Energy use in freight transport is closely linked to economies of scale that can be achieved when large amounts of cargo are transported at one time. By making use of high capacity transports and by using cargo carriers optimized for the respective transport modes, the amount of energy to move goods can be significantly reduced. Even transport costs could be reduced.

The purpose of the activity is to identify sustainable intermodal (sea-rail) HCT solutions for a given transport relation and to show their potential for energy savings and positive effects on the environment. This shall be done by taken the transports between Mälardalen (Sweden) and the United Kingdom as a case study. The results will then be made transferable to similar cases by analyzing the influence of different parameters.

1. Mapping of existing and promising multimodal (sea-rail) HCT solutions with the potential to be implemented as transport solution between Mälardalen (Sweden) and the United Kingdom

2. Mapping and analysis of actions which would short-term increase the competitiveness of sea and railroad transports while increasing integration of transport equipment and cargo carriers between these modes

3. Mapping of the market for selected multimodal (sea-rail) HCT solutions between Mälardalen (Sweden) and the United Kingdom in order to identify energy saving potential and profitability

4. Analysis of the energy saving potential based on findings of activities 1-3

5. Analysis of parameters which affect the potential of multimodal (sea-rail) HCT solutions in cases similar to the Mälardalen (Sweden) – United Kingdom case

6. Proposal for a pilot to validate the results of activities 1-5

7. Pilot traffic

8. Validation of the pilot traffic

A consortium of private companies (shippers, terminal, forwarders) active in Sweden is supporting the project idea.

Partners with similar interests in order to create a common project. We can imagine to lead a WP.