Simulation of underground freight transport systems

The feasibility of the interconnection of high-speed freight railroads with underground transport pipes between Schiphol and Aalsmeer was studied using a logistic simulation method for designing questions. Three modeling levels of control are defined to gain a structured insight into the logistic dependencies. These are: at vehicle level (micro), to control the traffic movements of the vehicles in the handling areas and tubes; at transport order level (meso), to control the transport orders, the assignment of shipments and vehicles, and the empty vehicle stock management; and at interconnection level (macro), to achieve good connectivity with the transport schedules of the external transport modalities.