Modeling landside container terminal queues: Exact Analysis and Approximations

Accepted in: Transportation Research B

67 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2020 Last revised: 17 May 2022

See all articles by Debjit Roy

Debjit Roy

Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad

Jan-Kees van Ommeren

University of Twente

M. B. M. de Koster

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Department of Technology and Operations Management

Amir Gharehgozli

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR)

Date Written: February 5, 2020

Abstract

With the growth of ocean transport and with increasing vessel sizes, managing congestion at the landside of container terminals has become a major challenge. A terminal landside handles containers that arrive or depart via train or truck. Large terminals have to handle thousands of trucks and dozens of trains per day. As trains run on fixed schedule, their containers are prioritized in stacking and internal transport handling. This has consequences for the service of other modes, which might be subject to delays. We analyze the dynamic interactions between the landside resources using a stochastic stylized semi-open queuing network model with bulk arrivals, shared resources, and multi-class containers. We use the theory of regenerative processes and Markov chain analysis to analyze the network. The proposed network solution algorithm works for large-scale systems and yields sufficiently accurate estimates for performance measurement. The model can capture priority service for containers at shared resources (such as stack cranes), while preserving strict handling priorities. The model is used to explore the choice of different internal transport vehicles (coupled versus decoupled operations at stack and train gantry cranes) to understand the effect on delays. Our results show that decoupled transport resources can mitigate both the delays of containers that arrive by trucks and by trains. When train arrival rates are low, prioritizing the handling of train containers at the stack cranes significantly reduces their delays. Further, this priority has little effect on the delays of handling external truck containers.

Suggested Citation

Roy, Debjit and van Ommeren, Jan-Kees and de Koster, M.B.M. René and Gharehgozli, Amir, Modeling landside container terminal queues: Exact Analysis and Approximations (February 5, 2020). Accepted in: Transportation Research B, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3532297 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3532297

Debjit Roy

Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad ( email )

Vastrapur
Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380 015
India

Jan-Kees Van Ommeren

University of Twente

Postbus 217
Twente
Netherlands

M.B.M. René De Koster (Contact Author)

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Department of Technology and Operations Management ( email )

RSM Erasmus University
PO Box 1738
3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands
+31 10 408 1719 (Phone)
+31 10 408 9014 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.rsm.nl/rdekoster

Amir Gharehgozli

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) ( email )

Burgemeester Oudlaan 50
3000 DR Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland 3062PA
Netherlands

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