The mobility of societies and the economic growth of regions have been linked to the availability of means of transport and to their combination and coordination. Especially during the last decades, the continuing trend of market globalization, technological modernization and regions urbanization led either to the consolidation of routes or to the expansion of corridors, both on intercontinental and international scope and on a national, regional and local scale. It is noteworthy that the decisions on new routes or rerouting are many times too complicated, coinciding with the strong impetus for any change provided by the onset of the industrial era. Therefore, while the phenomenon of intermodality played an increasingly prominent role in transport activities, each mode reached higher levels of speed, flexibility and technical efficiency, in stark contrast to the inertias that had existed in the characteristic transport system of the pre-industrial era.

Transport plays a crucial role in economic and social development and its contribution goes beyond what is normally captured in traditional cost-benefit analyses. The future of transport in the last century depended on efficient and easy intermodal mobility to improve the regional accessibility by providing connectivity. The European Commission recognizes this and its transport policy focuses on the intermodal transport which is seen as a sustainable mobility solution, environmentally friendly and efficient in terms of resources and overall cost. This impacts essentially the funding of new transportation infrastructures that could have large long-term economic, social and environmental impacts.

The main objectives of this conference addresses the innovation in strategic planning, business development and economic contribution specifically related to intermodal transport. The focus is on the main economical advantages of developing intermodal transport, but also on the usage limits brought by particularities of transport modes. Special attention is given to decision making for investments and project financing in infrastructures to promote intermodal options. The discussion agenda includes analysis of the implications on the quality and cost of supply chain.

Consequently, the key topics of the conference cover the following areas:

• Operation research tools in planning and management
• Alliances, brokering/leasing services
• Competition, cooperation, planning, groups/associations
• Development/evolution, hubbing systems
• [De]regulation, standards, safety, security
• Environmental impact, liability/insurance
• Government involvement and public consultation
• Project planning and project financing
• Infrastructure, network design/optimisation
• Implementation of state-of-the-art technologies in infrastructure networks to improve safety and efficiency
• Intelligent transportation systems
• Intermodal cost/benefit analysis
• Motor carrier industry, ocean port development
• Transport hubs operations and new corridor development
• Tourism and Transports
• Supply chains, trade flows
• Warehousing/inventory management
• Decision Support Methodologies and Systems

It’s highlighted that we invite research society and professionals to present case studies, best practices and applications in intermodality and its aspects in:

• technical, economic and political issues
• business and regional development
• project successes and failures
• the environment and sustainable development
• transport economics
• monitoring performance and cost control
• operation research and ITS
• decision making