PERCEIVED BENEFITS OF IMPROVED INFORMATION EXCHANGE: A CASE STUDY ON RAIL AND INTERMODAL TRNASPORTS

Interest in achieving more effective railway freight transport in Europe and increasing the railways\u27 market share has grown in recent years. The use of railroads is, however, often highly complex in many aspects and must become more flexible and reliable if it will be able to compete with other transport modes. A study was conducted to investigate if and how improved information exchange between Banverket, Sweden\u27s National Rail Administration, and its customers can facilitate use of Swedish railway freight transport. The main aim of this work was to identify the customers\u27 needs for improved exchange as well as to understand how they would benefit from it. Results show that the accessibility to information has a significant impact on the planning process and that there already exists substantial information that will benefit the customers if synthesized and made available