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From page 133... ... 133 Overview Advanced inland container transport technologies have been proposed as solutions to the capacity, congestion, and emissions issues facing marine container ports in dense urban environments. The proposals to apply advanced fixed-guideway technologies to inland container transport were generated by the desire and perceived need in Southern California to move containers with zero local emissions and to take them off existing roads. Read the entire page →
From page 134... ... 134 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers • Developed corresponding spreadsheet model inputs for competing container transport systems (e.g., conventional electric railroads and low-emissions trucks) Read the entire page →
From page 135... ... Findings and Conclusions 135 Defining Goals Careful attention to goal definition and a rigorous analysis of the issues before considering the options was critical in the case studies, as anticipated. In both cases, the operative goals went well beyond the technical challenges and ruled out some major options even if they could have satisfied the technical criteria. Read the entire page →
From page 136... ... 136 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers Whether expressed as TRL, "constructability," "implementation horizon," or in other terms, the near-term availability of a given solution is a major concern. The uses of "constructability" and related concepts as screening criteria are directly related to the handling of technical risk. Read the entire page →
From page 137... ... Findings and Conclusions 137 This finding suggests that a tight focus and careful specification of the goal to be pursued or the problem to be addressed is a vital first step in applying the proposed method. This finding also has implications for the inherent suitability of advanced fixed-guideway technologies for inland container transport, addressed in a following section. Read the entire page →
From page 138... ... 138 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers • Some are at TRLs 3 and 4, corresponding to demonstrations of physical feasibility through laboratory experiments or testing. • A few of the line-haul technology proposals have attained TRLs 4 and 5 with the development and testing of models or prototypes. Read the entire page →
From page 139... ... Findings and Conclusions 139 Here too, none of the proposed systems have reached SRL 4 or above. Critical systems components, such as terminals and control systems, are still in the conceptual stage at best. Read the entire page →
From page 140... ... 140 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers • Phased development potential. The highway infrastructure for electrified trucks provides additional capacity, even before electrification is complete or electric truck technology is mature. Read the entire page →
From page 141... ... Findings and Conclusions 141 adverse implications for weight and cost. The tight headways might also be compromised by the need to allow for vehicle exit and entry in multi-terminal system configurations. Read the entire page →
From page 142... ... 142 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers • Transloading the container horizontally over the outbound vehicle • Lowering the container onto the vehicle • Releasing the lift device • Raising the lift device clear of the container • Securing the outbound container to the vehicle Assuming that both containers are ready to be transferred and located within reach of the lift equipment and that the drop location is adjacent and clear, the unload/load cycle takes a minimum of 5 to 6 minutes. To this must be added the time to shift the lift equipment between vehicles. Read the entire page →
From page 143... ... Findings and Conclusions 143 Figure 8-5. Example of weekly container terminal truck arrival peaking. Read the entire page →
From page 144... ... 144 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers Finally, there are variations during the year, with agricultural movements and holiday goods creating seasonal peaks. This peak-and-valley variability creates difficulties for any fixed-capacity system: • A system capable of handling the peaks will be underutilized during the valleys. Read the entire page →
From page 145... ... Findings and Conclusions 145 characteristics of the technologies, where they compare unfavorably with even the cleanest and most expensive trucks. It is also typical for the transit applications from which these technologies are drawn to have relatively high capital costs because of complex engineering, automation, and other features. Read the entire page →
From page 146... ... 146 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers ship-to-shore and shore-to-rail container transfer that would be disrupted by a new guideway operation. At legacy ports, particularly those set in developed urban areas, the feasibility of locating and developing right-of-way for a new guideway is often questionable. Read the entire page →
From page 147... ... Findings and Conclusions 147 Figure 8-7. Legacy infrastructure surrounding Seattle container terminals. Read the entire page →
From page 148... ... 148 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers options only conventional rail electrification (via catenary or third rail) is a mature technology, with truck electrification at a lower level of technological readiness and LSM retrofits lower still. Read the entire page →
