A NEW INLAND WATER TRANSPORT SYSTEM FOR CONTAINERS BETWEEN ROTTERDAM AND ANTWERP

The main port of Rotterdam occupies a prominent place in the Dutch economy. Servicing and handling of ocean shipping will remain one of the strength of Rotterdam in the future. However, the ports's competitiveness is governed to a significant extent by the quality of its hinterland connections and internal logistics. In this field a joint research project is being carried out. Within the framework of the project, new transport systems are developed and evaluated using computer simulation models. For the transport of containers between Rotterdam and Antwerp, one of the most promising systems is characterized by separating the transport function from the distribution function. Both transportation and distribution of containers are carried out by 'pusher/barge' systems.