Verification of modifications to container terminal's operation connected with planned throughput increase - examination of infrastructure and operational changes.

Description:

Hupac is the leading rail transport provider of inter-modal traffic through the Swiss Alps. The Busto Arsizio / Gallarate Terminal is one of the most advanced inter-modal centres in all of Europe for the transhipment of freight traffic from the road to rails. With an overall surface of 250,000 m², this facility has an operational capacity of 30 pairs of Shuttle Net trains per day, equal to the daily transhipment of 1,500 road shipments.

problems and study goals:

The main goal of the simulation study was:

• to determine the maximal railway capacity of the terminal under various conditions (e.g. enlargement of a sector).

Limitation for the model was set by the capacity of the main line connected to the terminal via Gallarate station.

study results:

The simulation study covered only the railway traffic in terminal (the model included all needed arrangements to compensate the lack of road traffic) and respective simulation model of the operation was created in Villon simulation tool (including 3D visualization of the processes). Executed experiments that reflected various changes to the terminal operational strategies or its infrastructure provided clear identification of the terminal capacity limits under given conditions. The requested capacity could be reached only after some infrastructural changes to the terminal sectors.