From page 149... ... Findings and Conclusions 149 The above considerations imply that advanced guideway technologies are poorly suited to replace truck and rail systems at existing ports, but might be more competitive as part of new port designs and developments. Unfavorable and favorable conditions for advanced fixedguideway systems are outlined in Table 8-2 and discussed in further detail below. Read the entire page →
From page 150... ... 150 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers Figure 8-9. Port of Oakland configuration. Read the entire page →
From page 151... ... Findings and Conclusions 151 Figure 8-11. Port of Houston Barbours Cut configuration. Read the entire page →
From page 152... ... 152 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers Few legacy container terminals could easily add a fixed-guideway transfer point within their existing footprint. At a minimum, the terminal would have to surrender a significant portion of its long-term throughput capacity to convert existing container yard space to a new use. Read the entire page →
From page 153... ... Findings and Conclusions 153 Figure 8-14. Wheeled marine container terminal. Read the entire page →
From page 154... ... 154 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers A previous section discussed the difficulties faced by system planners in finding routes through the legacy infrastructure surrounding most U.S. ports. Read the entire page →
From page 155... ... Findings and Conclusions 155 Figure 8-17. Port of Virginia APM terminal. Read the entire page →
From page 156... ... 156 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers have only concrete barriers for medians. The main arterials serving Seagirt at Baltimore have no medians at all. Read the entire page →
From page 157... ... Findings and Conclusions 157 APM terminal at Portsmouth, which is connected to the highway system via a dedicated road. This highly automated terminal also has a rail intermodal transfer facility on its north perimeter. Read the entire page →
From page 158... ... 158 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers that (1) moves import containers from the marine terminal to an inland satellite terminal for sorting and onward movement and (2) Read the entire page →
From page 159... ... Findings and Conclusions 159 its own infrastructure costs would be heavily skewed toward the trucks. This observation is crucial because one of the major reasons for considering fixed-guideway alternatives was to divert trucks from public roads. Read the entire page →
From page 160... ... 160 Evaluating Alternatives for Landside Transport of Ocean Containers For the most part, these broad policy issues remain unaddressed in the goods movement field. Multiple policy tools are in use to influence the mode choice of passengers, including transit subsidies, tax incentives, HOV lanes, and selective auto bans. Read the entire page →
From page 161... ... Abbreviations and acronyms used without definitions in TRB publications: A4A Airlines for America AAAE American Association of Airport Executives AASHO American Association of State Highway Officials AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials ACI–NA Airports Council International–North America ACRP Airport Cooperative Research Program ADA Americans with Disabilities Act APTA American Public Transportation Association ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials ATA American Trucking Associations CTAA Community Transportation Association of America CTBSSP Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program DHS Department of Homeland Security DOE Department of Energy EPA Environmental Protection Agency FAA Federal Aviation Administration FHWA Federal Highway Administration FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FRA Federal Railroad Administration FTA Federal Transit Administration HMCRP Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ISTEA Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 ITE Institute of Transportation Engineers MAP-21 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (2012) NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASAO National Association of State Aviation Officials NCFRP National Cooperative Freight Research Program NCHRP National Cooperative Highway Research Program NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NTSB National Transportation Safety Board PHMSA Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration RITA Research and Innovative Technology Administration SAE Society of Automotive Engineers SAFETEA-LU Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (2005) Read the entire page →
From page 162... ... TRA N SPO RTATIO N RESEA RCH BO A RD 500 Fifth Street, N W W ashington, D C 20001 A D D RESS SERV ICE REQ U ESTED ISBN 978-0-309-30848-9 9 7 8 0 3 0 9 3 0 8 4 8 9 9 0 0 0 0 N O N -PR O FIT O R G . Read the entire page →

From page 133...

... 133 Overview Advanced inland container transport technologies have been proposed as solutions to the capacity, congestion, and emissions issues facing marine container ports in dense urban environments. The proposals to apply advanced fixed-guideway technologies to inland container transport were generated by the desire and perceived need in Southern California to move containers with zero local emissions and to take them off existing roads.