This article analyses the phenomenon of hinterland transport by rail and the remarkable journey that has taken place during the last ten years in Europe, especially in Scandinavia. Furthermore, it includes a brief examination of how current trends affect the role and development of rail for hinterland transport. In fact, particularly in Scandinavia, most of the potential market for hinterland transport of maritime containers is already realised. Nevertheless, stakeholders face new challenges as a result of the current financial crisis and global recession. As a result, transport systems, such as the Scandinavian rail shuttle system, now show modest growth figures in comparison to the 15 to 20 percent of annual growth over the last ten years. Ultimately, rail shuttle services and dry ports will still play an important future role in ensuring competitive and sustainable logistics systems assuming that these companies are able to cope with the imminent challenges.
BäthelF. and WoxeniusJ. (2004), Developing intermodal transport for small flows over short distances, Journal of Transportation Planning and Technology, 27 (5), 403–424.
2.
BeavisP.B.J., McGillI., WoxeniusJ. and MooreS. (2007), Interface design for the coordination of container freight infrastructure with urban logistical services, 11th WCTR, Berkeley, 24–28 June.
3.
BeresfordA.K.C. and DubeyR.C. (1990), Handbook on the management and operation of dry ports, Geneva.
4.
BergqvistR. (2008), Hamnpendlars betydelse for del Skandinaviska logistiksystemet (The significance of port shuttles for the Scandinavian logistics system), School of Business, Economics and Law at University of Gothenburg.
5.
BergqvistR., FalkemarkG. and WoxeniusJ. (2008) Establishing intermodal terminals. Nectar Logistics and Freight cluster meeting, Delft, 27–28 March.
6.
BigstenL. (2009), Development Manager, Municipality of Falköping, Interview, 2009-06-11
7.
Bundesamtfür Güterverkehr (2005), Marktbeobachtung Güterverkehr - Sonderbericht zum Seehafen-Hinterlandverkehr (Market observation freight transport: A special story about seaport hinterland transport), Cologne. In German.
8.
DahllöfG. (2009), Maersk drar ned med 35–40 positioner i Skandinavien (Maersk reduces 35–40 positions in Scandinavia), PÅHuggct, 10 (333), 2009-01-15.
9.
DebrieJ. (2004), Hinterland connections of ports and trans-European networks' evolution: The case of south-western Europe, the 10th WCTR, Istanbul, 4–8 July.
10.
GouvernaiE. and DaydouJ. (2005), Container railfreight services in north-west Europe: Diversity of organizational forms in a liberalizing environment, Transport Reviews, 25 (5), 557–571.
11.
GuthedA. (2005) Port Hinterland Connections, Licentiate thesis, Division of Logistics and Transportation, Chalmers University of Technology. Gothenburg.
12.
HesseM. and RodrigueJ-P (2004), The transport geography of logistics and freight distribution, Journal of Transport Geography, 12 (3), 171–184.
13.
IBI Group (2006), Inland container terminal analysis - Final report, Vancouver.
14.
LevequeP. and RosoV. (2002), Dry Port concept for seaport inland access with intermodal solutions, Masters thesis, Department of logistics and transportation, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg.
15.
NotteboomT. (2002), The interdependence between liner shipping networks and intermodal networks. IAME, Panama City, 13–15 November.
16.
NotteboomT. and RodrigueJ.-P. (2005), Port regionalization: towards a new phase in port development, Maritime Policy & Management, 32 (3), 297–313.
17.
PettitS. and BeresfordA. (2007), An analysis of logistics distribution patterns from major container ports and proposed container port developments in Great Britain, LRN 2007, Hull, 5–7 September.
18.
Port of Gothenburg (2009a), Rail, Road & Logistics, brochure, Gothenburg.
19.
Port of Gothenburg (2009b), The port in short, web page: www.portgot.se, accessed 2009-01-15.
20.
Port of Gothenburg (2009c), Rail services, web page: www.portgot.se, accessed 2009-06-20.
21.
RodrigueJ.-P. (2008), The Thruport Concept and Transmodal Rail Freight Distribution in North America, Journal of Transport Geography, 16 (4), 198–216.
22.
RosoV. (2006), Emergence and significance of dry ports, Licentiate thesis, Division of Logistics and Transportation, Chalmers University of Technology. Gothenburg.
23.
RosoV, WoxeniusJ. and LumsdenK. (2009), The Dry Port Concept - Connecting Seaports with their Hinterland by Rail, Journal of Transport Geography, 17 (5), 338–345.
24.
ThorénS.-G. (2009), Manager of rail services, Port of Gothenburg, Interview, 2009-06-11.
25.
Vander Horst and deLangen, M., P. (2008), Coordination in hinterland transport chains: a major challenge for the seaport community. Maritime Economies & Logistics, 10 (1–2), 108–129.
26.
VanKlink, H.A. (2000), Optimisation of Land Access to Sea Ports, In: Land Access to Sea Ports, European Conference of Ministers of Transport, Paris, 10–11 December 1998, pp. 121–141.
27.
VanKlink, H.A. and vanden Berg, G.C. (1998), Gateways and intermodalism, Journal of Transport Geography, 6 (1), 1–9.
28.
WangY. and CullinaneK. (2006), Port accessibility & the impact on container logistics, LRN 2006, Newcastle, 6–8 September.
29.
WoodburnA. (2006), The non-bulk market for rail freight in Great Britain, Journal of Transport Geography, 14 (4), 299–308.
30.
WoodburnA. (2007), The role for rail in port-based container freight flows in Britain, Maritime Policy & Management, 34 (4), 311–330.
31.
WoxeniusJ. and BergqvistR. (2008), Hinterland transport by rail - a success for maritime containers but failure for semi-trailers, LRN 2008, Liverpool, 10–12 September.
32.
Xu,M. and Wu,M. (2007), The evaluation of Ro-Ro shipment in Yangtze river and its development policy, LRN 2006, Newcastle, 6–8September.
