Background of Moorebank Intermodal Company

Intermodal freight transport is a good source to transport the goods or products from one part to another with relatively lesser hassle than the traditional format. The transportation is done through every possible mode such as air, rail, road and water. This is why it has some options as an answer to the rising carbon footprint in the environment. The transportation through rail is relatively less polluted than the trucks. The intermodel concept has generated a resource for business to many. It has also reduced the complexity of freight transportation both nationally and internationally. However, the business is also associated with some issues such as road congestion, increasing carbon emission, noisy atmosphere and much more (SteadieSeifi et al. 2014). The main purpose of this assignment is to analyse the issues in the intermodel company Moorebank Intermodal. Moreover, the assignment presents relevant recommendations to the identified problems.

In the last four years, Qube logistics has extensively developed its portfolio as a logistics solution to become the single largest logistics service provider in Australia. In the last four years, the company has extensively focussed on developing both the inland and port hubs to further its infrastructure to smoothen the logistics operation in the country. The development of the Moorebank intermodal hub in the Western Sydney is a big boost to the supply chain operations. The hub is generated with a view to take 3,000 trucks off the road. In this way, it would help in reducing the carbon by 40,000 tonnes in a single year. Moreover, this would also help in reducing the cost of import and export by 20 to 25 percent (ABC News 2017). The project would further the supply chain experiences of different firms in the country.

In general, there are some features of an intermodal. Intermodal hubs are built up to support the logistics operation through different available modes of transport such as, in lane, port etc. Intermodal hubs are largely dominated by the trucks; however, the construction of Moorebank intermodal hub would provide dominance to the rail transport in Sydney. The proposed intermodal has the following features:

• Reduced costs- The produced model would help in cutting down the operation costs considerably. It is a shift from road transport to rail transport largely. Through rail transport, large numbers of freights can be transported at one time (Marinov et al. 2013).
• Reduction in carbon emissions- The move would ensure a reduced carbon emission. Road trucks contribute comparatively larger in carbon footprint (Wang, X., Westerdahl et al. 2012). The use of fuel in road trucks has made this a significant resource of carbon emitter. The completion of Moorebank intermodal hub would cover major portion of logistics operations, which in other words mean the reduction of carbon footprint. Moreover, the proposed intermodal hub would enhance the sustainability of the business by bringing a more environment friendly transporting mean (Marinov et al. 2013).
• Fuel costs-Shipping through rail would certainly reduce the transportation. Rail transportation is comparatively 2 times more efficient than through the roads (Marinov et al. 2013).
• Safety and security-The shipment through rail is comparatively much safer than the road transport. It has been observed that approximately around 100 percent of the shipments reach their destination safely. In such cases, rail shipments had hazardous goods in those (Marinov et al. 2013).
• Congestion-Shipments through roads causes huge congestion on the roads. This also hampers the sustainability aspects of the transport. Additionally, this has proved to be a supportive resource behind an incrementing carbon footprint in the air. However, with the use of rail shipments, there would be a major reduction in the road shipments. Moreover, this would reduce the congestion level on the road (Marinov et al. 2013).
• Solutions for driver shortage-Depending much on the road shipments had caused problems in the past such as the failure of delivery. The major reason behind such failure was the unavailability of adequate number of drivers. However, the proposed rail shipments would certainly provide a comparatively easier platform. A single rail carries a large number of shipments at one time. The number of drivers needed to drive the rail would be comparatively lesser than the road transport, which is why there would be comparatively lesser challenge to find the drivers (Marinov et al. 2013).

