at maximum efficiency with a rationalisation of the energy
consumption. However, achieving stable and efficient intermodal
transport services is far from simple. A considerable amount of
research was dedicated to study the problems affecting these
transport solutions and to propose measures to overcome them. In
brief, the problems may be divided into two parts:
Internal sources (Gap 2 in Fig. 1) or friction referring to internal
factors to the transport service (i.e.: factors that are related to
the transport operators and the production of the transport
service).
External barriers (Gap 1 in Fig. 1) referring to the external
factors around the transport service system (i.e.: factors that
are not related with the transport operators’ characteristics).
Fig. 2 shows the mechanisms of integration in an intermodal
transport service and it can be used to understand the nature of
friction in efficiency. The mechanisms of integration can be depicted
into five building blocks (Reis, 2010):
Customers’ requirements;
1. Customers’ requirements;
2. Transport service’s properties;