Multimodal Transportation Network Design Model under Uncertainty Conditions (Case Study: Cement Transportation in Iran)

Abstract

Today, with supply chain globalization, the use of efficient transportation systems to distribute goods have a significant impact on reducing logistics costs and increasing customer satisfaction. In this regard, logistics centers in addition to providing the necessary infrastructure for the flow of freight from the road to the rail network, play a significant role in Reduce total transportation costs and create surplus value for raw materials; Therefore, in this research, due to uncertainties in demand and transportation costs, a robust mathematical model is presented for designing a multimodal rail - road freight transportation network at the national level. In the scenario-based stochastic model, two objectives have been considered. The first objectives focuses on minimizing costs, and the second objective focuses on reducing risk-taking decisions to minimize the maximum relative regret of possible scenarios within the framework of robust mathematical programming. In order to demonstrate the validity of the model and its efficiency, the cement multimodal transportation in Iran has been investigated. Outputs show that the development of a number of railway stations and transfer of a significant amount of Cement shipped by road to the rail network will reduce the price of this strategic product.

Keywords

• multimodal transportation network design
• multimodal terminals location
• scenario-based two-stage stochastic programming
• minimizing maximum relative regret