POTENTIALS OF FRANJO TUDMAN AIRPORT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERMODAL TRANSPORT

Abstract

In the territory of the Republic of Croatia, not a single airport is connected to the railway infrastructure, which is a limiting factor for the further development of air cargo transport. The traffic network within the catchment area of Franjo Tudman Airport in Zagreb is not sufficiently interconnected, and therefore the implementation of the rules of the single market within the transport sectors is uneven. This paper aims to investigate the factors of intermodality of air transport and other modes of transport, focusing on cases of infrastructure integration in order to improve transport connectivity. The research analysed several airports where increase in cargo traffic was influenced by the expanding capacities and connectivity at the airport. By calculating the coefficient of utilisation of the intermodal surfaces of the reference airports, it was determined that the increase of these capacities does not necessarily lead to a significant increase in air cargo transport. However, due to estimates of the global growth of air cargo transport, an adequate and modernised infrastructure gives an advantage of better positioning in the transport market compared to those airports that do not have such resources. Based on the obtained results and increased investment to improve rail speeds and intermodal accessibility, the modular approach of expanding the infrastructure, through monitoring of cargo transport utilisation coefficient, is considered sustainable.

Keywords

• air-rail intermodality
• air freight
• cargo city
• intermodal integration