GIS-based decision support system for multi criteria analysis of intermodal transport networks

Within the last 30 years, the European Union has seen a constant increase of freight transportation due to economic growth, change in intercontinental trade and decrease of barriers within the continent. The transport system is struggling in following this trend, showing signs of inefficiency from a socioeconomic point of view. Intermodal transport represents an excellent solution able to support an overall transport systems approach aimed at a more balanced and efficient use of the available resources. The need to shift the balance between transport modes, towards those that are more sustainable, is thus a prerogative of the future policies, that has to be supported by tools able to analyze the repercussions of intermodal transport adoption, on socio-economic and environmental aspects. This paper reports on the development of a GIS-based Decision Support System (IFDSS) intended to support policy makers in evaluating the impact of technological, infrastructural or legislative actions as well as freight transportation during the choice of paths and transport modes, by analyzing and comparing the adoption of the aforementioned actions in different scenarios. Future research focuses on further validation and extension of the software platform developed and described in this paper.