A new concept for utilising the Oder waterway in intermodal container transport

The article addresses the issue of the transport of goods on the Oder Waterway (Odrzańska Droga Wodna, ODW), in terms of its usefulness for the transport of containers in the face of limitations arising from the hydrotechnical conditions of the river and the modernisation programme. A realistic estimate leads to the conclusion that by 2030 the CEMT Class III classification may be achieved in the upper and middle sections. Combined river and land transport of containers has been proposed as an applicable solution, considering the present condition and the predicted development and modernisation of the waterway within the next years. The main feature of this transportation concept is the principle of transporting multiple layers of containers on inland ships, reducing the cost of transport of individual containers. Sections of the ODW that meet the parameters of the CEMT Class III, or higher, will be used in such a way. In points of contact with sections that do not meet those parameters, loading points will be organised where the upper layers of containers will be removed from the barge and transferred either to land transport or a loading barge capable of going under low bridges. The article presents analysis of the effect of the main parameters of the river and land system of container transport on its economic effectiveness. Those parameters are: the number of layers of containers on a barge, percentage of the entire route covered by land transport means, number and time of transhipments, and speed relations. Relationships between these parameters have been established, together with the principles of their selection, assuming the main criterion to be gaining profit by using combined transport in comparison with land transport. Examples of combined transport have been presented on the Gliwice–Świnoujście and Gliwice– Hamburg routes, including progress in modernizing the Middle Oder.