Multicriteria Approach to the Evaluation of Intermodal Freight Villages

Abstract

An integrated methodological process was developed to evaluate the expected effect of freight villages. Because the criteria differ as do their measurement units, multicriteria analysis is proposed. The process required an in-depth analysis of the decision-making process for creating a freight village, the operations and the actors involved, and the most recent best practices. The methodology identifies a set of decision criteria, including environmental quality; contributions to local, regional, and national economies; attractiveness for private financing; contribution to land use changes; and complementarity with other policy plans. In addition, the methodology defines the most appropriate corresponding indicators. The identification of stakeholder categories and decision criteria provides added value to the proposed methodological process. The importance of European transport policies on freight villages and terminals development could mean that the process would be the main contributor in developing a pan-European decision tool to assess such investments, especially if private and public funds were involved. The pilot application is an evaluation of investment in a freight village development in northern Greece. The location was selected because it is at the crossroads of important road and rail axes of trans-European transport networks and the interest expressed by the European Commission and Greek private investors.