Available tools are insufficient to provide the needed systemwide view for planning future freight transportation systems based on the coordinated use of more than one mode of transportation. Many existing tools are either mode specific (they only address a single mode of transportation) or too microscopic in scope (they address only detailed traffic flows or facility operations). No comprehensive tool exists that considers the level of performance of the total system, which is important due to the many interdependencies that exist between the different modes of transportation. In some cases, optimizing just a particular component of the transportation network could result in sub-optimization of the entire transportation system. Intermodal freight transportation planning tools are needed to optimize future freight transportation systems. This thesis presents a prototype Virtual Intermodal Transportation System (VITS) that simulates the movement of freight via highways, railways, and waterways on a statewide level. The requirements for the VITS are researched and identified. The general processes of building the VITS prototype, the results from hypothetical case studies using the VITS as a planning and analysis tool, and potential improvements to the methodology are also discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-5699 |
| Date | 07 August 2004 |
| Creators | Tan, Aaron C |
| Publisher | Scholars Junction |
| Source Sets | Mississippi State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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