WCTRS SIG B3: Freight Transport Operations and Intermodality
World Conference on Transport Research Special Interest Group

Welcome to SIG B3: Freight Transport Operations and Intermodality

The World Conference on Transport Research Society (WCTRS) provides a forum for interchange of ideas among transport researchers, managers, policy makers, and educators from all over the world, from a multi-modal, multi-disciplinary, and multi-sectoral perspective.

Within WCTRS, as part of Topic Area B, which includes freight carried by all modes of transport, Special Interest Group B3 focuses on connecting logistics and freight transport operations and intermodality.

The principal objectives are:

  • Providing a platform for researchers, managers, and policymakers to exchange ideas, theories, and methods in the field of freight transport operations and intermodality
  • Organizing and coordinating sessions on freight transport operations and intermodality at the WCTR conferences
  • Contributing to research activities in the field of freight transport operations and intermodality
  • Fostering cooperation with various research organizations

We are active on Social Media, so get in touch with us now via LinkedIn!

What do we need to bridge international transport corridors and make them resilient when disruptions inevitably happen?

We need data – high-quality, accessible, and shared data.

On 6 November 2025, WCTRS SIG B3 hosted their second online seminar, which explored how multimodal transport chains can become smarter and more resilient through better data availability. A recurring theme emerged: the varying levels of readiness among players to share their data. As Dr. Ralf Bammerlin from the German Federal Department of Transport aptly put it: We need data protection, but if we never share data, we cannot make data accessible and foster progress.

From the U.S., Dr. Thomas Koch from Massachusetts Institute of Technology presented the FLOW Project: an initiative to optimize supply chains through improved data use in logistics. Initially focused on containerized import freight, it demonstrates the potential when diverse actors collaborate and share data on a common platform.

Looking ahead, Prof. Lori Tavasszy offered a glimpse into the future: a landscape filled with digital platforms and new services designed to meet the ever-growing demand in freight transport. To make this vision work, we’ll need to adapt how we operate — and how we trust. We’ll need an anchor (perhaps the Physical Internet?), we’ll need to turn visions into operational plans, and we’ll need clear governance to build an efficient and resilient logistics architecture.

As disruptions in global logistics become increasingly common, the need for resilient and adaptive transport networks has never been greater. On November 14, 2024, SIG B3 hosted a dynamic online seminar addressing these challenges, with a special focus on the robustness of intermodal transport chains. The session featured key insights from industry leaders, including Jürgen Albersmann (CEO of Contargo Trimodal Network and UIRR Board Member), who outlined critical issues in European intermodal logistics. From major rail corridor overhauls in Germany to unplanned disruptions like strikes and IT outages, participants were presented with a candid view of the significant strains on the transport network. Technical challenges, such as inadequate infrastructure for longer trains, further underscored the urgency for innovative solutions.

Broadening the discussion to a global scale, Gilbert Bal (Senior Business Manager, Port of Rotterdam) and Eric Shen (CEO of Shen and Associates, LLC) joined the conversation to examine systemic issues. Together, the speakers emphasized the complexity of logistics challenges, highlighting the interplay of political, environmental, and operational factors. Insufficient infrastructure development and limited policy reforms have stymied progress, making the need for innovative approaches to data exchange and operational efficiency ever more critical. Despite the daunting nature of these problems, the speakers shared a clear message: while there are no quick fixes, there are actionable steps to build resilience.

The seminar concluded with practical strategies to strengthen logistics networks. These included embracing technological innovation to mitigate climate impacts, shifting freight strategically to reduce bottlenecks, enhancing buffer capacity for better disruption management, and improving digital integration to enable agile communication and rerouting.

SIG B3 started into the World Conference on Transport Research in Montréal, Canada looking at five very interesting sessions covering topics about intermodal freight transport networks: from innovative ICT, the importance of terminals, resilience and flexibility in the face of disruptions such as Covid-19, as well as promising developments and challenges when it comes to successfully decarbonizing transport chains.

These successful sessions were complemented by two very special sessions. Organized by our Co-Chair Gunnar Stefansson from the University of Iceland, the first special session was titled “Electric, autonomous, and automatic transport and logistics operations” and talked about the challenges and opportunities which electric heavy trucks and autonomous driving offer together in transport networks.

The second special session was cooperative event organized together with the Transportation Research Board’s Intermodal Freight Transport Committee AT045: The session analyzed how to build and maintain the “right kind” of infrastructure for intermodal freight transport, and evaluated the impact of geopolitical developments and climate change. Two topically relevant presentations were followed by an invited talk by Eric Shen, member of AT045 and founder of Shen and Associates, LLC. who spoke about possibilities to address necessary shifts of freight transport in the US Southwest Region, and how to build and maintain resilient and sustainable transport infrastructure.

At the 2022 WCTRS Virtual Meet, SIG B3 organized two sessions on Climate Change – The role that freight transport can play to avoid emissions

To speed up decarbonization in freight transport, there is a need of drastic measures composed of infrastructure investments, pricing scheme and regulatory improvements. Our aim was to identify initiatives and measures which have the potential to decarbonize freight transport together with prominent representatives from research and industry.

Attending WCTR and TRB events

2025

How can we bridge international transport corridors and make them resilient enough to withstand inevitable disruptions? To do this, we need data—high-quality, accessible, and shared data.

