary withdrawal device• shuttle wagon and eventually AGV



Commutor Presentation Sketch

6.1.2 Conceptual basis

6.1.2.1 Intermediate Elements

The concept is based on arrangement of intermediate elements between the loading unit(container or swap body), the rolling stock (wagon or truck) and the spreader, in order:

• to allow automatic handling• to lock in position the components• to handle any different loading units with a single spreader (bottom lift technique).

For train application, the intermediate elements take place in corner fittings of the loading unitand in intermediate housings fixed on the wagon frame. The upper part of the intermediateelement has a ISO pin (or spigot) profile, the lower part locks automatically in the housing.

For truck application, the upper part has a head able to be positively locked on the truck. Onthe truck side, the locking is checked and completed by the driver when he picks up a loadingunit. The unlocking is also prepared by him when he delivers one.



6.1.2.2 COMMUTOR Spreader

The COMMUTOR spreader handles the loading unit with the intermediate elements as awhole.Once the intermediate elements have been fitted in the right places for the first loading in theCOMMUTOR system, the following moves can be automatically controlled, such as unloading,reloading on another wagon, reloading a new loading unit on the first wagon, even if thisloading unit is of different size, provided it has been also prepared at its first loading withintermediate elements.

The COMMUTOR spreader can be adapted to different applications and to the particularrequirements of the logistic chain. The main applications are:

• Static COMMUTOR spreader, right with fixed length• Mobile COMMUTOR spreader, telescopic with adjustable length.

For train application, the spreader is generally static. The fixed length corresponds to thewagon length. The spreader is able to handle all combinations of loading of this wagon (x 20’,x 30’, 40’ + 20’). It is able to handle all the loading unit present on the wagon or only a part forthe loading cases which are splittable in two parts.

For truck application and rail-road terminals, the mobile spreader can be used, the length ofwhich is adjusted to the length of the loading unit.

6.1.2.3 Transhipment Device

• High flow: perpendicular to the rail track

In most applications, COMMUTOR is a fast handling transhipment system.To ensure high flow, the loading unloading of the train is simultaneous (not sequential) on railwagons. Transfer of loading units (container or swap-body) is made perpendicular to the railtrack by an unidirectional bridge.

Shuttles are used if additional transfer parallel to the rail track is necessary.

• Lower flow or others : parallel to the rail track

For other applications at lower flow, the transhipment device is a bi-directional rolling gantrycrane (or also semi gantry crane). The move parallel to the rail track of this device allows totransfer boxes in all directions within the crane's area.



6.1.2.4 Design Option

To summarise the above presentation, the COMMUTOR Concept relies on arrangement ofintermediate elements.Then the components of the system can be combined each with each other in several waysso as to meet at best the particular requirements of the terminal according to the designoption:

• spreader, static or mobile,• transhipment equipment, composed of unidirectional bridges perpendicular to the rail track

for high flow, or composed of bi-directional rolling gantry cane.

6.1.3 Different applications of the COMMUTOR Concept

Several applications of this COMMUTOR concept have been developed by TECHNICATOME:

• rail-rail terminals: Mega Hub or sequential Hub for High flow shunting yards with transferequipment perpendicular to the rail track.

• rail-road terminals: Loading-unloading yard on one rail line (whistle-stop) in connection withroad, and with variable flow or end of line terminal.

The COMMUTOR terminal is composed of identical modules settled along a rail track.For high flow application (transfer perpendicular to the rail track), each module is a “span”corresponding to a wagon and is served by a transhipment equipment. The COMMUTORConcept leads then for this application to a standardised wagon with the same length.Each wagon is positioned in the middle of its span with a “positioning system” for the wholetrain.In front of each wagon, there is a transhipment equipment which is an overhead transfer crane(unidirectional transporter bridge or traverse bridge) with a spreader.

For Iower flow, the terminal is quite different and the transhipment equipment is a rollinggantry crane (or “portal” gantry crane) on rails, parallel to the rail track (and/or truck lanes).



6.2 KRUPP Fast Handling System

The Fast Handling System for Intermodal Transport developed by KRUPP FORDERTECHNIKGMBH allows the unloading and reloading of flat wagons while “passing through” thetranshipment area. Announced loading units of common shape and sizes are checked withrespect to identity and location in a so called “pre-zone” of the plant. Being automaticallytranshipped by Fast Handling Devices a cross conveying equipment transfers the loadingunits either directly to the roadside or to into a Compact or High Rack Store. Rail side handlingoperation and internal transport are carried out automatically, transhipment to trucks isoperated manually in the last phase in order to avoid an overlapping of manual (truck driver)and automated operated areas.

The KRUPP Fast Handing System is designed modular:

• The small size configuration consists of only one Fast Handling Device which directlytransfers the loading units between train and truck. An intermediate buffer can be foreseento transfer small volumes with selective access to the consignments.

• Different sizes are configured to show daily throughputs between 300 and 1200 or 1600loading units, alternatively in Compact or High Rack System Application.

• One configuration with a number of Fast Handling Devices and cross conveying equip-ment allows a fast Rail - Rail Connection which is required for hub stations.

Other requirements can be met by arranging the different elements according to localdemand.

The KRUPP Fast Handling System is composed of the following elements:

• Identification System• Transhipment Area• Movement of the train through the plant• Conveying and Storage Technology• System Control• Civil Engineering• Production Forms

6.2.1 Identification SystemIn the pre-zone - train entrance - the identity of the loading units is checked and the location ofthe grappler points, which are dependent on the type of loading unit, are registered by aspecial optical and laser based technology. Neither wagon nor loading units have to beadapted concerning identification and measurement.

6.2.2 Transhipment AreaThe transhipment device consists of crane way, crane bridge, trolley and lifting gear withtelescopic spreader and can move in the whole length of the transhipment area. The spreader



is adjustable to container lengths between 20’ and 49’, swap bodies between 7.15 and 13.6 mand semi-trailers. Due to the small cycles and the configuration of the device the handling timeof one transhipment is very fast. The transhipment of loading units is carried out automaticallyin order to reach a high performance of transhipment and in order to meet the requirements ofa continuous and error free transhipment of loading units.

6.2.3 Movement of the train through the plantConveying of the train through the transhipment area is done by a radio controlled shuntingengine or a special robot with high accuracy. By this all wagon and all loading units arepassing the transhipment area and can be handled selectively. The total installation is there-fore very compact. The automatical transhipment takes place at a slowly moving train.Considering the configuration of loading units to be transhipped, the central processing unit(CPU) calculates the optimal velocity between 0.1 and 1.4 mIs. The velocity has to be reachedby the train pushing device for both directions with high accuracy and constancy.

6.2.4 Conveying and Storage TechnologyFor terminals of medium and large transhipment and storage requirement a stacking andconveying technology is foreseen, consisting of cross conveyors - working perpendicular tothe rail track – as well as a Compact- or High Rack Storage System. The cross conveyingequipment is operated between rail and road-side of the terminal and serves the internaltransport, buffering and placing at disposal. An optional High Rack Module consists of two 16modules, a cross conveying aisle including conveying equipment and a High Rack StorageDevice consisting of gantry and channelling vehicles. The modular concept enables thestorage and handling capacities to be easily adapted to the requirements of various sites ordifferent demand resulting from the throughput by varying the number of aisles and of rows orlevels of the rack. Compact Storage Layouts are composed of Automated Stacking Cranesinstead of High Rack Systems.

