A metropolitan freight distribution by railways

This paper presents the results obtained of a methodology that was implemented for the feasibility analysis, both technical and economic, of freight distribution systems in urban and/or metropolitan areas using railways. This includes a system of urban freight demand models. The scope of this research is to assess a competitive rail transport option with respect to road truck transport for some specific types of goods. The first part of the paper presents a state-of-the-art system focusing on international and national experiences of the use of railway infrastructures for urban freight distribution and describes the general framework of freight demand models for urban and metropolitan areas. The latter part of the paper proposes a modeling system to estimate the freight demand to be used within the methodology for the technical and economic feasibility analysis of freight distribution systems using railways infrastructures. Finally, results of an application to a real test case are reported. The authors refer to the study case of the Sorrentina peninsula, which is one of the most famous tourist areas near Naples and well-known for its low accessibility by roads.