INTERFACE (Improvement of iNtermodal TERminal Freight operations At border Crossing tErminal) is an integrated shared cost project funded by the European Commission within the Fifth RTD Framework Programme (FP5) on “Competitive and Sustainable Growth”.

Intermodal Freight Terminals (IFT) or transfer points are places equipped for the transhipment and storage of Intermodal Transport Units (ITU). They connect at least two transport modes, which usually are road and rail, although waterborne (sea and inland waterways) and air transport can also be integrated. It is possible to find terminal companies and bodies handling both freight transport (eg. freight forwarders, shippers, transport operators, customs) and accompanying services (eg. storage, maintenance and repair): in this case IFT are also referred to as logistic centres or freight villages.

Terminals represent the nodal points of the intermodal transport network and their effi ciency significantly affects the entire intermodal freight transport chain. Efficient intermodal transport requires infrastructure planners and managers across Europe to co-operate in establishing coherent networks of efficient transfer points, which are the weakest links in the current intermodal transport system and a major generator of friction costs.

These costs are generated through many factors. First of all, there is a lack of a coherent network of modes and interconnections between the modes in a number of high density corridors in Europe. There is also inadequate access by rail, road or waterborne transport to existing transfer points, which can hamper the integration of these modes and transfer between modes. Another factor is the lack or inadequacy of interoperability between modes and loading units. In fact, dealing with a variety of loading unit dimensions and different standards for transport means and infrastructure (often regulated differently by country and by mode) lowers the levels of interoperability between different modes, and produces congestion and ineffi ciencies at terminals. Finally, present-day terminals, which are usually marked by a combination of heavy engineering and manual processes, are not managed effi ciently with appropriate ICT technologies.

The absence of a systematic network for data interchange along the entire intermodal transport chain is a sourc