6.2.5 System ControlThe overall system control is of modular design and subdivided in two levels, which processdata of different levels. The central processing level is for administers the material andinformation flow of the whole plant, e.g. identification, follow-up of consignment, disposition oftrucks and other. The 2nd level carries out the actuation and location control of subsystemslike Fast Handling Devices, High Rack Storage Device and Cross Conveying Equipment).High operational reliability of the overall system to obtain high availability is reached bysystem control with permanent data security and redundant devices.

6.2.6 Civil EngineeringCompared to conventional transhipment terminals with trains remaining in the terminal thewhole day the KRUPP Fast Handling System supports the multiple utilisation of trains re-sulting in small area required.The plant can be sheltered in order to avoid noise emission; soil protection when transhippinghazardous goods is reached by a design with a through floor.



6.2.7 Production FormsThe operating form in use today can be controlled by the KRUPP Fast Handling System. Inorder to open up new market segments and give better service to existing ones, other orsupplementary production formats in combined transport should be aimed at. For example theliner train and direct train can be optimally processed by the KRUPP Fast Handling Systemwith multiple use of rolling stock per day (shuttle train). The new production forms mean betteruse of rolling stock, reduction of shunting expenditure and a reduction of additional capacitiesin stapling zones. This allows higher economic efficiency of the transport chain to beachieved.



6.3 Automated Guided Vehicle System and Automated Stacking Crane

6.3.1 Introduction

The container stevedoring company ECT is handling more than 1.5 million containers per yearfor a variety of shipping liners. The volume is handled mainly on 2 locations being the Homeand Delta terminal, both situated in Rotterdam.

Presently ECT is expanding its Delta terminal location with the Delta / Sea-Land Terminal,following the contract signed with Sea-Land in April 1988, to develop and build a dedicatedEurope Hub terminal and to operate this facility up to 2013.

Specially for this purpose the MSS (Majority Sea to Sea) terminal concept has beendeveloped, for which the conceptual studies date from 1983. The presently chosen conceptdates from June 1986. Globally the project itself has been divided in 3 phases being prototypestage, pilot plan and operational phase. The project is ready since the beginning of 1993.

6.3.2 MSS Concept

Due to the need for operational cost reduction, it was necessary to develop a completelyunmanned stacking and quay transportation system as 60% of the operational costs areformed by labour costs. Ship and truck loading will remain manned operations as presently inuse.

During the conceptual stages several alternative systems were studied, such as rail-typetransportation systems, monorail systems, overhead conveyor systems, roller bed typeconveyor systems and AGV’s, in combination with different stacking equipment such as highbay warehousing, straddle carriers and different stacking crane types.

Four different systems have been simulated by means of computer simulation models, onstacking quay crane and landside production capacities.

So far, a lot of attention has been paid to upgrade quay crane productivity by speeding up thequay crane capacity. For large scale terminal operations though, it seems it is not the quaycrane itself that forms the limiting element but that the production capacity of the stack, bothlandside and waterside, is the bottle neck element. Therefore the stack has been the primarydevelopment element for the Delta Sea-Land Terminal.

Due to developments towards different container lengths it seemed profitable to use a lengthtype of stacking as presently used in the ASC stacks (Automated Stacking Crane). Thisenables stacking of different container types without wasting too much space. Besides thatthis type of stacking crane can be very well optimised in terms of balance between stackingcapacity and productivity rate simply by adapting the stacking width (presently 6 wide).Another major advantage of this type of stacking is that the terminal can easily be adapted byusing more or less cranes in case of varying demands in stacking capacity due to anincreasing volume or changing of dwell times thus giving enormous expansion flexibility.

The transportation between the ASC’s and the 8 quay cranes creates more difficulties. Train



type systems like the ECT/Multi trailer system are difficult to use in combination with theASC’s as well as monorail systems. Bearing in mind the necessity for automated operation,the only real alternatives are roller-bed conveyor systems (using tray’s) and AGV’s. Bothsystems have been developed, designed, simulated and evaluated and both systems are ableto cope with the productivity demands. However the AGV system was preferable in terms ofoperational flexibility, space usage and redundancy. Especially the fixed obstacles on thequay area in case of a rollerbed system did not seem attractive. Last but not least the AGVsystem was calculated Io have half the operational costs of the roller-bed conveyor system.The disadvantage of AGV’s was that there was no experience in comparable applications andenvironment so development was a necessity.

6.3.3 Navigation

The conventional wire guidance, as already in use for more than 15 years in industry, wouldnot satisfy the demands for routing flexibility as defined by the Delta Sea-Land Terminalproject. In this project 25 ASC’s with 4 transfer points each and 8 quay cranes, with variablepositions along the 1000 m quay wall, should be connected. For this purpose a great numberof highways was needed, defined by means of simulation models. To achieve an efficient use,the AGV’s in the system are not assigned to a quay crane.

Solving the routing problem by means of conventional wire guidance would have lead to afairly complex layout making use of many different frequencies for selection of the route to betaken.

Free navigation gives more flexibility but was not available as a product. Several altnerativesare investigated, such as:

• laser guidance: direct sight causes difficulties by other vehicles and cranes as well aspollution of reflectors and laser sensors

• satellite navigation: not sufficiently accurate (about 1 m instead of 1 cm)• vision systems: pollution and snow problems

Several systems could not be applied simply because of the constraints of the outsideenvironment and rough conditions at the Delta terminal: temperatures between -20 and +40degrees, rain, snow, fog, ice, sand, salt, wind speeds up Io 12 beau fort, dust, coal andsulphur of neighbouring coal and ore stevedores and a coal power plant. Also the typicalcontainer terminal operations with its heavy loads, shocks and vibrations cause difficulties forseveral systems. Due to load differences all sensors applied should be height independentand work on a minimum distance of 25 cm from floor level. Also the floor itself has itslimitations with regard to navigational provisions. The AGV area is block paved with concretestabilisation. Other paving are not capable to resist the load or are too expensive.

Grid navigation in combination with odometry (calculating the travelled path by pulse anddirection-counters on wheels) offers a good solution for this 2 dimensional navigation problemwith its routes mainly parallel and perpendicular to the quay wall. This type of navigation isbased principally on odometry for continuously updating the position whereas the grid is usedto give absolute position indication and for correction of pulse-counter information (expertsystem).

Three grid types seem possible and were investigated:• point grid based on passive transponder labels both for identification and calibration



• active line grid: line grid of inductive wires in two directions (parallel and perpendicular tothe quay wall)

• passive line grid: line grid of metal strips placed on the floor in combination with a metaldetection type antenna.

Trials were made with all type of grids and sensors on a prototype AGV with the different navi-gation systems. Trials started in November 88 when the final prototype arrived. In the begin-ning of 1990 a choice was made for the active line grid.

The active line grid was preferred for the following reasons:• navigation reliability was showing the best results, although driving with all systems

was possible;• due to the high route density, the selectivity of different frequencies was a major

advantage compared with the passive line grid;• costs of sensors and grid of the 3 systems are comparable when installing a new

terminal• there were no wire cuts during the test period

For safety reasons the transponder labels are also used in the active line grid to give absoluteposition identification.The navigation system itself was developed in close co-operation with FROG systems.

6.3.4 Intelligence: System Concept

The division of tasks and intelligence between the AGV and the Process Control System(PCS) is one of the strategic choices to be made. Due to the fact that surrounding scanningand obstacle detection in outside environments was still under development and was notavailable as a product, the choice was made to make traffic regulation independent of thistype of sensors. This implies traffic regulation in PCS by AGV’s reporting their position and atype of claiming and blocking system. This also implies that the route should be known byPCS anyhow, which makes route planning in PCS a logical step with regard to communica-tion. The possibilities to prevent deadlocks are expected to be better in a centrally guided sys-tem. This argument goes specially for systems with more AGV’s and lots of route crossingslike in the Delta Sea-Land Terminal. Therefore route information is reported to the AGV’s andtranslated into detailed routing instructions on the AGV itself and carried out.