On November 6, 2025, WCTRS SIG B3 held its second online seminar to discuss how multimodal transport chains can become smarter and more resilient through better data availability. The seminar welcomed speakers from Germany, the Netherlands, and the US, who shared international perspectives on how data and digital platforms can transform the multimodal transport landscape to enable efficient and resilient logistics.

How can the utilization of freight trains in intermodal transport be significantly improved without losing sight of the complex practical requirements? This question was the focus of Yuerui Tang's presentation at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. Under the title “Optimizing Train Load Planning in Intermodal Transportation”, he presented innovative approaches to maximize capacity utilization in freight shipping. Using a comparison of mathematical models and a case study with real data from a leading European operator, it was shown how modern optimization techniques can revolutionize combined road and rail freight transport.

2024

As disruptions in global logistics become increasingly common, the need for resilient and adaptive transport networks has never been greater. On November 14, 2024, SIG B3 hosted a dynamic online seminar addressing these challenges, with a special focus on the robustness of intermodal transport chains. From major rail corridor overhauls in Germany to unplanned disruptions like strikes and IT outages, participants were presented with a candid view of the significant strains on the transport network. Technical challenges, such as inadequate infrastructure for longer trains, further underscored the urgency for innovative solutions.

Innovative solutions are needed to promote combined freight transport (CT) in Germany. At the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington DC, USA, Hongjun Wu reported on how rail freight transport can be improved. With the aim of making train rotations more efficient, we are working together with the MegaHub Lehrte as part of the research project “KV-Hub”.

Raphael Hackober also presented the research work on barriers to innovation in European rail freight transport in a poster session in order to gain a better understanding of the current challenges in rail freight transport.

2023

With an eye on digitization and innovation in intermodal freight transport, Prof. Elbert, Johannes Rentschler and Felix Roeper attended the 16th World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR) in Montréal, Canada, from July 17 to 21, 2023, and provided insights into two research projects.

Prof. Elbert and Johannes Rentschler talked about the potential of reliable dynamic “Estimated Time of Arrival” (ETA) forecasts in intermodal transport. Special attention was given to the benefits for SME forwarders and the promotion of flexibility and sustainability of intermodal transport chains.

Prof. Elbert and Felix Roeper presented research on how truck platoons in road freight transport can be planned in a decentralized way using AI developed by Deep Reinforcement Learning to reduce costs and emissions in road freight transport.

On the topic of synchromodal transport chains, i.e. synchronized and interconnected transport networks that allow a change of transport mode in real time, Prof. Elbert and our research associate Johannes Rentschler had the opportunity to speak at the Annual Meet of the Transportation Research Board in Washington, D.C. in the USA. Together they presented their research results on the potentials of synchromodal transport, collected together with Felix Weber, in the session “Current Research in Intermodal Freight Transport”.

2022

As part of the WCTRS Virtual Meet 2022, Prof. Ralf Elbert, as Chair of the WCTRS Special Interest Group B3 “Freight Transport Operations and Intermodality”, together with his team, organized two sessions on “Climate Change – The role that freight transport can play to avoid emissions”. In collaboration with the TRB AT045 Intermodal Freight Transport Committee for the first session and with the participation of numerous international guest speakers at both sessions, promising initiatives to reduce/avoid emissions in freight transport were identified and evaluated.

As part of the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Johannes Rentschler presented his research “Combined Hub Location and Service Network Design Problem – A Case Study for an Intermodal Rail Operator and Structural Analysis” on January 10, 2022 in Washington D.C., USA.

2021

On 22.09.21 Prof. Dr. Ralf Elbert and M.Sc. Felix Roeper presented their first research results on the ongoing research project “Exchange platform for time windows” at the 3rd Innovations in Freight Data Workshop of the Transportation Research Board. Especially the possibility to exchange time windows on a cross-provider data platform was the focus of the presentation.

2019

From May 26, 2019 to May 31, 2019, the fifteenth annual World Conference on Transport Research was held in Mumbai, India. The Chair of Management and Logistics was represented with two presentations at the conference. On the one hand, Prof. Dr. Ralf Elbert and Christian Friedrich presented their current research on “Urban consolidation and cargo bikes: a simulation study” in the session on Urban Goods Movemen. On the other hand, Prof. Dr. Ralf Elbert and Jan Philipp Müller presented in the session Intermodal Freight Transport their contribution on “Network planning and design in multimodal transportation under consideration of uncertainty”.

2016

Prof. Elbert participated in the 14th World Conference on Transport Research in Shanghai which took place from 10th July to 15th July at Tongji University of Shanghai. The latest research results of the division of management and logistics about combined traffic were shown in the presentation “Intermodal Freight Transport and the Mode Choice Decision: Perceptions of Decision-Makers to Modal Shift”. Furthermore, talks with the German-Chinese Academic Association (CDHK) of the Tongji-University were conducted in order to start and intensify cooperations.

2013

From 15th until 18th of July 2013 the triannual “World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR )” took place for the 13th time. Chosen from more than 1000 submitted research themes, Prof. Elbert and Mr. Pontow presented their research topic “Standardization and Integration of Information Flow Along the Maritime Transport Chain”. According to the presentation in Rio de Janeiro this article was selected by the peer reviewer for publication in the conference proceedings.