Qube logistics is the one largest logistics service provider in Australia. The proposed construction of hub in Sydney is a potential concept in logistics business. This would not only provide solutions for carbon footprint but would also help in reducing the transportation cost. Moreover, this would help the business of the company. In the contemporary business, it is necessary to offer the cheapest prices for a service or a product. This helps in attract much more clients than any other does. Similarly, the proposed construction of hub in Sydney would help the Qube logistics in generating a huge business growth, which would be profitable for both the company and the entire country. The major operation of the company is confined to two modes of shipments such as road and rail. It has its own warehouse and the distribution centre (Qube.com.au 2017). The development of the proposed intermodal hub in Sydney is an attempt to provide an alternate option to the road transporting. This would also improve its sustainability scores, as it would be able to cut down on the carbon footprint. However, the construction of proposed intermodal hub is challenging because of the unavailability of a sufficient space. Moreover, few rail lines would also pass through the roads. This might create problems for the road transportation. The time would only tell that how the company manages the expected challenges of the proposed intermodal hub (önke Behrends 2012).

Important features of an intermodal

There are several issues for which the plan has been passed; however, the plan itself has some risk such as Rail risks. Following are some risks, which exist with the current freight modes:

• Traffic congestion- This is very common with the freight transport through road trucks. The rising demands for logistics business have produced the necessity of different modes of freight transportation. Different transport modes have their own aspects; however, there is difference in relation to costs of service, sustainabilityetc (Kolosz, Grant-Muller and Djemame 2013). The road transport is perhaps the biggest resource to traffic congestion. The rising demands for logistics operation has incremented the needs of incepting more road trucks. The inception has provided solution to logistic related works. At the same time, it has also increased pressure on the roads by contributing largely in the incrementing numbers of vehicles in the road. The solution then collaborated with some unexpected challenges, which has now become threatening to the environmental benefits. One of such challenge is the sustainability factor, which has largely being affected by the incrementing ratio of carbon footprint in air. The emission of carbon from road trucks has worsened the situation. There is no other option than to bring an alternate of the existing freight transport mode (Zhang and Batterman 2013).
• Noisy atmosphere- This is another issue, which has now become a part of the surrounding environment. This is largely being contributed by the increasing number of vehicles in the road and the increasing number of construction works. In this context, the contribution of road trucks is noteworthy. The demands for the logistics operation is all time high and has kept on incrementing with passage of time. Simultaneously, the rise in road trucks is also widely evident. The rising number of road trucks has been accompanied by outdated technologies, which has failed in posing any stoppages to the carbon emission. Considerably, road trucks have not only contributed in polluting the environment but it has also hampered the peacefulness of the surrounding atmosphere. Such noisy and vibrant atmosphere has posed ample of threats to the human health. Numerous site constructions have now been associated with the heavy vehicle trucks. Both the factors have collectively produced a noisy and unpleasant atmosphere where common people have less peace and high pains.
• Air quality- A high number of trucks has produced an unhealthy environment, which has become a challenging situation for both the local government and the logistics service provider. It has challenged the local government for presenting some counter option to reduce the impact of carbon emission. The local government has no such remedies to their hands, which could prevent the environment from the rising threat of carbon footprint. On the other hand, they can also not impose any strict obligations because the sector has become a good resource of economic growth for the country. In fact, both the things are uncontrollable. The rising pressure for logistic works would continue to attract more trucks on the road. This also means that there would be a further increase in the level of carbon in air (Gonzalez-Barcala et al. 2013).
• Existence of hazardous things- Theexistence of road trucks has also become a good resource of creating hazardous things near the site area, which are associated to the transport network. The existence of hazardous things is uncontrollable because road trucks have to travel on muddy surface also. They actually carry many muddy particles attached to the truck wheels. Such things pollute the site area where the trucks are loaded with the freights (Weichenthal et al. 2014).
• Impacts on human health- The rising participation of road trucks have become a very significant resource of bad human health. Road trucks are making the roads congested, which is a trouble for other vehicles. Additionally, this would also create lots of noise in air because of such a large number of truck movements. Noisy air is not good for health as it directly affect the hearing capability. On a same note, a high ratio of carbon released in air has further worsened the situation of surrounding environment. Road trucks are one of the major contributors in increasing ratio of carbon particles in air. Carbon footprint undoubtedly has now become a problematic situation for not only Australia but for the global world. Carbon is one of the reasons behind an incrementing number of natural disasters. Earthquake is one of those disasters (Anenberg et al. 2012).

