MONES, CYRUS PAUL S.

SCORE:
GROUP 1/ CE-4203 JANUARY 29, 2019

TECHNICAL REPORT 1
CORE COMPONENTS OF TRANSPORTATION
TITLE: INFRASTRUCTURES
SUBTITLE: TERMINALS

OUTLINE:

4 Core Components of Transportation

1. Mode
2. Infrastructures

2.1 Routes

2.2. Terminals
a. The Nature of Transport Terminals
b. The Functions of Transport Terminals
c. Passengers Terminals
d. Freight Terminals
e. Terminal Costs
2.3. Port Sites
a. Port Development
b. Main Functions
c. Port Types
d. Problems Related to Port Infrastructures
2.4. Airport Sites
a. Airport Local Factors
b. Airport Functions
c. Passengers
3. Network
4. Flows

BODY/CONTEXT:

Infrastructures are physical support of transport modes, such as routes and

terminals. It’s a fixed element of transportation.

A. THE NATURE OF TRANSPORT TERMINALS

All spatial flows, with the exception of personal vehicular and pedestrian trips,
involve movements between terminals. Modes assembly and distribution cannot travel
individually, but in batches; people have to go to bus terminals and airports first to reach
their final destinations; freight has to be consolidated at a port or a rail yard before
onward shipment. Terminals are essential links in transportation chains.
Any location where freight and passengers either originates, terminates, or is
handled in the transportation process. Central and intermediate locations: points of
interchange within the same modal system; insure a continuity of the flows; particularly
the case for modern air and port operations. Transport terminals require specific facilities
to accommodate the traffic they handle.

B. THE FUNCTIONS OF TRANSPORT TERMINALS

 A transport terminal is composed of a set of intermodal infrastructures taking
advantage of a geographical location, conferring a higher level of accessibility to local,
regional and global markets. Terminals fulfill three general functions within transport
systems:

 Connectivity. Transport terminals provide connectivity within a transport network as

they are the only locations where a network can be entered or exited. For instance,
subway stations are the connecting nodes of a transit network while ports and airports are
the connecting nodes of maritime and air networks.
 Interface. Transport terminals provide an interface between transport modes enabling
passengers and cargo to transit. A port or an airport are points of interface between
maritime or air and land transport systems.
 Buffer. Transport terminals provide a buffer between the different capacity and
frequency of the transport modes they connect, such as a port does for the maritime and
land transportation systems. A containership may call a port once every two days while
trucks carrying containers may come in and out of the terminal every few minutes. A
similar analogy applies to airports that act as buffers between the various levels of service
of land transport systems and the scheduling of air services.

C. PASSENGERS TERMINALS

Airports are the exception, the most complex terminals. Passengers may spend
several hours in the terminal, transiting, check-in and security checks, baggage pick up
and customs and immigration on international arrivals, wide range of services and
provide the very specific needs of the aircraft.

D. FREIGHT TERMINALS
Specialized entities
– Specific loading and unloading equipment.
– Wide range of handling gear is required.
– Differentiated functionally both by the mode involved and the
commodities transferred.
Warehousing
– Assembling the individual bundles of goods:
• Time-consuming and storage may be required.
– Need for terminals to be equipped with specialized infrastructures:
• Grain silos, storage tanks, and refrigerated warehouses, or simply
space to stockpile.

E. TERMINAL COSTS
An important component of transport costs. Infrastructure costs construction and
maintenance costs, and facilities such as piers, runways, cranes and structures.
Transshipment costs composing, handling and decomposing passengers or freight, and
labor requirement of terminal facilities. Administration costs managed by institutions
such as port or airport authorities or by private companies.

2.3. PORT SITES

 Ports are convergence between two domains of freight circulation: land and
maritime domains and facilitates convergence between land transport and maritime
systems. Handle the largest amounts of freight, more than any other types of terminals
combined. Infrastructures on ports accommodate transshipment activities.

A. PORT DEVELOPMENT
Setting:
• Dependent on geographical considerations.
• Furthest point of inland navigation by sail ships.
• Fishing port with trading and shipbuilding activities.
• Simple terminal facilities.
• Warehousing and wholesaling, adjacent to the port.

B. MAIN FUNCTIONS

The main functions of ports are to supply services to freight (warehousing,

transshipment, etc.). Supply services to ships (piers, refueling, repairs, etc.) and
concomitantly a maritime and land terminal.

C. PORT TYPES
Monofunctional ports:
• Transit a limited array of commodities, most often dry or liquid
bulks.
• Specialized piers.

Polyfunctional ports:

• Several transshipment and industrial activities are present. Variety

of specialized and general cargo piers

D. PROBLEMS RELATED TO PORT INFRASTRUCTURES

1. Ports along rivers are continuously facing dredging problems.
2. Width of rivers is strongly limiting capacity:
• Rarely a port along a river has the capacity to handle Post Panamax
ships.
3. Lateral spread of infrastructures (Seaports).
4. Congestion in central areas.
5. Port / city competition for land (waterfront development).

2.4. AIRPORT SITES

Airports act as the main technical support of air transport. Increased pressures on
terminals; existing terminals have been expanded and new terminals have been
constructed and replace airports no longer able to cope with the increased traffic.
International / Regional: Role and function in the international and regional urban system
and centrality (being an origin and destination of air traffic) and intermediacy (a hub or a
gateway between destinations). Local: Level of accessibility of the airport over the
metropolitan area it services and daily flows of planes, passengers, freight to and from the
airport's terminals.

A. AIRPORT LOCAL FACTORS

 The suitability of an airport site in the case of an isotropic plain can be viewed as
a balance between two opposing forces:

 Benefits. The closer an airport is to the city center, the more benefits are derived because
of shorter commuting times from the airport to centers of activity. The airport is able to
conveniently service a metropolitan area.
 Externalities. As the location of an airport gets closer to the city center, more
externalities are incurred. The opportunity cost for the land devoted to the airport, the
number of people adversely affected by noise, and incompatibilities with local land uses
increase.
 Suitability. Benefits and externalities functions tend to be inversely proportional.
Consequently, a compromise is sought by choosing a site that is close enough to provide
significant benefits and far enough to minimize externalities. A location ring of high
suitability is derived from an overlay of the benefits and externalities curves.

B. AIRPORT FUNCTIONS

• Airport activities
– Terminal activities:
• Parking, ground transportation, checking in, baggage-claiming,
restoration, retailing and maintenance.
• Provide services to passengers and freight.
– Airfield activities:
• Loading and unloading planes, maintenance and traffic control.
• Provide services to aircrafts.

C. PASSENGERS

Focus of security concerns for many decades. Its high-jacking aircraft came to the
fore in the 1970s. Terrorist groups in the Middle East exploited the lack of security to
commandeer planes for ransom and publicity. Established screening procedures for
passengers and bags and reductions in hijackings, although terrorists changed their tactics
by placing bombs in un-accompanied luggage and packages,

CONCLUSION:

The physical support of transport modes, where routes (e.g. rail tracks, canals or
highways) and terminals (e.g. ports or airports) are the most significant components.
Infrastructures also include superstructures which are movable assets that usually have a
shorter lifespan. So, for an airport the infrastructure would be assets such as the runways
while the superstructure would be the terminals and control equipment. For a port, the
infrastructure would be piers and navigation channels while the superstructure would be
cranes and yard equipment.