Joint Allocation of Shared Yard Space and Internal Trucks in Sea–Rail Intermodal Container Terminals

The sea–rail intermodal container terminal serves as a key transportation hub for green logistics, where efficient resource coordination directly enhances multimodal connectivity and operational synergy. To address limited storage capacity and trans-shipment inefficiencies, this study innovatively p...

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Main Authors: Xiaohan Wang, Zhihong Jin, Jia Luo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/5/983
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author Xiaohan Wang
Zhihong Jin
Jia Luo
author_facet Xiaohan Wang
Zhihong Jin
Jia Luo
author_sort Xiaohan Wang
collection DOAJ
description The sea–rail intermodal container terminal serves as a key transportation hub for green logistics, where efficient resource coordination directly enhances multimodal connectivity and operational synergy. To address limited storage capacity and trans-shipment inefficiencies, this study innovatively proposes a resource-sharing strategy between the seaport and the railway container terminal, focusing on the joint allocation of yard space and internal trucks. For indirect trans-shipment operations between ships, the port, the railway container terminal, and trains, a mixed-integer programming model is formulated with the objective of minimizing the container trans-shipment cost and the weighted turnaround time of ships and trains. This model simultaneously determines yard allocation, container transfers, and truck allocation. A two-layer hybrid heuristic algorithm incorporating adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization and Greedy Rules is designed. Numerical experiments verify the model and algorithm performance, revealing that the proposed method achieves an optimality gap of only 1.82% compared to CPLEX in small-scale instances while outperforming benchmark algorithms in solution quality. And the shared yard strategy enhances ship and train turnaround efficiency by an average of 33.45% over traditional storage form. Sensitivity analysis considering multiple realistic factors further confirms the robustness and generalizability. This study provides a theoretical foundation for sustainable port–railway collaboration development.
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spelling doaj-art-85a3205f35a94c8ea491767d76bfd6402025-08-20T03:47:57ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122025-05-0113598310.3390/jmse13050983Joint Allocation of Shared Yard Space and Internal Trucks in Sea–Rail Intermodal Container TerminalsXiaohan Wang0Zhihong Jin1Jia Luo2School of Economics and Management, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo 315211, ChinaCollege of Transportation Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, ChinaSchool of Economics and Management, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo 315211, ChinaThe sea–rail intermodal container terminal serves as a key transportation hub for green logistics, where efficient resource coordination directly enhances multimodal connectivity and operational synergy. To address limited storage capacity and trans-shipment inefficiencies, this study innovatively proposes a resource-sharing strategy between the seaport and the railway container terminal, focusing on the joint allocation of yard space and internal trucks. For indirect trans-shipment operations between ships, the port, the railway container terminal, and trains, a mixed-integer programming model is formulated with the objective of minimizing the container trans-shipment cost and the weighted turnaround time of ships and trains. This model simultaneously determines yard allocation, container transfers, and truck allocation. A two-layer hybrid heuristic algorithm incorporating adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization and Greedy Rules is designed. Numerical experiments verify the model and algorithm performance, revealing that the proposed method achieves an optimality gap of only 1.82% compared to CPLEX in small-scale instances while outperforming benchmark algorithms in solution quality. And the shared yard strategy enhances ship and train turnaround efficiency by an average of 33.45% over traditional storage form. Sensitivity analysis considering multiple realistic factors further confirms the robustness and generalizability. This study provides a theoretical foundation for sustainable port–railway collaboration development.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/5/983sea–rail intermodal container terminalyard allocationcontainer transferinternal truck allocationtrans-shipmentshared yards
spellingShingle Xiaohan Wang
Zhihong Jin
Jia Luo
Joint Allocation of Shared Yard Space and Internal Trucks in Sea–Rail Intermodal Container Terminals
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
sea–rail intermodal container terminal
yard allocation
container transfer
internal truck allocation
trans-shipment
shared yards
title Joint Allocation of Shared Yard Space and Internal Trucks in Sea–Rail Intermodal Container Terminals
title_full Joint Allocation of Shared Yard Space and Internal Trucks in Sea–Rail Intermodal Container Terminals
title_fullStr Joint Allocation of Shared Yard Space and Internal Trucks in Sea–Rail Intermodal Container Terminals
title_full_unstemmed Joint Allocation of Shared Yard Space and Internal Trucks in Sea–Rail Intermodal Container Terminals
title_short Joint Allocation of Shared Yard Space and Internal Trucks in Sea–Rail Intermodal Container Terminals
title_sort joint allocation of shared yard space and internal trucks in sea rail intermodal container terminals
topic sea–rail intermodal container terminal
yard allocation
container transfer
internal truck allocation
trans-shipment
shared yards
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/5/983
work_keys_str_mv AT xiaohanwang jointallocationofsharedyardspaceandinternaltrucksinsearailintermodalcontainerterminals
AT zhihongjin jointallocationofsharedyardspaceandinternaltrucksinsearailintermodalcontainerterminals
AT jialuo jointallocationofsharedyardspaceandinternaltrucksinsearailintermodalcontainerterminals