Apart from these generalised issues of freight movement through roads, the proposed intermodal hub in Sydney has some additional issues as well. One of such issues is rail risk. Due to the dominance of the road transport and due to the scarcity of a sufficient support, the construction of rail tracks looks challenging. Additionally, road transportation has high reputation over the rail transportation. It is indeed difficult to drive the favour back to the rail transport system. The proposed development process is a potential move because of the business concept and also for the land area it has dedicated for the development. The proposed plan needs to prove its efficiency in order to replace road transport as to become the single choice for the freight movement. The development will get supports from the Australian Rail Track Corporation. This might help to enhance the efficiency of the concept (Kreutzberger and Konings 2013).

The rail transport has less efficiency than the road transports. Road transport is a highly popular source for logistics solutions. It was later on realised that it produces high carbon footprint. The identification of carbon footprint as a threat to the human health and the natural resources has started producing thoughts for a sustainable logistics resource. A resource was required, which could reduce the carbon footprint in air and also reduce the transportation costs. Additionally, it was also felt to have a solution to fight with the rising crisis of truck drivers. Moreover, Qube’s Moorebank intermodal hub has provided the solution. However, it lacks in efficiency because of the unpopular use of rail in comparison to road trucks (Audy et al. 2012).

The efficiency of rail transport can be increased with the establishment of a port near the rail network. A better connectivity would then establish it as a reliable option. Additionally, the set up should also be made easier to establish a relationship in between the rail and air transport. The interaction of rail with the aviation would speed up the freight transportation. This would also improve the connectivity, which is useful in reducing the operational costs. Such interconnections are beneficial for establishing the intermodal as a reliable modal (Clewlow, Sussman and Balakrishnan 2012). Additionally, it should also ask for supports from the Australian Rail Transport Corporation. Moving jointly with the ARTC can work wonder in favour of the concept (Bergqvist and Cullinane 2013). This might certainly enhance its efficiency and reliability to the different government and private companies. Speed of the train should also be enhanced in order to outperform the efficiency of trucks. Trucks had gained popularity in freight transport because of many such reasons. On contrary to this, rail transport is relatively slower, which is why it is often disrespected when reliability was a concern. Rail transport is much safer than the road trucks; however, it is still believed as less reliable. It is very necessary that the proposed intermodal hub consider the fats moving trains for the logistics operation. This is indeed much more important to prove its reliability.

Operational aspects of the company

The NSW government can play a vital role in enhancing the efficiency of the proposed logistics on rail tracks. It is in the hand of the NSW government, which could help by encouraging the Australian Rail Track Corporation for an alliance with the project. The alliance would help in the expansion of a large network as well as the accessibility. This means that it would help to enhance its reliability and efficiency (ABC News 2017).

Conclusion

The proposed intermodel development in Sydney is a potential move from Qube logistics. The rising carbon footprint in air has created the necessity to have answers for the problem. This is not only affecting the surrounding environment, it is also affecting the human health in significant number. Road trucks are largely responsible for such cause. They use fuel and release carbon footprint in significant ratio. The rising numbers of road vehicles have also incremented the carbon footprint in air. The proposed intermodal is thus a good move in this regard. This would provide relief to the local government and the common people, as rail transport is relatively much safer in terms of carbon footprint. However, there are some challenges that can hamper the efficiency and reliability of the concept. Speed of train is one issue, which is why truck was largely preferred for freight transport. The intermodal needs a serious repair in this regard. Another issue is with the efficiency level of the modal. The efficiency level of the concept can be enhanced if they consider smoothing the connectivity between air and rail by connecting its port sites. This is quite evident that the concept has potentials in it. It is a good move indeed to reduce the carbon footprint from air. It would enhance the safety level in environment as well. However, it is also important to understand that it needs to show its efficiency and reliability in terms of connectivity, service quality and speed. Rails are needed to be delivered at a comparatively much higher speed in order to prove its reliability. Additionally, it should also be made accessible from other modes of freight transports such as air and water. Connectivity with the different other modes of transport is indeed one of keys to reliability.