6.3.5 Vehicle Concept

The main goal has been to develop an AGV as simple as possible, with a minimum number offunctions and components to achieve the highest possible reliability with low maintenancecost against the lowest investment. Due to the need for using odometry, the usage of maxi-mum 4 wheels was predefined (3 would be ideal for this purpose). Furthermore only wellproven components are taken from the automotive industry like the diesel engine, standardaxles, brakes, batteries pumps and meters. All serve systems are hydraulic: drive line, stee-ring and braking. The functioning of the vehicle is fully independent of the load. The vehicle isprovided with an automatic lubrication system and with automatic oil refilling equipment. TheAGV was developed in dose co-operation with Mannesmann Demag Gottwald, who has beenthe manufacturer of all vehicles.



The main characteristics are listed below:

length over bumpers 17.50 mwidth 2.80 mheight load area 1.50 mwheel base 9.00mvehicle weight 14 tonsmaximum load 40 tonscarrying capacity 20’ 40’ 45’ (49’ optional)turning radius 9.00 mmax. driving speed 3.5 m/sacceleration deceleration 0.5 m/s2positioning accuracy +1-30 mm

6.3.6 Safety Provisions

Several provisions have been made (both hard - and software) to provide a safe and accuratefunctioning of the AGV, like the watchdog system, the hard wired emergency circuit, thebumpers and the obstacle sensors.

The watchdog function in the vehicle takes care of constantly controlling the technical statusof the vehicle such as oil levels, temperatures, tyre pressures and functioning of all sub-systems. Also the functioning of the navigation is checked, such as driving and steeringaccuracy, route deviations and positioning accuracy. In the case of errors there are differentlevels of watchdog alarms, globally to be divided into red, yellow and green: In the case of redalarm the vehicle stops itself immediately and has to be removed if resetting is not possible.When a yellow alarm occurs, the vehicle will continue but PCS will send the AGV to themaintenance garage as soon as possible. The green alarm is informative only and is used forpreventive maintenance.

The vehicles are provided with an hardwired emergency-stop circuit which will directly stop thevehicle without navigation system interference in serious emergency cases such as navigationsystem breakdown, power failure or bumper touch. The hardwired emergency circuit willdirectly activate the brakes (fail safe) and switch off the engine and drive line.

The vehicles are provided with bumpers on front and rear ends which will directly switch offthe vehicle in case of hitting an obstacle. Bumpers form the final navigation safety of the AGV.

The front and rear ends of the vehicles are provided with intelligent infrared obstacle sensors.Depending on the type of movement of the vehicle, different waning zones can be selected bythe navigation system. For instance when entering the ASC transfer point, the AGV will neversee the guide rails at the end although it will always detect an obstacle 1 mt. in front of it.When an obstacle is in the outer warning zone the vehicle will slow down. An obstacle in theinner zone will cause an emergency stop.



6.3.7 Reliability

Although the AGV concept implies redundancy on its own, the logistical disturbances by mal-functioning of AGV’s are unacceptable in case of insufficient reliability. Calculations show thatwith 50 AGV’s operational and an MTTF (mean time to fail) of 50 hours gives one AGVbreakdown per operational hour. The minimum MTTF level to achieve therefore is 150 hours,which is already ten times better than straddle carriers nowadays.

Reliability engineering however cannot really start before software reaches a certain level offunctioning and stability. The pilot plant stage with 8 AGV’s has been an absolute necessity forthis purpose. Within nine months all vehicles had made about 3000 running hours (some200.000 km compared to road trucks) which resulted in 500 problem reports, 60 adaptation invehicle components and hardware configuration and numerous software adaptations. Fourseasons of testing is a must to find all specific winter and summer problems. The presentlyfunctioning 4th generations ECT-AGV’s are giving satisfactory results in terms of reliability.

6.3.8 Maintainability

As a reliability is a result of a good product and sufficient maintenance, much attention is paidto the maintainability of the AGV’s. On this point, the pilot plant has created a smoothintroduction from project to maintenance and operational organisation. By incorporatingmaintenance people in the project, there has been a direct feedback to engineers about theneeds for maintaining a complex system. This has lead to adaptations with regard to main-tainability such as: hardware configuration, lead indications, error diagnostics and documen-tation. A very useful tool is a ‘black box’ type recording on the AGV. This provides a continu-ous logging of all main data within the navigation system which will give detailed information ofabout the last 10 minutes driving of the vehicle before a red alarm occurs (vehicle stop). Thisinformation can be uploaded into a special log file analysis program which visualizes the latestmovements of the AGV with all relevant information.

Furthermore PCS provides maintenance with historical data about informational (green),prewarnig (yellow) and end warning (red) alarms to enable preventive maintenance.The maintenance area is equipped with a separate area and PCS-like tools to test vehiclesafter maintenance.

6.3.9 Future

Future trends most probably will go towards more autonomous navigation techniques, enab-ling the flexible use of AGV’s, also on existing facilities, without installing complex infrastructu-ral provisions. Developments in perception techniques and surrounding scanning enable thevehicle to run in areas among other traffic. The combination allows the flexible use of largeamounts of vehicles without using rather complex and expensive traffic regulation systemsand deadlock preventing techniques. This also allows a higher traffic density and therefore amore efficient use of space.

New navigation techniques should be even more reliable making use of less components tosubstantially improve the over all reliability of the AGV’s. The same goes for the driving andsteering systems. New and reliable sensing techniques in general will create new possibilities



for terminal automation, as the sensing techniques, available at the time of development of theMSS system, have in principle defined how a conceptual design could be entered into a wor-king system. Future trend will be, without doubt, the use of more and more AGV’s on contai-ner terminals, especially the large scale and new to build facilities, although also existingfacilities with straddle carrier and RTG operations can speed up production substantially bymaking use of an AGV system.

6.4 CARGO 2000 CONCEPT

The German CARGO 2000 concept consists of the following components:

• Loading unit with intelligent interfaces fulfilling the market demands• Liner train system without marshalling on the main run• Truck collection and delivery on pre and post run• Automated transhipment• System-wide information technology

According to the study it is a concept for the DB in order to participate the growing partial -load market.The main contents are:

• Potential determination• Conception of loading unit, truck, wagon and transfer stations• Information and control system• Variation of the network including scenarios for terminal locations• Concepts for:

• main run vs. rail transport• pre and post – run vs. road transport

• Efficiency Analysis

The Network Study took the number, type, location and performance of terminal types,number and composition of trains and lines, velocities and operation times of trains and thecost relevant operation data into account.

A so called Iinked liner-train-system with interconnections between lines in transfer stationswas the best result for the train operation system covering the old Federal States of Germany.

The Loading Unit Concept deals with the following advantages:

• New middle-sized box equal to kernel of the system• Filling in the gap between pallet and swap body• Standardized interfaces• Handling with current equipment in the clients facilities• Flexible interior according to customers demands• Possible integration with production process beyond the ramp.



Transfer Station Technology can be described by the following items:

• Unloading and loading of trucks• Inter-medium storage• Transhipment to rail• Different types according to localisation:

• feeder• head• net / node

7 grades of performance

• from 1.200 t / d single track• to 2.700 t / d four-track plant

The “Logistik-Box” Project is one result of the previous studies. The next picture is showingthe “Logistik-Box” transport system:

“Logistik-Box” Transport system



The “Logistik-Box” Project was the market introduction in order to test the acceptance andsupport of other basic system decisions. Therefore the compatibility to existing technologies ofthe classical Combined Transport via a frame comparable to a ‘cut-off’ swap-body has beenconsidered.

