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Intermodal Transport as a Regional Development Strategy: The Case of Italian Freight Villages
Author(s) -
Monios Jason
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
growth and change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.657
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1468-2257
pISSN - 0017-4815
DOI - 10.1111/grow.12129
Subject(s) - business , port (circuit theory) , investment (military) , promotion (chess) , transport engineering , regional science , geography , engineering , political science , politics , law , electrical engineering
Abstract This paper examines the development of intermodal transport operations at freight villages in I taly. Quantitative data on public and private investment and ownership in each of the 25 I talian freight villages are analysed to identify relevant issues, which are then explored through five qualitative case studies. The research considers how intermodal transport stimulation links national modal shift policy with regional economic development strategies based on the promotion of logistics growth. The research identifies a misalignment between national and regional scales, as funding based on national policy does not align with port and freight village planning strategies developed at the regional level. From an operational perspective, this misalignment is exacerbated by the often adversarial relations between ports and intermodal terminals, in addition to the fragmented nature of the Italian freight sector. Even with a national policy to promote freight villages with intermodal terminals and a dedicated funding stream to support this network of approved sites, operational issues mean that establishing intermodal shuttles remains a difficult and marginal enterprise, particularly in the case of southern I taly due to its location on the periphery of intra‐ E uropean freight flows.