Analysing the impact of disruptions in intermodal transport networks: A micro simulation-based model

Transport networks have to provide carriers with time-efficient alternative routes in case of disruptions. It is, therefore, essential for transport network planners and operators to identify sections within the network which, if broken, have a considerable negative impact on the network's performance. Research on transport network analysis provides lots of different approaches and models in order to identify such critical sections. Most of them, however, are only applicable to mono-modal transport networks and calculate indices which represent the criticality of sections by using aggregated data. The model presented, in contrast, focuses on the analysis of intermodal transport networks by using a traffic micro simulation. Based on available, real-life data, our approach models a transport network as well as its actual traffic participants and their individual decisions in case of a disruption. The resulting transport delay time due to a specific disruption helps to identify critical sections and critical networks, as a whole. Therefore, the results are a valuable decision support for transport network planners and operators in order to make the infrastructure less vulnerable, more attractive for carriers and thus more economically sustainable. In order to show the applicability of the model we analyse the Austrian intermodal transport network and show how critical sections can be evaluated by this approach. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.