Four steps are necessary:• long distance rail traffic with boxes on frames• transhipment in conventional terminals• transport to the hubs by conventional trucks• in the hubs rearrangement of the boxes by 10 tons fork lifters

The following criteria have influenced the logistic box and show how the dimensions of theLogistic-box have been found:

• Requirements of the market• Compatibility to frame adopted to swap-body dimensions (7.15, 7.45, 7.82 m)• Locked by a central locking unit

3 principle modules are possible:External Box Dimension[m]

Capacity for Euro Pallets (1.2x0.8 m)Industry Pallets (1.2 x 1.0 m)

Adaptable for Swap-Body[m]

1.7 x 2.5 4 7.152.1 x 2.5 5/4 not well fitting2.5 x 2.5 6 7.82

Taking into account the EEC directive on truck length for trailer trains the 7.15 m swap-bodywill be the common unit in the future. It is able to cover: 4 x Log-4 or 2 x Log-6 + 1 x Log 4.If the 7.82 swap body (possible on trailer-trains with short coupling) will arrive there is anoption for 3 x Log 6 boxes.

The main dimensions of the Log-4 and Log-6 Box are:At present there are 300 Boxes and 90 frames in test operation in the DB net.



The main outfit and operation advantages are according to the study:

• Two side roller door with possibility of through-loading• Four side pockets for fork-lifter arms• Stacking two high• Flexible interior

The means of transport and the boxes fit into the maximum dimensions fixed in the EuropeanHighway Code.Taking into account the presented parameters one can summarize that Charge 2000 - Boxesare middle sized bodies closing the gap between pallets and containers.

For testing the market acceptance the boxes are locked onto a frame, which can be handledby terminal equipment and trucks similar to a swap body. It was decided to take the loadedframe into account.



6.5 NOELL FAST TRANSHIPMENT SYSTEM

The NOELL fast transhipment system is essentially composed of a high bay warehouse andof one or more machines called S/R machines: Storage and Retrieval machines.

The train or the truck run directly into the high bay warehouse designed as loading tracks. TheS/R machine is a rolling gantry crane and travel above the train or truck: it loads or unloadsthe boxes and stores the boxes in the high rack storage disposed on both sides of the loadingtrack.

The S/R machine is equipped with a gripper/spreader combination, able of lateral telescopingand rotating in order to handle the boxes on the loading track and on the storage places,which are lateral and stacked.The control of the S / R machine is semi-automatic. It could be fully automatic by means ofappropriate sensor technology.

NOELL S / R Machine



7 TERMINAL AND TERMINAL NODE CONCEPTS IN EUROPE

7.1 RAIL TERMINAL CONCEPTS

7.1.1 Noell Megahub

Goal • containers, swap bodies and trailers can be transhipped between trains andbetween train and truck

• the mega-hub is a substitute for shunting yards for combined transport• aim is to reduce transhipment costs (by about a half) by having the multiple use

of terminalsFeature • train to train transhipments and internal operations can be carried out by 7 semi-

automated gantry cranes – trucks are (un)loaded manually• the hub has 2 lanes for trucks, 1 for short term storage, 3 tracks for trains, 4

lanes for internal transport, 3 tracks for trains, and two lanes for short termstorage – the gantry cranes move parallel to the tracks and lanes

• hub and spoke operations occur at night – at other times the terminal is used fortrain truck transhipments

• a transhipment takes about a minuteStatus • a pilot has been built at the Eurokai sea container terminal in Hamburg

• financing underway

7.1.2 Commutor

Goal • based on the idea that a nodal point in a hub network could consist ofa quick transfer yard of loading units using automated handlingdevices instead of an efficient shunting yard for wagons

• aim is to reduce transhipment costsFeatures • up to 60 trains can be handled every night

• trains are not kept in the yard longer than 1,5 hours• there are 9 to 12 parallel tracks (one track per train plus an extra for

flexibility)• load units are handled by a catenary cable hanging over each track• as soon as the train stops it is automatically positioned on the tracks• units are loaded onto the train in a pre-defined order• all of the equipment is automatic – controlled by a central computer• specially designed wagons are required

Status • pilot experiment – most likely site if implemented is Noisy in the Parisarea

• problems are need for new wagons (existing ones are alreadyamortised), competing automatic wagon coupling system, tooexpensive and lack of sufficient traffic



7.1.3 Krupp Fast Handling System

Goal • a fully automated and robotised modular terminal concept – quicktranshipment handling is the main issue

Feature • trains can be (un)loaded while moving• one train can be handled at a time• equipment includes transhipment devices (a spreader which is moved

up and down by a telescopic arm and an overhead crane), a crossconveyor, high-rack storage, compact storage (with a diesel robot trainto push the train)

Status • pilot project in Duisburg – further R&D through SIMET and IMPULSEprojects

7.1.4 Transmann Handling Machine

Goal • developed for the fast and cheaper transhipment of containers andswap bodies (no trailers) between train and truck or between trains

Feature • the TRANSMANN handling machine (an overhead crane with a rotarydevice which rotates a telescopic arm having a spreader) can be builtin different sizes according to the number of tracks served

• it allows electric trains to move through the terminal under their ownpower

• handles 20’ to 45’ containers and swap bodies with a weight up to 41tonnes

• it runs between the railway tracks and truck lanes – all operations aresemi or fully automatic

• designed to handle line trains but can handle direct trains as wellStatus • pilot installation in Wetter

7.1.5 Noell Fast Transhipment Terminal (SUT)

Goal • designed for fully and semi-automated and robotised rail-rail and rail-road transhipment of containers, swap bodies and semi-trailers

• meets the demand for faster transhipmentFeature • short train delays due to creating buffer area next to each wagon,

direct access to each buffer area (load units are in the buffer sectionsrather than stacks), and having transhipment equipment in the bufferrather than the truck/train

• the concept has two main units: a high bay storage for containers,swap bodies and semi-trailers and the storage and retrieval machines

• trains move through the terminal without powering or decelerating, themachine lifts the load from the train and deposits it in the high baystorage – the terminal operates most efficiently with sequentialtranshipments of the same lane or between two adjacent lanes

• transhipment cycle is over 2,5 minutesStatus •



7.1.6 CCT PlusGoal • capability of handling loading units over overhead wires and minimising

the cost of a quick transfer• create a shift in goods traffic from road to rail by introducing a fast,

cheap and reliable serviceFeature • trains run fixed routes at fixed timetables and transfers would be

undertaken from one train to another in shared terminals• horizontal handling under the overhead wires, no coupling of wagons,

high utilisation rate of operating units, few personnel and little spacerequirements

• the CCT transferring unit is a wagon with a telescopic boom whichtransfers the loading unit

Status • approaching pilot stage – still far from operational

7.1.7 RoadRailerGoal • complex operations of the vertical transhipment of a load unit are

avoided• an innovative technology enabling fast, reliable and low cost door-to-

door services of load units• expected to reduce the inventory level and storage time of the actual

shipments due to faster transport cyclesFeature • a “bi-modal” semi-trailer transport process – the semi-trailer can be

used as a railway wagon – the semi-trailer can be simply transferredbetween road and rail in the horizontal plane (special bogies arerequired)

• maximum weight of each RoadRailer is 28 tonnes• train can consist of a maximum of 38 semi-trailers

Status • system started operation in 1995 along a corridor between Italy andGermany

