Simulation and performance evaluation of an Intermodal terminal using Petri Nets

This paper focuses on modelling and performance evaluation of an Intermodal Freight Transport Terminal (IFTT), the rail-road inland terminal of a leading Italian intermodal logistics company. The IFTT is regarded as a discrete event system and is modelled in a timed Petri net framework. By means of suitable performance indices, we simulate the Petri net model and evaluate the operational performance of the transport system. This allows assessing the efficiency level of the terminal and identifying its criticalities and bottlenecks. Further, the model allows evaluating different solutions to the recognized criticalities under alternative scenarios (e.g., when inflow traffic increases and congestions may occur).