Unit 15 Multimodal Transport

一）基本要求
　　了解：Meaning of multimodal transport
　　熟悉：Advantages of multimodal transport
　　掌握：Different types of multimodal transport operations
二）考试内容：
　　1. Meaning of multimodal transport
　　2. Advantages of multimodal transport
　　Minimizing time loss at transshipment points;
　　Providing faster transit of goods;
　　Reducing the burden of documentation and formalities;
　　Saving costs;
　　Establishing only one agency to deal with;
　　Reducing cost of exports:
　　3.Different types of multimodal transport operations
　　Currently, different types of multimodal transport operations involving different combinations are taking place. These are sea/air, air/road, rail /road /inland waterways-sea-rail/road/inland waterways, mini-bridge, land bridge, piggyback and sea train.
　　Sea/air combines in itself the economy of sea transport and the speed of air transport. The economics of this combination mode favor high value items（高价值货） like electronics, electrical goods, computers and photographic equipment.
　　In air/road, road transport is now being increasingly used for trucking air freight（车运航空货物） over long distances, sometimes across national boundaries, to connect with the main bases of airlines operating long haul services such as transpacific, transatlantic and inter-continental.
　　Rail/road/inland waterways-sea-rail/road/inland waterways mode is in common use when goods have to be moved by sea from one country to another and one or more inland modes of transport such as rail, road or inland waterways have to be used for moving goods from an inland center to the seaport in the country of origin or from the seaport to an inland center in the country of destination
　　Mini-bridge （小陆桥）involves the movement of containers, under a through bill of lading issued by an ocean carrier, by a vessel from a port in one country to a port in another country and then by rail to a second port city in the second country, terminating at the rail carrier's terminal in the second port city.
　　Land bridge system concerns itself with shipment of containers overland as a part of a sealand or a sea-land-sea route. In this case, the railways are paid a flat rate by the ocean carrier who issues the through bill of lading. This system is in operation for the movement of containers on certain important international routes.
　　Piggyback （驮运）is a system of unitized multimodal land transportation of transport by road and rail. It combines in itself the speed and reliability of rail on long trunk hauls with door-to-door flexibility of road transport for collection and delivery.
　　Sea train（火车轮渡） is another innovation in the multimodal transport system involving the use of rail and ocean transport. It is similar to the roll-on, roil-off system except that in the place of the ro-ro vehicle a rail car is used so that geographically separated rail systems can be connected by the use of an ocean carrier.