1. TRANSPORT MODES - COMPARISON
from the presentation series
„Basics of Inland Navigation“
This set of slides compares the different modes of transport – train, truck and inland vessel - with each other.

2. Freight Transport
price and quality effective service provision essential
higher transport costs = higher consumer prices
transport - quality improvement and cost reduction by:
using modern communication and information technologies
(for Austrian inland navigation: DoRIS);
efficient transhipment modes (cranes, pumping equipment, ....);
optimized storage;
groupage;
combining different transport modes = multimodal transport

3. Freight Transport
right choice of transport mode as factor of economic success
suitable transport mode depending on the products characteristics
situation-related transport planning required
key indicators:
transport time
capacity
punctuality
safety
infrastructure
costs
environmental aspects

4. Transport Modes - comparison
indicators
truck
train
inland vessel
transport time
most shorter
(often door-to-door-delivery)
without siding usually longer
usually longer (transhipment, pre-,end-haulage)
capacity
280 trucks
= 175 railway wagons
= 1 convoy with 4 pushed lighters (7,000 net tons)
punctuality aspects
traffic jams, accidents + weather
weather, accidents, construction sites
high-/lowwater, ice formation
safety
highest risk of accidents
nearly no risk of accidents
hardly any accidents
infrastructure
best infrastructure
limited to railway network
limited to navigable inland waterways
costs
depending on amount, distance + planning (advantage inland vessel: highest transport capacity per unit)
environmental aspects
highest energy consumption and Co2-emissions
low energy consumption (compared to transport quantity)
lowest Co2-emissions + energy consumption (compared to transport quantity)

5. Transport Modes - comparison transport capacity
Manual on Danube Navigation page 19.
transport capacity : 1 pushed convoy with 4 pushed lighter =
175 railway wagons = 280 trucks = 20 km convoy of trucks

6. Transport Modes - comparison energy consumption
specific energy use:
Manual on Danube Navigation page 18.
an inland vessel is able to transport one ton of cargo almost four times further than a truck using the same consumption of energy

7. Transport Modes - comparison external costs
Manual on Danube Navigation page 18.
inland vessels cause the lowest costs of accidents, noise, air pollution and climate

8. Transport Modes - comparison safety, availability, infrastructure costs
inland vessels as safest transport mode:
only 19 traffic accidents on the Austrian-Danube in 2012 (no cases of death
in comparison: 1,217 accidents with trucks ( >3.5 tons) in Austria in 2012
availability around the clock: no bans on weekend- and night driving
low infrastructure costs: natural infrastructure is usually available -> low costs:
improving the complete infrastructure of the Danube waterway would require an investment of 1.2 billion €. This corresponds roughly with the cost of constructing 50 km of road or rail infrastructure.
Manual on Danube Navigation page

9. Transport Modes - comparison time and costs
from Austria to Romania (port-port-traffic)
duration
price of transport compared with other transport modes (basis = inland vessel)
inland vessel
6 days 1
train
3-5 days
2.5
truck
2-3 days
5.5
balance between time and money -> low transport costs can often compensate longer transport times

10. Transport Modes - comparison modal split
proportion of different transport modes
EU 2014: road transport used for around 75 % of freight transport
forecast EU 2030: +80 % freight transport between 2000 and 2030

11. Inland Navigation - facts and figures
2012 EU-wide 6.5 % of modal split
percentage strongly differs among the European countries
about 500 million tons of goods/year were transported on the inland waterways of the European Union
Manual on Danube Navigation page

12. Inland Navigation - facts and figures Austria
in Austria: 5 % share of modal split (12 % in the Austrian Danube corridor)
transport of 9 to 12 million tons of goods at the Austrian Danube every year
more than 1 million passengers travelled on the Austrian Danube (2013)
transport of 9 – 12 million tons of goods/year
1/3 ore und metal waste
1/5 each petroleum products, agricultural and forestry products
Annual report viadonau ( page

13. Strengths/Weaknesses of inland navigation
low transportation costs ability to convey large quantity of goods per unit environmental friendliness safety availability around the clock low infrastructure costs
dependence on variable fairway conditions low transport velocity low network density, often requiring pre- and end- haulage
inland waterway logistics requires more knowledge than truck transportation
Manual on Danube Navigation page

14. Opportunities/Threats of inland navigation
spare capacity of the waterway
rising demand for environmentally friendly transport modes
modern and harmonised cross-border information services (RIS)
cooperation activities with road and rail
international development initiatives (e.g. NAIADES, Strategy for the Danube Region)
inadequate maintenance of the waterway in some Danube riparian countries
high requirement for modernisation of ports and fleets
Manual on Danube Navigation page 17.

15. Cargo Suitable for Shipping
inland water vessels are not suitable for all type of goods (e.g. not for perishable goods such as fruits, vegetables,…)
ideally suited to transport bulk cargo (e.g. waste, raw material,…)
high and heavy goods
mainly large quantities of cargo of low-value goods
but also for high-value cargo (e.g. cars)
ideal planning can save time, money and reduces
pre- and end-haulage
Manual on Danube Navigation page

16. Conclusion
the Danube, as an international waterway, has the potential to relieve freight traffic in the Danube-Corridor significantly -> high amount of free capacity (utilization only by about %)
compared with other transport modes, inland navigation shows the lowest external costs, the lowest specific energy use and the highest bulk freight capacity

17. Sources viadonau (2013): Manual on Danube Navigation, Vienna.
Order:
viadonau (2014): Danube Navigation in Austria– Annual Report 2013, Vienna.
Download :
INeS Danube information platform on intermodal inland navigation
Homepage:
Posset, Gierlinger, Gronalt, Peherstorfer, Pripfl, Starkl (2014): Intermodaler Verkehr Europa, Wien.
Bestellen:

18. Contact
Lisa-Maria Putz, BSc MA Project Leader REWWay Logistikum – University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria FH OÖ Forschungs & Entwicklungs GmbH Wehrgrabengasse 1-3, 4400 Steyr/Austria Tel.: Fax: web1: web2: