Tools for Route Planning of Intermodal Logistic Chains and Improvement Potential as well as Adaptation for Spatial Planning Purposes

The increasing goods transport in Europe is a major problem. Especially, the intermodal transport shall provide solutions to strength the transport modes rail and inland waterway. But some market barriers exist which prevent intermodal transport from a higher market share. One of these barriers is the underdeveloped IT and communication infrastructure between the various market actors in the intermodal market. The paper describes the requirements of different actors and shows an approach for an internet based intermodal planning tool. This includes theoretical foundations and algorithms, descriptions of the tool itself, comparisons with other approaches and planned enhancements to meet market requirements better.