Intermodal rail in Western Europe: actors and services in a new regulatory environment

In Western Europe, the rail freight industry is presently being liberalised, and many of the new intermodal services involve cooperation between various actors, including the port authorities, shipping lines, port terminal operators, and logistics providers. These cooperative relations are presently multiplying as the actors seek to position themselves in a partially deregulated rail freight environment. The objective of this paper is to understand the roles played by the different actors and the forms of cooperation that are necessary to mount intermodal rail services. The authors demonstrate that despite being bound by a common policy, a wide range of relationships between the actors has emerged. The new services have the potential to reinvigorate rail freight transport in Europe.