Improving the efficiency of inland waterborne transport in the Rhine-Alpine corridor

This paper presents the first step to the simulation model of the container Inland Waterborne Transportation (IWT) system that is being developed within the NOVIMOVE framework. In doing this, the paper analyzes the market developments and identifies the current situation and challenges of container barge transport regarding both deepsea and inland terminals. To address these challenges, a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model for the barge logistics system is proposed. This model will allow for a detailed analysis of the impact of the different innovations (such as mobile terminals, vessel trains, cargo reconstruction, and smart navigation) that are being developed within the NOVIMOVE framework. Hence, the current paper sets the background of the model by establishing the DES model architecture, the system boundary, data requirements, and the key performance indicators (KPIs) that are established within the model.