The Impact of ICT on Intermodal Transportation Systems: a Modelling Approach by Petri Nets

The paper addresses the issues of modelling and managing Intermodal Transportation Systems (ITS) at the operational level, considering the impact of the new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). ITS are regarded as discrete event systems and are modelled in a timed Petri net framework. In order to show the efficiency of the ITS modelling and controlling technique, the case study of the ferry terminal of Trieste (Italy) is considered. The results show that the approach can be employed to verify the potential of ICT for efficient real time management of ITS, and their impact on the ITS infrastructures.