A Mathematical Application Method for Configuring Rail-Water Intermodal Transportation Equipment in Container Terminals

Abstract

The quantity configuration of loading, unloading, and transfer equipment at intermodal hubs for container rail-water transportation significantly impacts terminal operational efficiency. This paper takes the container rail-water intermodal hub as the research carrier and focuses on various types of lifting equipment and horizontal transportation equipment within the hub. From the perspective of the interests involved in the intermodal hub, the research objectives are established as minimizing the loading and unloading durations of ships and trains, the equipment handling costs, and the carbon tax cost from container truck movements. Constraints are set considering the impacts of equipment allocation and scheduling, as well as container transfer plans. A multi-objective loading and unloading equipment configuration model based on time periods and with incoming ships and trains as allocation units is constructed. Based on this, a genetic algorithm with specific search rules is designed to solve the model. Through case study analysis, an optimal allocation scheme for loading and unloading equipment is achieved, and the validity of the model and algorithm is verified. This research provides support for the efficient operation of container multimodal transport terminals.