Intermodal Freight Transport

A freight village is a complex set of facilities where all the activities relating to transport, logistics and distribution of goods are carried out on a commercial basis by various operators, who can either be the owners or the tenants of the spaces (warehouses, storage areas, offices, car parks etc.). lt must be equipped with public facilities and, if possible, include public services for the staff and users. Other names for a freight village are: logistics park/centre, transport centre or logistics hub. A freight village enables change from one given transport mode to another (modal shift) through a set of technologies that facilitate the transfer. It is served by several transport modes (road, rail, deep sea, inland waterway, air) to encourage intermodal transport for the handling of goods. The most common examples of modal shifts are: train (rail) to lorry (road); barge (inland waterway) to train or lorry; airplane (air) to lorry. A freight village requires different activities such as warehousing, economic activities, support activities, unified management. The warehouse is the infrastructure where the transport operator mostly performs his business.

This activity may include the division of the goods into smaller quantities for a more functional distribution. Logistics hubs need active distribution centres and several industrial activities in the neighbourhood that can exploit the modal shift facilities within the village. Support activities include support services like lorry rest areas, office space, restaurants, banking, shops and hotels. Unified Management requires that the village is often under the management of a single entity. A freight village is the right solution to satisfy the increasing requirements of a complex business based on transport. In order to work well it is imperative that the village is run by a single body, either public or private.

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