NJIT eTD: The New Jersey Institute of Technology's electronic Theses & Dissertations
Title:
Optimizing rail-truck intermodal drayage operations
Author:
Zhang, Wen
Document Type:
Thesis
Department:
Executive Committee for the Interdisciplinary Program in Transportation
Degree:
Master of Science
Major:
Transportation
Advisory Committee:
Spasovic, Lazar
Bladikas, Athanassios K.
Pignataro, Louis J.
Thesis Date:
1995, October
Keywords:
Terminals (Transportation).
Containerization.
Freight-cars on truck trailers.
Freight and freightage.
Availability:
Unrestricted
Abstract:

This thesis presents a case study of the trucking (or drayage) portion of rail-truck intermodal freight transportation. The approach used was to examine in detail the current costs and potential for improvement at one New Jersey intermodal terminal. The analysis is conducted using a mathematical programming model to find an optimal scheduling plan for the drayage operation. To solve the model more efficiently, a modification is made to explore the special structure of the original problem which has a sparse constraint matrix. The model is solved first with an objective function that minimizes the total cost of the operation, and then with an objective function that minimizes the total tractor fleet size required to move the containers. The model results indicate a 19.2% and 52.7% reduction in overall costs respectively for the objectives of minimizing total cost and minimizing fleet size. This reduction is achieved by repositioning and reloading containers, after they have been unloaded at consignees.

Complete Thesis:
njit-etd1995-029 (114 pages ~ 4,294 KB pdf)
Feedback:
Please complete this Feedback Form to inform us about your experience using this website. It will assist us in better serving your information needs in the future. Thank You!
If you have any questions please contact the Digital Projects Librarian
Created November 27, 2006
To view these documents you will need the Acrobat Reader Plug-in. If you do not have it you can download it free from