• system is suitable primarily for high density routes

7.1.8 Compact Terminal TuchschmidGoal • offer new transhipment opportunities for intermodal transportFeature • a rail-rail and rail-road intermodal freight terminal

• a new-generation concept with four modules: transhipment (crane,automatic identification of trains, loading area and a buffer area),intermediate storage (space for load units waiting to be picked up),road (transhipment of load units from the intermediate storage area totrucks) and distribution/forwarding

• the crane unit consists of one or two cranes which run on a steel frameabove the (un)loading and buffer area

• 4 sizes of COMPACT TERMINALS depending on the number of railtracks, road lanes, buffer lanes, and if it has a storage module orforwarding module

Status • about 6 projects which are in final stage of implementation



7.1.9 Gateway Terminal HUPACGoal • located north-west of Milan, it is a main hub terminal for simultaneous

and/or sequential (un)loading of containers, swap-bodies and semi-trailers – road-rail and rail-rail

• aim to increase throughput, reduce transhipment time and improvereliability and regularity of transport services

Feature • “semi-mobile” rail mounted gantry crane used for (un)loading – covers5 rail tracks and 4 road lanes

• new type of flat wagon with a lower loading height to support flexibilityand benefit from economies of scale

• capacity of terminal is about 20 shuttle trains a day (= 1000 loadingunits a day) – each train is about 20-22 wagons

Status • in operation and future development depends on shuttle train servicethrough the Alps and preservation of 40-ton limit on truck traffic (44tons would weaken the economic attractiveness)

7.1.10 Lättkombi TerminalGoal • meant for containers and swap bodies that are transferred between

road-rail in simple terminals – introduce a new fast, cheap and reliableservice

Feature • small-scale combined transport concept• no buildings or employees – terminal area is paved with camera

security• loading takes place by a special side loader running along with the

train – handling takes place under the overhead wires• requires an info centre with on-line connection with the trains• trucks require hydraulics for swap bodies or a lifting device for

containers• visit to the terminal takes 5-15 minutes• low set-up costs

Status • pilot is planned in southern Sweden

7.1.11 Train Coupling Sharing/Cargo SprinterGoal • small innovative train (about 5 wagons – each able to load 2

containers or swap bodies) that use infrastructure efficientlyFeature • coupling, splitting and (un)locking ease

• can run as a shuttle train or form part of other production systems andbundling concepts

• load units can be exchanged by vertical transhipment (at initial andfinal terminals) and by exchanging Cargo Sprinters (i.e. wagon groups)at train junctions

• can be continuously adjusted to freight volumesStatus • being tested by DB – and first commercial application is under

preparation• pilot shuttle connection between Frankfurt/Main and Zürich airports• electric powering is an option, robot driving can be introduced



7.1.12 North East Terminal Paris

Goal • provide sufficient terminal capacity in the future for combined transportin the Paris region

Feature • conventional technology – the terminal includes tracks, gantry cranes,parking area for trailers, stocking area, locomotive garage,maintenance workshop etc

• possible to handle all swap bodies and containers without moving orreshuffling trains and shunting wagons – width under crane allows 3tracks – expect to unload 3 trains in about 2 h 15

Status • building to begin 1999/2000 – first gantry to be operational by 2002

7.1.13 Irun and Portbou Terminal

Goal • to solve (at least partially) the problem of different gauge tracks overthe French and Spanish networks which impeded the development ofcombined transport in the Iberian Peninsula

• two terminals at the French border – to increase capacity need toincrease the number of gantry cranes per track or to implement acompact high performance terminal concept

Feature • new infrastructure in Irun will have 3 tracks of French gauge and 3tracks of Spanish gauge

• two new gantry cranes will operate over the 6 tracksStatus • in service in 1997?

7.1.14 Rail Terminal Maasviakte

Goal • need to expand Rotterdam MaasvlakteFeature • a second and larger terminal is planned – the existing terminal will

handle dedicated shuttles while the new terminal will handle multiformshuttles

• will begin as a conventional rail terminal – equipment has beendesigned for possible automation in the future (AGVs in the future)

• at the new terminal containers are sorted in order to fill one destinationmulti-trailers or trains

• 6 trains are loaded or unloaded simultaneouslyStatus • planned for 2000



7.2 BARGE TERMINAL CONCEPTS

7.2.1 Barge Express (BEX)

Goal • BEX is an integrated concept for large scale barge container transport• aim is to reduce cost of sailing and handling by exploiting economies-

of-scale by increasing the scale of operation and introducingautomated handling at barge terminals

Feature • concept presumes that the main barge terminals will be equipped witha terminal facility for automated transhipment

• the largest possible vessels (i.e. push boat/barge combinations) arechosen and are equipped with cell guides

• apply new generation technology – computers, automated quaysidecranes, AGVs and automated stacking cranes

• two organisational principles for the automated terminals: active (theterminal operator determines the sequence of containers to be pickedup) and passive (loading is a sequential process – the terminaloperator does not control external transport)

daily service is desirable requiring two push boats and four barges(Rotterdam - Duisburg route)

Status • concept is technically and economically feasible• target market are point-to-point transport on routes with large transport

volumes

7.2.2 Rollerbarge

Goal • terminal facility for horizontal transhipment of containers and swapbodies between rail or road transport and barge vessels

• aim is to reduce transhipment costs and timeFeature • landside operation

• a block of pre stacked containers will be rolled in one move from thequay onto a hydraulic platform which is part of the barge – it will thenbe lowered to storage deck level – the containers will then rollhorizontally to their final stowage position on board

• handling capacity is 100-120 container units/h offering significant timeadvantages over existing systems

• in order to be able to operate the system, conventional vessels have tobe adapted or a new type of vessel is required

Status • conceptual stage• aimed at offering point-to-point services



7.2.3 Self unloading Vessels

Goal • try to penetrate small flow and short distance market• based on the idea of ships able to load and unload themselves

Feature • 3 alternative concepts: ro-ro based (containers are driven aboard anda crane positions them), bow transhipment (a crane on board handlesthe containers at the quay – along the bow) and sidewaystranshipment (crane aboard puts containers sideways at the quay)

Status • sideways transhipment looks the most promising due to its wideapplication possibilities

• a pilot project is needed to determine feasibility



7.3 RO-RO TERMINAL CONCEPTS

7.3.1 FlexiWaggon

Goal • make trains more accessible to road vehicles• can create new services such as rapid transfer of trucks through

congested areasFeature • special low floor wagon which enables vehicles to enter/exit the train

without the help of lifting equipment or a terminal• loading of a vehicle takes less than 5 min• “terminal” can be any flat area beside the rail track – no external

handling equipment is requiredStatus • approaching pilot stage

• best in links where there are steady flows• should be able to carry maximum size trucks with trailers

7.3.2 G 2000 Ro-Ro

Goal • develop a wagon for fast combined transport train – this will reduce thenumber of terminals which are expensive

Feature • road vehicles can enter/exit without external installations• wagon is a new generation equipment but handling is manual

Status • no prototype yet• should be able to carry maximum size trucks with trailers

7.3.3 Shwople Train

Goal • this concept for (un)loading trains designed to address the rapidturnaround of large train ferries that is required in ports that operate ro-ro ferries

• impact on bundling policies for both road and railFeature • there is a bogie wagon, terminal (single track with a platform on either

side) and pop-up mechanisms (to engage the underside of the wagon)• fast train turnaround (30 semi-trailers in a few minutes)• significant investment required at the terminals

Status • prototype required

7.3.4 Shwople Barge

Goal • this concept for loading and unloading trains designed to address theroad-inland waterway (un)loading

Feature • specialised equipment (ro-ro link span) required at the terminals• wide catamaran construction of the shipping vessel accommodates

semi-trailersStatus • ?



