A Metamodeling Approach to the Management of Intermodal Transportation Networks

The paper specifies an Integrated System (IS) devoted to the management of Intermodal Transportation Networks (ITNs) to take both tactical decisions, i.e., in an offline mode, and operational decisions, i.e., in real-time. Both the resulting IS structures rely on a closed-loop approach that is able to tune the choices with the current system conditions. In either case, the core of the presented IS are a reference model and a simulation module. In particular, the reference model uses information from the real system, obtained by modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the simulation module evaluates the impact of the management decisions. In order to obtain a systematic model suitable to describe a generic ITN, the paper proposes a metamodeling approach that describes in a thorough and detailed way the structure and the behavior of ITNs. Moreover, the metamodeling procedure is a top-down technique based on the well-known Unified Modeling Language (UML), a graphic and textual formalism able to describe systems from structural and behavioral viewpoints. In order to show the IS application at the tactical decision level, the paper specifies the IS for an ITN case study that is constituted by the port of Trieste (Italy) and the inland terminal of Gorizia (Italy). The results show how the IS can improve the performance of the ITN by applying ICT tools and information-based services. Note to Practitioners-The motivation of the present work is to design an IS for use by decision makers both in ITN offline planning and real-time management. To specify the IS, the paper proposes a closed-loop management structure based on a reference model describing the IS structure and behavior and a simulation module that foresees the system dynamics. The IS provides the ITN designers with important key features. First, the IS can detect the bottlenecks of the system and evaluate the performance of alternative middle term solutions. Second, based on modern ICT tools, the IS can enable the decision makers to update some operational design parameters in a real-time closed-loop strategy. Future research aims at specifying the decision and control modules of the IS structure to design a decision support system based on the presented metamodeling framework.