References

ABC News. 2017. Qube’s Moorebank intermodal hub a major infrastructure boost. [online] Available at:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-12/qube-moorebank-intermodal-hub-infrastructure/6541514 [Accessed 9 Sep. 2017].

Anenberg, S.C., Schwartz, J., Shindell, D., Amann, M., Faluvegi, G., Klimont, Z., Janssens-Maenhout, G., Pozzoli, L., Van Dingenen, R., Vignati, E. and Emberson, L., 2012. Global air quality and health co-benefits of mitigating near-term climate change through methane and black carbon emission controls. Environmental Health Perspectives, 120(6), p.831.

Audy, J.F., Lehoux, N., D’Amours, S. and Rönnqvist, M., 2012. A framework for an efficient implementation of logistics collaborations. International transactions in operational research, 19(5), pp.633-657.

Bergqvist, R. and Cullinane, K., 2013. SECA regulations, modal shift and transport system effects. TA Logistics and Transport Consultants (Ed.), Gothenburg.

Clewlow, R., Sussman, J. and Balakrishnan, H., 2012. Interaction of high-speed rail and aviation: exploring air-rail connectivity. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (2266), pp.1-10.

Gonzalez-Barcala, F.J., Pertega, S., Garnelo, L., Castro, T.P., Sampedro, M., Lastres, J.S., Gonzalez, M.S.J., Bamonde, L., Valdes, L., Carreira, J.M. and Silvarrey, A.L., 2013. Truck traffic related air pollution associated with asthma symptoms in young boys: a cross-sectional study. Public Health, 127(3), pp.275-281.

Kolosz, B., Grant-Muller, S. and Djemame, K., 2013. Modelling uncertainty in the sustainability of Intelligent Transport Systems for highways using probabilistic data fusion. Environmental modelling & software, 49, pp.78-97.

Kreutzberger, E. and Konings, R., 2013. Twin hub network: an innovative concept to boost competitiveness of intermodal rail transport to the hinterland. In Proceedings of the Annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC.

Marinov, M., Giubilei, F., Gerhardt, M., Özkan, T., Stergiou, E., Papadopol, M. and Cabecinha, L., 2013. Urban freight movement by rail. Journal of Transport Literature, 7(3), pp.87-116.

önke Behrends, S., 2012. The urban context of intermodal road-rail transport–Threat or opportunity for modal shift?. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 39, pp.463-475.

Qube.com.au.2017. Qube | Qube Logistics. [online] Available at: https://www.qube.com.au/logistics [Accessed 9 Sep. 2017].

SteadieSeifi, M., Dellaert, N.P., Nuijten, W., Van Woensel, T. and Raoufi, R., 2014. Multimodal freight transportation planning: A literature review. European journal of operational research, 233(1), pp.1-15.

Wang, X., Westerdahl, D., Hu, J., Wu, Y., Yin, H., Pan, X. and Zhang, K.M., 2012. On-road diesel vehicle emission factors for nitrogen oxides and black carbon in two Chinese cities. Atmospheric environment, 46, pp.45-55.

Weichenthal, S., Farrell, W., Goldberg, M., Joseph, L. and Hatzopoulou, M., 2014. Characterizing the impact of traffic and the built environment on near-road ultrafine particle and black carbon concentrations. Environmental research, 132, pp.305-310.

Zhang, K. and Batterman, S., 2013. Air pollution and health risks due to vehicle traffic. Science of the total Environment, 450, pp.307-316.