7.4 SEA TERMINAL CONCEPTS

7.4.1 Container Pallet Transfer (CPT) System

Goal • shorten port time for line traffic (especially fast vehicles)Feature • CPT developed to load and discharge fast going container cargo

vessels• containers are positioned upon a mega pallet and locked to it as well

as each other• pallet may carry up to 20 containers with a total weight up to 400 tons

– handling capacity of loading units up to 900 TEU per hour• CPT is shore based – conventional ro-ro handling onboard• pallets are transferred from the quay to the vessels by transfer trolleys

(diesel electric driven requiring rails on the quay and vessel)Status • not implemented but under constant development

7.4.2 Thamesport

Goal • Container handling port – next to Thames Estuary and 56 km fromLondon

• Long term goal to produce a fully automated, unmanned, system for(un)loading cargo

Feature • Rail service to and from port operated by Freightliner – scheduledintermodal service within UK – large number of feeder services linkingto other UK ports and European operations – acts as an alternative toRotterdam as a European transhipment port

• Currently 2 trains per day but capacity for 8• Port extensively automated – 5 high speed ship to shore gantry

cranes (each with a capacity under the spreader of 40 tonnes and areach of 16 containers across) – been involved in development of aprototype AGV but not yet in main operation – 14 automated stackingcranes – reception and delivery of containers is driverless

• Port has direct access to deep sea shipping routes• Vehicle turnaround 40 – 45 min

Status • Operation began in 1990 and now the fastest growing container portin Europe

• Current capacity 450000 TEU and expanding to 600000



7.4.3 Coaster Express (CoEx)

Goal • Shortsea transport concept directed to bundling transport flows,scaling-up the short sea facilities and standardisation and automationof the transition processes

Feature • Coastal service supported by robotisation and automation withspecially designed container coasters

• Similar to Barge Express 2 types of COEx terminals: active (terminaloperator activates the external transport) and passive (terminaloperator has no control over external transport and thus a stackingfacility is required)

• 2 transition units operate simultaneously: one loading and anotherunloading

• A standard type of coaster is suggested – can be circulated and mayreduce the number of ships required to maintain the sailing schedule

• Complete loading and unloading cycle takes 6 h 24 minStatus • Logistic concept with a basic design

• Market, technology, economy and organisation need to be addressedas part of a R&D programme

7.4.4 Train Loader

Goal • Shortsea concept aimed at reducing the turnaround time at ports• A MBU (see below) is created which: reduces ship-shore moves

offering economies of scale and time independence of loadingoperation with vehicle presence

Feature • Self (un)loading of units using a ro-ro system with a special train ofplatform cars (i.e. a train loader) – the train loader creates a Multi BoxUnit (MBU) making it possible to (un)load many containerssimultaneously in a short time – while sailing container handling by aninternal unmanned crane

• Requires internal overhead cranes on board the ship and a verticalstowage area – boxes from the train are loaded onto the ship via theloading bridge – discharged at another port by the onboard crane

• Ship would be an advanced vessel with mainly existing technologyused in the train loader concept

• Operational time for moving one Train Loader in or out of the ship is11 min

• Required investments in ship and terminal are higher than forconventional feeder vessel service

Status • Concept stage – train loader designed for a dedicated terminal(inflexibility)



7.4.5 River-Sea Push Barge System

Goal • The same push barge is used for the sea and river leg of a transportchain

• A transhipment from barge to short sea vessel is avoided thusresulting in cost savings in the total intermodal transport chain

Feature • Inland push boat sails the barge from the hinterland to the seaport – anew seagoing pus boat then sails the push barge to the destinationand then back inland etc

• Slight modifications of the boat required to enable coupling• Technological challenge is for the push barge to be sea worthy but

still have a limited draught for accessibility on inland waterways• Intended for point-to-point transfers – promising corridor is between

UK and GermanyStatus • Preliminary study showed that technically and economically feasible

• A comprehensive investigation underway

7.4.6 Combined Traffic Carrier Ship/Barge (CTCB)

Goal • Shortsea concept based on a new type of shortsea vessel the TransSea Lifter (TSL) which extends the operations of existing inland andcoastal vessels – inland navigation between European riversseparated by a sea becomes an unbroken transport chain – providesflexibility (barges can be used for different types of freight), excellentbundling possibilities, no transhipment required and reduction inroundtrip time of seagoing vessels (fast exchange of barges)

Feature • A barge carrier that is economical in inland navigation and it (un)loadsbarges fast and economically

• TSL makes regularly scheduled round trips calling in at areas outsidecoastal ports and inland waterways to pick up or drop off barges

• The standard TSL vessel can carry 6 barges (102 TEU each) –discharging one barge and loading another takes 25 min

• Investment cost of a TSL comparable to a container vessel with samecarrying capacity

• Intended for point-to-point service between main coastal portsStatus • Pilot design under development



7.5 NODE TRANSPORT SYSTEMS

7.5.1 Combi-Road

Goal • Intermodal transport system aimed at transporting large containerflows in a fast, safe and cost efficient manner

Feature • automated and unmanned vehicles (rubber tired robot tractor) to pullcontainers loaded on ordinary trailers

• vehicles are electric powered and drive along dedicated lanes• process is: container loaded on a trailer and picked up by a Combi-

Road vehicle pulling the trailer – vehicle enters the track and isautomatically guided to the transfer point in the hinterland – at finaldestination the container is unloaded from the trailer

• transfer point requires sufficient space and the exchange fromautomatic to manual control at the transfer point needs more study

• market is intensive short (up to 100km) corridors in congested areas –applied to large bundled container flows

Status • project began in 1994 and extensive studies carried out with tests ona test track

• next phase will be construction of a pilot track

7.5.2 Selbsttägis Signalgeführtes Triebfahrzeug

Goal • meet the demand for flexible and demand guided rail freight transportis SST (self-active signal guided vehicle) and SOG (self organisingfreight vehicle)

• bundling of freight not necessary and can respond quickly to changingcargo volumes

• a cheap and flexible alternative to road transportFeature • freight is transported in small amounts with single vehicles or in very

small trains• driverless operation• SST can run in mixed operations with conventional trains – SOG

restricted to special networks• SST to be realised in short term – SOG longer time frame• SST uses automatic train protection (ATP) systems – SOG operates

by means of radio transmission• Point-to-point network

Status • Pilot operation of SST



7.5.3 Internal Transport Node Maasvlakte (MTS/AGV)

Goal • A study of which internal transport system will be able to handle futurecontainer flows at the node most efficiently

Feature • AGVs preferred and for the short-term Multi-Trailer trains to be used –based on a large number of small shuttle connections – all containerson each multi-trailer have the same origin and destination

Status • Multi-trailer trains in operation now• More research on the use of AGVs for internal transport to be carried

out – cheaper than the Multi-trailers in about 5 years – but financialand operational risks



7.6 INNOVATIVE TRANSSHIPMENT UNITS

7.6.1 Cassettes

Goal • Identify a cost effective method of handling, stowing and transportingrolls of steel products through the different modes in the supply chain

Feature • Rolls of steel or paper are off loaded from the train to the “cassettes” ,loaded onto ro-ro ship, sailed to destination, off loaded using thecustomised shunter, and then loaded onto a train

• The specially built cassettes have a payload of 60 tons (compared toconventional 12m unit of about 20 tons) – can be stowed 8 wide inships (compared with 7 conventional trailers)

