Several classifications of ports were proposed in the literature, but there is no single established or accepted framework or taxonomy due to the complexity and diversity of the port entities.

In 1990s, UNCTAD introduced a new classification based on the definition of port-generation, according to which some prevalent ports’ characteristics could be associated to discrete time periods, the so-called generations. UNCTAD fully defined the characteristics of three generations of ports, while the fourth-generation port was less specified. Later, several researchers criticized the definition of portgeneration and proposed new elements of classification, mainly of qualitative nature.

The objective of the paper regards to the definition of an operative basis for the quantitative specification of ports’ characteristics, based on UNCTAD port-generation approach. The definition of a specific generation for a port is not a vote, or an element of ranking; but, a synthetic indicator about his main role in the worldwide network. Several ports were object, in the time, of a process of hybridization. They were born with specific characteristics and, later, they evolved in acquiring new ones.

The paper, after the presentation of a revised port-generation classification, proposes some indicators to identify each of the three generations defined by UNCTAD. The applicative section presents the preliminary results of the calculation of the specified indicators to a set of Italian ports.

The vehicle running safety on structures during an earthquake is drawing great attention due to the increased frequency of large-scale earthquakes in recent years in Japan. In order to enhance the vehicle running safety on structures during an earthquake, it is important to reinforce existing structures in an effective and efficient way. On this point, it is needed to identify potential weak structures for the running safety in continuous railway structures, understand the dominant factor that contributes to causing derailment, and provide an appropriate reinforcement to the existing structures. In this study, we investigated the influence of various parameters related to the vehicle running safety on structures during an earthquake with simple dynamic structural models using the analysis program DIASTARS III that can consider the dynamic interaction between railway vehicles and railway structures. We also conducted seismic vehicle running analysis on a model line with 4.8 km in length and identified the weak structures for the running safety. Additionally, we proposed an index that is calculated only from structural responses with an earthquake and evaluates the ease of derailment. It was observed that the index could identify the critical structures on the running safety and evaluate the dominant factor.

In a world where the population and many economies are expanding rapidly the demand for freight transport keeps rising accordingly. As more goods are transported by a growing number of freight vehicles, in particular trucks and sea vessels, their already considerable negative environmental impact also rises. Technology advances, but demand growth (partially) counteracts its positive impact on fuel consumption and emissions. In road transport, CO₂ -emissions keep rising, while emissions of NO_x and PM₁₀ have been reduced, at least in those countries where the most advanced engine technologies are used, although locally serious problems may remain. In areas where such technologies are not available, more freight transport means higher emissions and negative health effects. Sea shipping sees increasing emission levels overall. Maritime transport and trucking dominate intercontinental freight transport. Modernisation of railways and roads offers opportunities to reduce emissions by using rail for part of the journey. In a market setting, this means that transport providers have to redesign transport chains. Some have done this already, while others are increasingly interested. To assess the potential, the following main research question was addressed: Is it possible to reduce emissions of CO₂ , NO_x and PM₁₀ by replacing the maritime leg of a transport service by road and/or rail transport in the corridor Antwerp (Belgium) – Shanghai (China) without logistic penalties? Various combinations of trucking, sea and rail transport were fed into a simulation model to estimate the accompanying emissions and trip times. The new services offer a complex range of positive and negative impacts; hence governments should carefully consider their support. In a simulation study only a very stylised representation of these services can be modelled. This leads to an advice for a more in-depth study to include additional (technical, service and cost) data.

Wheel forces generate stresses in the rail as a function of several vehicle and infrastructure characteristics and operating conditions. The different components of the wheel forces develop strains in the rail which contain an elastic and hysteretic (irreversible) components. The irreversible deformations of the rail would be associated with locomotive energy losses. In this paper, a testing facility is proposed to indirectly characterize the level of stresses in the rail, in terms of the energy that is lost during turning manoeuvres. Different potentially influential factors are considered, including the friction at the centre plate, the wheelbase length, the distance between bogies and the radius of the curved track. The change in the potential energy during a U-turn displacement is measured. In this respect, an experimental model under this operating principles, aimed at validating such a principle of operation, reveals a significant effect of the friction at the centre plate on the energy lost during turning manoeuvres, and consequently, on the level of stresses in the rail.

a new approach is conducted within sncf réseau to redefine and improve the current procedure behind rolling stocks admission. a perspective to update computation rules for traffic conditions is to consider track fatigue issues. in this sense, the study aims to provide a better knowledge of stress state induced by moving vehicles in rails through a lightweight numerical model of the track. specifically, the track model consists of a two-layer discrete support model in which the rail is considered as a beam and sleepers are punctual masses. the rail-pads and ballast layer are modelled as spring/damper cou ples. considering the track’s vertical response, the study intends to quantify the impact of the vehicle’s dynamic overload on the track response and verify the possibility of these overloads to excite track vibration modes. a first study considering constant moving loads already shows negligible effect of track inertia forces due to high track stiffness and damping. this justifies the prediction of mechanical stress state in the rail for fatigue issues through a static model of the track and a simplified dynamic model for the vehicle.

The present work is part of the Project for Scientific Research and Technological Development “Ac cessibility for All in Tourism”, focusing on modal interfaces designed according to the concepts of “Universal Design” and “Age Sensitive Design”. In this project 851 surveys were carried out on elderly tourists who travelled in the Algarve (Portugal) through the international Airport of Faro, in 2018, with a view to understanding their use of means of transport in their daily life. It characterizes the senior tourist in the Algarve according to: gender, age, disabilities that affect mobility and the need to use technical aids to move. It analyses and compares the means of transportation used by elderly tourists with and without disabilities. Findings demonstrate that elderly people with disabilities walk less on foot daily and several times a week and the majority of the respondents with disabilities claim to never using the bus, train and tram/metro. Respondents concede to having specific limitations in the use of some public transport. Older people with disabilities behave differently than other older people with regard to the choice and frequency of a particular means of transport.

Noise is a significant environmental problem in railway transportation systems. The rail transport policy of the EU and Switzerland is asking for efficient, innovative track systems, which are able to reduce rail noise. A project named OST funded by BAFU Switzerland was carried out under the co-operation with Empa (Switzerland), Technical University of Munich and Technical University of Berlin, had the target to develop a numerical model to predict the noise and vibration of ballasted track caused by passing trains. A co-simulation chain for transient acoustic simulation between multi body simulation (for structure-borne vibration) and finite element simulation (for sound radiation and for air-borne sound propagation) was established and the interface was developed. The numerical model was validated through laboratory tests on the test track of Technical University of Munich and field measurements on the track section Rothenthurm in Switzerland. The model aims to predict the acoustic effect of different railway superstructure components such as different sleeper types, rail profiles and rail pad stiffness.