• Onboard the cassettes are block-stowedStatus • Development of cassette system seems to be well suited for

distribution of steel and paper rolls and in use by major industrialcompanies

• Future extension to the rail leg of the supply chain – weight limits,though, are a problem



7.7 INNOVATIVE BUNDLING NETWORK CONCEPTS

7.7.1 RAIL CONCEPTS

7.7.1.1 Container shipments Jämsänkoski Paper MillGoal • minimise damage to paper rollsFeature • to reduce the number of handlings the paper rolls are unitised into

containers at the paper mill• paper rolls loaded to containers on rail wagons – hauled to port where

loaded onto to a container or ro-ro shipStatus • implemented & fulfilling goal of protecting goods

• biggest problem is the circulation of containers – and price higher thanfor conventional transport

7.7.1.2 Voltri networkGoal • reduce negative environmental impacts

• develop new sea-road & sea-rail services that offer good cost-qualityratio

Feature • comprises 3 components: a multi-modal terminal, a network of deep-sea routes, and an inland road and rail network

• the gateway terminal handles sea-road & sea-rail containerised freightStatus • advance stage of operation – completely developed in 2000

7.7.1.3 Sogemar multi-modal networkGoal • provide inland services (a geographically wide area and an integrated

transport system) to shipping linesFeature • the inter-modal network includes a hierarchical system of well

connected nodes (Milan is the main hub)• results in a hub-and-spoke bundling system

Status • implemented using conventional technology• use of trains for deep sea shipping loading units looks promising

7.7.1.4 PiggyBack ConsortiumGoal • a cost effective transport mode for shorter trips

• introduce piggybacking of 4m high road semi trailers using specialisedrail equipment

Feature • upgrade the loading gauge on a spine network of West Coast MainLine in UK

Status • cost of about 300 million pounds• funding of infrastructure modifications could be a barrier• implementation planned for 2002/3• commercial viability also dependent on higher lorry weights



7.7.1.5 Wembley European Freight Operating CentreGoal • the operating centre is designed to support management and logistics

requirements of the Channel Tunnel freight operationsFeature • act as a hub in the bundling and sorting of Tunnel freight

• intermodal services from regional terminals are reassembled intosingle destination block trains – and correspondingly inbound trainsfrom the continent are sectioned and reassembled into regional trainsserving the UK terminals

• represents a time and cost efficient solution for freight trains leavingregional terminals with less than full train traffic

Status • in operation• Channel Tunnel has enormous capacity – by 2002 when the

passenger trains are transferred to the high speed line, it will bepossible to operate about 120 freight trains a day (60 each way)through the Tunnel

7.7.1.6 RingZug Rhein-RuhrGoal • innovative line train concept for combined transport

• aims are to reduce road collection and distribution traffic distance, tointroduce more efficient production systems (no shunting), makecombined transport more competitive and increase its demand

Feature • 300 km long connecting 10 terminals (6 of which are regular stops for(inter)national intermodal trains

• instead of carrying cargo for the entire trip the load units would bebrought to a terminal serving the RingZug

• demand depends on transport distances and load sizeStatus • potential is 21000 load units a day

• the idea is to start the concept as a collection and distribution systemof major shippers – later transforming the operations into publicservices

7.7.1.7 Hub of Metz and the Quality NetGoal • hub created to concentrate ICF (Intercontainer Interfrigo) traffic on

specific axes and benefit from transport by point-to-point block trainsFeature • point-to-point trains arrive – SNCF (which uses 20% of the yard for its

local traffic) shunts the wagons and creates new point-to-point blocktrains according to ICF instructions

• ICF plans combined transport for its customers – the QualityNetsystem consists of a full-time year round supervision of transports,containers, swap bodies and trailers under ICF’s care – the centraloffice communicates all necessary information to the railways,customs, final destination terminal, and the ICF traffic controller

Status • in full operation• a problem is the frequent strikes affecting the national railway

companies



7.7.1.8 RailRoads

Goal • offer attractive intermodal services between Benelux countries and thesouth of Europe

Feature • uses its own load units which are tailor made for its business – door-to-door services are offered

• ability to control and reposition load units efficiently in order to achievehigh utilisation rates per unit and few additional ‘empty’ road km –organises the pre and post trucking

• shuttle connections are an important component in the conceptStatus • 12000 movements in 1996

• the land container in continental transport could attract competitionalthough its present configuration is not optimal

7.7.1.9 The ‘Drehscheiben’ concept

Goal • to improve viability of rail freight operations, quality of combinedtransport, transhipment intensity in the terminals, Rail Cargo Austria’scompetitive position, technological innovation

Feature • concept involves door-to-door (shuttle trains) and feeder train transportbetween 3 main terminals – feeder trains operate at night to distributethe freight

• hub and spoke network• bundling takes place at the load unit level• for trips longer than 500km

Status • implemented• difficult to tell which type of load units will be important in the future –

likely swap bodies, containers and semi-trailers – differences in theapplication field between the various load units will diminish

7.7.1.10 Building at a regional level: The ‘Linienzug concept’

Goal • potential for bundling freight flows along Wien - Wolfurt axisFeature • rail shuttle service between hubs

• high frequency and speed of the liner service – regularityStatus • conceptual stage

• for the concept to succeed a number of conditions must be met



7.7.1.11 The NEN (North European Network)

Goal • To make combined transport attractive on short distances (at leastthat part of the traffic comprising maritime containers which can be(un)loaded directly on trains in the harbours

Feature • NEN is centred on SNCB’s shunting yard in Muizen – other nodes areAntwerp, Rotterdam, Duisburg, Athus, Lille,Manchester/Birmingham/Willesden, Zeebrugge

• A star shaped network is formed – organised as a hub-and-spokenetwork

Status • Still in an early stage and operators are not yet used to book transportservices at the NEN office

• Activities just started in 1997 and not yet in full operation – objectiveto extend the lines from the centre e.g. to Paris or German cities

7.7.1.12 Bahntrans

Goal • part of an innovative bundling concept for the delivery of ‘packages ofgoods’ and general cargo dispatched as standard or express delivery

• based on conventional technology, making use of concept advantages(e.g. spatial layout)

Feature • about 40 Bahntrans (an enterprise specialising in the consolidation ofsmall shipments) freight centres and 5 regional hub-and-spokenetworks

• the process is: trucks collect freight from shippers to the freight centre,the freight is sorted according to destination, loaded on a block trainand taken to the shunting yard (hub), then by block train to the freightcentre and then by truck onward

• a large spoke has throughput of 1500 load unitsStatus • Bahntrans established in 1995 – responsible for forwarding and road

transport

7.7.1.13 FlexNode

Goal • organisation measure of DB aimed at reducing the amount ofshunting in rail collection and distribution at larger nodes

• different bundling concepts benefit from the flexible node systemFeature • existing 3 levels of shunting (local, regional and central) are

rationalised – regional shunting yards are combined to a largeregional node

• many wagons or wagon groups may thus skip a node levelStatus • conceptual

• volume of shunting expected to be reduced by 30% -- many wagonswill be shunted twice instead of 3 times



7.7.2 DEDICATED ROAD CONCEPTS

7.7.2.1 Metrofreight

Goal • Conceptual model of a metro freight network that has a smalldedicated network with interfaces with other modes and various loadtypes, uses driverless electronically propelled vehicles, usesadvanced control technology, is a multi user facility and is privatelyfunded

• Avoid congestion in central urban areas and environmental benefitsFeature • Network/infrastructure – low construction cost and extensive use of

tunnels – users will operate their own vehicles and be charged tolls• Interfaces to existing transport infrastructure, distribution facilities,

retail outlets• Terminal and network criteria• Signalling and communication system

Status • Case studies have been carried out (e.g. London -- carry freight flowsto retail stores and postal sorting offices) but still in the conceptualand evaluation stages of development

7.7.3 RO-RO CONCEPTS

7.7.3.1 Irish-Italy Piggyback Service

Goal • Currently the transportation of semi-trailers on the existing Irish railnetwork is not possible

• A new service to exploit benefits of intermodal transport – acombination of bundling, routing and equipment result in a cost-competitive service for small flows

Feature • Trailers loaded at Rosslare onto ro-ro ferries then unloaded inCherbourg and taken to rail head where the trailers are loaded ontothe train to the final destination where local haulage companiesremove the trailers

Status • Initial service being offered is 3 sailing a week

7.7.3.2 Ro-Ro Barge Transport

Goal • Transport rolling units on barges on inland waterways• Competitive alternative to road transport by reducing operational costs

and avoiding road congestion – special consideration was to getaround the weekend road embargo in Germany

Feature • Trailers are driven aboard a ship-barge unit• Concept fits in well with transport flows having an overseas

component



Status • Operational since 1985• Trailers form the potential largest market for the ro-ro barge service• Barrier for developing new links is bridge height restrictions – more

than one cargo deck is needed for economic feasibility

7.7.4 BARGE CONCEPTS

7.7.4.1 Container Exchange Point Barges (CUB)

Goal • Reduce the number of calls in the Port of Rotterdam, shorten theRhine barges’ cycle time and to improve terminal efficiency

Feature • At a CUB containers originating from different Rhine terminals arecollected and regrouped into uniform destination batches, thusrendering the major transhipment activity unimodal (barge-barge)

• The extra costs for transhipment at the CUB are compensated by amore efficient and shorter sailing schedule of Rhine barges

• The CUB-Rotterdam-CUB cycle would take 24 hoursStatus • Concept stage

• Requires critical volume

7.7.4.2 Randstad Network

Goal • An alternative means of freight transport in a dense urban area –maintain equilibrium between sustainability and accessibility

• The idea is to connect existing industrial areas by developing trimodaland bimodal nodes

Feature • 3 types of networks: unit net (freight oriented to the main port), temponet (distribution and fast delivery of time-pressed goods) and bulk net(goods with low value and not time dependent)

• where possible each net uses the same infrastructureStatus • The unit net should be easy to realise due to large volumes – a pilot

project has been set up• Tempo net is diffuse – difficult to find critical mass• Bulk net exists but needs to be expanded• Aim is to build up the networks step by step



7.7.4.3 Floating Container Terminal (FCT)

Goal • Address two problems: congestion in the Port of Rotterdam (partlydue to inter-terminal container flows transported by road) and thenumber of small calls made by barges and feeders resulting in delaysin collection and distribution

Feature • FCT collects and distributes containers originating from small callsand bundles these with containers which are being transportedbetween terminals

• Instead of making small calls barges and feeders can make one callat the FCT

• The FCT makes a 24-hour round trip at a fixed sailing scheduleamong the terminals

Status • Technical and operational analysis has been carried out – a businessplan has been written

• FCT is not however economically feasible

7.7.4.4 Via Aqua Via

Goal • Innovative concept for bundling and transhipment of freight – reducesroad km, avoids congestion and has a very low cost per pallet

Feature • The freight of different producers and customers are bundled,collected and distributed in a hub-and-spoke network

• The central distribution centre (CDC) is in Tiel – goods are deliveredby truck or barge

• The CDC , barges and quays are equipped with an automatic rollertransport system allowing pallets to be easily transhipped to barge ortruck

Status • Concept still in design stage

7.7.4.5 Waste Transport

Goal • New concepts, such as ACTS, which will meet new developmentsin waste legislation -- ACTS is based on the point-point networkmodel with shuttle trains

• The principle is that waste is collected by trucks and transported byrail (or barge) to incinerators, earth cleaning stations or dump sites

Feature • Truck collects refuse in special 20’ containers – when container isfull it is delivered to the nearest quay – a barge with self(un)loading crane sails in line service between the quay andincinerator

• Existing trucks for collecting refuse have to be replaced by specialtrucks with containers and a press unit

Status • Feasibility study carried out and it is economically feasible• Implementation, though, depends on co-operation between several

cities – interest exists



7.7.5 NODE CONCEPTS

7.7.5.1 Node Born

Goal • Born is an intermodal node – a bundling centre for cargo flows –served by rail and barge shuttles – aim is that these shuttles shouldnot only serve intermodal transport with local collection anddistribution by truck but become part of more complex chains suchas rail-barge and rail-rail as well.

• The most important network attributes are its regular, high-frequency service to many destinations with high reliability andpunctuality

Feature • Can use reserve capacity of the shuttles until volumes justifyexclusive intermodal trains

Status • The barge terminal has been operational since 1991 and the railone since 1996

• About 70% of the investments for the rail terminal has been fundedby the government – DSM a leading shipper in the area offered theneeded base load to start up the terminals and made somefinancial commitments as well

7.7.5.2 Node Duisburg

Goal • Duisburg is an important transport mode with good facilities forintermodal barge and rail transport

• Aim is to extend the current function of it as a collection/distributionnode to a hub-and-spoke node – to develop an intermodaltransport facility to connect barge and rail transport

Feature • Maritime containers will be transhipped from barges onto trains andbundled with continental flows

• The barge service Rotterdam – Duisburg operates 5 times a weekin both directions – the barge terminal handled 100000 TEU in1996

• The rail terminal acts as a terminus – transhipment between truckand train – throughput of the terminal in 1996 was 80000 units

Status • The barge/rail concept is not yet fully operational – currentlyexchange of load units between barge and rail is incidental

• Barriers are contractual relationships between barge and railoperators, timetables and need for more volume (for an acceptablecost/quality ratio)



7.8 CLASSIFICATION OF INTERMODAL TRANSPORT TERMINAL IN EUROPE

7.8.1 RAIL – ROAD TERMINALSfor swap bodies, semi trailers and container. Three volume ranges are estimated:terminals with a capacity of less than 20.000 LU/a (Loading units per year),• between 20.000 and 100.000 LU/a• more than 100.000 LU/a

7.8.2 BARGE – ROAD TERMINALSFor containers. Two ranges of volumes are established:• less than 30.000 LU/a• more than 30.000 LU/a

7.8.3 BARGE – RAIL – ROAD TERMINALSFor containers. Two ranges of volume are established:• less than 50.000 LU/a• more than 50.000 LU/a

7.8.4 MARITIME FULL CONTAINER TERMINALS WITH ROAD AND RAILCONNECTIONS

For containersLess than 100.000 LU/aMore than 100.000 LU/a

7.8.5 MARITIME FULL CONTAINERS TERMINALS WITH ROAD – RAIL – BARGECONNECTIONS

For containersLess than 200.000 LU/aBetween 200.000 and 500.000LU/aMore THAN 500.000 LU/a

7.8.6 RAIL – ROAD BIMODAL TERMINALSWith specific semi-trailers and loading units for which the volume is rather low, around 10.000LU/a in average. The bimodal systems are not suited for large scale operations. In fact theyare more connections between 2 transport modes (rail and road) and their terminals.

7.8.7 RAIL – RAIL TRANSFER TERMINALSTwo main categories are estimated, corresponding to different sizes and organisations:volumes less than 300.000 LU/avolumes more than 300.000 LU/a(See the Commutor example) based on the hub and spoke system to catch the single wagonscombined transport market.

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